GoTab vs Lightspeed Restaurant
GoTab
gotab.comLightspeed Restaurant
lightspeedhq.comSide by side
| Figure | GoTab | Lightspeed Restaurant |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $15/mo | $69/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 3 | 4 |
| Spec score · Restaurant Gift Card Software | 8.0 (#8) | 8.1 (#7) |
| Spec score · Restaurant Management Software | 8.1 (#9) | 8.1 (#11) |
| Founded | 2016 | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Arlington, Virginia, United States | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Integrations | GoTab lists accounting, reservations, hotel PMS, self-pour, entertainment, inventory, marketing, and loyalty among its integration areas. | The product connects with hotel PMS software, employee-management tools, loyalty programs and partners such as 7shifts and OpenTable. |
| Security | GoTab says it does not store credit card numbers and instead stores a secure, encrypted token representing payment information. | Lightspeed states that cloud POS communications use end-to-end encryption and that data access is heavily restricted and protected via cloud partners. |
| Support | GoTab provides 24/7 live support by chat, SMS, and phone on Pro and Sync; it is an add-on for Basic. | Lightspeed offers 24/7 phone and chat support, one-on-one onboarding and a dedicated account manager. |
Plans
Lightspeed Restaurant
- Starter$69 a month
- Essential$189 a month
- Premium$399 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
GoTab
GoTab is an end-to-end restaurant commerce platform for restaurants and other hospitality venues. It supports full-service and quick-service operations, online ordering, curbside pickup, and delivery. Guests can order and pay from their phones while keeping one tab across staff-assisted and digital ordering. Its point-of-sale software runs on Windows, Android, and iOS devices, while the service is also listed for web, API, and Android and iOS access. Plans are priced per location: Basic is $15 a month with QR and online ordering, preauthorized tabs, one POS, and flexible hardware options; Pro is $99 a month and adds handheld access, Easy Tab, and a kiosk; Sync is $229 a month and adds OpServer with enhanced offline capabilities, fraud and insufficient-funds protection, and order-status SMS. GoTab lists integrations for accounting, reservations, hotel PMS, inventory, marketing, loyalty, and other areas, including QuickBooks Online, Xero, OpenTable, Uber Eats, and 7shifts.
Lightspeed Restaurant
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.