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Lightspeed Restaurant vs Phorest

Lightspeed Restaurant logo

Lightspeed Restaurant

Software

One restaurant POS to power it all

From
$69/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Phorest logo

Phorest

Software

Salon software that grows your business

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Lightspeed Restaurant starts at $69 a month for Starter, rising to $189 for Essential and $399 for Premium; Phorest no price is published for any of the seven plans, and every route ends at a quote request
  • They diverge on capability: Lightspeed Restaurant covers Floor plan management, Phorest covers Appointment booking.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Lightspeed Restaurant and Phorest differ
AttributeLightspeed RestaurantPhorest
Starting price$69/month$99/month
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Ios, Android, Api
Founded20052003

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 Lightspeed Restaurant

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

Only in Phorest

  • Appointment booking
  • Client management
  • Point of sale
  • Marketing automation
  • Reputation management
  • Inventory tracking
  • Business reports
  • Mailchimp

Both cover

  • Staff management
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Lightspeed Restaurant

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

Phorest

  • Salon and spa appointment booking with client recordsnot Lightspeed Restaurant
  • Marketing, memberships and staff management for beauty businessesnot Lightspeed Restaurant

Where each one falls short

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

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

Phorest

  • No price is published for any of the seven plans, and every route ends at a quote request
  • There is no free trial at all, which the company states plainly
  • The product is described as suited to 3 or more staff, so a solo operator is outside the intended range
  • The branded booking app requires the Ultimate plan, and two way SMS, memberships, lead management and the ads manager are all Elite only

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Phorest

$99/month
  • Grow$99/month
    • Appointment booking
    • Client management
    • POS
  • Elevate$179/month
    • Everything in Grow
    • Advanced marketing
    • Online booking
  • Innovate$299/month
    • Everything in Elevate
    • Multi-location
    • Advanced analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Lightspeed Restaurant if

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

Choose Phorest if

  • You need appointment booking.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want client management.
Phorest review

Questions people ask

Is Lightspeed Restaurant or Phorest better?
Neither clearly leads. Lightspeed Restaurant starts at $69/month and Phorest at $99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lightspeed Restaurant or Phorest?
Lightspeed Restaurant starts at $69/month and Phorest at $99/month.
Does Lightspeed Restaurant or Phorest run on more platforms?
Lightspeed Restaurant runs on Web, Ios, Android. Phorest runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
What is Lightspeed Restaurant best used for?
Lightspeed Restaurant 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 Phorest is typically brought in for.
What can Lightspeed Restaurant do that Phorest cannot?
Lightspeed Restaurant covers Floor plan management, Tableside ordering, Menu management, Delivery integration. Phorest covers Appointment booking, Client management, Point of sale, Marketing automation. Both handle Staff management, Web support.
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