SUPERKAWA OS vs Lightspeed: restaurant POS software comparison 2026

In short

Lightspeed Restaurant is an iPad-only POS, available in France with three plans — Basic at €89/month, Core at €159/month, Pro at €249/month. The brand claims 144,000 customer venues worldwide and highlights testimonials from Paris restaurateurs. It's a robust solution, but almost every feature beyond the core (reservations, online ordering, loyalty, inventory management, accounting) is billed as an add-on. SUPERKAWA OS is a SaaS POS software built for independent restaurants anywhere in the world, France included — multi-device (Android, iPad, PC), native customer wallet, built-in loyalty, and simple, no-surprise pricing. Both solutions serve the same market — independent foodservice — but with opposite pricing philosophies: Lightspeed builds its offer in layers of paid options, while SUPERKAWA OS targets independents anywhere in the world with simple, all-inclusive pricing from the very first plan.

Comparison table

Where Lightspeed is strong

Lightspeed Restaurant claims 144,000 customer venues worldwide and offers 24/7 chat and phone support across all plans. For a restaurant that needs an immediate answer in the middle of a rush, that's a real advantage. The solution offers a mature ecosystem in France: kitchen display (KDS), mobile register for table service, reservation integrations, an integrations marketplace, and testimonials from Paris restaurateurs reporting concrete time savings and fewer register errors thanks to going digital.

Where Lightspeed's real cost surprises you

The advertised price is only the base for a single license. From the second or third register onwards, Lightspeed requires you to choose from options that are themselves billed as add-ons (Tableside mobile register, KDS kitchen display), on top of €49/month per additional register. In France, the pricing grid makes almost everything a modern restaurant expects from software a paid add-on: QR code ordering on the Basic plan, Click & Collect and delivery on Basic and Core, reservations and waitlist on all plans, gift cards and loyalty, inventory management, accounting, and even a simple additional register. In practice, a restaurant that wants QR ordering, loyalty, reservations and a second register can see its monthly bill far exceed the €89 entry price, even while staying on the Basic plan. That's the fundamental difference with SUPERKAWA OS: wallet, loyalty and core multi-location are included in the advertised price, with no grid of options to tick one by one.

The real differentiator: wallet and loyalty

Lightspeed offers a points-based loyalty program where customers earn points redeemable for discounts or free products. It's a solid feature, but it remains a classic points program. SUPERKAWA OS goes further with a native customer wallet — a digital prepaid card built right in, with no third-party app. In practice: the customer tops up their balance in-store or through preset packs, then pays with a single QR scan from their phone, and every transaction automatically credits their loyalty points. The balance is tied to the venue and viewable at any time in their history. For the restaurateur, the benefit is twofold: cash in advance from the top-up (the money is collected before consumption), and a faster checkout since there's no change to give back and no card to insert.

The real differentiator: one brand, not a list of shops

Lightspeed offers features dedicated to multi-site groups through its Pro plan at €249/month — multi-site tools and comparative data to steer expansion. It's a separate plan, positioned above Basic and Core, with a higher entry price to access that consolidated dimension. SUPERKAWA OS is designed differently: a restaurateur who opens several venues doesn't manage several isolated shops, they run a single brand from a consolidated dashboard. Sales, loyalty and performance per venue are visible at a glance, with volume pricing that rewards growth rather than penalizing it. For the end customer, the experience stays identical from one venue to another — same identity, same loyalty program, same wallet — regardless of the country they order in. In practice: a restaurateur who opens a shop in Paris then a second in Dubai runs both from the same SUPERKAWA OS dashboard — each venue collects in its own currency (euro in Paris, dirham in Dubai), without ever adding them up or mixing them, but with a single loyalty program, a single customer wallet per brand, and a consolidated view of both businesses in one place.

The real differentiator: hardware choice

Lightspeed runs exclusively on iPad, which limits hardware choice. For a restaurateur who wants to use a more affordable, lower-cost Android terminal, or who already owns a PC, that's a real constraint. SUPERKAWA OS runs on Android, iPad or PC — the restaurateur chooses their hardware based on budget and local availability, without depending on a single proprietary ecosystem. Lightspeed covers quick-service restaurants, fine dining, bars, hotels and dark kitchens, with a strong presence in France. SUPERKAWA OS targets independent restaurants anywhere in the world, with a platform designed to operate across multiple countries and currencies from the start.

Who should choose SUPERKAWA OS over Lightspeed?

• You want a native customer wallet with no third-party app
• You prefer affordable Android hardware over a mandatory iPad
• You want a fixed, predictable price, with no grid of options to tick one by one
• You manage several venues and want a unified brand, not independent registers
• You want to try before you pay, without going through a sales demo

Where Lightspeed remains relevant

• You need immediate 24/7 phone support
• You manage complex reservations with a built-in waitlist
• You want an already very broad integrations ecosystem (PMS, marketplace)
• The iPad hardware budget is not a constraint
• You are ready to build your plan feature by feature

To go further, discover the SUPERKAWA OS restaurant software, the details of the restaurant POS software, or compare the plans and pricing directly.

Frequently asked questions

Is SUPERKAWA OS as complete as Lightspeed?

SUPERKAWA OS covers the essentials of an independent restaurant — POS, loyalty, wallet, inventory and recipe management depending on the plan, all included in the advertised price. Lightspeed offers a broader ecosystem (reservations, PMS, integrations marketplace) but every block beyond the core is added as an extra.

Can I migrate from Lightspeed to SUPERKAWA OS?

Yes. The free 14-day trial lets you test SUPERKAWA OS with no commitment before switching for good.

Is the customer wallet really different from a classic loyalty program?

Yes — the wallet is a digital prepaid card, not just a points system. The customer loads money in advance, which creates immediate cash flow for the restaurateur, on top of loyalty.

Does SUPERKAWA OS work on hardware I already have?

In most cases yes — Android, iPad or a PC with a browser is enough. No proprietary hardware is imposed.

Conclusion

Try SUPERKAWA OS free for 14 days, no credit card, no contract.