Looking For a Lightspeed POS Alternative? Here Are The Best Lightspeed Competitors For Small Business

Square is a free POS that can work for just about any industry. Since it’s super easy to get started with and includes credit card processing with no monthly fee or commitment, Square is ideal for newer businesses that don’t have a merchant account set up yet. You can use the free Square app on iPad, iPhone, Android devices, or via Square’s proprietary POS hardware (Square Terminal and Square Register).

Square’s free app has a wealth of in-person selling features for brick-and-mortar businesses, as well as online selling options, including online checkout and a free eCommerce store. The features are a little basic compared to Lightspeed, particularly in terms of retail inventory management, but the feature set is better than what you get with any other free POS. Square also has free and paid industry-specific versions of its POS, which include Square for Restaurants, Square for Retail, and Square Appointments. If you’re on the paid version of Square for Retail or Square Appointments, you’ll receive a 0.1% discount on payment processing.

Besides restaurants and retail looking for a more affordable, commitment-free solution, Square could be a more affordable solution than Lightspeed for small service-based businesses such as salons and independent hairdressers—Lightspeed requires a third-party software integration to handle appointment bookings.

Square VS Lightspeed Pricing

For most businesses, Square has the same in-person processing rate as Lightspeed’s (2.6% + $0.10) but online transactions (2.9% + $0.30) are slightly higher than Lightspeed’s, which is something to consider if you do a lot of online sales. Being a third-party processor, Square can be prone to account instability, making this POS less suitable for high-volume and high-risk businesses.

Clover is a unique, all-in-one POS and one of the most aesthetically pleasing, too, with its sleek, minimalistic POS hardware setup. This POS operates under a different business model than Lightspeed or the other POS systems on this list: Clover exclusively uses its own proprietary hardware (i.e., not an iPad or Android tablet) with a built-in credit card and contactless payment reader, and is always sold together with a merchant account.

As with Lightspeed, Clover is not for everyone, but many businesses appreciate its app-based customizability, and the simplicity of getting a plug-and-play POS with hardware, software, and merchant services from a single source.

Clover can adapt to any industry, including any kind of retail, restaurant, or service-based business. Clover has several different mix-and-match hardware options, including the Clover Station and Station Pro, Clover Mini, Clover Flex, and Clover Go. Indeed, many businesses choose Clover due to its snazzy (if somewhat pricey) POS hardware. The downside is that Clover is always sold with a First Data merchant account through a network of resellers, and many Clover resellers tack on a lot of fees and sneaky contract terms. You’ll get a good deal if you buy through CLover directly, or if you buy through a reputable reseller like Payment Depot or Dharma Merchant Services, but if you want to use Clover with a non-First Data merchant account, you’re out of luck.

Clover VS Lightspeed Pricing

If you buy from Clover directly, your monthly plan will be $39.95/month or $69.95/month (depending on the features you need), with processing starting at 2.3% + $0.10. So potentially, you could pay a bit less per month using Clover vs. Lightspeed.

Revel Systems is a powerhouse of an iPad POS system for businesses of any size, even nationwide chains. Revel is suitable for restaurant, retail, and service-based businesses, but is especially popular with quick-serve eateries, such as pizzerias and coffee shops. Revel even has some enterprise-level QSR customers such as Auntie Ann’s Pretzels.

Revel includes features such as advanced reporting, employee management, and inventory management, with options such as a customer display system, online ordering, delivery management, digital menu boards, and self-ordering kiosks. One feature I especially like is Revel’s Always On mode, which allows you to continue operating your POS normally and process payments in the event of an internet outage. Most cloud POS systems, Lightspeed included, only have a partial offline mode. Revel also has a proprietary ethernet connection for iPad which allows for a faster connection than WiFi.

Revel VS Lightspeed Pricing

Revel is more pricey than Lightspeed on a per-register basis—Revel starts at $99/month/register with a three-year processing agreement and a two-terminal minimum. But again, the feature set is more advanced, so a multi-location QSR might get a better overall value with Revel.

Revel offers in-house flat-rate processing through Revel Advantage, but you can use your own processor if you prefer (for a higher monthly charge, similar to Lightspeed). You can source your own hardware or buy it directly from Revel.

Shopify POS combines both eCommerce and POS features to serve multichannel retailers (brands that use a combination of online and in-person sales channels). You can use this versatile POS to sell on an iPad, Android, or even your smartphone, and your sales will sync with your Shopify online store. This is one of the best POS for small businesses to use if you already sell online with Shopify and want to start selling in-person, either from your phone or at a brick-and-mortar store using an iPad POS setup.

Shopify VS Lightspeed Pricing

Shopify POS is one of the most affordable, scalable, and easy-to-use retail POS solutions, and it’s not lacking features, either. Use it to easily manage in-store and online inventory, export reports, create gift cards, manage customers, and more. The Shopify mobile app also makes it easy to sell at events like fairs, markets, and pop-ups. Depending on your plan, Shopify could be a more affordable multichannel retail POS compared to Lightspeed Retail, since the Shopify Starter plan starts at just $5/month. Also, Shopify does not charge extra for additional terminals/devices, and has Android options for non-iOS users.

Like Lightspeed, Shopify provides in-house flat-rate payment processing (in-person rates range from 2.4 – 2.7%) and also gives you the option to use a different payment processor for an additional charge.

Toast is an Android POS designed specifically for restaurants. It is one of the best POS systems for restaurants. While Toast can work great for quick-serve eateries such as a fro-yo shop or food truck, its feature set and restaurant-grade hardware is robust enough to be suitable for busy, full-service restaurants, including restaurants with bars and multilocation restaurants.

Some features you’ll get with Toast include table management, menu management, restaurant inventory management, employee management, and restaurant reporting. Toast also has a complete lineup of digital ordering features, from an online ordering app and e-gift cards to handheld tableside ordering devices for your servers. Though your price tag could be higher, particularly if you opt for the full feature set and handheld ordering devices, Toast provides more advanced restaurant functionality compared to Lightspeed Restaurant.

Toast VS Lightspeed Pricing

Besides its higher price, another possible downside is that Toast requires you to use its in-house payment processor (the type of fee structure isn’t disclosed on the company website), and your processing contract could be as long as three years. The good news is that Toast recently unveiled a pay-as-you-go starter plan for restaurants with one-two terminals, with options starting at $0/month.

This iPad POS for restaurants is unique in that it is locally installed, meaning your data is stored directly on your iPad or a Mac server, rather than in the cloud. Branded as the “The #1 iPad Point of Sale (POS) for Restaurants,” TouchBistro is also used by bars, cafes, and other types of single-location eateries. In addition to POS functions, TouchBistro handles things like seating and table assignments, menu management, wireless transfer of orders to the kitchen, tableside payments, and daily sales reports. The feature set is not overly deep, but TouchBistro is highly affordable, plus you can use your own payment processor without incurring an extra fee. 

TouchBistro VS Lightspeed Pricing

For the Standard (single register) TouchBistro subscription, you manage your entire restaurant directly from a single iPad. If you have two or more iPad registers, you need to run the Pro Server Application on a Mac Mini, which will act as a local server. Pricing starts at $69/month, but you can purchase additional add-ons such as reservation management, gift cards, loyalty, self-serve kiosks, digital menu boards, a kitchen display system, and a customer-facing display. 

Overall, TouchBistro’s features are comparable to Lightspeed Restaurant in most areas, but it does have in-house reservation management (for an added monthly fee). In addition to providing in-house cost-plus payment processing via TouchBistro Payments, TouchBistro integrates with a choice of payment processors—including Square—at no extra charge.