Lightspeed Restaurant vs Square Online
Lightspeed Restaurant
lightspeedhq.comSquare Online
squareup.comSide by side
| Figure | Lightspeed Restaurant | Square Online |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $69/mo | $49/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 4 | 4 |
| Spec score · Restaurant Self-Ordering Kiosk Software | 8.1 (#2) | 7.7 (#11) |
| Spec score · Restaurant Gift Card Software | 8.1 (#7) | 7.8 (#12) |
| Spec score · Restaurant Billing Software | 8.2 (#5) | 7.7 (#13) |
| Spec score · Restaurant Online Ordering Software | 8.4 (#25) | 8.4 (#26) |
| Spec score · Kitchen Display System Software | 8.1 (#12) | 7.8 (#19) |
| Spec score · Restaurant Management Software | 8.1 (#11) | 7.8 (#19) |
| Spec score · iPad POS | 8.3 (#6) | 7.7 (#14) |
| Spec score · POS Software | 8.1 (#6) | 7.7 (#9) |
| Spec score · Restaurant POS Software | 8.1 (#14) | 7.7 (#28) |
| Spec score · Restaurant Table Management Software | 8.2 (#14) | 7.9 (#24) |
| Spec score · Point of Sale POS software | 8.1 (#11) | 7.7 (#16) |
| Founded | 2005 | 2009 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Headquarters | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Security | Lightspeed states that cloud POS communications use end-to-end encryption and that data access is heavily restricted and protected via cloud partners. | Square says it maintains PCI certification and provides end-to-end encryption for card-present payments. |
| Support | Lightspeed offers 24/7 phone and chat support, one-on-one onboarding and a dedicated account manager. | Square support is available by phone, email, live chat, and social media, and the Online support center includes setup and troubleshooting resources. |
Plans
Lightspeed Restaurant
- Starter$69 a month
- Essential$189 a month
- Premium$399 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
Square Online
- Square FreeFree
- Square Plus$49 a month
- Square Premium$149 a month
- Square ProPriced on request
In their own words
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.
Square Online
Square Online has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.