Softwr

Inventory · head to head

Lightspeed Retail vs QuickBooks Enterprise

Lightspeed Retail logo

Lightspeed Retail

Inventory

Point of sale and retail management system

From
$89/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QuickBooks Enterprise logo

QuickBooks Enterprise

Inventory

Advanced inventory for QuickBooks users

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; QuickBooks Enterprise quickBooks Desktop Enterprise is capped at 1-30 users per company file; Silver, Gold and Platinum are sold as annual subscriptions, not perpetual licenses, and auto-renew until cancelled (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)
  • They diverge on capability: Lightspeed Retail covers Point of sale, QuickBooks Enterprise covers Advanced inventory.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lightspeed Retail and QuickBooks Enterprise actually diverge.

Attributes where Lightspeed Retail and QuickBooks Enterprise differ
AttributeLightspeed RetailQuickBooks Enterprise
Starting price$89/monthOn request
PlatformsWeb, iPad, Cloud-basedDesktop, Cloud-hosted, Windows
Founded20051983

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

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
  • Inventory management
  • Customer management
  • Omnichannel selling
  • Analytics
  • Employee management
  • Loyalty programs
  • Hardware compatibility

Only in QuickBooks Enterprise

  • Advanced inventory
  • FIFO costing
  • Serial/lot tracking
  • Multi-location
  • QuickBooks ecosystem
  • Fishbowl
  • TSheets
  • Method CRM

What people use each for

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

Lightspeed Retail

  • Tracking 10,000+ SKUs across multiple sales channelsnot QuickBooks Enterprise
  • Reconciling payments across terminals in under 10 minutesnot QuickBooks Enterprise
  • Selling across in-person, online, and social simultaneouslynot QuickBooks Enterprise
  • Accessing real-time inventory demand forecastingnot QuickBooks Enterprise

QuickBooks Enterprise

  • Advanced inventory trackingnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Cost accountingnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Multi-location managementnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Lot trackingnot 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

QuickBooks Enterprise

  • QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is capped at 1-30 users per company file; Silver, Gold and Platinum are sold as annual subscriptions, not perpetual licenses, and auto-renew until cancelled (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)
  • Filing taxes in more than one state costs an additional $12/month per extra state on top of the base subscription (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)
  • Introductory discounts (10 percent off for 1-4 users, 40 percent off for 5-30 users) apply only to the first year; the account is automatically charged the full then-current subscription fee from year two onward until the customer cancels (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)

Pricing, plan by plan

Lightspeed Retail

$89/month
  • Basic$89/month
    • Retail POS platform
    • Integrated payments at 1.5% card-present rate
    • Inventory management
  • Core$149/month
    • All Basic features
    • Advanced management tools
    • 1 register included
  • Plus$289/month
    • All Core features
    • Advanced customization
    • Scalability for established operations

QuickBooks Enterprise

On request
  • Gold$199/month
    • Core features
    • Up to 5 users
    • Standard support
  • Platinum$299/month
    • Advanced inventory
    • Up to 10 users
    • Priority support
  • Diamond$449/month
    • Full features
    • Up to 40 users
    • Premium support

Which should you pick?

Choose Lightspeed Retail if

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

Choose QuickBooks Enterprise if

  • You need advanced inventory.
  • You work on Desktop, Cloud-hosted, Windows.
  • You also want fifo costing.
QuickBooks Enterprise review

Questions people ask

Is Lightspeed Retail or QuickBooks Enterprise better?
Neither clearly leads. Lightspeed Retail starts at $89/month and QuickBooks Enterprise at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lightspeed Retail or QuickBooks Enterprise?
Lightspeed Retail starts at $89/month and QuickBooks Enterprise at On request.
Does Lightspeed Retail or QuickBooks Enterprise run on more platforms?
Lightspeed Retail runs on Web, iPad, Cloud-based. QuickBooks Enterprise runs on Desktop, Cloud-hosted, Windows.
What is Lightspeed Retail best used for?
Lightspeed Retail is most often used for tracking 10,000+ skus across multiple sales channels, reconciling payments across terminals in under 10 minutes, selling across in-person, online, and social simultaneously, accessing real-time inventory demand forecasting. Of those, tracking 10,000+ skus across multiple sales channels and reconciling payments across terminals in under 10 minutes are not what QuickBooks Enterprise is typically brought in for.
What can Lightspeed Retail do that QuickBooks Enterprise cannot?
Lightspeed Retail covers Point of sale, Inventory management, Customer management, Omnichannel selling. QuickBooks Enterprise covers Advanced inventory, FIFO costing, Serial/lot tracking, Multi-location.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Lightspeed Retail: How much does Lightspeed Retail POS cost?

Pricing starts at $89 per month for the Basic plan, $149 for Core, and $289 for Plus, with each plan including 1 register.

Source
Lightspeed Retail: Can I get a discount for annual billing?

Annual billing provides savings up to 18% compared to monthly billing across all Lightspeed Retail tiers.

Source
Lightspeed Retail: What payment processing fees does Lightspeed Retail charge?

Integrated payment processing charges a card-present rate of 1.5% on all plans.

Source
Lightspeed Retail: Do I need to pay extra for additional registers?

Yes, each base plan includes 1 register. Additional registers require per-register fees on top of the monthly plan cost.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Lightspeed Retail

More on QuickBooks Enterprise

Keep looking

Other head to heads