Is Lightspeed Retail or SamCart better?

Neither clearly leads. Lightspeed Retail starts at $89/month and SamCart at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Lightspeed Retail or SamCart?

Lightspeed Retail starts at $89/month and SamCart at On request.

Does Lightspeed Retail or SamCart run on more platforms?

Lightspeed Retail runs on Web, iPad, Cloud-based. SamCart runs on Web.

What can Lightspeed Retail do that SamCart cannot?

Lightspeed Retail covers Point of sale, Inventory management, Customer management, Omnichannel selling.

E-commerce · head to head

Lightspeed Retail vs SamCart

Lightspeed Retail

E-commerce

Point of sale and retail management system

From: $89/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

SamCart

E-commerce

The number one checkout platform

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

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; SamCart plans start at $79 per month, and features like subscription saver and A/B testing are reserved for the higher $199 per month Scale tier

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Lightspeed Retail and SamCart differ
Attribute	Lightspeed Retail	SamCart
Starting price	$89/month	On request
Pricing model	Unknown	subscription
Platforms	Web, iPad, Cloud-based	Web
Category	Unknown	E-commerce
Founded	2005	Unknown

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

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 SamCart

Nothing recorded that Lightspeed Retail does not also cover.

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

SamCart

Plans start at $79 per month, and features like subscription saver and A/B testing are reserved for the higher $199 per month Scale tier

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

SamCart

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the SamCart review.

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 SamCart if

Nothing in the data separates SamCart from Lightspeed Retail on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

SamCart review

Questions people ask

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

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

Lightspeed Retail vs SamCart

Lightspeed Retail

SamCart

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Lightspeed Retail

Only in SamCart

Where each one falls short

Lightspeed Retail

SamCart

Pricing, plan by plan

Lightspeed Retail

SamCart

Which should you pick?

Choose Lightspeed Retail if

Choose SamCart if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Lightspeed Retail

More on SamCart

Keep looking

Other head to heads