Crystal vs. Lightspeed Retail

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Crystal
Score 7.1 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
Crystal, launched in 2020 by co-founders Michael Razny and Joel Steinbaugh, is a cloud-based inventory, point-of-sale, and jewelry store management platform. It aims to displace generic retail point solutions and antiquated jewelry management software owners have struggled with for decades. Crystal gives independent jewelers inventory management capabilities with custom attributes linked between transactions, clients and accounts. The iOS…N/A
Lightspeed Retail
Score 6.9 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
CrystalLightspeed Retail
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
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
CrystalLightspeed Retail
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
CrystalLightspeed Retail
Considered Both Products
Crystal
Chose Crystal
We tried to explore other options but we didn't explore other options too long as it will risk our business process and business outcome, as what we want from the processes in both reports and dashboard are giving us a satisfactory result, so familiarity is why we still using …
Lightspeed Retail
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
CrystalLightspeed Retail
Small Businesses
Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed Retail
Score 6.9 out of 10
Square POS
Square POS
Score 10.0 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
CrystalLightspeed Retail
Likelihood to Recommend
7.3
(0 ratings)
7.7
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.8
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
CrystalLightspeed Retail
Likelihood to Recommend
All of our applications server in the new company that we bought are windows based, despite that there are other alternative to build the report and dashboard, it is something that has worked wonder for us, apart from it is only available in Windows and indexing data that might eat the resource, I still see the application as one of the major player for reporting
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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.
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Pros
  • Consolidate data from several data sources
  • Low to no code report generation
  • Configurable
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  • 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.
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Cons
  • This is bound for Windows OS, hard to find similar alternative on other OSs
  • Be careful in Indexing your data, as it will consume resources
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  • 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.
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Usability
No answers on this topic
Very easy to use and figure out without calling customer support which is also very responsive and helpful.
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
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.
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Alternatives Considered
We tried to explore other options but we didn't explore other options too long as it will risk our business process and business outcome, as what we want from the processes in both reports and dashboard are giving us a satisfactory result, so familiarity is why we still using it till today and some foreseeable future
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
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Return on Investment
  • Without the application, our lending business will be in complete stop, as our applications are wrote in Windows based
  • We are processing 300 Loans/Month, taking it as $10000 per loan, having this not working properly will cost potential $150.000 revenue
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  • 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
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ScreenShots

Crystal Screenshots

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