Lightspeed POS Review 2022: Features, Pricing and Alternatives
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Lightspeed POS | |
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![]() | 3.5 NerdWallet rating |
Lightspeed Retail, a cloud-based point-of-sale system for retailers, provides both the software and hardware a business owner needs to run transactions. Its inventory management capabilities are excellent, letting business owners track items across multiple locations, add product variations and use integrated vendor catalogues to order inventory.
The product is a good match for more established small businesses, such as chain clothing stores and other shops with multiple locations. Newer small businesses with less complicated operations could be better served with a simpler, less expensive product.
For information on the brand’s POS solution for bars, cafes and restaurants, read NerdWallet’s review of Lightspeed Restaurant.

Deciding factors
Software cost | $79 per month plus $29 per additional register per month and up (when billed monthly). |
Hardware cost | Quote-based. |
Payment processing cost | 2.6% plus 10 cents per card-present transaction and 2.6% plus 30 cents per keyed-in transaction with Lightspeed Payments; can also choose from third-party payment processors. |
Contract length | Annual contracts required for lower pricing. |
Live support | Excellent. Available 24/7. |
Ease of use | Excellent. Lightspeed Retail has an intuitive user interface and clean layout. |
Pricing
If you’re not going to use Lightspeed Payments for payment processing, monthly subscription prices are significantly steeper. For example, the Lean plan is $109 per month without Lightspeed Payments versus $79 per month with it, when billed monthly. For those operating more than one store location, Lightspeed recommends reaching out for a personalized quote.
Software cost
Plan | Pricing | Features |
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Lean | $79 per month plus $29 per additional register per month with Lightspeed Payments (when billed monthly). |
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Standard | $139 per month plus $29 per additional register per month with Lightspeed Payments (when billed monthly). | Lean plan capabilities plus:
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Advanced | $239 per month plus $29 per additional register per month with Lightspeed Payments(when billed monthly). | Standard plan capabilities plus:
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Hardware cost
Lightspeed Retail’s hardware pricing is quote-based. Businesses can choose between an iPad hardware kit or a desktop hardware kit, both of which come with a receipt printer, cash drawer and scanner. Note that iPads and desktops must be purchased separately. The company sells individual hardware items like label printers, contactless card readers and iPad stands as well.
Payment processing cost
Lightspeed Payments comes with free PCI compliance and fraud prevention, and funds will arrive in your business bank account within two business days. There is a $15 chargeback fee. When you sign up, a Lightspeed representative will work directly with you to set up your new payment processor, and you’ll get 24/7 support thereafter. The company provides quote-based rates for businesses processing more than $250,000 per year.
Tapped, inserted and swiped rate: 2.6% plus 10 cents per transaction.
Keyed-in rate: 2.6% plus 30 cents per transaction.
If you don’t want to use Lightspeed as your payment processor, the system integrates with a variety of other options, including Cayan and Worldpay (formerly Vantiv) too.
Features

Accessing supplier catalogs through Lightspeed POS.

Lightspeed POS's eCommerce platform.
Pros
Robust inventory management
Lightspeed Retail’s inventory management features offer an impressive level of functionality that lets business owners customize how they keep track of items. This platform allows you to manage multiple locations, send notifications when it’s time to reorder an item and add customized fields for categorizing inventory. You can also create a purchase order for a single vendor or a master order for multiple vendors in the platform.
Customer service
Lightspeed offers exceptional customer service for all plan tiers. It includes a free onboarding session, 24/7 phone and chat support, guides and webinars. This type of support doesn’t come standard with all POS systems, and the fact that clients are matched with a dedicated account manager can help you get in touch with the right person sooner.
Integrations
Lightspeed Retail allows you to extend the functionality of your POS via a wide variety of applications available in the Lightspeed app marketplace. These include accounting, e-commerce, payment processing, reporting, marketing, invoicing and payroll integrations among others.
Cons
Price
The price you pay for Lightspeed Retail is tied to the fact that you have a broad range of features at your disposal. However, if you own a new small business, having all those extra bells and whistles probably isn’t necessary. In that case, you might be better off trying free or cheaper options from competitors like Square.
Annual contracts required for lower pricing
Monthly subscriptions to Lightspeed Retail are less expensive if you pay annually versus monthly. For example, the Standard plan ends up costing $119 per month if you choose the annual plan versus $139 per month with the monthly plan. A handful of reviews also complain about multi-year contracts and pricing transparency issues.
Lightspeed POS alternatives
Square for Retail
Square for Retail charges similar processing fees as Lightspeed Retail and offers free and paid plans. The Plus plan costs $60 per month per location, and includes a handful of features you won't find in the Free plan, like advanced inventory management tools, advanced reporting capabilities and Square Team Management. Loyalty programs are available as an add-on starting at $45 per month. For more information, see NerdWallet's review of Square for Retail.
Square Retail POS![]() Shop Now on Square's website |
Shopify for Retail
If you like Lightspeed Retail because of its e-commerce store integration, consider Shopify for Retail. Starting at $29 per month, you’ll get a Shopify e-commerce store and 24/7 support. The Basic plan is meant for businesses that do most of their sales online. Businesses that do in-store and online sales might consider the company’s $79 per month plan, which also includes lower processing rates. For more information, see NerdWallet's review of Shopify.
Shopify Retail POS![]() Shop Now on Shopify's website |

FAQs
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Point-of-sale systems providers ratings methodology
NerdWallet’s point-of-sale systems provider ratings reward companies whose products and services are priced well and work in a variety of payment scenarios, among other criteria. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including cost, system capabilities, contract requirements, customer service and integrations and add-ons. Learn more about how we rate point-of-sale (POS) systems providers.
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