Lavu vs Lightspeed Restaurant vs Presto Express vs Zonal
Lavu is an iPad-based restaurant point of sale system with its own payment processing, kitchen display, online ordering and payroll. Lightspeed Restaurant is a cloud point of sale for restaurants, bars, cafes and hotel restaurants, run mainly on iPads. Presto Express is a UK restaurant EPOS (point of sale) supplier that sells counter and handheld terminals, self-order kiosks, QR table ordering, kitchen displays, online ordering, table booking, loyalty, inventory and reporting as modules that can be mixed. Zonal is a UK hospitality technology company selling EPoS (Aztec), handheld ordering, online ordering, bookings, kitchen display, purchasing, loyalty and CRM tools for pubs, restaurants and hotels. All four are listed under Restaurant POS. Where the profiles show a difference, it is in audience, countries covered and integrations.
Key differences
audience
Audience differs between the profiles. Listed by one product alone: Lavu: Independent restaurants and bars on iPad; Lightspeed Restaurant: Single-location restaurants; Presto Express: UK takeaways and fast-food chains; Zonal: Multi-site restaurant and pub groups in the UK.
countries covered
On geography, Lavu names 1 country, Lightspeed Restaurant names 12 countries, Presto Express names 1 country and Zonal names 2 countries. No country appears in every list.
integrations
Lavu names 23 integrations, Lightspeed Restaurant names 19 integrations, Presto Express names 4 integrations and Zonal names 30 integrations. 2 partners appear in every list.
company background
Headquarters: Lavu, Albuquerque, United States; Lightspeed Restaurant, Montreal, Canada; Presto Express, Chesterfield, United Kingdom; Zonal, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Side by side
| Field | Lavu | Lightspeed Restaurant | Presto Express | Zonal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Lavu is an iPad-based restaurant point of sale system with its own payment processing, kitchen display, online ordering and payroll. | Lightspeed Restaurant is a cloud point of sale for restaurants, bars, cafes and hotel restaurants, run mainly on iPads. | Presto Express is a UK restaurant EPOS (point of sale) supplier that sells counter and handheld terminals, self-order kiosks, QR table ordering, kitchen displays, online ordering, table booking, loyalty, inventory and reporting as modules that can be mixed. | Zonal is a UK hospitality technology company selling EPoS (Aztec), handheld ordering, online ordering, bookings, kitchen display, purchasing, loyalty and CRM tools for pubs, restaurants and hotels. |
| Best for | Independent restaurants and bars on iPad; Venues wanting POS and payment processing together; Breweries, wineries, pizza shops, food trucks and coffee shops | Single-location restaurants; Multi-location restaurant groups; Hotel restaurants; Bars, cafes, breweries and fine dining | UK takeaways and fast-food chains; Restaurants that want to start small and add modules; Venues that want to avoid delivery-platform commission; Fine dining and table-service restaurants | Multi-site restaurant and pub groups in the UK; Hotels and pubs with rooms; Independent pubs and restaurants |
| Pricing model | Quote only | Subscription (tiered plans) plus quote-based Enterprise | Quote only | Quote only |
| Starting price | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Free trial | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Contract | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Platforms | Web, iOS | iOS | Not published | Web, Android |
| Countries | United States | Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico and 6 more | United Kingdom | United Kingdom, United States |
| Languages | Not published | Dutch, English, French, German, Norwegian, Spanish | Not published | Not published |
| Number of integrations | 23 | 19 | 4 | 30 |
| Certifications | PCI compliant | PCI compliant | Not published | Not published |
| Security practices | Not published | Not published | 256-bit SSL encryption and role-based access for PrestoGo Manager (no certification named), Registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office | Not published |
| Founded | 2010 | Not published | 2012 | 1979 |
| Headquarters | Albuquerque, United States | Montreal, Canada | Chesterfield, United Kingdom | Edinburgh, United Kingdom |
| Owner | Not published | Not published | Not published | Volaris Group (joined in 2026) |
| Last reviewed | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 |
Integrations
Named by all four
- QuickBooks
- Xero
Named only by Lavu
- Bar-i
- Checkmate
- CheckPlease
- CheddarSuite
- Chowly
- Davo
- Digital Pour
- Dolce
- DoorDash
- Flipdish
- Grubhub
- LoyaltyMatch
and 4 moreshow fewer
- Open Dining
- Pepper
- Shogo
- Up'n Go
Named only by Lightspeed Restaurant
- 7shifts
- Cloudbeds
- Craftable
- Fresh
- Lightspeed Delivery by Deliverect
- MarginEdge
- MEWS
- Oracle Opera Cloud Hospitality
- Planday
- Resy
- Uber Direct
Named only by Presto Express
- Oracle
Named only by Zonal
- Acrelec
- Airship
- Amadeus
- Ambl
- BigDish
- Deliverect
- Deliveroo
- DesignMyNight
- Dojo
- Eagle Eye
- Fourth
- Guestline
and 15 moreshow fewer
- Harri
- Just Eat
- Kate One
- Mastercard
- me&u
- Microsoft Dynamics NAV
- Opera
- PayPal
- Revinate
- S4Labour
- SAP
- Tenzo
- Tipinc
- TiPJAR
- Verifone
Which to choose
Lavu
Choose Lavu if your business matches one of the audiences it is listed for: Independent restaurants and bars on iPad; Venues wanting POS and payment processing together; Breweries, wineries, pizza shops, food trucks and coffee shops.
