Are you planning to take the first steps into the e-commerce and online business? Surely, you have heard about 2 major platforms that become a popular topic of debate and are often center-stage in these discussions: Lightspeed vs Shopify.
At first glance, it is not easy to find differences between these 2 platforms due to various similarities between them. Both Canadian Internationally active companies offer cloud-based software solutions, focus on eCommerce, are the best POS providers on the market, and offer seamless eCommerce integrations.
In spite of the numerous parallels they share, neither is exactly the same as the other. In order to decide which platform is most appropriate for developing an eCommerce website, let’s compare the two: Lightspeed POS vs Shopify.
We contrast Lightspeed and Shopify in this article to help you weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each and choose which one you would prefer. In any case, you’ll be able to make an informed choice and grow your business!
Contents
- 1 Lightspeed vs Shopify: Overview
- 2 A Quick Comparison of Lightspeed vs Shopify
- 3 Lightspeed vs Shopify: A Comprehensive Analysis
- 4 Lightspeed vs Shopify: Which Would be More Suitable for Your Store?
- 5 Bottom Line
Lightspeed vs Shopify: Overview
Lightspeed, a leading payment processing and point of sale (POS) solutions provider provides a comprehensive range of services tailored to small and medium-sized enterprises in several industries. With a solid foundation in the retail and hospitality fields, Lightspeed intends to increase revenue, enhance client relations, and optimize operations.
A complete point-of-sale system, inventory control, e-commerce solutions, data analytics, and customer relationship management (CRM) are among the services they offer. Furthermore, Lightspeed offers hardware customized for particular business kinds, guaranteeing a smooth transition with their software services.
Shopify, technically speaking, is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) sales platform that is built on subscriptions. This is an easy-to-use e-commerce platform that provides a simplified dashboard for small businesses to design and sell products online.
Shopify merchants have the ability to create a cutting-edge online store and sell via chat, text, email, and other channels as well as on other blogs, websites, and seller marketplaces. With Shopify’s integrated point-of-sale (POS system) for retail storefronts, pop-up shops, and market sales, in-person sales are also a breeze.
A Quick Comparison of Lightspeed vs Shopify
| Lightspeed | Shopify | |
| Pricing | Starting from $14.08 per month per user, free plan | Starting from $25 per month, 3-day free trial |
| POS features |
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| Registers per POS location | Additional fees for more than one registration at a time | Infinite registers per location |
| Deployment |
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| Support |
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| Payment gateways | Depends on plan | 105+ |
| Available languages on mobile app | 5 languages | 21 languages |
| Dropshipping support | No | Yes |
| Apps and Integrations | 200 | 8000+ |
| Rate | 3.8/5.0 | 4.5/5.0 |
Lightspeed vs Shopify: A Comprehensive Analysis
Features of Lightspeed vs. Shopify
Reporting and Analytics
Both Shopify POS and Lightspeed POS provide users with a variety of useful reporting and analytics tools to help businesses gain insight into your sales, and performance and make the right data-driven decisions. To be more specific, these 2 POS systems offer sale reports and product reports which help users understand which products are sold the most and which products need to be improved or canceled for better sales.
Furthermore, both platforms also offer inventory reports, providing insights into what needs to be replenished or not reordered so that you can have the right tactics to make sure everything is under your control.
However, Lightspeed is leading this game by offering 40+ types of reports such as daily, weekly, and monthly reports for employees, inventory, and customers as well, making it a very comprehensive system for reporting and analytics. As a result, you can determine whether or not your store needs to change gears for better performance.
Inventory Management
Lightspeed streamlines inventory control. With this, you can process and track your orders from start to finish and your customers too. Lightspeed also stands out with its ability to address complex product variations effortlessly and bundle products while maintaining accurate inventory and margins. Stock levels, count stock, and update inventory from the shop floor are also checked simply by a Lightspeed mobile scanner app.
Both Shopify and Lightspeed allow users to create purchase orders for vendors and suppliers. In terms of stock management, Shopify offers a crucial feature called stock adjustments, which enables tracking of small changes to stock levels.
It is not difficult for you to manage stock transfers or mobile inventory because Shopify permits you to request transfers from other locations, keeping track of real-time amount of what’s received and what’s leaving. A barcode scanner is available to help you perform accurate inventory counts for upcoming orders.
Read more: Mastering Shopify Inventory Management: A Comprehensive Guide
Multi-Location Management
Even when you are using Shopify or Lightspeed, you can easily manage multiple locations from a certain place with the only requirement: the Internet. Which location is understocked, which is overstocked – all in your hands by using one of these 2 platforms Lightspeed vs Shopify. The ability to move products from one shop to another can reduce waste, while detailed reports might give you the performance of each location.
Customer Management
We already know that “Customer is King”. A successful enterprise knows how to build and maintain good relationships with your customers to push them to buy more and keep them coming back. Shopify’s CRM and Lighspeed’s CRM gonna be your useful partner.
By using CRM, you can create customer profiles to keep track of data such as contact, order history, situation,…, providing the closest insight into what different customers like. It is especially useful for sending email marketing discounts and promotions to all customers, limiting the amount of work you need to put in to attract and reward your best customers.
Marketing
SEO optimization ability to sell on Facebook and set up a blog are Marketing features provided by Shopify. Lightspeed, on the other hand, is superior to Shopify with some of the most in-depth marketing tools. With Lightspeed, there is no limitation in integrating with social media which helps you scale your business by targeting new audiences and advertising in Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Google Ads.
Lightspeed also comes with built-in blogging features and allows you to optimize your site for SEO, getting your products to the top of the world’s most powerful search engine.
>>> Top 15+ Best Shopify SEO Apps To Boost Ranking & Traffic
Shopping Cart
One of the biggest reasons that makes Shopify one of the best eCommerce platforms is its secure shopping cart. Shopify offers you all major credit cards and integrates with hundreds of payment gateways such as Apple Pay, PayPal, and many more.
The shopping cart simplifies your business process by automating shipping and fulfillment, calculating shipping rates, recovering abandoned shopping carts, and detecting when customers go to checkout using mobile in order to make the cart more mobile-friendly. For extra safety, it also makes use of certified level 1 PCI-compliant payment processing, so you and your clients can always feel secure about any transactions made via your online store.
Lightspeed’s shopping cart, in comparison with Shopify, is not that excellent. Customers still have multiple checkout options including credit cards, digital wallets, and other alternatives. Besides, the abandoned cart recovery tool automatically sends reminder emails to customers, encouraging them to complete their purchases. This feature does not only help increase conversion rates but also recover potential revenue, and minimize lost sales.
Pricing of Lightspeed vs Shopify
Lightspeed Pricing Plans
| Free Plan | Venture | Business | Unlimited Plan | |
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| Price | $0 per month | $14.08 per month | $29.08 per month | $82.50 per month |
Shopify Pricing Plans
| Basic | Shopify | Advanced | |
| Features | Basic reports Up to 1.000 inventory locations 2 staff accounts |
Professional reports Up to 1.000 inventory locations 5 staff accounts |
Custom report builder Up to 1.000 inventory locations 15 staff accounts |
| Price | $25 per month (for individual and small businesses) | $65 per month (for small businesses) | $399 per month (for enterprises ranging from medium to huge) |
🌟More details about Shopify pricing plan
Lightspeed vs Shopify: User Persona
When contrasting Lightspeed vs Shopify, the primary distinction between the two is that Lightspeed is intended for brick-and-mortar stores, albeit it may also facilitate online sales. Shopify, on the other hand, is mainly designed to serve e-commerce enterprises. Going into details:
If you are running a medium-sized hybrid brick-and-mortar retail, quick-service restaurant, full-service restaurant, bar,… that requires complex and large inventories, Lightspeed is the better option. With high-end loyalty tools, inventory management features, and intuitive software, it’s one of the best omnichannel solutions for retail stores.
If you are an online retailer, or dropshipper that mainly focuses on E-commerce, Shopify has got what you need for online stores. Drag and drop builder, in-depth dashboard, automatic updates, tracking and shipping are some powerful features for you to manage your store.
Lightspeed vs Shopify: Pros and Cons
| Lightspeed | Shopify | |
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Lightspeed vs. Shopify: POS System
Lightspeed POS
Features:
- Robust payment processing combined with robust analytics. Lightspeed Payments makes it easier than ever to get paid, with one platform.
- Credit, debit, and mobile payments are all accepted.
- Available with high volumes
- No setup costs, no hidden fees, and no monthly transaction limit
- Link to accounting software
- Provides an automated daily summary of sales
- Lightspeed can educate you on everything from selling to growing through virtual classroom training and one-on-one onboarding sessions.
- Flexible POS hardware options
Pricing plans:
| Lean | Standard | Advanced | Enterprise | |
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Shopify POS
Features:
- Offers local pickup from multiple locations, email carts, and ships to customers.
- Lets you decide which locations should process online orders first or which should process orders based on the location that is nearest to you.
- Anytime you want, you may upgrade, downgrade, or cancel directly from the Shopify admin.
- Keep quick access to product specifications, inventory levels, and client profiles.
- Gift cards, split payments, swaps, and refunds are all accepted.
- Retail checkout gear that is constantly ready to accept payments.
- Offers an infinite number of registers at any site.
- Integrated omnichannel technologies to centrally manage your in-store and online operations.
