Lightspeed Retail vs. PayPal Zettle

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
PayPal Zettle
Score 7.6 out of 10
N/A
PayPal Zettle (formerly PayPal Here) is a POS and payment processing system that includes either a mobile card reader or a chip reader (hardware), and is powered by the mobile PayPal Here app. Admins can add up to 1,000 users per account, and the app also includes invoicing, reporting, and inventory management features. The pricing structure for payment processing is: 2.7% per US card swipe. 3.5% + $0.15 to key in cards. 2.9% + $0.30 to invoice. 1% for cross-border transfers.N/A
Pricing
Lightspeed RetailPayPal Zettle
Editions & Modules
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
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Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Lightspeed RetailPayPal Zettle
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
Lightspeed RetailPayPal Zettle
Considered Both Products
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.
PayPal Zettle
Chose PayPal Zettle
PayPal Zettle is comparable to these solutions in many ways. Toast and Clover were more expensive solutions that involved more time and hardware commitments than our operation needed. PayPal Zettle has very lite admin and reporting capabilities. It needs to improved these …
Chose PayPal Zettle
We love StoreLIVE, it is right up there with PayPal Zettle! Again, though, it is not as much of a well known name to the non-business owner. But WooCommerce is not at all even close to Paypal Zettle! It is complicated and exclusive to WooCommerce on the web and less in store.
Chose PayPal Zettle
The main selection criteria were ease of use and the presence of a plugin for WooCommerce. However, in practice it turned out that an important factor is also the availability of the product for purchase in a small batch and at an affordable price. I chose PayPal Zettle because …
Chose PayPal Zettle
Paypal's rates are slightly higher than my rates with Square or Stripe. While I can accept card payments with the Stripe app it isn't a true POS system.
Chose PayPal Zettle
It doesn't appear on the list but i used clip from mercadopago it is great but i trust more in paypal for their service and agility to solve issues. In clip i had a problem and it take weeks to solve it so i was a little disapointes for that and i decide to look for another …
Chose PayPal Zettle
They are both comparable and honestly could not say one is better than the other. I suggest looking at both options and picking what works best for you!
Chose PayPal Zettle
1) Square has a much more expensive startup cost in purchasing their hardware.
2) Square POS is not tailored for eCommerce
3) Square is not as easy to work with and has terrible customer service.
Chose PayPal Zettle
I actually use both but for the purchases where I'm on the go and at a concert, PayPal Zettle is better for me. Stripe works great for my courses online but again if I'm selling a product or service that is a one time deal and in the moment, it's so much easier for me to simply …
Chose PayPal Zettle
Square has good software and is relatively easy to use. The Square payment screen is more advanced than the basic model that PayPal uses. However, PayPal was a service that I already used-- and the company made it easy to integrate it into our business. Convenience and ease of …
Chose PayPal Zettle
It's been a while now since I've compared the two, but PayPay and Square were relatively similar for what we needed them for. I think the physical PayPal product at the time was a little bit more of what we needed, but I don't remember it being a very large margin between the …
Chose PayPal Zettle
Ultimately we selected PayPal Here because PayPal is such a trusted and well-known name, because of the easy-to-navigate user interface, because the card reader was inexpensive but performs well, and because the organization was already using PayPal to collect donations through …
Chose PayPal Zettle
I received my Square reader faster and it does its job well but, but the reader itself is small and very easy to lose. Unlike PayPal, I had to create a new account that would only be used for that single purpose. PayPal Here is an extension of PayPal so set-up was flawless and …
Chose PayPal Zettle
The PayPal Here app and the PayPal Here card reader are the only solutions we have ever used for manual processing of credit card payments or performing transactions where we physically accept payment via credit cards in person. We have never tried the Square credit card reader …
Chose PayPal Zettle
Square POS is substantially similar to PayPal Here in cost and function, but it doesn't allow us to collect the necessary data for campaign finance reporting and compliance. In past campaigns we would have to process a card donation and then still make donors fill out an …
Chose PayPal Zettle
Compared to Square, PayPal Here is less much less reliable. I have never struggled to take a payment with Square whether I was swiping the card or manually entering the card information. I feel like our customers are more accustomed to seeing the Square card reader as well …
Chose PayPal Zettle
I have used Square. It worked okay most of the time. The card reader went bad a couple times and happened pretty fast. It was not the best for how many cards we needed to swipe on a daily basis.
