Lightspeed Retail vs Square

The complete retail POS comparison:
Lightspeed vs Square

We do inventory management like no one else. And that's not all. From free 24/7 support at your back to effortless eCommerce management, see why retailers pick Lightspeed over Square.

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Main features		Square
Complete inventory system Sell serialized inventory, create assemblies out of your products and easily organize items with multiple variations using matrices. Run your inventory with one centralized database for your store and online shop.	•
Contactless, mobile payments Offer your customers a way to pay contactlessly, anywhere in store or for curbside pickup.	•	•
Item import tool Turn your iOS or Android device into a powerful inventory management tool with our Scanner app. Scanner lets you count products, track inventory and fulfill orders easily.	•	•
Complete omnichannel solution on one platform Built-in item importing tool is included with the system, allowing you to import and update items in bulk.	•	•
Custom reorder points Manage your eCom and physical stores from the same system for increased efficiency and customer experience consistency.	•
Purchase order management Never run out of stock. Set your desired reorder points for all your products and see when it's time to restock without needing an extra app.	•	•
Complete multi-store management Order from any vendor and centralize purchasing with built-in purchase orders.	•	•
Special orders and layaways Reporting, gift cards, customer profiles and inventory management across all locations, from a single cloud-based platform on all plans.	•
Customer relationship management Place special orders from the sales screen for products you don't have in stock or set items aside as a layaway order for your customers. Both features included in the POS for free.	•	•
Integrated omnichannel Loyalty program From our most basic plan to most advanced, get the tools to track relevant information about your customers to personalize your service.	•	•
Complete built-in interactive reporting Integrate with an omnichannel loyalty platform with built-in email marketing, a rewards program and a customer insight dashboard.	•	•
Cloud-based across all devices Run comprehensive reports to track your sales, employees and overall performance over the last week, month, year or more.	•	•
Native inventory scanning app Run your retail operation from your mobile device and access all your sales and customer data remotely.	•	•
Track service and work orders Create work orders, track repair status, accept deposits and create quotes for customers without paying extra for the tools.	•
Extensive network of integrations Build the perfect POS solution for your business with a huge selection of plug-and-play integrations built in-house or by our trusted partners.	•	•
Integrated B2B catalogs 24/7 phone, email and chat support included with every purchase.	•
1:1 onboarding and 24/7 support The POS has been used and trusted by retailers globally for over 10 years, and is backed by experienced local retail experts who understand your reality.	•
Local multi-lingual support teams around the world Take the POS for a free spin before you commit.	•
Direct connection to NuORDER by Lightspeed The NuORDER marketplace allows you to connect and order thousands of products from popular fashion, sporting and gift brands directly from your POS.	•
Free trial accounts Access thousands of products automatically synced with your POS and add key product information with Lightspeed's B2B Catalog.	•	•

Complete inventory system
	•
Square

Contactless, mobile payments
	•
Square	•

Item import tool
	•
Square	•

Complete omnichannel solution on one platform
	•
Square	•

Custom reorder points
	•
Square

Purchase order management
	•
Square	•

Complete multi-store management
	•
Square	•

Special orders and layaways
	•
Square

Customer relationship management
	•
Square	•

Integrated omnichannel Loyalty program
	•
Square	•

Complete built-in interactive reporting
	•
Square	•

Cloud-based across all devices
	•
Square	•

Native inventory scanning app
	•
Square	•

Track service and work orders
	•
Square

Extensive network of integrations
	•
Square	•

Integrated B2B catalogs
	•
Square

1:1 onboarding and 24/7 support
	•
Square

Local multi-lingual support teams around the world
	•
Square

Direct connection to NuORDER by Lightspeed
	•
Square

Free trial accounts
	•
Square	•

Why ex-Square retailers are falling in love with Lightspeed

Our integrated eCom actually does it all

Don't settle for Square's third-party eCom. With our POS and eCom built to work with each other, run your entire store from one centralized interface - the way it should be.

Scale faster and sell more with Lightspeed

Growth with Square is very limited. Lightspeed lets you easily add locations, transfer inventory across multiple stores and centralize purchasing.

We give you full control of your inventory

Unlike Square, Lightspeed offers a complete inventory system. Sell serialized items, create bundles and organize products with many variations.

Process special orders/layaways for free

Square simply doesn't support this. Lightspeed lets you order products that aren't in stock and put them on hold for customers, all for free.

We help you get to know your customers

Square only provides half the equation. Lightspeed tracks in-store and online customer activity and information from a centralized interface.

All the support, all the time

You shouldn't have to pay for support. With Lightspeed, you get free 24/7 phone, email and chat support built-in.

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"We brought Lightspeed in because to do inventory, to do losses, to do analytics, to make sure everything is crossed with each other. It’s the only way to keep track of everything, because doing it by paper, you never know what you’re making."

Logan Elliott, Bros Bike Shop

The complete POS comparison:
Lightspeed vs Square for Restaurant

Find out what your restaurant can do with the cloud. Offer delivery service without a hitch, update your menus from anywhere, speed up your backend and more. See why restaurants are picking Lightspeed over Square.

