Vend vs ShopKeep by Lightspeed: Price, Features, and What’s Best in 2020

In a Vend vs ShopKeep by Lightspeed comparison, both user-friendly, comprehensive POS systems have core features to process transactions, plus advanced capabilities like inventory management, analytics tracking, and customer relationship management (CRM). However, Vend’s customer loyalty program has more customization options and comes included in the price, instead of charged as an add-on like ShopKeep by Lightspeed Loyalty.

When to Use Vend

Vend is best for brick-and-mortar retail stores due to its comprehensive inventory management features and built-in customer loyalty program. With it, you can manage a large amount of stock and customer profiles on iPads, Macs, or PCs. You can also use the payment processor of your choice.

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When to Use ShopKeep by Lightspeed

ShopKeep by Lightspeed’s features make it well-designed for boutique shops and restaurants. It also offers inventory control and CRM, while its reports are all templatized—Vend has customizable reporting. ShopKeep by Lightspeed has built-in payment processing, though will allow you to use a third party for an added fee.

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When to Use Lightspeed Retail

Lightspeed Retail is another powerful POS. If you need advanced inventory control for one or more locations, this is a great POS for you. Lightspeed also offers an in-house ecommerce solution for a multichannel sales operation. Both Vend and ShopKeep by Lightspeed rely on third-party integrations for online sales. If you have multiple locations or want to sell online as well as in-store, Lightspeed may be a good alternative.

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Vend vs ShopKeep by Lightspeed at a Glance

How We Evaluate Vend and ShopKeep by Lightspeed

In a Vend vs ShopKeep by Lightspeed matchup, we looked at things like pricing, user interface, and core features. Both tick the boxes when it comes to inventory control, CRM, reporting, and payment processing. We also looked at how robust each of those feature categories is, as well as which pricing tier you’d need to get each feature.

The criteria we used to evaluate the Vend vs ShopKeep by Lightspeed include:

• Price: Both Vend and ShopKeep by Lightspeed have different pricing tiers, gaining access to more features.
• Ease of use: Users find both POS systems to be extremely user-friendly, along with helpful customer support and self-service content.
• Payment processing: Vend offers payment processing through third-party integrations, while ShopKeep by Lightspeed has both built-in and third-party options.
• Inventory management: We evaluated things like low stock alerts, inventory reporting, and product bundling.
• Customer engagement and management: Vend and ShopKeep by Lightspeed both offer loyalty programs as well as other key CRM features like customer profiles and purchase history.
• Ecommerce features and integrations: Neither offers a website builder, though both have third-party integrations with some of the top ecommerce platforms.
• Staff management: We considered user logins, permissions, time tracking, and reporting.
• Reporting and analytics: A big difference between Vend vs ShopKeep by Lightspeed is that the former has customizable reports while the latter uses templates.
• Integrations: We looked at how many and which third-party integrations are available for each POS system, including accounting and ecommerce.
• Customer support: Both Vend and ShopKeep by Lightspeed offer 24/7 customer support as well as an extensive hub of support content.
• User reviews: We looked at POS user reviews for each system.

Based on the above, we’ve found that Vend is the better POS system for retail businesses. While both Vend and ShopKeep by Lightspeed are user-friendly and offer 24/7 customer support, Vend has more comprehensive inventory management and loyalty program features. ShopKeep by Lightspeed is more limiting overall with premade reporting templates and preferred built-in payment processing.

Vend vs ShopKeep by Lightspeed: Pricing and Features

Vend starts at $99 per month while ShopKeep by Lightspeed’s most basic package is just $69 per month. However, both starter packages lack the powerful features that make these POS systems so valuable: inventory management, advanced reporting, and CRM. You can use a third-party payment processor for both, while ShopKeep by Lightspeed prefers you use its native processor and will charge additional fees otherwise. The biggest differences here are that Vend is more affordable and has a more robust loyalty program.

Vend Pricing and Features

In a Vend vs ShopKeep by Lightspeed comparison, ShopKeep by Lightspeed offers the lowest pricing option but with limited features. To get a POS with must-have features like customer loyalty and advanced reporting, Vend has a more affordable option. Vend also has built-in customer loyalty program features, which is an add-on for ShopKeep by Lightspeed. Unlike ShopKeep by Lightspeed, you can customize reporting templates in Vend.

Vend POS is browser-based and can work on any computer or iPad

Vend Pricing Plans

Vend has two pricing plans: Lite and Pro. Additional registers for both Vend plans start at $49 per month extra. Lite, comparable to ShopKeep by Lightspeed’s Basic Plan, starts at $99 per month (while ShopKeep by Lightspeed’s starts at $69 per month). Upgrading to Pro starts at $129 per month. This is comparable to ShopKeep by Lightspeed’s Advanced Package at $199 per month.

