Lightspeed vs. Square: POS Comparison

Lightspeed vs. Square Compared

Who Do We Recommend Lightspeed For?

You can keep track of sales, monitor payments and manage inventory all from Lightspeed’s easy-to-use dashboard. Source: Lightspeed

Lightspeed is a POS system vendor with products tailor-made for retail, restaurants and the golf industry. It also lets you process payments, either as a full-service solution with Lightspeed Payments or through a third-party payment gateway. While its plans are stacked with powerful features, the price point isn’t cheap, making Lightspeed an appropriate choice for established small to medium businesses with a stable sales volume.

One of the features that makes Lightspeed shine is its robust POS inventory management system. Thanks to its useful tools and multichannel tracking, Lightspeed is great for businesses with high inventory turnover, particularly those that sell online and in person. We especially love that Lightspeed’s e-commerce features, like a website builder and social media tools, can help you affordably build an online presence. 

We think Lightspeed stands out for these reasons: 

• An easy-to-use POS system that can run on your own iPad
• Powerful inventory management, marketing and customer loyalty features
• Numerous industry-specific plans for in-person and online selling

Be sure to check out our comprehensive Lightspeed review.

Who Do We Recommend Square For?

Square lets you painlessly manage all aspects of the payment process with its POS system. Source: Square

Square is one of the best credit card processing companies and POS system providers for startups and small businesses thanks to its free entry-level POS service, reasonable processing fees and affordable paid plans. Like Lightspeed, it offers products with features designed specifically for restaurants and retail stores. Square is also an excellent choice for service businesses that need tools to help manage appointments. 

We love how easy it is to set up and use Square, especially for businesses just getting started that can’t afford to spend a lot of time or resources navigating a complex platform. Being easy to use, however, doesn’t mean Square offers a basic solution, as even its free packages have a ton of features, like a website builder and social media selling tools. 

The paid POS plans are all economical, and there are many additional products, like payroll and marketing, that you can add on as needed. Overall, Square is a flexible solution that can help you get off the ground and stick with you as your business grows. 

Here’s what we love most about Square: 

• Free POS plans for restaurants, retail stores and appointment-based businesses 
• Multiple tools to help you build an online presence 
• Additional features and products that you can add on as you scale your business

Make sure you read our in-depth Square review.

Lightspeed vs. Square Comparison

Plans and Pricing

Lightspeed

• Lightspeed sells POS plans geared towards retail, restaurants and the golf industry.
• There are also e-commerce plans for online selling.
• The in-store card processing rate is 2.6% + $0.10; online is usually 2.9% + $0.30, but can be negotiated.

Lightspeed offers a variety of POS services, with specific plans for the retail, restaurant and golf industries. There are also additional e-commerce plans for taking your business online, and we love that the basic e-commerce package is free. But if you have a large sales volume over $250,000 per year, Lightspeed can create a tailor-made package for you with custom rates. [Learn more about e-commerce and selling online.]

Lightspeed’s retail POS pricing is based on where you do business, how many locations you operate from and how many registers you need. All prices in the chart below reflect a U.S. business paying annually for one location and one register.

Here’s how the restaurant POS plans break down.

We love that Lightspeed lets you integrate an online store into your POS solution. You can access essential e-commerce features for free and some advanced features might come with your retail POS plans. We recommend speaking to Lightspeed to find out the best way to get all the features you need. The chart below shows how the Lightspeed eCom plans work when paying annually.

Square

• Square has custom POS plans for restaurants, retail and appointment-based businesses, plus packages for e-commerce.
• In-person card processing rates start at 2.6% + $0.10 and online rates at 2.9 + $0.30.
• There’s a free POS plan for every Square service where you’re only charged payment processing fees.

Square also offers a variety of plans to match different business needs. Similar to Lightspeed, Square has packages specifically designed for restaurants and retail stores, but they also sell a POS product for appointment-based service businesses. Square Online is an additional option for businesses solely focused on online sales and is similar to Lightspeed’s eCom offering. 

We love that Square offers a free version of its POS software to businesses in all industries, so you can engage and check out customers and only pay processing fees. You can also easily combine any Square product with the vendor’s other services, like invoicing, payroll and marketing. Take a closer look at Square’s different plans in the charts below.

Payment Processing

Lightspeed

• Lightspeed Payments has affordable fees but can only be used in the U.S.
• There’s a $15 chargeback fee.
• You can also use Lightspeed with an external payment gateway. 

Lightspeed provides a complete payment processing service for accepting payments in person and online. Your customers can pay with all major credit cards and digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. However, the Lightspeed Payments service is only available in the U.S. and doesn’t include options for customers who want to pay later. 

The credit card processing fees are affordable, but we like that you can negotiate better rates for e-commerce sales no matter which plan you choose. There are no hidden fees or extra costs except for $15 chargeback fees. We appreciate that you can integrate over 100 other payment gateways if you don’t want to use Lightspeed Payments, so you can find the solution that best fits your payment needs. External payment gateways might let you process payments in more countries or currencies, but it could raise your overall cost.

Square

• Square is an all-in-one payment processor that doesn’t allow you to use another payment gateway.
• Square doesn’t make you pay chargeback fees.
• Customers can pay later in installments. 

