Softwr

Food & Restaurant · head to head

Lightspeed Restaurant vs Revel Systems

Lightspeed Restaurant logo

Lightspeed Restaurant

Food & Restaurant

One restaurant POS to power it all

From
$69/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Revel Systems logo

Revel Systems

Food & Restaurant

Cloud-based iPad POS for enterprise

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; Revel Systems requires 3-year contract with high early termination fees making it difficult to cancel
  • They diverge on capability: Lightspeed Restaurant covers Floor plan management, Revel Systems covers iPad POS.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lightspeed Restaurant and Revel Systems actually diverge.

Attributes where Lightspeed Restaurant and Revel Systems differ
AttributeLightspeed RestaurantRevel Systems
Starting price$69/month$99/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidiPad, Web
Founded20052010

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 Lightspeed Restaurant

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

Only in Revel Systems

  • iPad POS
  • Inventory management
  • CRM
  • Employee management
  • Delivery management
  • Multi-location management
  • 7shifts

Both cover

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

What people use each for

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

Lightspeed Restaurant

  • Point of Sale
  • Order Management
  • Inventory Control
  • Staff Scheduling

Revel Systems

  • 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.

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

Revel Systems

  • Requires 3-year contract with high early termination fees making it difficult to cancel
  • System crashes and glitches frequently, especially at high transaction volumes
  • Mandatory payment processing through Revel's Advantage processor with external processors heavily penalized
  • Customer support quality is poor with Level 1 support described as ineffective
  • Expensive upfront costs and numerous hidden fees for add-on features

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

Revel Systems

$99/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Revel Systems review.

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 Revel Systems if

  • You need ipad pos.
  • You work on iPad, Web.
  • You also want inventory management.
Revel Systems review

Questions people ask

Is Lightspeed Restaurant or Revel Systems better?
Neither clearly leads. Lightspeed Restaurant starts at $69/month and Revel Systems at $99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lightspeed Restaurant or Revel Systems?
Lightspeed Restaurant starts at $69/month and Revel Systems at $99/month.
Does Lightspeed Restaurant or Revel Systems run on more platforms?
Lightspeed Restaurant runs on Web, Ios, Android. Revel Systems runs on iPad, Web.
What is Lightspeed Restaurant best used for?
Lightspeed Restaurant is most often used for point of sale, order management, inventory control, staff scheduling.
What can Lightspeed Restaurant do that Revel Systems cannot?
Lightspeed Restaurant covers Floor plan management, Tableside ordering, Menu management, Staff management. Revel Systems covers iPad POS, Inventory management, CRM, Employee management. Both handle Uber Eats, DoorDash, QuickBooks, Xero.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Revel Systems: What does Revel Systems cost?

Revel pricing starts around $99 per month per terminal with a minimum 3-year contract requirement. Customers also pay for additional features like reporting, workforce management, integrations, and Advantage payment processing which is typically mandatory.

Source
Revel Systems: How long does implementation take?

Revel implementation typically takes 2-4 weeks, including hardware setup, menu configuration, staff training, and system integration.

Source
Revel Systems: What integrations does Revel support?

Revel integrates with multiple payment processors through Stripe and Square connectors, plus accounting, payroll, and ecommerce solutions. Payment gateways vary by region.

Source
Revel Systems: What are Revel's contract terms?

Revel requires a minimum 3-year contract with high early termination fees. Use of Revel's Advantage payment processing is typically mandatory, and using outside processors is heavily penalized or not allowed.

Source
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