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- Lightspeed Retail
- Square Point of Sale
- Lightspeed Retail-vs-Square Point of Sale
Compare Lightspeed Retail and Square Point of Sale 
At a Glance
Market Segments
Small-Business (83.1% of reviews)
Small-Business (91.6% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
Starting at $69.00
Free
Lightspeed Retail
Star Rating
(291)4.0 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (83.1% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
Starting at $69.00
Browse all 4 pricing plansSquare Point of Sale
Star Rating
(816)4.7 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (91.6% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
Free
Free Trial is available
Browse all 2 pricing plansSummary
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
- Users report that Square Point of Sale excels in credit card payments with a score of 9.5, while Lightspeed Retail, with a score of 8.6, is noted for its partial payments feature, which some users find less intuitive.
- Reviewers mention that Square's inventory management is robust, scoring 8.8, but Lightspeed Retail shines with a higher score of 9.1, particularly for its low-stock alerts and multilocation inventory tracking, which users find essential for larger operations.
- G2 users highlight that Square's reporting and analytics capabilities are superior, scoring 9.6, making it easier for businesses to monitor KPIs, while Lightspeed Retail's score of 8.8 indicates it may lack some depth in this area.
- Users on G2 report that Square's ease of use is a significant advantage, with a score of 9.5, making it ideal for small businesses, whereas Lightspeed Retail, with a score of 8.5, is perceived as slightly more complex to navigate.
- Reviewers mention that Square's customer support quality, scoring 8.7, is generally better than Lightspeed Retail's 7.9, with users appreciating the availability of resources and responsiveness.
- Users say that Square's free entry-level pricing is a major draw for small businesses, while Lightspeed Retail's starting price of $69.00 is seen as a barrier for some, despite its advanced features.
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Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
Lightspeed Retail
Lean
Starting at $69.00
For your essential business needs.
- Retail POS
- 1 Register
- Integrated Payments
Square Point of Sale
Monthly Fee
Free
Square Point of Sale software is free to use—there are no setup fees or monthly fees. Only pay when you take a payment.
- Pay 2.6% + 10¢ per swipe, dip, or tap or 3.5% + 15¢ per manually entered transaction.
- We can create custom pricing packages for some businesses that process more than $250K in card sales and have an average ticket size over $15.
Free Trial
Lightspeed Retail
Free Trial is available
Square Point of Sale
Free Trial is available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
8.2
234
9.4
675
Ease of Use
8.5
234
9.5
689
Ease of Setup
8.1
136
9.4
245
Ease of Admin
8.4
136
9.3
231
Quality of Support
7.9
229
8.7
555
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
7.9
137
9.1
222
Product Direction (% positive)
7.5
227
8.9
671
Features by Category
POS
8.9
96
9.6
256
9.1
102
8.2
133
8.8
100
8.9
174
8.7
108
9.1
201
9.0
108
9.4
237
Marketing
8.0
61
8.7
136
7.4
49
8.5
148
Administration
9.1
102
8.8
175
8.6
79
8.6
134
8.8
105
9.1
207
7.7
69
8.8
145
Administration
Not enough data
9.0
56
Not enough data
8.6
47
Not enough data
8.5
32
Not enough data
8.8
44
Not enough data
9.6
59
Not enough data
8.9
42
Meal Service
Not enough data
9.6
53
Not enough data
Feature Not Available
Not enough data
8.9
44
Not enough data
9.4
37
Not enough data
9.3
38
Platform Basics
Not enough data
8.9
12
Not enough data
8.5
11
Back Office
Not enough data
7.7
10
Not enough data
7.7
11
Not enough data
8.8
12
Not enough data
7.6
12
Front of Office
Not enough data
9.9
12
Not enough data
8.0
11
Not enough data
9.3
10
Not enough data
6.5
9
Platform Data
Not enough data
9.2
12
Agentic AI - Restaurant Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Generative AI
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Payment
Not enough data
8.9
23
Not enough data
7.5
18
Not enough data
7.6
17
Not enough data
6.4
16
Not enough data
6.7
15
Not enough data
7.9
19
Not enough data
8.1
20
Not enough data
7.9
18
Checkout
Not enough data
7.0
18
Not enough data
8.8
19
Not enough data
8.2
19
Not enough data
7.2
19
Not enough data
8.6
19
Inventory Management
Not enough data
7.7
21
Not enough data
8.5
19
Not enough data
7.7
20
Not enough data
6.9
18
Not enough data
7.7
19
Reporting and analytics
Not enough data
7.2
17
Not enough data
8.6
18
Not enough data
8.2
18
Not enough data
7.7
18
Customer Management
Not enough data
8.2
19
Not enough data
7.6
16
Not enough data
