DineEngine Kiosk Ordering vs Lightspeed Restaurant

DineEngine Kiosk Ordering is cloud-based in-store ordering software for restaurants and other venues. It runs on touchscreen devices, tablets, older POS touchscreens, iPads, and other hardware that can open a modern web browser in kiosk mode. Menus synchronize with DineEngine’s back-end management system in real time, while operators configure imagery, branding, and dine-in or take-out choices there. Orders move through the ordering platform to the POS and receive dine-in or take-out status. Integrated payments currently work with Heartland-enabled credit card readers; DineEngine says it is exploring additional processors. The kiosk is stated to be PCI compliant and uses DataCap TranCloud secure VPN connectivity to encrypt in-store transactions. Receipt printers can be added, or receipts can be emailed. Pre-built connectors include Paytronix and Spendgo loyalty integrations. DineEngine lists restaurants, food halls, healthcare, schools, and other industries as users. Pricing is on request.

Lightspeed Restaurant is restaurant management software built around a point-of-sale and payments platform. It supports customizable menus, screens and floor plans, with online, tableside and QR-code ordering. Restaurants, hotels and multi-location operators can use the system for operations including inventory, reservations, tables, staff scheduling and sales reporting. The cloud-based POS can keep working offline, saving entered data locally and uploading it when connectivity returns; master-data maintenance and eCloud evaluations still require internet access. Its front end requires the Lightspeed Restaurant iPad app, while the back end can be managed on desktop and iPad. Lightspeed also says the POS can run in a browser on Mac, PC, Apple or Android devices. The Restaurant Integration Hub includes hundreds of third-party integrations, and accounting sync can send sales data to QuickBooks, Xero, Sage and other software. Plans start at $69/mo. Restaurant has no free plan or free trial listed; a demo option is presented instead.