Pricing plans:
| Shopify POS Lite | Shopify POS Pro | |
| Features |
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| Price | Free | $89/month per location |
Shopify offers a tiered pricing structure, with different transaction fees for each plan you select:
- Shopify Basic: 2.7% for in-person transactions
- Shopify Plan: 2.5% for in-person transactions
- Advanced Shopify: 2.4% for in-person transactions
Lightspeed vs Shopify: Which Would be More Suitable for Your Store?
When it comes to choosing the perfect e-commerce platform for your store, the decision often boils down to Lightspeed vs. Shopify. Both platforms have garnered significant acclaim and have a loyal user base, but which one is truly the best fit for your business?
Lightspeed offers a robust set of features tailored towards brick-and-mortar businesses looking to expand online, with powerful inventory management and point-of-sale capabilities. On the other hand, Shopify is renowned for its user-friendly interface, extensive app marketplace, and seamless integration with various third-party tools. Understanding the unique strengths and weaknesses of each platform is essential in making an informed decision.
Factors such as pricing, scalability, customization options, and specific industry needs all come into play. By thoroughly evaluating the features, analyzing pricing models, and considering your store’s requirements, you can determine whether Lightspeed or Shopify will be the ideal platform to propel your business to new heights.
Why do Businesses Choose Shopify Over Lightspeed?
Experience seamless workflows and full control of your business with Shopify, the preferred choice for over 1 million businesses worldwide. Unlike Lightspeed, Shopify eliminates the need for workarounds, ensuring real-time syncing for inventory, customers, and orders without manual reconciling or patches.
Shopify helps take charge of your inventory with prioritization options for online order fulfillment based on location availability. You can also enjoy speedy and hassle-free returns by simply processing refunds in-store using Shopify’s intuitive POS system, without the need for multiple logins or complex toggling between accounts.
With Shopify, you have the flexibility to make changes to your plan anytime, without the need for sales conversations. Upgrade, downgrade, or cancel right from the user-friendly Shopify admin panel are all possible when using Shopify.
Plus, you can benefit from powerful commerce features that extend beyond sales, including marketing, customer relationships, product sourcing, and order fulfillment. It would be a great experience if you join the Shopify community and unlock a world of seamless operations and growth for your business.
>>> View now if you want to switch from Lightspeed to Shopify: The Detailed Instruction of Lightspeed to Shopify Migration
Are There Opportunities for Lightspeed to Take the Lead Over Shopify?
When it comes to e-commerce platforms, Lightspeed can emerge as a preferred choice for many businesses over Shopify. There are several reasons why entrepreneurs gravitate towards Lightspeed.
Firstly, Lightspeed offers a comprehensive suite of features specifically designed for brick-and-mortar businesses looking to expand their presence online. With robust inventory management, integrated point-of-sale systems, and advanced reporting capabilities, Lightspeed provides a seamless omnichannel experience for retailers.
Furthermore, Lightspeed’s industry-specific solutions cater to niche markets such as restaurants, apparel, and electronics, offering tailored features and functionalities that address the unique needs of these businesses.
Additionally, Lightspeed boasts a user-friendly interface that simplifies store management, making it accessible to both tech-savvy entrepreneurs and those with limited technical expertise.
Lastly, Lightspeed’s customer support is highly regarded, providing responsive assistance and guidance to ensure businesses can get the most out of their platform. For these reasons and more, businesses choose Lightspeed as their preferred e-commerce solution, confident in its ability to drive growth, enhance operational efficiency, and provide a seamless shopping experience for their customers.
Bottom Line
In conclusion, with both Lightspeed vs Shopify, you can create a beautiful and fully functional online store. They all are great choices for retail stores.
Shopify is an amazing platform to build robust and immersive online store experiences. With its flexible ecosystem and tons of outstanding features, this will help businesses to strengthen their connection with customers.
Shopify also offers hundreds of connectors to your favorite tools, enabling amazing omnichannel sales and marketing tactics. That makes it suitable for every kind of business to build an online store, from small businesses to entrepreneurs who are looking for a custom platform for their purpose.
Lightspeed is a superior choice due to its more extensive inventory features if you are a brick-and-mortar store owner looking to grow your business with an internet site. Generally speaking, it provides excellent omnichannel sales tactics as well, although the organization is more focused on particular industries.
While Lightspeed’s retail solution is good overall, it really excels in providing customized features for restaurants. One of the few POS systems available on the market with built-in golfing capabilities is Lightspeed.
Whichever platform you use, keep in mind that client satisfaction and flexibility are critical. Not every size fits all. For eCommerce web development, you must first determine your needs in order to decide between Lightspeed vs Shopify.
Before making a final decision, take into account trial durations, customer support services, and community forums. Whichever direction you choose, you can be sure you’re in good hands since Lightspeed POS and Shopify have both withstood the test of time and market swings.
Whichever option works best for you is ultimately up to you.
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