Clover vs. Lightspeed Retail

Looking for Point of Sale software? Here's how Clover and Lightspeed Retail stack up.

Mark Hammersley

Mark Hammersley

Last updated 24o September 2020


Clover

4.1  Stackupp rating


Pricing from

$ 9.95 / month

Free Plan?

No


Best for

small and medium-sized retail and businesses, restaurants, and takeaways.

Lightspeed Retail

3.5  Stackupp rating


Pricing from

$ 69.00 / month

Free Plan?

No


Best for

small and medium-sized businesses that are looking for a fully integrated ecommerce solution that includes inventory management and store-building. Restaurateurs should also consider Lightspeed.

Clover or Lightspeed Retail: Which is best?

Can't decide between Clover and Lightspeed Retail?

Find the best platform for you with our side by side comparison of Clover and Lightspeed Retail. See how each platform stacks up across ease of use, features, integrations, support and value for money.

Let the comparison begin. Don't worry, we'll guide you.

Is Clover right for you?

Clover POS is a comprehensive point-of-sale system that’s aimed largely at small and medium-sized retailers. That said, enterprise plans are available on a custom basis. Businesses can choose from four dedicated products: “Table Service”, “Counter Service”, “Retail”, and “Service”.

Clover operates a slightly unique pricing model when compared to competitors. It’s not an iPad POS. Instead, Clover offers a range of in-house hardware packages, its own payment processor, and a relatively inexpensive monthly subscription for its software.

Overall, we thought that Clover was an intuitive, well-designed, and feature-rich solution. There are a few downsides, however. These include additional costs for integrations, lack of compatibility with third-party payment processors, and the requirement to use only Clover hardware solutions.

Advantages

  • Intuitive, comprehensive POS package.
  • Well-priced with multiple hardware options.
  • Large library of integrations.

Drawbacks

  • No integrations with third-party payment processors.
  • No support for third-party hardware.
  • Additional costs for integrations.

you’re looking for a comprehensive POS solution with a relatively low monthly subscription charge. Keep in mind that Clover isn’t an iPad system, so you’ll have to buy in-house hardware.

Is Lightspeed Retail right for you?

Lightspeed Retail is a cloud-based, operating-system-agnostic point-of-sale system that’s aimed at small and medium-sized businesses. Lightspeed also offers dedicated solutions for restaurants and golf clubs. This review focuses on the point-of-sale system for brick-and-mortar retail outlets.

Overall, we thought that Lightspeed was a solid piece of software. It combines a well-designed (if occasionally clunky) back-office interface with feature-rich item management, excellent customer support, and in-depth analytics.

On the downside, we were dismayed by the lack of integrations with other inventory management and ecommerce platforms. If you’re looking for a solution that will connect seamlessly with your existing online store or inventory tools, then Lightspeed probably won’t meet your needs.

Advantages

  • Complete package combining POS, ecommerce, and inventory management.
  • Browser-based and platform-agnostic.
  • Advanced analytics and reporting.

Drawbacks

  • No built-in payment processor.
  • Lack of integrations.
  • Advanced analytics is only available on premium plans.

you’re a small or medium-sized business looking for a comprehensive, fully-integrated solution that combines inventory management, order fulfilment, and ecommerce.

Ease of Use

Our first comparison criteria, ease of use. Why? Because it’s the most important.

Think about it. You don’t want to invest a lot of your precious time setting up an online store and tweaking the design only to find out that it’s a pain in the butt to manage day to day.

We take a look at how simple the Clover and Lightspeed Retail platforms are to run.

How easy is Clover to use?

Rated 4/5 for Ease of Use

Both the Clover POS interface and the back-office are intuitive and easy to use. The register dashboard follows a relatively typical design, with a homepage menu with tabs for the register, orders, tables, refunds, etc. Product options can then be selected from a range of “block” options (or by using the barcode scanner).

The back office dashboard is designed in a similar way, with a left-hand menu providing access to dedicated areas for reporting, inventory management, customer details, employee permissions, and so on.

All in all, we found that Clover was a nicely-designed and straightforward platform. It’s also possible to carry out many advanced functions directly on the POS stations.

What Clover customers are saying...

“Clover has been an excellent option for taking payments in my stores.”
“I love how easy it is to use clover for grab and go, sit down service, or retail services.”
“Clover is so easy to set up.”

How easy is Lightspeed Retail to use?

Rated 3.5/5 for Ease of Use

We found that Lightspeed was very easy to use, despite some user reports that the interface was clunky. It’s not the most intuitive of all the ecommerce solutions we’ve reviewed, but it’s far from complicated.

