Softwr

Software · head to head

Toast POS vs Lightspeed Restaurant

Toast POS logo

Toast POS

Software

All-in-one restaurant management platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Lightspeed Restaurant logo

Lightspeed Restaurant

Software

One restaurant POS to power it all

From
$69/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Toast POS free tier limited to one or two terminals; Lightspeed Restaurant starts at $69 a month for Starter, rising to $189 for Essential and $399 for Premium
  • They diverge on capability: Toast POS covers Cloud POS, Lightspeed Restaurant covers Floor plan management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Toast POS and Lightspeed Restaurant actually diverge.

Attributes where Toast POS and Lightspeed Restaurant differ
AttributeToast POSLightspeed Restaurant
Starting priceOn request$69/month
Founded20112005

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), 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 Toast POS

  • Cloud POS
  • Real-time reporting
  • Inventory tracking
  • Employee management
  • Online ordering
  • Grubhub

Only in Lightspeed Restaurant

  • Floor plan management
  • Tableside ordering
  • Staff management
  • Delivery integration
  • Advanced reporting
  • Skip the Dishes

Both cover

  • Menu management
  • DoorDash
  • Uber Eats
  • QuickBooks
  • Xero
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

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

Toast POS

  • Point of Sale
  • Order Management
  • Inventory Control
  • Staff Scheduling

Lightspeed Restaurant

  • Point of Sale
  • Order Management
  • Inventory Control
  • Staff Scheduling

Both are used for point of sale, order management, inventory control, staff scheduling, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

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

Toast POS

  • Free tier limited to one or two terminals
  • Setup fees and hardware requirements for paid plans
  • Mobile ordering requires additional configuration
  • Reporting and analytics features limited on entry-level plans

Lightspeed Restaurant

  • Starts at $69 a month for Starter, rising to $189 for Essential and $399 for Premium
  • The kitchen display system is charged separately at $30 per screen per month
  • Lightspeed Reservations, reservation integrations and Lightspeed Tasks are add-ons on every tier below Enterprise rather than included features
  • Integrated payments are fixed to a default configuration on Starter, with custom configuration only from Essential upwards
  • Card processing rates and hardware costs are not published, and the vendor notes prices vary by business and industry

Pricing, plan by plan

Toast POS

On request
  • Starter KitFree
    • Cloud-based POS
    • Order management
    • Reporting
  • Point of Sale$69/month
    • Menu management
    • Reporting & analytics
    • 24/7 support
  • Build Your Own$165/month
    • Online ordering
    • Delivery
    • Marketing

Lightspeed Restaurant

$69/month
  • Starter$69/month
    • POS
    • Menu management
    • Payments
  • Essential$189/month
    • Online ordering
    • Delivery
    • Advanced reporting
  • Premium$399/month
    • Multiple locations
    • API access

Which should you pick?

Choose Toast POS if

  • You need cloud pos.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want real-time reporting.
Toast POS review

Choose Lightspeed Restaurant if

  • You need floor plan management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want tableside ordering.
Lightspeed Restaurant review

Questions people ask

Is Toast POS or Lightspeed Restaurant better?
Neither clearly leads. Toast POS starts at On request and Lightspeed Restaurant at $69/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Toast POS or Lightspeed Restaurant?
Toast POS starts at On request and Lightspeed Restaurant at $69/month.
Does Toast POS or Lightspeed Restaurant run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Toast POS best used for?
Toast POS is most often used for point of sale, order management, inventory control, staff scheduling.
What can Toast POS do that Lightspeed Restaurant cannot?
Toast POS covers Cloud POS, Real-time reporting, Inventory tracking, Employee management. Lightspeed Restaurant covers Floor plan management, Tableside ordering, Staff management, Delivery integration. Both handle Menu management, DoorDash, Uber Eats, QuickBooks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Toast POS: Does Toast POS have a free tier?

Yes. Toast's Starter Kit is free and designed for small restaurants with one or two terminals. It includes cloud-based POS, payment processing, order and table management, real-time reporting, and 24/7 customer support.

Source
Toast POS: What integrations does Toast POS support?

Toast integrates with payment processors, online ordering platforms, delivery services, accounting software, and customer data platforms for comprehensive restaurant operations management.

Source
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Toast POS

More on Lightspeed Restaurant

Keep looking

Other head to heads