BillDine vs Lightspeed for restaurants
| Topic | BillDine | Lightspeed |
|---|---|---|
| Card payments | Cash is always on, and the POS works out the change. Card: the guest pays on your own card machine, and the POS records it. | Credit and debit cards are processed with Lightspeed Payments and a connected payment terminal. (Source, ) |
| Devices | A laptop, a tablet or a phone you already have. The BillDine app runs on Android phones and tablets with Android 8.0 or newer: the POS, the kitchen screen and the back office. On an iPhone, an iPad or a computer, BillDine runs in the browser. | Lightspeed describes Lightspeed Restaurant (K-Series) as an iPad-based unified point of sale and payments platform. (Source, ) The Lightspeed Restaurant POS app needs a supported iPad or iPhone running iPadOS or iOS 26.5 or newer. (Source, ) Lightspeed sells hardware it has tested — payment terminals, printers, cash drawers, network accessories and more — through online stores customised for each region. (Source, ) |
| Without the internet | If the internet drops, the POS keeps selling — orders, kitchen tickets, printing the bill and cash — and sends everything when the connection returns. A POS terminal sells offline for up to 72 hours unless the outlet changes it. | Lightspeed's network guide says most basic order-taking functions still work offline, and that the connection is needed to use the hardware and process card payments. (Source, ) |
| Getting started | Create your account and go straight in: no set-up questions, and a few days of sample orders to explore. Your free trial starts when you sign in. Each person picks the language of their own screens: English, French, German, Dutch, Malay, Hindi and Tamil. 10 step-by-step lessons on the website show each first task with real screenshots. | After an account is activated, an Implementation Consultant contacts the business to begin its onboarding. (Source, ) |
When Lightspeed is the better choice
Lightspeed may suit you better if:
Your restaurant runs on iPads and you want a POS app made for them.
You want card payments processed by the same company as the POS.
- Credit and debit cards are processed with Lightspeed Payments and a connected payment terminal. (Source, )
You want a consultant to set the system up with you, and hardware bought from the POS company.
When BillDine may suit you
- A laptop, a tablet or a phone you already have. The BillDine app runs on Android phones and tablets with Android 8.0 or newer: the POS, the kitchen screen and the back office. On an iPhone, an iPad or a computer, BillDine runs in the browser.
- Kitchen screens are unlimited on every plan.
- If the internet drops, the POS keeps selling — orders, kitchen tickets, printing the bill and cash — and sends everything when the connection returns. A POS terminal sells offline for up to 72 hours unless the outlet changes it.
- A 15-day free trial of every feature; after it, the POS keeps selling up to 10 bills a business day at each outlet.
- Each person picks the language of their own screens: English, French, German, Dutch, Malay, Hindi and Tamil.
Other comparisons
Ready when you are
Create your account and go straight in: no set-up questions, and a few days of sample orders to explore. Your free trial starts when you sign in.
Setting up a POS terminal or kitchen screen? Use this device as a terminal