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Lightspeed Retail POS Review 2023: Features and Pricing

Last updated on July 12, 2023
Edited bySally Lauckner
Fact checked and reviewed

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Our Take

The bottom line:

Lightspeed Retail is a cloud-based POS system for retailers. It has strong inventory management capabilities and is a good match for more established small businesses with multiple locations. Newer small businesses with less complicated operations could be better served with a simpler, less expensive product.
Full review

Lightspeed Retail POS

Payment processing fees
2.6% + 10¢ in-person; 2.9% + 30¢ online.
Monthly fee
$89 for Lean plan, $149 for Standard plan, $269 for Advanced plan.
Learn more

on Lightspeed's website

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Built-in POS system and payment processing; in-house POS hardware available.
  • Generate unlimited barcode labels.
  • One-on-one onboarding and a dedicated account manager included with all plans.

Cons

  • Lowest-tier plan doesn’t include e-commerce features.
  • Longer-term contract required.

Full Review

Lightspeed Retail is a cloud-based point-of-sale system for retailers. Its inventory management capabilities are excellent, letting business owners track items across multiple locations, add product variations and use integrated vendor catalogs to order inventory.
Lightspeed Retail POS offers a number of solid features for retail operations.
For information on the brand’s POS solution for bars, cafes and restaurants, read NerdWallet’s review of Lightspeed Restaurant.

Lightspeed Retail POS is best for businesses that:

  • Are well-established and have multiple locations. Newer small businesses with less complicated operations could be better served with a simpler, less expensive product.
  • Prefer an all-in-one POS system provider and payment processor. If you don’t use Lightspeed Payments for payment processing, monthly subscription prices are significantly steeper; plus Lightspeed will charge you an additional per-transaction fee on top of your chosen payment processor’s fees. 
  • Will make use of Lightspeed’s POS capabilities and features. The monthly fees are some of the highest among its competitors, but Lightspeed’s long list of relevant retail features and competitive payment processing rates can make it a worthy investment, particularly for more firmly established retailers.

Deciding factors

Payment processing model
Flat rate.
Payment processing fees
  • 2.6% plus 10 cents per in-person transaction.
  • 2.6% plus 30 cents for manually keyed transactions.
Monthly fee
  • $89 for Lean plan ($69 if billed annually).
  • $149 for Standard plan ($119 if billed annually).
  • $269 for Advanced plan ($199 if billed annually).
Hardware cost
Pricing for Lightspeed's iPad and desktop hardware kits is quote-based. Individual hardware products are listed in Lightspeed's online store:
  • $99 for Chipper 2X BT card reader.
  • $199 for iPad stand or swivel stand.
  • $299 for WisePOS E countertop reader.
  • $429 for Lightspeed Lite Server for data backup and offline mode functionality.
Contract length
Annual contracts required for lower pricing.
Customer support
24/7 phone, chat and email support; one-on-one onboarding.

Where Lightspeed Retail stands out

Robust inventory management

Lightspeed Retail’s inventory management features offer an impressive level of functionality that lets business owners customize how they track 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.

Where Lightspeed Retail falls short

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.

Annual contracts required for lower pricing

Subscriptions to Lightspeed Retail are less expensive if you pay annually versus monthly.

Alternatives to Lightspeed Retail

Square for Retail

Monthly fee:
  • $0 for Square POS, Restaurant, Retail and Appointments Free plans.
  • $29 for Square Appointments Plus plan.
  • $60 for Square Restaurant and Retail Plus plans.
  • $69 for Square Appointments Premium plan.
Payment processing fees:
  • 2.6% plus 10 cents (Free plan) or 2.5% plus 10 cents (Plus plan) for in-person transactions.
  • 2.9% plus 30 cents for online transactions.
  • 3.5% plus 15 cents for manually keyed transactions or card-on-file invoices.
Hardware:
  • $0 for Square magstripe-only card reader ($10 for each additional reader) or if using Tap to Pay for iPhone (iPhone not included).
  • $49 and up for Square Reader contactless and chip card reader.
  • $149 for Square Stand iPad POS or Square Stand Mount (iPad not included).
  • $299 for Square Terminal mobile card reader with built-in printer.
  • $799 for Square Register two-screen system.
Why we like it: Square for Retail charges similar processing fees and offers free and paid plans. The Plus plan includes a handful of features you won't find in the Free plan, such as advanced inventory management tools, advanced reporting capabilities and Square Team Management. Loyalty programs are available as an add-on. For more information, read our Square for Retail review.

Shopify POS

Monthly fee:
To use Shopify POS, you also must have a Shopify plan for e-commerce. The following prices reflect the annual billing option, which saves you money:
  • $29 for Shopify Basic.
  • $79 for regular Shopify.
  • $299 for Shopify Advanced.
  • $2,000 for Shopify Plus.
Once you have a Shopify plan for e-commerce, add either:
  • $5 for Shopify POS Lite.
  • $89 per location for Shopify POS Pro.
Payment processing fees:
  • 2.4%, 2.6% or 2.9% plus 30 cents for online payments for Advanced, Shopify or Basic plan, respectively.
  • 2.4%, 2.5% or 2.7% for in-person payments for Advanced, Shopify or Basic plan, respectively.
Hardware:
  • $49 for Chipper 2X BT card reader or Tap & Chip card reader.
  • $219 for Retail Kit.
  • $399 for Shopify POS Go mobile device.
Why we like it: If you like Lightspeed Retail because of its e-commerce store integration, consider Shopify POS. You can get a Shopify e-commerce store and 24/7 support. The Basic plan is for businesses that do most of their sales online. Businesses that do in-store and online sales might consider one of the company’s other plans, which also include lower processing rates. For more information, read our Shopify POS review.

Compare POS providers

To compare POS options, check out NerdWallet’s list of point-of-sale systems that are best for small-business owners. Our recommendations are based on the provider’s pricing and transparency, software and hardware options, system functionality, customer support, software integrations and contract requirements.

Learn more

on Lightspeed's website

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.
These ratings are a guide, but services, hardware and pricing can vary widely from business to business and provider to provider. We encourage you to shop around and compare several providers.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines.