About Lightspeed
Lightspeed Commerce is a Canadian company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 2005. It's publicly traded on the NYSE (LSPD) and serves over 165,000 businesses in 100+ countries. In Canada, Lightspeed is particularly well-established in retail boutiques, wine shops, golf courses, spas, and full-service restaurants.
Lightspeed Products for Canadian Businesses
Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed Retail is their flagship product for brick-and-mortar retailers. Key features:
- Advanced inventory management with variants, bundles, and suppliers
- Purchase order management
- Multi-location inventory sync
- E-commerce integration (Lightspeed eCom or third-party platforms)
- Advanced reporting and analytics
- Built-in CRM and loyalty programs
- Staff management and time tracking
Lightspeed Restaurant
Lightspeed Restaurant is designed for full-service restaurants, bars, and multi-location food businesses:
- Advanced floor plan and table management
- Kitchen Display System (KDS) integration
- Ingredient-level inventory and recipe costing
- Order Anywhere (QR code table ordering)
- Online ordering integration
- Staff performance reporting
Lightspeed Payments in Canada
Lightspeed Payments is their integrated payment processing solution. Key details for Canadian merchants:
- Rate: 2.6% + $0.10 per card transaction (all card types)
- Interac debit: Supported at same rate
- Apple Pay / Google Pay: Supported
- Settlement: 1–3 business days to Canadian bank accounts
- Currency: CAD settlement
The 2.6% + $0.10 rate is slightly higher than Square's 2.6% flat for in-person (Square has no per-transaction fee for in-person). However, for larger transactions, the $0.10 flat fee is minimal.
Lightspeed Pricing Plans
| Product | Plan | Monthly Cost (CAD) | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail | Lean | $119/month | Basic POS, inventory, 1 location |
| Retail | Standard | $169/month | + E-commerce, accounting |
| Retail | Advanced | $249/month | + Loyalty, analytics, supplier ordering |
| Restaurant | Essential | $119/month | Basic restaurant POS |
| Restaurant | Premium | $199/month | + KDS, advanced floor plan, reporting |
| Restaurant | Enterprise | Custom | Multi-location, custom features |
✅ Pros
- 🇨🇦 Canadian company (Montreal)
- Best-in-class retail inventory management
- Advanced restaurant operations
- Strong e-commerce integration
- Multi-location management
- Bilingual (French/English) support
- Excellent reporting and analytics
❌ Cons
- Higher monthly cost than Square
- Annual contract required (some plans)
- Steeper learning curve than Square
- Onboarding can be slow
- Flat-rate processing (not IC+)
- Hardware can be expensive
Lightspeed vs. Square — Which is Right for You?
- Choose Lightspeed if: You're a mid-size retailer or restaurant with complex inventory, multiple locations, or need advanced reporting. If you process $50,000+/month and need enterprise-level POS features.
- Choose Square if: You're a small business or just starting out. You want lower monthly costs and simpler setup. You process under $30,000/month.
Our Verdict
Lightspeed earns 8.0/10. As a Canadian company with best-in-class inventory management and restaurant operations, it's the top choice for sophisticated Canadian retailers and restaurants. However, the higher price point means it's only appropriate once your business has grown to a level where you need those advanced features.