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Food & Restaurant · head to head

Heartland Restaurant vs Lightspeed Restaurant

Heartland Restaurant logo

Heartland Restaurant

Food & Restaurant

Complete restaurant management ecosystem

From
$89/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lightspeed Restaurant logo

Lightspeed Restaurant

Food & Restaurant

One restaurant POS to power it all

From
$69/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Heartland Restaurant high processing fees and early termination penalties increase total cost of ownership; Lightspeed Restaurant starts at $69 a month for Starter, rising to $189 for Essential and $399 for Premium
  • They diverge on capability: Heartland Restaurant covers POS system, Lightspeed Restaurant covers Floor plan management.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Heartland Restaurant and Lightspeed Restaurant differ
AttributeHeartland RestaurantLightspeed Restaurant
Starting price$89/month$69/month
PlatformsWeb, iPad, AndroidWeb, Ios, Android
Founded20012005

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Food & Restaurant).

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 Heartland Restaurant

  • POS system
  • Payment processing
  • Payroll
  • Customer engagement
  • Gift cards
  • Reporting
  • Heartland Payroll
  • Delivery platforms

Only in Lightspeed Restaurant

  • Floor plan management
  • Tableside ordering
  • Menu management
  • Staff management
  • Delivery integration
  • Advanced reporting
  • Uber Eats
  • DoorDash

Both cover

  • QuickBooks
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

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

Heartland Restaurant

  • 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.

Heartland Restaurant

  • High processing fees and early termination penalties increase total cost of ownership
  • Lack of customization compared to open-source POS systems
  • Data migration to Heartland has been reported as problematic by users
  • Pricing details are not transparent, making budgeting difficult for prospective customers

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

Heartland Restaurant

$89/month
  • Basic$89/month
    • POS
    • Payment processing
  • Professional$149/month
    • Advanced features
    • Payroll integration

Lightspeed Restaurant

$69/month
  • Starter$69/month
    • POS
    • Menu management
    • Payments
  • Essential$189/month
    • Online ordering
    • Delivery
    • Advanced reporting
  • Premium$399/month
    • Multiple locations
    • API access

Which should you pick?

Choose Heartland Restaurant if

  • You need pos system.
  • You work on Web, iPad, Android.
  • You also want payment processing.
Heartland Restaurant 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 Heartland Restaurant or Lightspeed Restaurant better?
Neither clearly leads. Heartland Restaurant starts at $89/month and Lightspeed Restaurant at $69/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Heartland Restaurant or Lightspeed Restaurant?
Heartland Restaurant starts at $89/month and Lightspeed Restaurant at $69/month.
Does Heartland Restaurant or Lightspeed Restaurant run on more platforms?
Heartland Restaurant runs on Web, iPad, Android. Lightspeed Restaurant runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is Heartland Restaurant best used for?
Heartland Restaurant is most often used for point of sale, order management, inventory control, staff scheduling.
What can Heartland Restaurant do that Lightspeed Restaurant cannot?
Heartland Restaurant covers POS system, Payment processing, Payroll, Customer engagement. Lightspeed Restaurant covers Floor plan management, Tableside ordering, Menu management, Staff management. Both handle QuickBooks, Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Heartland Restaurant: Does Heartland Restaurant work with multiple locations?

Yes, Heartland Restaurant is designed for multi-location operations with the Complete plan targeting restaurants with more complex requirements across multiple sites.

Source
Heartland Restaurant: What payment methods does Heartland accept?

Heartland includes integrated payment processing and accepts all popular payment methods, but specific details are available on their pricing and features pages.

Source
Heartland Restaurant: What hardware options does Heartland Restaurant offer?

Heartland provides touchscreen terminals ranging from $1,295 to $1,895, handheld devices at $695, and supporting equipment like printers ($275-$375) and cash drawers.

Source
Heartland Restaurant: Can Heartland Restaurant integrate with other business systems?

Yes, Heartland offers a developer-friendly API that enables custom integrations with various third-party systems.

Source
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