Softwr

Software · head to head

Lightspeed Retail vs QAD

Lightspeed Retail logo

Lightspeed Retail

Software

Point of sale and retail management system

From
$89/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QAD logo

QAD

Software

Cloud and on-premise ERP for manufacturers

From
$2000/month
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; QAD no price, per user rate, minimum or contract term is published on the site; the only routes are a demo request and a Contact Sales link
  • They diverge on capability: Lightspeed Retail covers Point of sale, QAD covers Financial management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lightspeed Retail and QAD actually diverge.

Attributes where Lightspeed Retail and QAD differ
AttributeLightspeed RetailQAD
Starting price$89/month$2000/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWeb, iPad, Cloud-basedCloud, On-premise, Web
Founded20051979

Identical on both: 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 Retail

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

Only in QAD

  • Financial management
  • Manufacturing
  • Supply chain
  • Quality management
  • REST APIs
  • EDI
  • IoT integration
  • Third-party systems

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.

QAD

  • ERP for manufacturers covering production execution and schedulingnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Supply chain planning, purchasing and inventory controlnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Quality management, traceability and supplier management for regulated manufacturingnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Field service and enterprise asset managementnot 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

QAD

  • No price, per user rate, minimum or contract term is published on the site; the only routes are a demo request and a Contact Sales link
  • Field service management, enterprise asset management and quality management are presented as separate functional areas rather than a single priced bundle

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

QAD

$2000/month
  • Standard$2000/month
    • Financial management
    • Manufacturing
    • Supply chain
  • Premium$4000/month
    • Advanced modules
    • Analytics
    • Priority 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 QAD if

  • You need financial management.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premise, Web.
  • You also want manufacturing.
QAD review

Questions people ask

Is Lightspeed Retail or QAD better?
Neither clearly leads. Lightspeed Retail starts at $89/month and QAD at $2000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lightspeed Retail or QAD?
Lightspeed Retail starts at $89/month and QAD at $2000/month.
Does Lightspeed Retail or QAD run on more platforms?
Lightspeed Retail runs on Web, iPad, Cloud-based. QAD runs on Cloud, On-premise, Web.
What can Lightspeed Retail do that QAD cannot?
Lightspeed Retail covers Point of sale, Customer management, Omnichannel selling, Analytics. QAD covers Financial management, Manufacturing, Supply chain, Quality management. 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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