Toast POS vs Lightspeed: which is cheaper?

Toast POS: $0/mo. Lightspeed: $89/mo.

Which is better for small business, Toast POS or Lightspeed?

Toast POS is best for full-service and quick-service restaurants of every size. Lightspeed is best for full-service restaurants and multi-location groups needing serious inventory and reporting.

Comparison

Toast POS vs Lightspeed

Toast is restaurant-only with the best handhelds and offline mode in the business. Lightspeed has the deeper back office: ingredient-level inventory and multi-location consolidated reporting. Single-location independents lean Toast; groups and hybrids lean Lightspeed.

Toast POS

POS

4.5

Toast is the leading restaurant POS, online ordering, and payroll platform.

Restaurant-only focus
Strong online ordering
Integrated payroll

Starting price

$0/mo

Free trialVisit site

Lightspeed

POS

4.3

Lightspeed is a cloud POS for restaurants, bars, and retailers with deep inventory, menus, and multi-location reporting.

Strong multi-location reporting
Ingredient-level inventory tracking
Good online ordering integrations

Starting price

$89/mo

Free trialVisit site

Winner by category

Category	Toast POS	Lightspeed	Notes
Pricing model			Toast monetizes processing; Lightspeed charges ~$89/mo + processing. Negotiate both.
Front-of-house hardware			Toast Go handhelds and offline mode are best in class.
Inventory depth			Lightspeed depletes ingredients as dishes sell.
Multi-location reporting			Lightspeed consolidates across locations more gracefully.
Ease of setup			Toast's restaurant-only focus means fewer configuration decisions.
Best for			Toast for single-location independents; Lightspeed for multi-location groups.

Toast POS

From $0/mo

Try Toast POS

Lightspeed

From $89/mo

Try Lightspeed

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