The iPad app interface follows a typical layout and allows users to create, continue, or cancel sales. In the back-office, a left-hand toolbar provides access to areas for processing sales, managing inventory, running analytics reports, and so on. Adding items is a straightforward process, with options for product variations, discounts, SKUs, etc.

What Lightspeed Retail customers are saying...

"It was relatively easy to set up and I had lots of support!"
"Accessible anywhere. Ecommerce friendly."
"Nice user interface. Good features for a shop that does service work. "
Clover is our winner for ease of use

Clover Features

Rated 4/5 for Features

Clover has everything you would expect in a point-of-sale system, along with a number of additional benefits that you find with competitors. Clover is also suitable for a range of business types, including retailers, takeaways, and restaurants. Main features include inventory management, barcode scanning, payment processing, employee management, analytics, customer profiles, and a large library of integrations. For businesses that are eager to build an integrated, automated tech stack, Clover is an option that’s well worth considering because of its large app library, it’s just important to remember to account for costs from third-party providers.

Five main hardware packages are available: “Go”, “Mini”, “Flex”, “Station”, and “Station Pro”. “Go” is a slimmed-down package which is made up of a card reader and a mobile app which is compatible with Android and iOS. “Mini”, which costs $749, is the lowest-level full POS system and has extra functionality including a full-feature interface and barcode scanning. The “Station Pro” package is the premium package and includes a printer, customer terminal, and cash register.

Lightspeed Retail Features

Rated 3.5/5 for Features

Lightspeed scored reasonably well in the features category. It has more or less everything you would expect from a point-of-sale system for brick-and-mortar retailers, including sales and customer management, sales histories, analytics, and intuitive back-office and front-end dashboards. Lightspeed also offers dedicated solutions for restaurants and golf clubs, each with an array of specialised tools.

There are a handful of downsides and caveats that sellers should be aware of, however. These include few native integrations for most well-known ecommerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce etc.; somewhat limited support for different types of hardware; and a lack of availability of Lightspeed’s in-house payment processor in some countries, which means that you’ll have to use a third-party service). It’s possible to get around most of these shortcomings with the use of intermediary apps, but this approach may require extra learning time and costs.

Lightspeed is also platform-agnostic and browser-based, meaning that it runs on either Windows or macOS with Chrome or Safari. The sales app is currently only compatible with iPads, however, so this is something to keep in mind if you need to connect a portable POS to your register.

Finally, it’s worth keeping in mind that, while you can purchase the POS system separately, Lightspeed can also be leveraged as an all-in-one solution that allows retailers to take care of their POS, inventory management, analytics, ecommerce store, and even accounting. If this is something you’re looking for, then you should consider one of the higher-tier plans.

Clover is our winner for features

Clover Integrations

Rated 4.5/5 for Integrations

When it comes to integrations, Clover really shines. It has one of the most extensive app libraries of any solution that we’ve reviewed. Users have access to an array of third-party connectors in categories such as accounting, customer management, ecommerce, payroll, and more. There are also many niche apps that can be leveraged to help with tasks like fundraising, hiring, and time-management.

Despite the variety of apps on offer, however, there are a few downsides. The big one is that Clover doesn’t integrate with any third-party payment processors. If you opt to use Clover, you will have to use their in-house solution. This is likely part of the reason that Clover can offer such a low monthly subscription for its software. Also keep in mind that using apps from external providers will carry extra costs.

Direct integrations for ecommerce include Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, and Ecwid. It’s also possible to connect with most well-known ecommerce platforms that aren’t directly supported through intermediary integrations like Kosmos. On the accounting front, both Quickbooks and Xero are supported.

If you’re eager to build an integrated, fully-synced tach stack, Clover is definitely a solution worth considering. Just remember to allow for additional costs from third-party providers.

Lightspeed Retail Integrations

Rated 2.5/5 for Integrations

Lightspeed didn’t score particularly well when it came to integrations. It’s important to keep in mind that Lightspeed is designed as an all-in-one platform capable of taking care of all aspects of a retailer’s online presence, inventory and fulfilment, and POS. Lightspeed even offers accounting tools. This means that there aren’t many native integrations for other platforms. In most cases, however, it is possible to link to other apps via intermediary integrations or third-party services.

Because Lightspeed doesn’t offer a built-in payment processor in all countries, several third-party options are supported. This is one area, however, where we felt that more could have been offered.