Square also provides a complete solution for accepting payments, but unlike Lightspeed, you must use the vendor as your payment gateway. That means U.S. businesses can only accept payments in U.S. dollars. Square does accept all major credit cards, including international cards, but your customers will most likely be charged currency conversion fees. Customers can also pay with digital wallets, including Samsung Pay.

We like that there are no chargeback fees, which can save your business money if you have frequent disputed transactions. We also appreciate that Square offers customers the possibility to pay later in installments, which is a great way to incentivize purchases, especially of big-ticket items. 

E-Commerce

Lightspeed

• Lightspeed’s free e-commerce plan includes a website builder and social media advertising.
• If you have more than five products, you’ll need to sign up for a paid plan.
• Paid features include multiple selling platforms and inventory management. 

Lightspeed’s e-commerce solution can help your business start selling online, and we love that most features are included in the free plan. You’ll get access to the vendor’s free website builder, or you can integrate an online store into your existing website on any platform, like WordPress or Tumblr. You’ll also get tools for advertising across social media and can even enable one-tap checkout for Apple Pay users.

The only downside is that the free plan is limited to five featured products. Paid plans start at 100 products and there is a more expensive unlimited option. You’ll also be able to sell on Facebook, Instagram, eBay and Amazon. Plus, you get automatic tax calculations, SEO tools and other selling and customer support features. We especially appreciate that the paid packages include Lightspeed’s stellar inventory management features. 

Square

• You can sell unlimited products on social media or via a website Square helps you build.
• Square can provide you with a custom domain for a year.
• You can get reports on visitors and sales trends.

Square helps you build custom web pages to capture online sales. Source: Square

Like Lightspeed, Square also lets you set up an online shop for free. The vendor provides a free website builder, but paid plans include even more web design features to take your online store to the next level. That said, we appreciate that Square includes more features than Lightspeed in its free plan, including unlimited products, marketing tools and the ability to sell on social media. 

Square also offers businesses more in its paid plans than Lightspeed does. Beyond taking advantage of website customization, you can connect to a custom domain, and Square will even provide one for a year. You can create customer accounts for easy checkout and accept more payment methods, like PayPal, or process recurring payments. You also get useful analytics to help make the most of your online store’s performance. 

Hardware

Lightspeed

• You can run Lightspeed’s POS software on your iPad or desktop. 
• Lightspeed offers accessories and bundles, but you have to call for pricing.

No matter what kind of business you operate, the Lightspeed POS program is designed to run on iPads or desktop computers. You can download the POS software onto your own device and be up and running in no time. 

Lightspeed also offers barcode scanners, iPad stands, cash drawers, printers, card readers and handheld terminals. There are even hardware bundles. But we were disappointed that Lightspeed doesn’t list pricing on its website. 

Square

• You can run the Square POS software on your mobile device, iPad or a Square terminal.
• Square provides one free card swipe reader.

Square offers a number of POS hardware devices and also gives you the option of accepting payments through your mobile device. We particularly like that Square will send you a free card swipe reader when you sign up for a plan. Beyond that, here’s what equipment you can get with Square.

• 1st generation contactless card reader: $49
• 2nd generation contactless card reader: $59
• Square Stand (iPad POS for chip and contactless payments): $149
• Square Terminal (includes a built-in printer) $299
• Square Register (includes customer-facing display) $799
• POS Kits (includes register and printer) $579 – $1,959

Additional Features

Lightspeed

• Lightspeed facilitates stellar multichannel inventory management.
• The marketing tools and reports help you connect with customers and build loyalty.
• Lightspeed provides business financing. 

Lightspeed makes tracking inventory and making supply purchases a breeze. Source: Lightspeed

Lightspeed offers many valuable features depending on which POS package you choose. We found the inventory management tools to be especially useful. You can use them to easily keep track of stock, connect with suppliers and reorder right from the platform. We also really love that you can track inventory across multiple locations and channels, including your physical and online shops.

The platform further includes solid marketing tools to connect with consumers and build customer loyalty. You can create customer profiles and use pre-built email templates. You’ll also get useful reports and insights that you can leverage to segment your customers to provide better service. 

Beyond that, there are also API capabilities to build custom workflows and integrations. Lightspeed can even help finance your business with a merchant cash advance program. 

Square

• Square provides reliable inventory management features.
• Marketing services and payroll cost extra.
• You can get a business loan through Square.

Square also offers several additional features, like inventory management. You can keep track of stock across multiple locations and even transfer bulk from one store to another. It’s easy to manage orders right from the platform, too. Reporting insights help you manage your stock better to maximize profits.

Unlike Lightspeed, Square’s marketing services have to be added to your package as an additional paid product. Square offers email marketing, text message marketing and a customer loyalty program. You can also add a payroll service, but all these extras will raise your monthly price. Square also has financing options, including business loans and checking and savings accounts. 

Lightspeed vs. Square Recap

Choose Lightspeed if:

• You’re looking for extensive features in your POS system and don’t mind paying more for them. 
• You want the flexibility to choose your own payment gateway. 
• You need advanced tools for managing your inventory. 

Choose Square if:

• You want an affordable POS system that can scale with your business. 
• You need robust tools for building an online presence. 
• You’re looking for affordable POS hardware, including full-fledged POS terminals.