Lightspeed alternative · US · 2026
Menuthere vs Lightspeed Restaurant
Lightspeed Restaurant is a cloud POS: its US pricing page listed plans at $69, $189 and $399 a month, with online and QR ordering (Order Anywhere) on higher plans or as an add-on, and card rates marked "Default" or "Custom" rather than published. Menuthere is an ordering website and QR menu with no POS to buy: a free plan, Lite at $17 a month and Pro at $39, with 0% commission and no contract. Lightspeed suits full-service and multi-location venues that want one POS for everything; Menuthere is the simpler, cheaper way to take orders online.
Quick verdict
Menuthere
Recommended- Published prices and self-serve sign-up, with no quote or sales call
- Free plan with 50 orders a month; Lite $17 and Pro $39 a month, no contract
- Card payments on your own Stripe account at Stripe's published rate
- Your own riders with an iPhone or Android app and a live map for customers on Pro
- No POS or hardware to buy
Best for: independent US restaurants that want commission-free online and QR ordering without a new POS or a sales process.
Lightspeed Restaurant
- A full cloud POS for restaurants, bars and hotels, with floor plans, coursing, KDS and reporting
- Order Anywhere for online and QR orders, with self-delivery zones and Uber Direct in the US
- Sold in many countries, with multi-location and hotel revenue-centre support
- US plans listed from $69 to $399 a month; online and QR ordering are on higher plans or an add-on
- Card processing rates aren't published on the US pricing page
- Order Anywhere is bought through an account manager or sales, not self-serve
- KDS costs $30 per screen a month; delivery-app integrations and reservations are add-ons
Best for: full-service and multi-location venues that want a POS, kitchen screens and online ordering from one company and are happy to buy through sales.
Lightspeed vs Menuthere, feature by feature
Lightspeed figures come from its US pricing page (archived 5 September 2026; the live site refuses automated reads) and its help centre, read 20 October 2026.
| Feature | Menuthere | Lightspeed Restaurant |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly priceKey | Free, $17, $39 or $99 | Starter $69, Essential $189, Premium $399; Enterprise by quote |
| Online and QR orderingKey | Every plan (Free: 50 orders a month) | Order Anywhere on higher plans, or an add-on on every plan (price not published) |
| Online card rateKey | Your own Stripe account (2.9% + 30¢ in the US), Lite and up | Not published |
| How you buy it | Sign up online, no card on Free | Through an account manager or sales |
| Kitchen display | No | $30 per screen a month |
| Delivery-app integrations | No | Add-on |
| Full in-store POS | Basic POS add-on, $10 a month | Yes |
| WhatsApp ordering and automatic order updatesKey | Pro: your own official WhatsApp number, an ordering bot and automatic status updates | None found on the Lightspeed pages we could read (20 Oct 2026) |
| Own-driver app with live trackingKey | Pro: iOS and Android rider app, a live map for the customer, no per-delivery fee (you assign each order by hand) | Self-delivery with your own couriers (zones, fee and minimum per zone) and Uber Direct in the US, UK, Germany and Canada; no driver app described |
= not published on Lightspeed's website
Pricing side by side
What each costs a month. Lightspeed's online ordering sits inside or on top of a POS plan, and its card rate is set per merchant. Menuthere charges no fee per order; your own Stripe account charges its card fee.
Menuthere
- Free (50 orders a month)$0
- Lite (unlimited orders, own domain)$17/mo
- Pro (WhatsApp, loyalty, riders app)$39/mo
- Branded App (your own app)$99/mo
Lightspeed Restaurant
- Starter$69/mo
- Essential$189/mo
- Premium$399/mo
- Card processingNot published
- Kitchen display (per screen)$30/mo
Lightspeed's US list prices from its pricing page archived 5 September 2026 (Lightspeed says prices may vary by business); Menuthere's read 20 October 2026; before sales tax. Worked example, a US restaurant with 600 online orders a month at $30 ($18,000): on Lightspeed Essential it is $189 a month plus card fees at a rate Lightspeed sets for you. If that rate matched Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ ($702), the month would be $891, with a POS included. On Menuthere Lite it is $17 + $702 = $719, with no POS.
Where each one wins
Lightspeed sells a restaurant POS with ordering inside it. Menuthere sells the ordering on its own.
Where Lightspeed wins
- A full POS for table service: floor plans, coursing, service pacing, pre-auth bar tabs, KDS and detailed reporting.
- Multi-location management and hotel revenue centres on its higher plans.
- Order Anywhere orders land in the same POS as in-person orders, with self-delivery zones and Uber Direct in the US.
- Third-party delivery integrations and Lightspeed Reservations as add-ons. Menuthere doesn't pull in delivery-app orders.
Where Menuthere wins
- Published prices and self-serve sign-up: start free, then $17 or $39 a month, with no quote.
- Online and QR ordering on every plan, not a higher tier or add-on.
- Your card payments go to your own Stripe account at Stripe's published rate.
- On Pro, your own riders get an iPhone or Android app and customers follow them on a live map, with no per-delivery fee.
- WhatsApp order updates from your own number on Pro.
Moving from Lightspeed Order Anywhere to Menuthere
Import your menu
Upload a photo or PDF of your menu and Menuthere's AI import builds it, with sizes and add-ons you can check and edit.
Connect payments and delivery
On Lite, connect your own Stripe account and draw your delivery zones. On Pro, add your riders, or use Uber Direct on your own account.
Keep the POS if you need it
You can keep Lightspeed for table service and use Menuthere for online and QR orders. Menuthere doesn't connect to Lightspeed, so its orders arrive in Menuthere's dashboard and partner app.
The bottom line
Pick Lightspeed if you run table service or several locations and want the POS, kitchen screens, reservations and online ordering in one system, bought through Lightspeed's sales team.
Pick Menuthere if you want commission-free online and QR ordering at a published price without a POS: free to start, Lite at $17 a month, and Pro at $39 with WhatsApp order updates and your own riders.
Menuthere doesn't connect to Lightspeed or pull in delivery-app orders. If one POS for everything matters most, see our Lightspeed alternatives for other POS-based options.
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Common questions
Also compare:All comparisons
Sources (7) · Checked 20 October 2026
- Lightspeed (official): Lightspeed Restaurant pricing (US), archived copy, archived copy, 5 September 2026
- Lightspeed Help Center (official): What's new: Self-delivery for Order Anywhere, 23 November 2023, read 20 October 2026
- Lightspeed Help Center (official): Setting up Uber Direct for Order Anywhere, read 20 October 2026
- Lightspeed Help Center (official): About Order Anywhere, read 20 October 2026
- Stripe (official): Stripe pricing, US (2.9% + 30¢ per domestic card payment), archived copy, archived copy, 7 October 2026
- Menuthere (official): Menuthere pricing, read 20 October 2026
- Meta for Developers (official): Marketing message limits: WhatsApp does not deliver marketing templates to US phone numbers, read 20 October 2026
Online ordering at a published price
Join 1,306 restaurants taking orders on their own website and QR codes, with 0% commission on every plan and no contract.