No big-name ecommerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento etc. are supported directly. Tools like Kosmos, nChannel, and DataQlick, however, will allow for syncing with most major solutions, along with many inventory management platforms. Integrations like Sync2Sell also make it possible to connect with some seller marketplaces.

On the accounting front, Lightspeed doesn’t provide native connectors for Quickbooks or Xero. As a workaround, Amaka is supported, which a native integration which retailers can use to link up to most accounting apps. Lightspeed also offers a good selection of business integrations, including MailChimp, Kangaroo Rewards, and LoyalAction.

Finally, Lightspeed offers a handful of connectors for appointment booking, customer service, employee scheduling, payroll, and others.

Clover is our winner for integrations

How much do they cost?

Everyone’s favourite topic - pricing. Let's dive in to see if Clover or Lightspeed Retail offers better value for money.

How much does Clover cost?

Rated 4/5 for Pricing

Judging value for money is a little tricky when it comes to Clover. Rather than provide tiered packages for its software based on sales or the number of registers, Clover offers a flat-rate subscription which costs $9.95 per month. Users then have the option to purchase one of a selection of branded hardware packages. All payments are processed with Clover’s in-house solution at 3.5% + 10 cents per keyed-in transaction. This drops to 2.7% + 10 cents if you decide to use a Clover device.

Numerous hardware options are available, across a variety of price-points, from a simple card reader that syncs with a mobile phone to a comprehensive cash register, printer, and user dashboard.

How much does Lightspeed Retail cost?

Rated 3.5/5 for Pricing

Lightspeed is reasonably competitively-priced when compared to other similar POS solutions. There are five packages, along with a tailored enterprise option, available to brick-and-mortar retailers. They begin at $79/month and run up to $259/month. There are discounts available for annual payments, and additional registers cost $29/month.

Plans for restaurants and golf clubs are on a custom basis (you’ll need to contact the company) but start at around $70/month with extra costs for add-ons.

The basic POS package provides access to all sales and payment features and includes a free terminal. The big downside is that advanced analytics are only available on the highest-tier plan.

Clover is our winner for cost

Help and Support

If things go wrong (and they often do) you need to know someone’s there to help get you back on track. So, how does Clover 's and Lightspeed Retail's support measure up?

How good is Clover support?

Rated 4/5 for Help and Support

Clover provides 24/7 support via phone and email. Users can access country-specific numbers for helplines from their device or back-office dashboards. User reviews of Clover’s customer service are generally very good, although some issues with slow response times were cited. Help with installation and onboarding training is available through third-party provider CompuCom.

How good is Lightspeed Retail support?

Rated 4.5/5 for Help and Support

Lightspeed offers an excellent support package. If you’re looking for a little extra assistance when setting up your POS, then you’ll struggle to find better alternatives. User reviews are largely positive.

24/7 customer service is provided via email and phone, with lines for the UK, US and Asia. Support is free and included on all plans. Lightspeed provides one-on-one training for new users during onboarding, irrespective of the plan tier. This training consists of an online question-and-answer session, assisted software set-up, and optional follow-up.

Lightspeed also offers one of the most comprehensive resource hubs that we’ve seen. It includes extensive documentation, webinars, training courses, a community forum, and more.

Lightspeed Retail is our winner for support

The Bottom Line

The final say. Let's wrap up our thoughts on each platform.

Clover : Our Verdict

We were very impressed with Clover. It operates a unique pricing model, with a low-priced monthly subscription for software but the requirement to purchase a branded Clover hardware package to gain full access to all features. Users also have to process payments with Clover’s in-house solution.

Small and medium-sized restaurants, takeaways, and retailers will find a lot to like from the intuitive, streamlined solution. In many cases, it will be the most cost-effective option available. The large app library is also one of the best we’ve come across, and will appeal to businesses that want to build an integrated tech stack.

If you’re thinking about giving Clover a test-run, you can take advantage of a free one-month trial.

Lightspeed Retail: Our Verdict

While Lightspeed does have some downsides, we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to the right retailers. You should definitely consider it if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution that will cover POS, inventory management, ecommerce, and advanced analytics.

If you already have an ecommerce store or inventory management solution, the lack of native integrations may prove a little bothersome. Equally, you should keep in mind that Lightspeed’s system is designed to work optimally with iPads, although it will also run on Windows (assuming that you don’t need a mobile POS). There is currently no Android app.

Lightspeed offers a free trial, so if you’re a small or medium-sized business looking for a straightforward solution, then it’s worth giving a go. Don’t forget about the dedicated restaurant and golf club solutions, either.

Overall, we found Clover to be the better Point of Sale platform.

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