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Restaurants · head to head

Caviar vs Lightspeed Restaurant

Caviar logo

Caviar

Restaurants

Premium restaurant delivery service

From
$20/order
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lightspeed Restaurant logo

Lightspeed Restaurant

Restaurants

One restaurant POS to power it all

From
$69/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Caviar limited availability to 20 major metropolitan areas; Lightspeed Restaurant starts at $69 a month for Starter, rising to $189 for Essential and $399 for Premium
  • They diverge on capability: Caviar covers Premium delivery, Lightspeed Restaurant covers Floor plan management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Caviar and Lightspeed Restaurant actually diverge.

Attributes where Caviar and Lightspeed Restaurant differ
AttributeCaviarLightspeed Restaurant
Starting price$20/order$69/month
Pricing modeltransactionsubscription
Founded20122005

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Restaurants).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Caviar

  • Premium delivery
  • Curated marketplace
  • Order management
  • Quality-focused
  • Analytics
  • Toast
  • Square

Only in Lightspeed Restaurant

  • Floor plan management
  • Tableside ordering
  • Menu management
  • Staff management
  • Delivery integration
  • Advanced reporting
  • Uber Eats
  • Skip the Dishes

Both cover

  • DoorDash
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Caviar

  • Point of Sale
  • Order Management
  • Inventory Control
  • Staff Scheduling

Lightspeed Restaurant

  • Point of Sale
  • Order Management
  • Inventory Control
  • Staff Scheduling

Both are used for point of sale, order management, inventory control, staff scheduling, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Caviar

  • Limited availability to 20 major metropolitan areas
  • Service fee of 18 percent applied to all orders
  • Not available in all regions as standalone service

Lightspeed Restaurant

  • Starts at $69 a month for Starter, rising to $189 for Essential and $399 for Premium
  • The kitchen display system is charged separately at $30 per screen per month
  • Lightspeed Reservations, reservation integrations and Lightspeed Tasks are add-ons on every tier below Enterprise rather than included features
  • Integrated payments are fixed to a default configuration on Starter, with custom configuration only from Essential upwards
  • Card processing rates and hardware costs are not published, and the vendor notes prices vary by business and industry

Pricing, plan by plan

Caviar

$20/order
  • Standard$25/percent
    • Premium delivery
    • Curated placement

Lightspeed Restaurant

$69/month
  • Starter$69/month
    • Customizable POS
    • Menu manager
    • Floor plans
  • Essential$189/month
    • All Starter features
    • Lightspeed AI
    • Tempo service pacing
  • Premium$399/month
    • All Essential features
    • Advanced inventory management
    • Raw API access

Which should you pick?

Choose Caviar if

  • You need premium delivery.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want curated marketplace.
Caviar review

Choose Lightspeed Restaurant if

  • You need floor plan management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want tableside ordering.
Lightspeed Restaurant review

Questions people ask

Is Caviar or Lightspeed Restaurant better?
Neither clearly leads. Caviar starts at $20/order and Lightspeed Restaurant at $69/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Caviar or Lightspeed Restaurant?
Caviar starts at $20/order and Lightspeed Restaurant at $69/month.
Does Caviar or Lightspeed Restaurant run on more platforms?
Caviar runs on Web, iOS, Android. Lightspeed Restaurant runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is Caviar best used for?
Caviar is most often used for point of sale, order management, inventory control, staff scheduling.
What can Caviar do that Lightspeed Restaurant cannot?
Caviar covers Premium delivery, Curated marketplace, Order management, Quality-focused. Lightspeed Restaurant covers Floor plan management, Tableside ordering, Menu management, Staff management. Both handle DoorDash, Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Caviar: What does Caviar charge for delivery?

A service fee of 18 percent is applied to each Caviar delivery order. The delivery fee ranges from $1.99 to $8.99 depending on distance and demand. Customers ordering for pickup pay no order minimums, service fee or delivery fee.

Source
Lightspeed Restaurant: How much does Lightspeed Restaurant POS cost?

Pricing starts at $69 per month for the Starter plan, $189 for Essential, and $399 for Premium. Enterprise plans require custom quotes.

Source
Caviar: Is Caviar available as a standalone service?

No. Caviar was acquired by DoorDash in October 2019 and now operates as part of the DoorDash platform. DoorDash members with DashPass enjoy waived delivery fees and reduced service charges on Caviar orders.

Source
Lightspeed Restaurant: What does the Kitchen Display System cost?

Kitchen Display System screens cost $30 per month and are available to add on any plan.

Source
Lightspeed Restaurant: What's included in the Premium plan?

The Premium plan at $399 per month includes advanced inventory management, raw API access, full multi-location support, and revenue center customization for hotels.

Source
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