Vend Pricing Tiers

Vend Payment Processing

Vend accepts all major credit and debit cards, EMV chip cards, NFC, and Apple Pay. Unlike ShopKeep by Lightspeed, it doesn’t have built-in payment processing. You’ll need to use one of many third-party payment processing options that integrate with Vend.

Retailers using Vend can choose from the following payment processors:

• Worldpay
• Square
• PayPal
• CardConnect
• EVO Payments
• North American Bancard

Vend Inventory Management

Vend offers more control and options for inventory management than ShopKeep by Lightspeed. Bulk upload products or add them individually, add variants and groups, and create bundles. Vend also has a barcode scanner, making inventory counts easy. If you’re looking for ingredient-level tracking for a food-based business, though, ShopKeep by Lightspeed will be the better option.

Vend has a mobile app that uses your phone’s camera to scan items for fast and accurate inventory counting

Vend Customer Engagement

Here’s another standout feature for Vend: the built-in customer loyalty program. While you have to pay for the ShopKeep by Lightspeed Loyalty add-on, Vend’s is included in your base price. Import your existing customer list and add new customers to your database and export the list into your email marketing tool. You can sell or give away gift cards, customize a full-blown loyalty program, and issue store credit. Unique to Vend, create VIP customer groups and give them special pricing and promotions.

Vend’s loyalty program can be turned on and off for each shopper, and businesses can set specific loyalty settings for retail items

Vend Ecommerce Features

Neither Vend nor ShopKeep by Lightspeed offers an ecommerce site builder. However, both have several ecommerce integrations. Vend works with your website and social commerce channels, centralizing inventory data from both online and in-person selling channels to avoid stockouts.

Vend Employee Management

Create staff logins and permission levels, and track employee sales and performance over time. Vend has a unique feature that allows managers to create individual employee goals—daily, weekly, and monthly—and monitor progress toward those goals. For scheduling, you can use the Deputy integration.

Vend Reporting and Analytics

If you’re on Vend Lite, your reporting options are slightly more limited: compare costs against profits and view sales trends by the hour/day/time of year. Pro users get more advanced reporting, including employee performance, discounts, time-to-sell, and product performance. Unlike ShopKeep by Lightspeed, Vend’s reports are completely customizable, so you can dig into the data however you see fit.

Vend Add-ons and Integrations

Vend’s loyalty program is included in the base price, unlike ShopKeep by Lightspeed which bills it as an add-on. Also unlike ShopKeep by Lightspeed, Vend has several third-party integration options:

• Airsquare
• BigCommerce
• Deputy
• ecomdash
• Ecwid
• QuickBooks
• Resurva
• Rocketspark
• Shopify
• Stitch Labs
• Storbie
• Timely
• Unleashed
• Vortex
• Xero

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Pricing and Features

ShopKeep by Lightspeed features are similar to Vend’s basic POS functions when it comes to processing payment and entering products. ShopKeep by Lightspeed also has a comprehensive customer loyalty program, but it adds an extra fee to your monthly bill while Vend’s is included in its base pricing.

Unlike Vend, ShopKeep by Lightspeed doesn’t list pricing on the site. You’ll need to get a custom quote, but packages range from around $69 per month to $199 per month.

ShopKeep by Lightspeed is an app-based iPad POS

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Pricing Plans

ShopKeep by Lightspeed isn’t transparent about its pricing like Vend, but it has three main packages: Basic, Essential, and Advanced. While pricing is based on custom quotes, approximate costs range from $69–$199 per month based on information we received from the vendor.

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Estimated Pricing Tiers

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Payment Processing

Unlike Vend, ShopKeep by Lightspeed has built-in payment processing capabilities. These fees are also not listed, though around the time of publication we were quoted a rate of 2.5% + 10 cents per transaction. You can also opt for a third-party payment processor for an additional fee.

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Inventory Management

ShopKeep by Lightspeed and Vend have similar inventory management features, including bulk product upload, variants, and analytics like inventory value, sales trends, and product profitability reports. You can also forecast sales and delegate receiving to an employee. Food-based businesses benefit from ingredient-level tracking and other restaurant-specific features, which Vend lacks.

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Customer Engagement

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Loyalty is comparable to Vend’s loyalty program features, though ShopKeep by Lightspeed Loyalty requires an Advanced Package subscription at $199 per month. Customize your rewards and points systems and view reports on the most popular promotions and products within the loyalty program. While there’s no built-in email capability, ShopKeep by Lightspeed integrates with Mailchimp for email marketing.

ShopKeep by Lightspeed has options to include discounts at checkout for newsletter signups or VIP customers

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Ecommerce Features

Neither ShopKeep by Lightspeed nor Vend offer site-building features. Instead, ShopKeep by Lightspeed relies on third-party integrations. While Vend integrates with several ecommerce platforms, ShopKeep by Lightspeed prioritizes its partnership with BigCommerce.

