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Inventory · head to head

Lightspeed Retail vs Sortly

Lightspeed Retail logo

Lightspeed Retail

Inventory

Point of sale and retail management system

From
$89/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sortly logo

Sortly

Inventory

Visual inventory management with photo tracking

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Sortly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Sortly mobile app performance is slow with occasional crashes on both iOS and Android
  • They diverge on capability: Lightspeed Retail covers Point of sale, Sortly covers Photo-based inventory.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Lightspeed Retail and Sortly differ
AttributeLightspeed RetailSortly
Starting price$89/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iPad, Cloud-basedWeb, iOS, Android
Founded20052013

Identical on both: 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 Sortly

  • Photo-based inventory
  • Multi-location support
  • Custom categories
  • Low stock notifications
  • Barcode scanning
  • CSV export
  • API access
  • Zapier

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 Sortly
  • Reconciling payments across terminals in under 10 minutesnot Sortly
  • Selling across in-person, online, and social simultaneouslynot Sortly
  • Accessing real-time inventory demand forecastingnot Sortly

Sortly

  • Visual inventory trackingnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Asset managementnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Photo documentationnot Lightspeed Retail
  • Mobile inventorynot 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

Sortly

  • Mobile app performance is slow with occasional crashes on both iOS and Android
  • Minimal advanced reporting features lacking depth and customization options
  • No native serial number tracking capability, limiting asset management functionality
  • Synchronization problems occur when reconnecting from offline mode

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

Sortly

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Sortly 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 Sortly if

  • You need photo-based inventory.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want multi-location support.
Sortly review

Questions people ask

Is Lightspeed Retail or Sortly better?
Neither clearly leads. Lightspeed Retail starts at $89/month and Sortly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lightspeed Retail or Sortly?
Sortly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $89/month for Lightspeed Retail and Free for Sortly.
Does Lightspeed Retail or Sortly run on more platforms?
Lightspeed Retail runs on Web, iPad, Cloud-based. Sortly runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Sortly for free?
Yes. Sortly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Lightspeed Retail starts at $89/month.
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 Sortly is typically brought in for.
What can Lightspeed Retail do that Sortly cannot?
Lightspeed Retail covers Point of sale, Inventory management, Customer management, Omnichannel selling. Sortly covers Photo-based inventory, Multi-location support, Custom categories, Low stock notifications.

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
Sortly: What is included in Sortly's free plan?

Sortly's free plan includes 100 unique items and 1 user license, sufficient for testing or very small inventories, with permanent access.

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
Sortly: What are Sortly's paid tier pricing and item limits?

Sortly offers Advanced ($49/month, 500 items), Ultra ($149/month, 2,000 items), Premium ($299/month, 5,000 items), and Enterprise with custom pricing for 10,000+ items. All paid plans include a 14-day free trial.

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
Sortly: Does Sortly offer offline functionality?

Sortly has offline mode on mobile apps, though with potential synchronization issues when reconnecting. Offline mode is not available on the free plan.

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
Sortly: Does Sortly have a mobile app?

Yes, Sortly offers mobile apps for iOS and Android. However, users report slow performance and occasional crashes, plus lack of bulk actions available on the web platform.

Source
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