7.6
19
Team Management
Not enough data
7.6
17
Not enough data
7.1
18
Not enough data
6.9
18
Not enough data
7.4
18
Not enough data
7.5
18
Help and support
Not enough data
6.1
19
Not enough data
6.0
19
Not enough data
7.8
19
Not enough data
6.5
18
Not enough data
6.8
19
Integration
Not enough data
6.9
18
Not enough data
7.5
19
Not enough data
7.2
18
Payments
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Employee Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Customer Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Inventory Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Integrations
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Analytics
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
Lightspeed Retail and Square Point of Sale are categorized as Retail POS
Unique Categories
Lightspeed Retail has no unique categories
Square Point of Sale is categorized as Restaurant POS, Retail Management Software, and Restaurant Management
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
Lightspeed Retail
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Square Point of Sale
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Small-Business
(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market
(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise
(> 1000 emp.)
Reviewers' Industry
Retail
48.6%
Apparel & Fashion
5.8%
Sporting Goods
4.7%
Consumer Goods
4.3%
Food & Beverages
3.6%
Other
33.1%
Retail
12.1%
Food & Beverages
10.8%
Arts and Crafts
5.1%
Restaurants
4.8%
Health, Wellness and Fitness
4.0%
Other
63.2%
Most Helpful Reviews
Lightspeed Retail
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Stacie S.
Verified User in Retail
There are so many different ways to search for information, that if you know how to search for what you're looking for, it's easy to jump right to it without having to filter through a ton of unnecessary information. I also like how quotes, orders, and...
Most Helpful Critical Review
Brett T.
Verified User in Automotive
Our bike shop has been using Lightspeed for 5 years now, first with their Mac based software, and then with their cloud based software (Lightspeed Retail). There are many great things about the software, but on the whole I would not recommend a small...
Square Point of Sale
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Michael S.
Verified User in Insurance
Frontier technology. I love making that ability to process transactions between two parties simple. After living in Scandinavia (a region that has been paper check free for over 10 years) I realized that we are behind of everything banking. I am grateful...
Most Helpful Critical Review
Gary P.
Verified User in Consumer Electronics
They terminate your account without warning, leaving you high and dry. They never explain why they close your account, never reply, nothing.
Stacie S.
Verified User in Retail
There are so many different ways to search for information, that if you know how to search for what you're looking for, it's easy to jump right to it without having to filter through a ton of unnecessary information. I also like how quotes, orders, and...
Michael S.
Verified User in Insurance
Frontier technology. I love making that ability to process transactions between two parties simple. After living in Scandinavia (a region that has been paper check free for over 10 years) I realized that we are behind of everything banking. I am grateful...
Brett T.
Verified User in Automotive
Our bike shop has been using Lightspeed for 5 years now, first with their Mac based software, and then with their cloud based software (Lightspeed Retail). There are many great things about the software, but on the whole I would not recommend a small...
Gary P.
Verified User in Consumer Electronics
They terminate your account without warning, leaving you high and dry. They never explain why they close your account, never reply, nothing.
Alternatives
Discussions
What does the company Lightspeed do?
5 comments
JG
Manage inventory on a physical store, manage the Sales and the reporting for OnSite orders as the Retail Store Management SystemRead more
What are the key features of a POS system?
1 comment
GR
Lightspeed is very user friendly. The search tool is very handy. The option to show pictures of the items you are selling on the screen helps as a teaching...Read more
Lightspeed Retail has no more discussions with answers
Which Square Reader is right for my business?
1 comment
KD
I would avoid Square in favor of using the Merchant Services of your bank or Authorize.net. Both are better options than Square because Square will close...Read more
Why doesn't Square accept Food stamps?
1 comment
DM
Probably because food stamps does not cover prepared foodsRead more
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