Clover vs. Lightspeed Retail

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Clover
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Clover Networks, a First Data company (merged with Fiserv July 2019) offers a modular suite of Point of Sale systems (PoS) for restaurant and retail. This modular suite features fixed PoS stations, a customer loyalty program and gift card, an analytics module, as well as a mobile point of sale that Iplugs into the users smartphone and tablet to accept secure credit card swipes, as well as dips and taps like Apple Pay®, Samsung Pay™ and Android Pay™.
$9.95
per month
Lightspeed Retail
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Lightspeed Retail is a retail PoS system from Lightspeed headquartered in Quebec. Core retail POS features are expanded on higher service tiers with ecommerce option and payments gateway, an accounting system, and a customer loyalty program.N/A
Pricing
CloverLightspeed Retail
Editions & Modules
Subscription
$9.95
per month
Basic
$79.00 ($69.00)
per month (when billed annually)
Starter
$119.00 ($99.00)
per month (when billed annually)
Standard
$139.00 ($119.00)
per month (when billed annually)
Advanced
$189.00 ($169.00)
per month (when billed annually)
Pro
$259.00 ($229.00)
per month (when billed annually)
Enterprise
Contact Sales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
CloverLightspeed Retail
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
CloverLightspeed Retail
Considered Both Products
Clover
Chose Clover
None are available on the list. Clover competes with HotSauce, Paradise, Poynt, and many more POS systems. We easily sell Clover more than anything else and everyone loves it. It's easily one of the best products I've seen since I have been in integrations. The sales managers …
Chose Clover
We chose Clover without doing extensive research in other offerings. It seemed to meet all of our needs and was used extensively in other retailers. Other processing systems were limited in functions and back-office management.
Chose Clover
Clover has just the right combination of affordability with extra features and flexibility that isn't offered by some cheaper options. Clover is flexible enough to allow integration with Shopify and other useful retail technologies, as well as integrating with many payment …
Chose Clover
While both of them get the job done, Clover is far easier to use than Aldelo. It actually feels like a POS system meant for the 21-century smartphone era while Aldelo feels a little deprecated. Clover is also far more affordable than Aldelo. It also looks better aesthetically.
Chose Clover
Of the few other companies we had the option to use, BluePay's fee structure is the best for our business. Even though PayPal is ubiquitous and we still accept donations through PayPal at times, we got better rates through BLuePay and much easier transaction settlement.
Chose Clover
Clover is great because they have their own equipment, but it would be nice to make it more mobile and use it on an app from anywhere. Sometimes we go to events and have to use Square, which is another great option. For small businesses I would definitely recommend using …
Chose Clover
Retail Pro is a perfect of example of a full featured POS system that can do lots of things right. Unfortunately to deploy Retail Pro will require a project team and skilled consultants who will happily bill you for the time spent on the project. You will also only use a small …
Chose Clover
We initially chose BluePay because they had purchased the company that we used for our online payment processing and sales applications. To remain with our previous provider would have required costly updates but BluePay was fully integrated and allowed for a very smooth …
Lightspeed Retail
Chose Lightspeed Retail
Fantastically due to its powerful components combined with ease of use, support, help center, and intuitive interface. Made the choice easy to make!
Chose Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed is faster, sleeker and more modern than our previous POS system. I can’t express enough how easy the online store portion of Lightspeed is - it just intuitive and sometimes, is TOO easy, I feel like I have to be forgetting something. Lightspeed is staying modern and …
Chose Lightspeed Retail
When we used Revel Systems Point of Sale systems, we had problems for many months where each device would mysteriously show different pricing for the same product, which is a no-go in a retail environment, this has been several years ago, so unsure if they fixed that, but …
Chose Lightspeed Retail
The challenge with this is that because Lightspeed has such poor reporting with their POS, and the ability to actually see your data, it is nearly impossible to move to another POS without a very expensive integration process. So while I have explored these other options, I …
Chose Lightspeed Retail
Most Pet Care industry software doesn’t offer such a robust POS and inventory control system. We didn’t look at too many softwares but Lightspeed Retail had everything we were looking for and more.
Chose Lightspeed Retail
Vend was terrible for inventory management, as was Square. Neither worked with Shopify. We selected Lightspeed when it was still MerchantOS based on cost and functionality, and haven't left because we haven't had time to research migration costs or alternatives.
Chose Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed Retail is much much easier to use than Shopify. We replaced Shopify shortly after I started working here because Lightspeed Retail not only was much more user-friendly, but it also integrates with the other systems we use (Skuvault and BigCommerce). They also have …
Chose Lightspeed Retail
We used Microsoft Retail Management System before this and this was in a whole other league of its own with features and ease of use. I really like using Macs also. They are much more reliable and longer lasting than IBM or Similar computers. The cloud based system is great …
Chose Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed was recommended to us; we didn't try others.
Chose Lightspeed Retail
I searched through a few other POS systems however, lightspeed is the first and only that I have used. Because I can customize attributes for custom art projects they were my only option and for that reason we chose them.
Best Alternatives
CloverLightspeed Retail
Small Businesses
Square POS
Square POS
Score 9.0 out of 10
Square POS
Square POS
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Epicor Eagle
Epicor Eagle
Score 7.9 out of 10
Epicor Eagle
Epicor Eagle
Score 7.9 out of 10
Enterprises

