Square vs Lightspeed: What’s the Best POS?

To start, Square’s base POS system is completely free; you only need to pay if you want advanced functions, like industry-specific tools or a loyalty program add-on. Lightspeed, by contrast, only offers a 14-day free trial, but from there, you will have to pay a minimum monthly fee of $89. In addition, Square waives the first $250 in chargeback fees per month. For a small business, this could be all you need.

With Square’s free POS, the in-person payment processing fees are the same as Lightspeed’s. If you subscribe to one of the paid POS plans, Square’s flat-rate payment processing fees drop to 2.5% + 10 cents.

While Square’s keyed-in and online rates might initially look more expensive, cents are lower per transaction fee (10–15 cents instead of Lightspeed’s 30 cents), which is ideal for smaller transactions. So, even the keyed-in rates are better for most sales under $20.

In addition, Square has a very reasonable fee for ACH and e-checks. We did not find any rates listed for Lightspeed. You may need a third-party processor for these kinds of payments.

Square’s hardware also offers more affordable options, from the free swipe card reader and $49 chip and tap reader to the POS systems that start at $299. It has a greater variety of POS hardware than Lightspeed, with full kits costing as much as $1,343, but with several options in the $500–$650 range.

While Square is overall the cheaper option, Lightspeed could be the better deal if your average sales are over $20. Lightspeed takes a smaller percentage of purchases than Square for most transactions, so even though the flat fee is higher, your processing fee will be lower with Lightspeed for larger purchases. You should certainly crunch your own numbers, but these savings might even be enough to cover monthly software fees.

Additionally, Square does not offer any third-party payment processing, whereas Lightspeed allows for processor integration at a slightly higher monthly software rate. For businesses that do a lot of transactions, you may be able to get cheaper payment processing rates with a third-party processor and save the difference, making Lightspeed a better option.

There is also the issue of held funds. Lightspeed has very few complaints by users for held funds or closed accounts. On the other hand, Square has a large number of complaints concerning confusion about its hold policy, held funds, or account deactivation. Keep in mind that Square is one of the largest POS/payment processors in the industry and has a lot of customers, so receiving funds might take longer, and they have a lot of accounts to keep track of.

Square offers an intuitive, feature-rich checkout and consistently takes the No. 1 spot in our reviews for best POS hardware because it offers so much at such a great price. With return and refund functions, gift cards, mobile selling, customer profiles, buy online, pickup in-store options, all the payment options customers could need, an easy-to-use dashboard, and more all in its free plan, Square is the best choice for its register features.

Square makes checkout easy for employees and customers. (Source: Square)

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Even Square’s mobile sale options are easy to use. (Source: Square)

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With images and prompts to help you through, Square’s checkout is nearly foolproof. (Source: Square)

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While Square is a great option for most businesses, Lightspeed does include some features that Square lacks. For example, Square lacks age verification tools, which Lightspeed includes in all of its plans. This makes Lightspeed a better choice for liquor stores, smoke shops, vape shops, and other age-restricted, high-risk item sales.

Lightspeed is also the better choice for multistore management. It lets you set different prices for different locations, manage inventory across all locations, and configure employee permissions—whether they work in a single store or travel between multiple locations. Square lacks these advanced tools.

Unlike Square, Lightspeed is also able to handle work orders. This makes it a better fit for retailers like bike shops that offer repairs or boutiques that provide tailoring services. The register can also accommodate special orders, for example, if you need to order a custom part or hard-to-find item. Finally, the Lightspeed register can also track warranties for specific sales, so you can see at a glance if a customer’s purchase is still under warranty.

Like Square, Lightspeed syncs online and in-person sales. (Source: Lightspeed)

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Lightspeed’s checkout tends to have more functions, but a busier interface. (Source: Lightspeed)

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Lightspeed does have a mobile POS app for on-the-go sales. (Source: Lightspeed)

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Lightspeed ranks No. 1 in our list of the best POS inventory systems. It’s the most powerful option on the market, with tools to handle over 10,000 SKUs, variants, bundles and kits, and more. It can track inventory by unit or volume—a great help when dealing with foodstuffs or selling by individual item or case. It also includes 40+ reports and custom reporting options so you can have a strong understanding of your stock and performance.

Naturally, it has low-inventory alerts and vendor management, so you can quickly send out purchase orders. Over 3,000 catalogs are already loaded into the system, making it easy to replace stock and discover new items. Lightspeed stands out, however, with its Supplier Network. Not only does it make it easy for you as a retailer to find and order products, but if you do B2B sales, you can apply to get your products hosted in the catalog as well.

Lightspeed Supplier Market lets you search multiple supplier catalogs and place orders without ever leaving your POS account. (Source: Lightspeed)

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As you add detailed information to your product pages, you can also print labels for your items.
(Source: APPSeCONNECT)

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Create product variants based on colors, size, or other custom variables to help speed up the product entry process. (Source: Lightspeed)

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Square is no slouch for inventory management, but its tools are not as in-depth. It does not have kitting capability, for example. It does let you upload and edit items in bulk, set low-stock alerts, and manage vendors—just not to the degree Lightspeed can. However, the system is free and can handle the inventory management tasks that most businesses need.

