Katalyst POS vs Lightspeed Restaurant

Katalyst OS is an iPad-based restaurant point of sale that bundles payments, kitchen display, online ordering, catering, reservations and waitlist, gift cards and loyalty, self-order kiosks, a branded app builder and reporting in one platform. Lightspeed Restaurant is a cloud point of sale for restaurants, bars, cafes and hotel restaurants, run mainly on iPads. Both are listed under Restaurant POS. They differ in audience, platforms and countries covered.

Key differences

  • audience

    The audiences they list differ. Listed for one product only, for example: Katalyst POS: Restaurants running catering; Lightspeed Restaurant: Single-location restaurants.

  • platforms

    They do not run on the same platforms. Katalyst POS: Web, iOS; Lightspeed Restaurant: iOS.

  • countries covered

    On geography, Katalyst POS names 1 country and Lightspeed Restaurant names 12 countries. 1 country appears in every list.

  • integrations

    The integration lists differ. Katalyst POS names 4 integrations and Lightspeed Restaurant names 19 integrations. 1 partner appears in every list.

  • security and compliance

    Listed security and compliance items: Katalyst POS: PCI DSS; Lightspeed Restaurant: PCI compliant.

  • company background

    By headquarters, Katalyst POS (United States) and Lightspeed Restaurant (Montreal, Canada).

Side by side

Katalyst POS vs Lightspeed Restaurant: side-by-side comparison from published vendor information
FieldKatalyst POSLightspeed Restaurant
What it isKatalyst OS is an iPad-based restaurant point of sale that bundles payments, kitchen display, online ordering, catering, reservations and waitlist, gift cards and loyalty, self-order kiosks, a branded app builder and reporting in one platform.Lightspeed Restaurant is a cloud point of sale for restaurants, bars, cafes and hotel restaurants, run mainly on iPads.
Best forMulti-location restaurant groups; Restaurants running catering; Full-service and fine dining with reservations; Quick-service and fast-casualSingle-location restaurants; Multi-location restaurant groups; Hotel restaurants; Bars, cafes, breweries and fine dining
Pricing modelQuote onlySubscription (tiered plans) plus quote-based Enterprise
Starting priceNot publishedNot published
Free planNot publishedNot published
Free trialNot publishedNot published
ContractNot publishedNot published
PlatformsWeb, iOSiOS
CountriesUnited StatesAustralia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico and 6 more
LanguagesEnglish, SpanishDutch, English, French, German, Norwegian, Spanish
Number of integrations419
CertificationsPCI DSSPCI compliant
Security practicesNot publishedNot published
Founded2015Not published
HeadquartersUnited StatesMontreal, Canada
OwnerNot publishedNot published
Last reviewed29 September 202629 September 2026

Integrations

Named by both

  • Uber Direct

Named only by Katalyst POS

  • Apple Pay
  • DoorDash Drive
  • Google Pay

Named only by Lightspeed Restaurant

  • 7shifts
  • Cloudbeds
  • Craftable
  • Fresh
  • Lightspeed Delivery by Deliverect
  • MarginEdge
  • MarketMan
  • MEWS
  • OpenTable
  • Oracle Opera Cloud Hospitality
  • Otter
  • Planday
and 6 more
  • QuickBooks
  • Restaurant365
  • Resy
  • Seven Rooms
  • Uber Eats
  • Xero

Which to choose

Katalyst POS

Choose Katalyst POS if you are in one of these groups: Multi-location restaurant groups; Restaurants running catering; Full-service and fine dining with reservations.

Our profile lists a weaker fit: Restaurants that want to keep an existing POS. The vendor says Flex POS is not compatible with legacy POS systems and replaces them.

Lightspeed Restaurant

Choose Lightspeed Restaurant if your business matches one of the audiences it is listed for: Single-location restaurants; Multi-location restaurant groups; Hotel restaurants.

What we could not confirm

Katalyst POS

  • Any software or hardware price, processing markup, or contract term (the vendor's site has no pricing page)
  • Named integrations beyond delivery partners (accounting and e-commerce are unnamed)
  • Named customers (the vendor shows logos without names)
  • Headquarters city, legal entity, team size and funding
  • Security certifications beyond a PCI statement

Lightspeed Restaurant

  • Billing period of the Starter, Essential and Premium prices, and which features each plan includes (the comparison ticks are not in the page text)
  • Contract length and cancellation terms
  • Payment processing rates
  • Full integration list for L Series and U Series editions
  • Legal entity, founding year, funding and employee count
  • Security certifications beyond PCI compliance
  • Whether an Android or web POS client exists

Go further

Katalyst POS profileLightspeed Restaurant profile

Other comparisons with these products

Sources

Facts on this page come from the pages below. Prices and features change, so confirm with each vendor before you buy.

Katalyst POS, reviewed 29 September 2026

  1. Homepage and product listhttps://www.katalystos.com/
  2. POS, iPad, support, legacy compatibilityhttps://www.katalystos.com/flex-pos
  3. Catering featureshttps://www.katalystos.com/catering-management-system
  4. Payments and PCIhttps://www.katalystos.com/katalyst-payments
  5. KDS featureshttps://www.katalystos.com/kitchen-display-system
  6. Online ordering and deliveryhttps://www.katalystos.com/online-ordering-system
  7. Reservationshttps://www.katalystos.com/native-reservation
  8. Gift cards and loyaltyhttps://www.katalystos.com/gift-card-loyalty
  9. Kiosk, hardware, languageshttps://www.katalystos.com/self-order-kiosk
  10. App builderhttps://www.katalystos.com/restaurant-app-builder
  11. Reportinghttps://www.katalystos.com/analytics-and-reporting
  12. Founding storyhttps://www.katalystos.com/about
  13. Leadershiphttps://www.katalystos.com/meet-our-team
  14. Coverage by statehttps://www.katalystos.com/locations
  15. Contact and FAQhttps://www.katalystos.com/contact

Lightspeed Restaurant, reviewed 29 September 2026

  1. Product overview, FAQhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/
  2. Plans and priceshttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/pricing/
  3. Feature listhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/features/
  4. Hardwarehttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/hardware/
  5. Editions and country selectorhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/integrations/
  6. Partner marketplace listhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant-k-series/integrations/
  7. Multi-locationhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/multilocation-restaurant-pos/
  8. Paymentshttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/payments/
  9. Inventoryhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/inventory/
  10. Deliveryhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/delivery/
  11. Accountinghttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/accounting/
  12. Workforce and payrollhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/payroll/
  13. Reservationshttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/reservations/
  14. Support and traininghttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/support-onboarding/
  15. Headquarters, scalehttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/about/