ShopKeep by Lightspeed also offers Spotlight. Powered by Yext, the feature syncs and publishes consistent information about your store throughout the internet across Google, Instagram, and Facebook, for example.

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Spotlight allows businesses to manage online listings and view insights through the BackOffice dashboard

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Employee Management

Like Vend, ShopKeep by Lightspeed ’s staff management features are limited to the must-haves. This includes staff profiles and permission levels, the ability to clock in and out of shifts, and employee hours and performance reports. ShopKeep by Lightspeed lacks the goal-setting features Vend has.

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Reporting and Analytics

While Vend’s reports are customizable, ShopKeep by Lightspeed has pre-made templates to use. On the plus side, you don’t need any know-how to get some of the most important reports. On the other hand, you’re limited to what ShopKeep by Lightspeed will allow and can’t create any customizations to dig deeper into the data.

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Add-ons and Integrations

The two most prominent third-party integrations for ShopKeep by Lightspeed are BigCommerce and QuickBooks. Other than that, ShopKeep by Lightspeed tries to keep merchants within its ecosystem, offering add-ons like Spotlight, Loyalty, and Payments. Vend has more integration options.

Vend vs ShopKeep by Lightspeed: Ease of Use

In a Vend vs ShopKeep by Lightspeed comparison, Vend takes the prize in terms of getting started. Setup is easy, and it’s browser-based so you can essentially be up and running in minutes. ShopKeep by Lightspeed requires more initial customizations and decision-making. Ongoing, both are intuitive, user-friendly, and easy for both managers and staff to learn.

Vend Ease of Use

Vend is a very user-friendly system. Browser-based, setup and navigation are easy. Vend also has plenty of guides, videos, and other training content to help users get acclimated to the system. It’s also compatible with various third-party software and hardware, so you can use what you already have or are comfortable with.

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Ease of Use

ShopKeep by Lightspeed is also user-friendly, though has a few more involved steps during setup as you have to define how you want your register, checkout, and back-end screens to appear. Ongoing, ShopKeep by Lightspeed is also intuitive and has reporting templates so you don’t need to set those up on your own (however, you can’t customize them). ShopKeep by Lightspeed also has fewer third-party integration options than Vend.

Vend vs ShopKeep by Lightspeed: Customer Service

In evaluating Vend vs ShopKeep by Lightspeed customer service, it’s really a tie. Both offer 24/7 support, along with an extensive library of support content such as articles, videos, and FAQs. Vend has the edge here though, as its customer support team has earned the title of American Business Awards Gold Customer Service.

Vend Customer Service

The award-winning customer support team at Vend is available around the clock, all week long. Its team is based in five offices—USA, Canada, Australia, UK, and New Zealand—and are available via phone, email, and even social media. Vend also has tons of self-service help content.

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Customer Service

Like Vend, ShopKeep by Lightspeed’s support team is available 24/7. It can be reached via phone, live chat, or email, or you can help yourself with ShopKeep by Lightspeed’s comparable library of support content. However, customer reviews have indicated long wait times for help.

Vend vs ShopKeep by Lightspeed: Customer Reviews

Both Vend and ShopKeep by Lightspeed have positive reviews, earning similar rankings from their customers. Vend reviews rave about the customer loyalty program, as well as the intuitive interface and ability to use it offline. ShopKeep by Lightspeed customers also like the ease of use, in addition to its range of features and competitive pricing.

Vend Customer Reviews

Overall, Vend user reviews are positive. Merchants like the loyalty program and other advanced features, including inventory control and reporting. They also find the tool easy to learn and use. Though some reviewers would like to see enhanced or additional features, though regular updates make them optimistic about where the product is heading.

ShopKeep by Lightspeed Customer Reviews

ShopKeep by Lightspeed user reviews are also mostly positive, also citing an intuitive interface and excellent reporting features. However, added features, like the loyalty program, require a more expensive plan, which merchants find to be more expensive than other POS options.

Bottom Line

In a ShopKeep by Lightspeed vs Vend matchup, both options are well-liked, user-friendly, and have valuable inventory and reporting tools. Vend’s customer loyalty program features are more advanced and affordable, included in the base pricing while ShopKeep by Lightspeed requires an upgrade to its most expensive package. ShopKeep by Lightspeed also tries to keep merchants within its tech ecosystem, offering built-in payment processing while Vend offers the flexibility of choosing a third-party integration.

Vend has most of the must-have features for brick-and-mortar stores, with frequent upgrades to the system, along with an award-winning customer support team to go with it. Visit Vend for a free 14-day trial.

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