Square POS vs Lightspeed Restaurant
Two point of sale tools side by side. Prices are the starting plan a small business would pick, in USD.
Short version
Square POS costs less for a six-person team.- Square POS fits retail shop, service business, agency or studio, trades or contractor, online store.
Lightspeed Restaurant: Online ordering and pay at table on every plan.
| Compare | Square POSBlock | Lightspeed RestaurantLightspeed |
|---|---|---|
| In one line | Free POS with pay-as-you-go processing | Restaurant POS with floor plans, online ordering, and order-at-table |
| Starting price | Free | From $69/mo |
| Six-person team | $0/mo | $69/mo |
| On $10,000 of card sales | $320/mo | Rates by quote |
| Plans | Free $0/mo: 2.6% + 15¢ per tap, dip, or swipe; Plus $49/mo per location: 2.5% + 15¢; Premium $149/mo per location: 2.4% + 15¢ | Starter $69/mo; Essential $189/mo; Premium $399/mo; kitchen display $30/screen/mo; prices can vary by business |
| Pricing model | Free tier | Paid |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Users | Unlimited | Unlimited staff |
| Both connect to | QuickBooks Online, Xero | |
| Also connects to | Zoho Books, Akaunting, Kashoo, ZipBooks, Bench | No others on record |
| Team size | Just me · 2–10 people · 11–50 people | 2–10 people · 11–50 people · 51–200 people |
| Available in | US · UK · CA · AU | US · UK · CA · AU |
| Phone support | Every plan (US) | Plans not stated |
| Live chat | Plans not stated | None listed |
| Support hours | Phone: 6am–6pm PT M–F for the first 90 days (Square Free only), 6am–6pm PT M–F (Square Plus only), 24/7 (Square Premium only) | Not published |
| Incidents posted | 14 incidents posted on Block's status page, which covers all Block products and regions, in the 90 days to Oct 27, 2026; 0 marked major or critical by Block. Status page | 32 incidents posted on Lightspeed's status page, which covers all Lightspeed products and regions, in the 90 days to Oct 27, 2026; 9 marked major or critical by Lightspeed. Status page |
| Capterra score | 4.6 / 5 from 3,039 reviews | 4.4 / 5 from 216 reviews |
| Fit: Retail shop | 95 | 15 |
| Fit: Restaurant or café | 85 | 92 |
| Fit: Service business | 80 | 10 |
| Fit: Agency or studio | 20 | 5 |
| Fit: Trades or contractor | 60 | 5 |
| Fit: Online store | 55 | 10 |
| Why people pick it |
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| Where it falls short |
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| Visit Square POS | Visit Lightspeed Restaurant | |
Six-person prices are what a team of six would pay on the published plans; "Not listed" means those plans don't cover six. Card sales costs include the plan price and card fees at US rates, at a $25 average sale. How we calculate prices
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