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DEAR Systems vs Lightspeed Retail

DEAR Systems logo

DEAR Systems

Software

Cloud inventory management for growing businesses

From
$249/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lightspeed Retail logo

Lightspeed Retail

Software

Point of sale and retail management system

From
$89/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: DEAR Systems dEAR Systems is sold as Cin7 Core and priced on the Cin7 pricing page; Lightspeed Retail high pricing starts at USD 89/month (Basic plan), escalating to USD 289/month for Plus tier with advanced features
  • They diverge on capability: DEAR Systems covers Inventory control, Lightspeed Retail covers Point of sale.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DEAR Systems and Lightspeed Retail actually diverge.

Attributes where DEAR Systems and Lightspeed Retail differ
AttributeDEAR SystemsLightspeed Retail
Starting price$249/month$89/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsCloud, Web, MobileWeb, iPad, Cloud-based
Founded20122005

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 DEAR Systems

  • Inventory control
  • Purchase orders
  • Sales orders
  • Manufacturing
  • Accounting integration
  • Xero
  • QuickBooks
  • Shopify

Only in Lightspeed Retail

  • Point of sale
  • Inventory management
  • Customer management
  • Omnichannel selling
  • Analytics
  • Employee management
  • Loyalty programs
  • Hardware compatibility

What people use each for

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

DEAR Systems

  • Inventory and order management for wholesale and e-commerce sellersnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Manufacturing with bills of materials and material requirements planningnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Syncing stock and orders with Xero or QuickBooks Onlinenot Lightspeed Retail
  • Multi warehouse stock control across unlimited locationsnot Lightspeed Retail

Lightspeed Retail

No use cases recorded yet. See the Lightspeed Retail review.

Where each one falls short

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

DEAR Systems

  • DEAR Systems is sold as Cin7 Core and priced on the Cin7 pricing page
  • The $349 per month Standard plan caps sales orders at 6,000 per year, includes 5 users and 2 e-commerce integrations
  • Material requirements planning requires the Pro plan at $599 per month
  • Advanced warehouse management requires the Advanced plan at $1,199 per month
  • Additional users, extra integrations, API access, forecasting and advanced automations all cost extra and are priced by the sales team
  • The Omni enterprise plan is custom priced with no published rate

Lightspeed Retail

  • High pricing starts at USD 89/month (Basic plan), escalating to USD 289/month for Plus tier with advanced features
  • Limited integrations with third-party platforms, particularly challenging for Shopify inventory sync
  • Inventory synchronization issues reported with backordered products and bulk updates
  • Customer support response times can be slow despite 24/7 availability
  • System crashes and performance degradation reported during high-traffic periods

Pricing, plan by plan

DEAR Systems

$249/month
  • Standard$249/month
    • 5 users
    • Inventory management
    • Order management
  • Retailing$399/month
    • 10 users
    • POS integration
    • B2B portal

Lightspeed Retail

$89/month
  • Basic$89/month
    • One register
    • Integrated payments
    • Inventory management
  • Core$149/month
    • All Basic features
    • Expanded eCommerce capabilities
    • Phone support access
  • Plus$289/month
    • All Core features
    • API access
    • Custom workflows

Which should you pick?

Choose DEAR Systems if

  • You need inventory control.
  • You work on Cloud, Web, Mobile.
  • You also want purchase orders.
DEAR Systems review

Choose Lightspeed Retail if

  • You need point of sale.
  • You work on Web, iPad, Cloud-based.
  • You also want inventory management.
Lightspeed Retail review

Questions people ask

Is DEAR Systems or Lightspeed Retail better?
Neither clearly leads. DEAR Systems starts at $249/month and Lightspeed Retail at $89/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DEAR Systems or Lightspeed Retail?
DEAR Systems starts at $249/month and Lightspeed Retail at $89/month.
Does DEAR Systems or Lightspeed Retail run on more platforms?
DEAR Systems runs on Cloud, Web, Mobile. Lightspeed Retail runs on Web, iPad, Cloud-based.
What is DEAR Systems best used for?
DEAR Systems is most often used for inventory and order management for wholesale and e-commerce sellers, manufacturing with bills of materials and material requirements planning, syncing stock and orders with xero or quickbooks online, multi warehouse stock control across unlimited locations. Of those, inventory and order management for wholesale and e-commerce sellers and manufacturing with bills of materials and material requirements planning are not what Lightspeed Retail is typically brought in for.
What can DEAR Systems do that Lightspeed Retail cannot?
DEAR Systems covers Inventory control, Purchase orders, Sales orders, Manufacturing. Lightspeed Retail covers Point of sale, Inventory management, Customer management, Omnichannel selling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Lightspeed Retail: What payment processing rates does Lightspeed Retail charge?

Lightspeed Retail charges 1.5% for card-present payment processing via Lightspeed Payments.

Source
Lightspeed Retail: Does Lightspeed Retail offer API access?

Yes. API access and custom workflows are available in the Plus plan (USD 289/month), enabling advanced customization and integrations.

Source
Lightspeed Retail: Does Lightspeed support multi-location management?

Yes. All Lightspeed Retail plans support multi-location inventory management with centralized control, though additional location and register costs apply as businesses scale.

Source
Lightspeed Retail: What customer support options are available?

All Lightspeed Retail plans include 24/7 customer support via chat and phone for Core and Plus plans.

Source
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Related pages

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