Best POS Systems · head-to-head

Clover vs Lightspeed Restaurant

A sourced, side-by-side comparison for pos systems. Clover has the lower entry price. Every figure links to the vendor's own page and the date we captured it.

Clover has the lower entry price — Clover starts at $0/mo, Lightspeed Restaurant at $69/mo. Free tier: Clover Yes, Lightspeed Restaurant No. HIPAA: Clover —, Lightspeed Restaurant —.

As of 2026-06-14 · figures link to their source below

Side by side

Clover

$0/mo entry
Entry price$0/mo (Clover Go Starter)
Free tierYes
HIPAA (BAA)
SOC 2
GDPR
Best forBusinesses wanting an open app ecosystem on dedicated Clover hardware

Lightspeed Restaurant

$69/mo entry
Entry price$69/mo (Starter)
Free tierNo
HIPAA (BAA)
SOC 2Yes
GDPRYes
Best forFull-service and multi-location restaurants needing offline resilience and floor management

Sources — Clover: nerdwallet.com (verified 2026-06-14) · Lightspeed Restaurant: lightspeedhq.com (verified 2026-06-14)

Key features

Clover: 450+ app marketplace for extensibility across verticals; Accepts EBT/SNAP (Clover Mini only), mobile wallets, PayPal, and Venmo; Industry-specific plans covering retail, restaurants, services, and QSR; Offline payment capability during internet outages

Lightspeed Restaurant: Offline mode keeps operations running without internet; iPad-based tableside ordering and card pre-authorizations at Starter tier; Centralized gift cards valid across all locations; SOC 2 audited yearly; ISO 27001 and EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certified

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