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Food & Restaurant · head to head

Lavu vs Lightspeed Restaurant

Lavu logo

Lavu

Food & Restaurant

iPad POS for restaurants and bars

From
$99/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: Lavu iPad-only solution with no Android or Windows alternative; Lightspeed Restaurant starts at $69 a month for Starter, rising to $189 for Essential and $399 for Premium
  • They diverge on capability: Lavu covers iPad POS, Lightspeed Restaurant covers Floor plan management.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Lavu and Lightspeed Restaurant differ
AttributeLavuLightspeed Restaurant
Starting price$99/month$69/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsiPadWeb, Ios, Android
Founded20102005

Identical on both: 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 Lavu

  • iPad POS
  • Split checks
  • Tab management
  • Happy hour pricing
  • Inventory tracking
  • Kitchen display

Only in Lightspeed Restaurant

  • Floor plan management
  • Tableside ordering
  • Menu management
  • Staff management
  • Delivery integration
  • Advanced reporting
  • Skip the Dishes
  • Web support

Both cover

  • QuickBooks
  • Xero
  • DoorDash
  • Uber Eats
  • Ios support

What people use each for

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

Lavu

  • 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.

Lavu

  • iPad-only solution with no Android or Windows alternative
  • Hardware costs are significant with devices starting at $700
  • Limited offline functionality compared to some competitors

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

Lavu

$99/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Lavu review.

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 Lavu if

  • You need ipad pos.
  • You work on iPad.
  • You also want split checks.
Lavu 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 Lavu or Lightspeed Restaurant better?
Neither clearly leads. Lavu starts at $99/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, Lavu or Lightspeed Restaurant?
Lavu starts at $99/month and Lightspeed Restaurant at $69/month.
Does Lavu or Lightspeed Restaurant run on more platforms?
Lavu runs on iPad. Lightspeed Restaurant runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is Lavu best used for?
Lavu is most often used for point of sale, order management, inventory control, staff scheduling.
What can Lavu do that Lightspeed Restaurant cannot?
Lavu covers iPad POS, Split checks, Tab management, Happy hour pricing. Lightspeed Restaurant covers Floor plan management, Tableside ordering, Menu management, Staff management. Both handle QuickBooks, Xero, DoorDash, Uber Eats.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Lavu: What devices does Lavu support?

Lavu is iPad-based and works with iPad Pro, Air, and Mini models. It is compatible with peripherals from Ingenico, Magtek, and supports various receipt printers, cash drawers, and barcode scanners.

Source
Lavu: Does Lavu offer financing for hardware?

Yes. Lavu offers 0% no-interest financing on hardware for 3-year contracts, and supports both 1-year and 3-year contract terms.

Source
Lavu: What is Lavu's pricing range?

Lavu monthly POS software costs range from $99 to $279 per month, with hardware starting at $700 and up to $1,500 for full systems.

Source
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