Chose PayPal Zettle
Paypal here is the mobile app that allows you to take credit cards on the spot. With the card reader you can get lower merchant service fees. I'd recommend picking up a card reader for your phone. It's definately worth it when you're billing thousands of dollars to a client and …
Chose PayPal Zettle
I find that PayPal Here works better as a self-employed or non-profit; it's simple, clean cut, and is a recognised brand throughout places like Etsy and eBay. PayPal Here feels like it's geared more towards the every person, especially artists and artisans. While I do use …
Best Alternatives
Lightspeed RetailPayPal Zettle
Small Businesses
Square POS
Square POS
Score 10.0 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

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User Ratings
Lightspeed RetailPayPal Zettle
Likelihood to Recommend
7.7
(0 ratings)
7.9
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.8
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Lightspeed RetailPayPal Zettle
Likelihood to Recommend
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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Despite the time that you have to wait to be able to receive the money for each transaction made through the PayPal Here POS system, I consider that it is a system that has a lot of potential and that, without a doubt, allows companies to obtain a lot of POS system cheaper, no need to pay for a bank POS system that is much more expensive and requires a more complex process to configure and register at the bank branch. I would definitely recommend PayPal Here for any small, medium or large company, it has excellent potential, the reading of the NFC chips is instantaneous and allows each credit or debit card to be recognized immediately and the transaction to be completed in a few seconds. It is a very advanced system, easy to use and very easy to configure, if you are looking for a system that is not so complicated to add a POS to your company, PayPal Here is the best option.
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Pros
  • 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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  • Our customers can check out no matter where we are.
  • It is incredibly easy to use. Training new retail employees and volunteers takes almost no time.
  • When we were shopping around for solutions, Paypal Here was very cost effective.
  • Implementation with our current systems went very smoothly. The Paypal support team was great.
Read full review
Cons
  • 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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  • The fees are a little bit high, although all POS and payment systems do charge fees.
  • Sometimes signing in and getting things to connect through our web store can be a challenge. It is great once it is set up but downloading plug ins and setting up initially is a challenge.
  • We have in-store pick up items that customers pay for at pick up and shipped items which customers pay for through the PayPal Zettle portal at checkout. This was very confusing to set up. I wish there was an easier way to mark items as payment upfront and payment later.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
There are no monthly costs, the only expense is the card processing fee which is lower than nearly everyone else out there.
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Usability
Very easy to use and figure out without calling customer support which is also very responsive and helpful.
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The overall usability was good for our organization. We rarely experienced much downtime or errors when using PayPal Zettle for business transactions. Some of our IPhone users had login and security issues a few times. That was the exception to the rule and we have been able to operate consistently for the majority of the time.
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Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
Adding skus was down for 1hr one day, otherwise have never experienced an outage.
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Performance
No answers on this topic
Everything is very fast. Adding products, selling products, processing cards, and receiving funds.
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Support Rating
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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Support hasn't been needed in the 2 years of using PayPal but I have received calls from the company in the past asking about my experience with the device that was sent to me and they were pretty helpful with advice. Support is all over the internet if needed but for emergencies, so it is best to contact them during business hours.
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Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
It went very smoothly.
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Alternatives Considered
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
Square has good software and is relatively easy to use. The Square payment screen is more advanced than the basic model that PayPal uses. However, PayPal was a service that I already used-- and the company made it easy to integrate it into our business. Convenience and ease of use were key.
Read full review
Scalability
No answers on this topic
Have not run into any limitations as of yet, with 500 SKUs entered and counting.
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Return on Investment
  • 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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  • One positive impact that PayPal here has had on our business is the ability to accept credit card payments which in itself increases our customer basis by 50%.
  • When PayPal fails, we have to pay higher fees to other processors, although I don't have an exact dollar impact.
  • When we struggle to take a payment using PayPal Here it makes our customers uneasy.
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ScreenShots