No answers on this topic

No answers on this topic

All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
CloverLightspeed Retail
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(0 ratings)
9.5
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.3
(0 ratings)
9.5
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.2
(0 ratings)
9.8
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
CloverLightspeed Retail
Likelihood to Recommend
Clover is well suited for high-volume environments where quality and dependability are paramount. The hardware can scale easily and always looks good on the counter. I have even seen Clover hardware used in small mom-and-pop type stores. The ability to swing the monitor around for signature is really nice. Customers appreciate the ease of use. The stations we have to use nice large bright screens. Not familiar enough with the Clover product line to know if the smaller screen sizes are available for applications where space is a concern.
Read full review
It is perfect for any small business looking for inventory control, Tracking purchase history, and just an all round easy to use software for retail and beyond. I would not use it if I have only a few hundred items or was a larger company that can afford to build my own POS software.
Read full review
Pros
  • Clover has an excellent POS system with several add-on pieces of equipment available. Many many features to fit all business needs
  • Very easy to use, and even has an online login where you can edit inventory and settings, as well as get real time reports
  • Inventory control, offline mode, and customer information storage are also wonderful tools to help you keep up with your business
  • Reports! The reports are great!!
Read full review
  • Very very user friendly.
  • Easy iPad interface that is easy to upgrade to new hardware if an iPad breaks, etc.
  • On the Advanced plan the reporting is outstanding.
  • Very easy to train new employees, especially younger employees raised on phones and tablets.
  • We use their payments system and it's a very easy integration. I believe Stripe is their payment provider.
Read full review
Cons
  • Focus functionality on retail use and not broad based with focus on food services
  • Build a turn table into the countertop unit so both the employee and customer can use the tablet
  • Offer color choices in units (white is not always friendly with long term use)
Read full review
  • They have not had major updates to their system in years. The inventory system is stagnant. Although their inventory system is robust, it is outdated.
  • They do have 24-hour support, however, wait times are excessive and representatives have challenges understanding your issues.
  • Trying to get issues resolved can take months or never at all. Management is non-existent. Trying to reach a supervisor is impossible.
  • They have a culture of telling you what you want to hear but have no intentions of actually following through.
  • Lightspeed is a great solution if you are a small business just getting started. But if you are intending to grow and expand, Lightspeed will become detrimental to your growth.
  • The reporting/analytics is basic at best. They do offer paid options that are very expensive, but it is very robust. The basic reporting is very minimal.
Read full review
Usability
There are numerous aspects to Clover's usability: the usability of their point of sale systems, the usability of their CRM and web dashboards, and the technical side of integrating with other third-party services. All are top tier. Clover's usability is excellent and I have never had a problem figuring out how to use their services at any level. The POS system has a very low barrier to entry and an easy learning curve for newcomers.
Read full review
Simply well designed with obvious icons per component, making it easy to interface with.
Read full review
Support Rating
We didn't have any significant complaints about their support. As we transitioned out of BluePay to a new provider that partnered with our new CRM, they were able to help with that transition. However, it was a little slower than we'd have liked.
Read full review
I gave the rating of a 9 because ninety percent of the time when I talk to their support they're very helpful. One of the only real issues I have is there are times where the queue will be 7-9 people deep. When you have an error you don't know how to fix, sometimes this is very troubling. But overall their support is usually quick and friendly.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
We initially chose BluePay because they had purchased the company that we used for our online payment processing and sales applications. To remain with our previous provider would have required costly updates but BluePay was fully integrated and allowed for a very smooth transition with little to no disruption for our employees or customers. After making the switch, we were so glad that we did. Our account rep has been so helpful and responsive, even going to the level of creating and scheduling custom reports to allow our users to do their jobs more easily and efficiently. We've also been pleased to see our overall fees/interchange go down from what we were charged by our previous providers. Overall, we have been very pleased with the service and services provided.
Read full review
We used Microsoft Retail Management System before this and this was in a whole other league of its own with features and ease of use. I really like using Macs also. They are much more reliable and longer lasting than IBM or Similar computers. The cloud based system is great also so you do not have to have another unit to store you database on
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • The system usually never has any technical problems.
  • A few times, Clover servers have gone down, in which case, you are unable to do any transaction.
  • The system is easy and fast so our customers don't have to wait long for payment.
Read full review
  • I have to spend a lot less time training my employees because Lightspeed is so easy to use!
  • Keeping track of our inventory is as simple as clicking a few buttons.
  • Our online sales have grown tremendously since changing to Lightspeed
Read full review
ScreenShots