Softwr

Inventory Management · head to head

Lightspeed Retail vs DEAR Inventory

Lightspeed Retail logo

Lightspeed Retail

Inventory Management

Point of sale and retail management system

From
$89/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
DEAR Inventory logo

DEAR Inventory

Inventory Management

Complete inventory and order management system

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Lightspeed Retail high pricing starts at USD 89/month (Basic plan), escalating to USD 289/month for Plus tier with advanced features; DEAR Inventory dEAR Inventory is now sold as Cin7 Core with four named tiers (Standard, Pro, Advanced, Omni) but no dollar figures are published, only an ROI calculator
  • They diverge on capability: Lightspeed Retail covers Point of sale, DEAR Inventory covers Manufacturing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lightspeed Retail and DEAR Inventory actually diverge.

Attributes where Lightspeed Retail and DEAR Inventory differ
AttributeLightspeed RetailDEAR Inventory
Starting price$89/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWeb, iPad, Cloud-basedWeb, Mobile app, Cloud-based
Founded20052013

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Inventory Management).

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 Retail

  • Point of sale
  • Customer management
  • Omnichannel selling
  • Analytics
  • Employee management
  • Loyalty programs
  • Hardware compatibility

Only in DEAR Inventory

  • Manufacturing
  • Purchase orders
  • Sales orders
  • Accounting
  • Xero
  • QuickBooks
  • Shopify
  • Amazon

Both cover

  • Inventory management

What people use each for

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

Lightspeed Retail

No use cases recorded yet. See the Lightspeed Retail review.

DEAR Inventory

  • Manufacturing managementnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Order processingnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Stock controlnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Financial integrationnot Lightspeed Retail

Where each one falls short

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

Lightspeed Retail

  • High pricing starts at USD 89/month (Basic plan), escalating to USD 289/month for Plus tier with advanced features
  • Limited integrations with third-party platforms, particularly challenging for Shopify inventory sync
  • Inventory synchronization issues reported with backordered products and bulk updates
  • Customer support response times can be slow despite 24/7 availability
  • System crashes and performance degradation reported during high-traffic periods

DEAR Inventory

  • DEAR Inventory is now sold as Cin7 Core with four named tiers (Standard, Pro, Advanced, Omni) but no dollar figures are published, only an ROI calculator

Pricing, plan by plan

Lightspeed Retail

$89/month
  • Basic$89/month
    • One register
    • Integrated payments
    • Inventory management
  • Core$149/month
    • All Basic features
    • Expanded eCommerce capabilities
    • Phone support access
  • Plus$289/month
    • All Core features
    • API access
    • Custom workflows

DEAR Inventory

On request
  • Standard$249/month
    • Core features
    • 5 users
    • Standard support
  • Professional$449/month
    • Advanced manufacturing
    • 10 users
    • Priority support
  • Enterprise$849/month
    • Full features
    • Unlimited users
    • Dedicated support

Which should you pick?

Choose Lightspeed Retail if

  • You need point of sale.
  • You work on Web, iPad, Cloud-based.
  • You also want customer management.
Lightspeed Retail review

Choose DEAR Inventory if

  • You need manufacturing.
  • You work on Web, Mobile app, Cloud-based.
  • You also want purchase orders.
DEAR Inventory review

Questions people ask

Is Lightspeed Retail or DEAR Inventory better?
Neither clearly leads. Lightspeed Retail starts at $89/month and DEAR Inventory at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lightspeed Retail or DEAR Inventory?
Lightspeed Retail starts at $89/month and DEAR Inventory at On request.
Does Lightspeed Retail or DEAR Inventory run on more platforms?
Lightspeed Retail runs on Web, iPad, Cloud-based. DEAR Inventory runs on Web, Mobile app, Cloud-based.
What can Lightspeed Retail do that DEAR Inventory cannot?
Lightspeed Retail covers Point of sale, Customer management, Omnichannel selling, Analytics. DEAR Inventory covers Manufacturing, Purchase orders, Sales orders, Accounting. Both handle Inventory management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Lightspeed Retail: What payment processing rates does Lightspeed Retail charge?

Lightspeed Retail charges 1.5% for card-present payment processing via Lightspeed Payments.

Source
Lightspeed Retail: Does Lightspeed Retail offer API access?

Yes. API access and custom workflows are available in the Plus plan (USD 289/month), enabling advanced customization and integrations.

Source
Lightspeed Retail: Does Lightspeed support multi-location management?

Yes. All Lightspeed Retail plans support multi-location inventory management with centralized control, though additional location and register costs apply as businesses scale.

Source
Lightspeed Retail: What customer support options are available?

All Lightspeed Retail plans include 24/7 customer support via chat and phone for Core and Plus plans.

Source
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Related pages

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