Lightspeed Retail vs Shopify - Lightspeed Commerce

The complete POS comparison:
Lightspeed vs Shopify

With top-rated inventory management, free 24/7 support and effortless eCommerce, it's easy to see why retailers like you choose Lightspeed.

Main features		Shopify POS	Quickbooks POS
Complete inventory system Sell serialized inventory, create assemblies out of your products and easily organize items with multiple variations using matrices. Run your inventory with one centralized database for your store and online shop.	•	•
Contactless, mobile payments Offer your customers a way to pay contactlessly, anywhere in store or for curbside pickup.	•	•	•
Item import tool Built-in item importing tool is included with the system, allowing you to import and update items in bulk.	•	•	•
Complete omnichannel solution on one platform Manage your eCom and physical stores from the same system for increased efficiency and customer experience consistency.	•	•
Custom reorder points Never run out of stock. Set your desired reorder points for all your products and see when it's time to restock without needing an extra app.	•		•
Purchase order management Order from any vendor and centralize purchasing for multi-store operations. Consolidate your purchase orders and special orders in one master order.	•	•	•
Complete multi-store management Reporting, gift cards, customer profiles and inventory management across all locations, from a single cloud-based platform on all plans.	•	•
Special orders and layaways Place special orders from the sales screen for products you don't have in stock or set items aside as a layaway order for your customers. Both features included in the POS for free.	•
Customer relationship management From our most basic plan to most advanced, get the tools to track relevant information about your customers to personalize your service.	•	•
Integrated omnichannel Loyalty program Integrate with an omnichannel loyalty platform with built-in email marketing, a rewards program and a customer insight dashboard.	•
Complete built-in interactive reporting Run comprehensive reports to track your sales, employees and overall performance over the last week, month, year or more.	•	•
Cloud-based across all devices Run your retail operation from your mobile device and access all your sales and customer data remotely.	•	•
Track service and work orders Create work orders, track repair status, accept deposits and create quotes for customers without paying extra for the tools.	•
Extensive network of integrations Build the perfect POS solution for your business with a huge selection of plug-and-play integrations built in-house or by our trusted partners.	•	•	•
1:1 onboarding and 24/7 support 24/7 phone, email and chat support included with every purchase.	•
Local multi-lingual support teams around the world The POS has been used and trusted by retailers globally for over 10 years, and is backed by experienced local retail experts who understand your reality.	•		•
Free trial accounts Take the POS for a free spin before you commit.	•	•	•

Complete inventory system
	•
Shopify POS	•
Quickbooks POS

Contactless, mobile payments
	•
Shopify POS	•
Quickbooks POS	•

Item import tool
	•
Shopify POS	•
Quickbooks POS	•

Complete omnichannel solution on one platform
	•
Shopify POS	•
Quickbooks POS

Custom reorder points
	•
Shopify POS
Quickbooks POS	•

Purchase order management
	•
Shopify POS	•
Quickbooks POS	•

Complete multi-store management
	•
Shopify POS	•
Quickbooks POS

Special orders and layaways
	•
Shopify POS
Quickbooks POS

Customer relationship management
	•
Shopify POS	•
Quickbooks POS

Integrated omnichannel Loyalty program
	•
Shopify POS
Quickbooks POS

Complete built-in interactive reporting
	•
Shopify POS	•
Quickbooks POS

Cloud-based across all devices
	•
Shopify POS	•
Quickbooks POS

Track service and work orders
	•
Shopify POS
Quickbooks POS

Extensive network of integrations
	•
Shopify POS	•
Quickbooks POS	•

1:1 onboarding and 24/7 support
	•
Shopify POS
Quickbooks POS

Local multi-lingual support teams around the world
	•
Shopify POS
Quickbooks POS	•

Free trial accounts
	•
Shopify POS	•
Quickbooks POS	•

Why ex-Shopify retailers are falling in love with Lightspeed

Our POS comes with full inventory management

Lightspeed offers a complete inventory management system. Create bundles, POs, serialized items and products with multiple variations.

We give you full control of your purchasing

With Lightspeed, you can create purchase orders and instantly send them to the vendor with a single click.

Process special orders / layaways for free

Shopify forces you to purchase add-ons to do this. Lightspeed lets you order products that aren’t in stock and put them on hold for customers, all for free.

The important features are built in

Unlike Shopify, Lightspeed’s plans have key features you need built into the system at no additional cost.

All the support, all the time

You shouldn't have to pay for support. With Lightspeed, you get free 24/7 phone, email and chat support built-in.

Watch a demo

Without Lightspeed, I couldn’t track anything. I wouldn’t know what I was making. When other companies ask for anything, we can actually pull reports and send them - this makes us look a lot more professional than just writing stuff up on Excel. When you do things for accounts and dealers, speed really shines. It’s just a lot more professional. I don't have to call the CPA and have her write a letter head. I can just do it myself from Lightspeed.

Logan Elliott, Bros Bike Shop

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Lightspeed better than Shopify?

Lightspeed Retail was designed to meet the complex needs of small and medium-sized retailers. Lightspeed offers enterprise-level technology without the enterprise-level learning curve. Shopify is missing key features SMBs need to run their business efficiently, including inventory management tools, complex sales workflows, varied item types and more.

Many Shopify customers require 3rd party apps for their day-to-day worklows. Shopify POS lacks the ability to manage work orders or vendor returns. And the POS can only be used on iOS devices, so you don’t have the choice between using an iPad or a computer.

Lightspeed offers comprehensive inventory management, work orders, vendor returns, layaways, varied item types, special orders and more. Lightspeed Retail can be accessed through our app or through a browser, so you get to choose how you want to run your software. Plus, we offer free onboarding, so when it's time for setup, you'll have the support you need to get up and running fast.

Does Lightspeed integrate with Shopify?

You can integrate Lightspeed with eCommerce platforms such as Shopify through use of integration partners such as Accumula.

However, we strongly recommend using Lightspeed eCom with Lightspeed Retail for the most seamless omnichannel experience. Lightspeed eCom was designed to integrate with Lightspeed Retail, no 3rd party connector apps needed. You’ll benefit from automatically syncing inventory management, omnichannel built-in reports and more. Lightspeed Loyalty’s omnichannel features were designed with Retail and eCom working together in mind.

What is the difference between Shopify and Lightspeed for inventory management?

Simply put, a comprehensive inventory management system is built into Lightspeed. With Shopify, it’s not. Even their Pro POS is missing key inventory management features.

With Lightspeed, you can view the average cost of inventory items. You can manage serialized inventory, sell boxed inventory and manage and sell assembly items (such as gift baskets). You can handle vendor returns and work orders. Shopify’s POS is missing those features. And you need to upgrade to Shopify Pro for easy exchanges, purchase orders, inventory counts and item transfers between locations. Lightspeed Retail supports those features on all plans.

The complete POS comparison: Lightspeed vs Shopify