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Restaurants · head to head

Lavu vs WISK

Lavu logo

Lavu

Restaurants

iPad POS for restaurants and bars

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
WISK logo

WISK

Restaurants

Bar inventory and pour cost control using Bluetooth scales and POS depletion data

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Lavu iPad-only solution with no Android or Windows alternative; WISK food inventory is markedly shallower than beverage, so kitchen led operations end up buying a second back office system and paying twice for invoice capture.
  • They diverge on capability: Lavu covers iPad POS, WISK covers Bluetooth scale counting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lavu and WISK actually diverge.

Attributes where Lavu and WISK differ
AttributeLavuWISK
Starting price$99/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsiPadWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Lavu

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

Only in WISK

  • Bluetooth scale counting
  • POS depletion matching
  • Invoice scanning
  • Recipe and pour costing
  • Ordering and par levels
  • Variance by period and staff

What people use each for

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

Lavu

  • Point of Salenot WISK
  • Order Managementnot WISK
  • Inventory Controlnot WISK
  • Staff Schedulingnot WISK

WISK

  • A cocktail bar losing margin to over pouring that needs variance measured weekly rather than monthlynot Lavu
  • A restaurant group standardising pour costs across venues with different bar managersnot Lavu
  • An operator who wants supplier price rises on spirits surfaced automatically as they hit invoicesnot Lavu
  • A venue preparing for sale or investor review that needs defensible stock valuationsnot Lavu

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

WISK

  • Food inventory is markedly shallower than beverage, so kitchen led operations end up buying a second back office system and paying twice for invoice capture.
  • Accuracy depends on the Bluetooth scale, which is an additional hardware purchase per bar station and a consumable in practice given how bar equipment is treated.
  • The value proposition collapses without a consistent counting cadence, and the software cannot force a bar manager to count every week.
  • Pricing is per location, so a group with several small satellite bars pays the same per site as it does for its flagship venue despite much lower beverage revenue.
  • POS integration quality varies by system, and where item level mapping is incomplete the theoretical usage figures are wrong in a way that is not obvious until someone audits them.

Pricing, plan by plan

Lavu

$99/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Lavu review.

WISK

On request
  • WISK$undefined/year
    • Priced per location per month with tiers by feature set
    • Bluetooth scale hardware quoted separately
    • Onboarding and item catalogue setup billed at the start

Which should you pick?

Choose Lavu if

  • You need ipad pos.
  • You work on iPad.
  • You also want split checks.
Lavu review

Choose WISK if

  • You need bluetooth scale counting.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want pos depletion matching.
WISK review

Questions people ask

Is Lavu or WISK better?
Neither clearly leads. Lavu starts at $99/month and WISK at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lavu or WISK?
Lavu starts at $99/month and WISK at On request.
Does Lavu or WISK run on more platforms?
Lavu runs on iPad. WISK 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. Of those, point of sale and order management are not what WISK is typically brought in for.
What can Lavu do that WISK cannot?
Lavu covers iPad POS, Split checks, Tab management, Happy hour pricing. WISK covers Bluetooth scale counting, POS depletion matching, Invoice scanning, Recipe and pour costing.

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
WISK: Do I need the scale to use it?

Not strictly, but without it partial bottles are estimated and the variance figures lose most of their precision, which is the reason to buy the product.

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
WISK: How long does a count take?

A bar of a few hundred SKUs is typically countable by two people in under an hour once the catalogue is set up.

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
WISK: Does it handle food as well as drink?

It does, but the depth is in beverage. Kitchen heavy operations usually pair it with, or replace it by, a broader food costing platform.

WISK: Does it connect to my accounting system?

It exports invoice and cost data to QuickBooks and Xero rather than acting as the ledger itself.

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