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Main features		Toast	TouchBistro	Square	Clover
Order and pay at table Open, split and close checks with a single tool.	•	•	•	•	•
Core sales reporting Get sales totals, payment summaries and till totals.	•	•	•
In-depth insights Clear dashboards automatically creating valuable insights and find out what keeps guests coming back with detailed reports on menu and staff performance.	•
Integrated payments reporting Integrate customer, operational and payment processing data for a 360° view of your business.	•	•	•	•
Multi-location management Keep track of guest data and reports across locations, change all menus in a few clicks and more.	•	•		•	•
Advanced inventory management Track, order, receive, prep and understand your inventory.	•	•	•
Fast and transparent integrated payment processing Accept all payment types on and off premise with no hidden fees.	•	•	•
Extensive PMS integrations Integrate with a wide-range of PMS providers. Connect your PMS and POS for a seamless customer experience everywhere in your hotel	•
Free 1:1 onboarding Get personalized training at no extra charge.	•		•
Free 24/7 support Unlimited 24/7 phone, email and chat support included.	•	•	•		•
Cloud-based across all devices Access your data from any device to track sales, performance and customer data remotely.	•	•	•	•	•
Offline mode Keep serving and keep all your POS hardware communicating while the internet is down.	•		•	•	•
Advanced coursing and bill-splitting options Easily split bills by seat, item or amount.	•	•	•	•	•
Extensive network of integrations Personalize your POS to your exact needs with a huge selection of best-in-class plug-and-play integrations.	•	•	•	•	•
Flexible hardware options Customize your setup or continue using what you already have.	•		•	•

Order and pay at table
	•
Toast	•
TouchBistro	•
Square	•
Clover	•

Core sales reporting
	•
Toast	•
TouchBistro	•
Square
Clover

In-depth insights
	•
Toast
TouchBistro
Square
Clover

Integrated payments reporting
	•
Toast	•
TouchBistro	•
Square	•
Clover

Multi-location management
	•
Toast	•
TouchBistro
Square	•
Clover	•

Advanced inventory management
	•
Toast	•
TouchBistro	•
Square
Clover

Fast and transparent integrated payment processing
	•
Toast	•
TouchBistro	•
Square
Clover

Extensive PMS integrations
	•
Toast
TouchBistro
Square
Clover

Free 1:1 onboarding
	•
Toast
TouchBistro	•
Square
Clover

Free 24/7 support
	•
Toast	•
TouchBistro	•
Square
Clover	•

Cloud-based across all devices
	•
Toast	•
TouchBistro	•
Square	•
Clover	•

Offline mode
	•
Toast
TouchBistro	•
Square	•
Clover	•

Advanced coursing and bill-splitting options
	•
Toast	•
TouchBistro	•
Square	•
Clover	•

Extensive network of integrations
	•
Toast	•
TouchBistro	•
Square	•
Clover	•

Flexible hardware options
	•
Toast
TouchBistro	•
Square	•
Clover

Why ex-Square restaurateurs are falling in love with Lightspeed

Hit the ground running with personalized onboarding

Your success is our success. Unlike Square, Lightspeed Restaurant gives you unlimited personalized onboarding sessions included with any purchase.

Get full control of your floor plan

Don't settle for Square's limited options. Customize your floor plan to match your dining room, and make changes in seconds.

Make better decisions with Lightspeed Restaurant

Square only provides half the equation. With Lightspeed, you automatically unlock insights from guest profiles, menu items and staff performance to give you confidence in your choices.

Intuitive coursing and bill splitting

Square for restaurants is a basic starter product. Lightspeed is built for restaurants and lets you break up your menu by course and split the bill however your customers choose.

Round-the-clock support

Unlike Square, Lightspeed sticks with you every step of the way. Get free, 24/7 support over phone, email and chat.

A full suite of restaurant software

With Square, you pay for each add on. Our one-stop platform comes in packages built for every level of operation.

Watch a demo

"When I open up Lightspeed, my main focus is the reports. The more data I can get about what customers ate and what they spent their money on, the better an experience I can create."

Kabir Kapoor, Owner, Pastel

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Square integrate with Lightspeed POS?

Square is not one of Lightspeed’s supported integrated payment processors. Merchants may use Square’s payment processing for unintegrated payments if they so choose, but integrated payments are more secure and less prone to human error.

Lightspeed Payments is our preferred integrated payment processing solution for Lightspeed Retail merchants in Canada and the United States. We offer a favorable flat rate so you always know exactly what fees you’ll be paying, unlike interchange and interchange plus fees.

You can review the options for integrated payment processors for Lightspeed Retail here. You can also learn more about Lightspeed Payments for Retail here.

You can review the options for integrated payment processors for Lightspeed Restaurant here.

You cannot integrate Square’s POS systems with Lightspeed’s POS systems.

What is the difference between Square and Lightspeed?

Lightspeed Retail was designed with the realities of running a small or medium retail business in mind. Square for Retail is more bare bones. Square for Retail doesn’t have its own natively integrated eCom platform; Lightspeed Retail and Lightspeed eCom were built to work with each other seamlessly. Square for Retail has clunky, simple inventory management and purchasing tools, while Lightspeed Retail has features that save you time⁠—such as being able to automatically add all items under their reorder points to your purchase orders.

Lightspeed Restaurant also meets more SMB growth needs than Square for restaurants. There are no options to facilitate self ordering with Square for restaurants, while there are with Lightspeed Restaurant. Square for restaurants cannot serve restaurants that require PMS integrations, while Lightspeed Restaurant can.

In addition, Lightspeed’s support is more available⁠—we’re here for your 24/7 over the phone. Square isn’t.

Will Lightspeed teach me how to use Lightspeed POS?

Yes!

Switching to Lightspeed means getting personalized, one-on-one onboarding where we answer your questions and help you get to know Lightspeed. We’ll also supply you with webinars about Lightspeed to review whenever you’d like.

If you still have questions after your personal training sessions, Lightspeed support is available 24/7 over the phone for free.

The complete retail POS comparison: Lightspeed vs Square