Square’s inventory system works well for most small businesses. (Source: Square)

Lightspeed makes it easy to take special orders and tracks to the ingredient level. You can keep open tabs, transfer those tabs from bar to table or between servers, and group or split payments as needed. If you sell alcohol, Lightspeed’s age verification tools ensure you stay compliant with state and local laws. With Lightspeed’s upsell reminders, you can nudge your staff to mention those extras that go great together.

Overall, Lightspeed’s superior inventory and reporting make it better for larger operations and quick-service restaurants. In addition, if you have a hotel, Lightspeed integrates with hotel PMS so that you can manage room service.

Lightspeed can scale up as your business increases, taking you from a single sandwich shop to a chain. (Source: Lightspeed)

Square has a few things going in its favor. As always, the fact that Square offers its basic restaurant POS system for free makes it a great choice for those who don’t need all the extras. Plus, Square’s user-friendly interface makes it a good fit for high-volume operations like cafes, pizzerias, and bakeries. Additionally, its mobility makes it a good fit for food trucks and other vendors.

Square for Restaurants is easy to set up and use. (Source: Square)

Square has specific countertop and mobile POS versions for appointment-based businesses. Square Appointments lets you book clients online or on the application, send automated SMS reminders, handle recurring appointments, and even charge cancellation or no-show fees. You can check people out at the counter (or on the app) or send them an invoice.

The software includes notes for client profiles and team management. Plus, you still get Square’s powerful POS system. Square is our top choice for the best POS for salons and spas.

Square Appointments lets you create booking channels on lots of different platforms. (Source: Square)

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​​View your schedule and get live updates as customers make new appointments. (Source: Square)

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Chat with customers and send appointment reminders. (Source: Square)

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Lightspeed cannot compete with Square in this arena. It’s not designed to. The closest it gets is with the appointment function on the online store that lets your customers set appointments for services or shopping. It will send confirmations and reminders.

However, if you have a golf course or other amusement activity based on that model, you should consider Lightspeed Golf. This lets you manage and set up tee times for up to 54 holes and a multitude of play types. Lightspeed also allows you to follow your customers from the course to the restaurant, letting you keep a single tab running for all services. If you are managing a golf course or similar kind of operation, then Lightspeed is a better choice.

Lightspeed is good for managing a golf course. (Source: Lightspeed)

Lightspeed comes with 50 themes for building an online store, plus it offers integrated CRM, SEO, and marketing tools. Additionally, it has extensive shipping tools for organizing and tracking shipping and integrates with shipping services like EasyPost and ShipStation. Lightspeed also integrates with 21 third-party services for local delivery.

It works for international sales and can be set to 14 different languages, plus multiple currencies. You can also program international shipping rates. These features, combined with Lightspeed’s sophisticated built-in SEO tools to help drive traffic to your online store, beat out Square easily.

Like Square, Lightspeed also allows you to sell on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Lightspeed fully syncs online, mobile, and in-store sales, so you always know your income and inventory. (Source: Lightspeed)

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View your online inventory and manage orders from your POS dashboard. (Source: Lightspeed)

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Square’s online tools (Square Online) are free. By comparison, Lightspeed’s ecommerce solution comes with the Starter plan, priced at $99 per month. Square also offers buttons that you can add to your website if you prefer to have an online store on your website. Additionally, it has a wider choice of ecommerce integrations, from delivery services to ecommerce solutions.

Overall, Square Online is designed for online ordering for pickup, curbside, and local delivery. If you want a full-blown online store that will grow separately from your brick-and-mortar shop, you might find Square’s features lacking.

Square’s free online store lets you build a webstore, or you can create buttons for selling on your website or social media.
(Source: Square)

You’ll find Square at the top of our lists for POS applications for mobile. The versatility, ease of use, and price make it a great choice for selling crafts at the flea market or running a booth at the mall. It also works offline, recording and storing transactions to sync to the cloud when you have connectivity back.

Square’s app syncs with the POS system, so you get all the advantages of Square no matter where you are. Overall, it’s an excellent system, as shown by its high ratings among users in both the Google and Apple app stores.

Square is a free, fully-featured POS app. (Source: Google Play)

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​​Square lets you take your business on the go with their mobile hardware. (Source: Square)

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Square lets you take your business on the go with their mobile hardware. (Source: Square)

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Lightspeed Retail for iOS does not have an iPhone version—it’s iPad-only. However, Lightspeed Restaurants does have an iPhone version. Inversely, Square Restaurants is only available on iPad, not iPhone, but Square for Retail is available on both iPad and iPhone.

Lightspeed’s app is designed with restaurants in mind, while Square’s mobile version works best with retail and appointments and for general purposes. Lightspeed’s mobile app includes such tools as bar tabs and table management. Plus, Lightspeed has a separate self-order kiosk app to turn any iPad into a customer-facing ordering screen.

Like with Lightspeed’s POS, Lightspeed’s mobile app is great if you have more complex inventory needs, such as tracking multiple modifiers, ingredients, or product waste. It also integrates with third-party payment processors. It has time tracking for your staff as well.

Lightspeed’s app is designed for restaurants.
(Source: Google Play Store)