Lightspeed

lightspeedhq.com
Point of Sale
Weekend Project

Leading Point of Sale (POS) & Commerce Platform

How to Replace Lightspeed

Overview

Lightspeed is a unified point of sale and payments platform powering the in-person economy. It enables businesses to manage and operate every part of their business from one highly configurable system. The platform serves retail, restaurant, golf, and wholesale businesses with industry-specific solutions.

Features

36 features across 21 categories

Analytics(1)

Advanced InsightsAIPremium

Forecasting, order recommendations and custom reporting capabilities

Also in: Hugging Face, Notion, Smartsheet

Automation(1)

WorkflowsPremium

Design ideal checkout process and increase efficiency, reduce human error and speed up processes

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

Core POS(1)

Unified Point of Sale System

Highly configurable cloud-based POS platform for managing all aspects of business operations

Customer Management(1)

Loyalty Programs

In-store and online loyalty programs connected to customer accounts to keep customers coming back

Also in: Jobber, QuickBooks, Setmore

Financial(1)

Landed CostsPremium

Distribute freight and duty costs in product prices to get more accurate margins

Financial Services(1)

Lightspeed CapitalPremium

Cash advance program to help grow business with flexible repayment terms (available in select regions)

Industry Solutions(7)

Apparel Store Software

Manage clothing store inventory, customers, sales channels and more with all-in-one platform

Garden Center Software

Garden center POS with advanced inventory tracking, customer management, automated reports and insights

Golf Course Management

Modernize course operations with cloud-based tee sheet, F&B and clubhouse sales with meticulous reporting

Home Decor Store Software

In-depth inventory management and reporting to multichannel sales for home decor stores

Restaurant POS

Serve without downtime, increase revenue and use best-in-class insights optimized for restaurant operations

Shoe Store POS

Manage inventory, boost sales and personalize shopping experience with powerful shoe store POS

Vape Shop Software

Manage inventory, sales and customers with POS system designed to meet vape shop compliance standards

Integration(4)

Accounting Integrations

Integration with accounting software to streamline financial operations

API & CustomizationPremium

Powerful API to customize business operations and connect favorite tools with integrations

eCommerce Integrations

Integration with eCommerce platforms to streamline online sales

Marketing Integrations

Integration with marketing software to streamline marketing operations

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

Inventory(2)

Inventory Management

Order, track, update and sell stock within one unified system with automated POs and alerts

PO Sync

Sync purchase orders between NuORDER and Lightspeed to save time ordering, reordering and receiving

Mobile(2)

Mobile POS AppPremium

Take payments on iOS app and manage inventory and orders from mobile device (available in US, Canada, UK, Australia, Ireland, Netherlands)

Mobile Scanner App

Turn iOS or Android device into inventory management tool to count products, track inventory and fulfill orders

Multi-location(1)

Multilocation Management

Tools and reports configured for managing multiple store locations with centralized operations

Payments(2)

Integrated Payments

Process payments without leaving the POS system with unified payment processing

Lightspeed Payments

Unified payment processing with card-present rate of 1.5% and error reduction capabilities

Product Management(1)

NuORDER Catalog

Access accurate catalog information for over 5 million products to speed up product creation

Reporting(1)

Real-time Reporting & Analytics

Industry-leading insights and real-time visibility across entire operations with advanced sales, staff and inventory reports

Sales(1)

Omnichannel Retail Experience

Seamless integration between in-store and online sales channels for retail businesses

Security(1)

Single Sign-On (SSO)Premium

Access all systems with one secure login for improved security and user convenience

Services(1)

Professional ServicesPremium

Onboarding and professional service options available

Support(3)

24/7 Chat Support

Round-the-clock chat support from industry experts

24/7 Phone Support

Round-the-clock phone support from industry experts

Whiteglove Onboarding

Personalized onboarding and support from industry experts who know what it takes to succeed in your market

User Management(1)

Custom User RolesPremium

Create specific custom roles to suit different staff across business with permission management

Wholesale(2)

Lightspeed NuORDER

Access to exclusive wholesale network to discover and connect with brands, place orders that sync with POS and automate product creation

Wholesale Management

Buy and manage wholesale directly within point of sale, discover new suppliers and streamline inventory

eCommerce(1)

Built-in eCommerce

Sell anywhere, to anyone across the internet and around the world with control from single platform

Pricing

Basic

$89/mo
  • Retail POS
  • 1 register included
  • Integrated Payments
  • Inventory Management
  • Lightspeed NuORDER
  • NuORDER Catalog
  • PO Sync
  • Built-in eCommerce (Basic)
  • In-store and online loyalty
  • Advanced sales, staff and inventory reports
  • Accounting, eCommerce and marketing integrations
  • Mobile Scanner App
  • Lightspeed Payments (1.5% card-present rate)
  • 24/7 Chat Support
  • 24/7 Phone Support
  • Lightspeed Capital (Flexible repayment terms)

Core

$149/mo
  • Retail POS
  • 1 register included
  • Integrated Payments
  • Inventory Management
  • Lightspeed NuORDER
  • NuORDER Catalog
  • PO Sync
  • Built-in eCommerce
  • In-store and online loyalty
  • Advanced sales, staff and inventory reports
  • Accounting, eCommerce and marketing integrations
  • Mobile Scanner App
  • Mobile Scanner POS App
  • Landed Costs
  • Insights (Forecasting, order recommendations & custom reporting)
  • API access
  • Workflows
  • Custom User Roles
  • SSO (Single Sign-ON)
  • Lightspeed Payments (1.5% card-present rate)
  • 24/7 Chat Support
  • 24/7 Phone Support
  • Lightspeed Capital (Flexible repayment terms)

Plus

$289/mo
  • Retail POS
  • 1 register included
  • Integrated Payments
  • Inventory Management
  • Lightspeed NuORDER
  • NuORDER Catalog
  • PO Sync
  • Built-in eCommerce
  • In-store and online loyalty
  • Advanced sales, staff and inventory reports
  • Accounting, eCommerce and marketing integrations
  • Mobile Scanner App
  • Mobile Scanner POS App
  • Landed Costs
  • Insights (Forecasting, order recommendations & custom reporting)
  • API access
  • Workflows
  • Custom User Roles
  • SSO (Single Sign-ON)
  • Lightspeed Payments (1.5% card-present rate)
  • 24/7 Chat Support
  • 24/7 Phone Support
  • Lightspeed Capital (Flexible repayment terms)

Cost Calculator

Keep Paying Lightspeed

Monthly$89/mo
Yearly$1.1k/yr
5-Year Total$5.3k

Build It Yourself

Est. Build Time~3 hrs
Hosting$20/mo
DifficultyVery Easy

Total Cost Comparison

1 YearSave $828
SaaS
$1.1k
DIY
$240
3 YearsSave $2.5k
SaaS
$3.2k
DIY
$720
5 YearsSave $4.1k
SaaS
$5.3k
DIY
$1.2k

DIY hosting estimate based on Vercel + Supabase free/pro tiers (~$20/mo). Build time estimated from 36 features at very easy complexity.

Build vs Buy

Should you build a Lightspeed alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 36 features.

Buy Lightspeed

Better Value
Monthly cost$890/mo
3-year total$32,040
Time to deployDays

Build Your Own

Development cost$24,000
Maintenance$360/mo
3-year total$36,960
Dev time~2 months

Buying Lightspeed saves ~$4,920 over 3 years vs building.

Estimates based on 36 features and a BuildScore of 5/5. Actual costs vary.

Integrations

3 known integrations

Accounting SoftwareeCommerce PlatformsMarketing Software