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.
Presto Express
Choose Presto Express if you are in one of these groups: UK takeaways and fast-food chains; Restaurants that want to start small and add modules; Venues that want to avoid delivery-platform commission.
Zonal
Choose Zonal if you are in one of these groups: Multi-site restaurant and pub groups in the UK; Hotels and pubs with rooms; Independent pubs and restaurants.
What we could not confirm
Lavu
- POS subscription price
- Payment processing rates
- Contract terms
- Employee count
- Funding
- Founders' names
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
Presto Express
- Any price, plan tier or hardware cost (none published)
- Contract length and renewal terms (the terms say product agreements are signed at onboarding)
- Which operating system the software runs on and whether there are iOS or Android apps
- Company registration number (the terms page shows a placeholder)
- Team size, funding and founder names
- Named delivery-platform integrations
- Interface languages
Zonal
- Prices for Aztec EPoS and other products (quote only)
- Contract length and renewal terms
- Number of employees
- Funding (Zonal is owned by Volaris Group)
- Security certifications
- Interface languages
- Whether Zonal sells outside the UK (a US office is listed)
Go further
Sources
Facts on this page come from the pages below. Prices and features change, so confirm with each vendor before you buy.
Lavu, reviewed 29 September 2026
- home and Marty pricinghttps://lavu.com/
- companyhttps://lavu.com/about-lavu/
- POShttps://lavu.com/restaurant-pos/
- benefitshttps://lavu.com/why-lavu/
- integrationshttps://lavu.com/integrations/
- paymentshttps://lavu.com/payment-processing/
- dual pricinghttps://lavu.com/dual-pricing/
- KDShttps://lavu.com/kitchen-display-system-kds/
- online orderinghttps://lavu.com/online-ordering/
- payrollhttps://lavu.com/payroll/
- tap to payhttps://lavu.com/tap-to-pay-on-iphone/
- supporthttps://lavu.com/service-promise/
Lightspeed Restaurant, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Product overview, FAQhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/
- Plans and priceshttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/pricing/
- Feature listhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/features/
- Hardwarehttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/hardware/
- Editions and country selectorhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/integrations/
- Partner marketplace listhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant-k-series/integrations/
- Multi-locationhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/multilocation-restaurant-pos/
- Paymentshttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/payments/
- Inventoryhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/inventory/
- Deliveryhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/delivery/
- Accountinghttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/accounting/
- Workforce and payrollhttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/payroll/
- Reservationshttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/reservations/
- Support and traininghttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant/support-onboarding/
- Headquarters, scalehttps://www.lightspeedhq.com/about/
Presto Express, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Home: module overview and claimshttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/
- Product suitehttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/products
- Counter EPOS, hardware, integrationshttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/products/counter-epos
- Handheld terminalshttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/products/handheld-epos
- Online ordering pricing modelhttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/products/online-ordering
- Table bookinghttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/products/table-booking
- Driver managementhttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/products/driver-management
- Inventoryhttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/products/inventory-management
- Analyticshttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/products/analytics-reporting
- Manager app and securityhttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/products/prestogo-manager
- Customer case studieshttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/case-studies
- Company history and locationhttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/about
- Support hours and officeshttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/contact
- Legal entity, billing termshttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/terms-of-service
- Data controller, ICO registrationhttps://prestoexpress.co.uk/privacy-policy
Zonal, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Homepage: positioning, 200+ integrations, supporthttps://www.zonal.co.uk/
- Product overviewhttps://www.zonal.co.uk/products/
- EPoS overviewhttps://www.zonal.co.uk/products/epos/
- EPoS for restaurants: features, reports, supporthttps://www.zonal.co.uk/products/epos-restaurants/
- Akru POS for independents and card feeshttps://www.zonal.co.uk/products/epos/akru/
- Hardware and registered officehttps://www.zonal.co.uk/products/epos/hardware/
- iServe Plus handheldhttps://www.zonal.co.uk/products/epos/handheld-ordering/
- Zonal Bookingshttps://www.zonal.co.uk/products/bookings/
- Kitchen iQhttps://www.zonal.co.uk/products/operations/kitchen-management-system/
- Acquire purchase-to-payhttps://www.zonal.co.uk/products/operations/purchase-to-pay/
- Loyaltyhttps://www.zonal.co.uk/products/marketing/loyalty-programmes/
- Integration partner listhttps://www.zonal.co.uk/integrations/
- History, Volaris, CEOhttps://www.zonal.co.uk/about-us/
- Officeshttps://www.zonal.co.uk/find-us/
- Rental package page (no price)https://www.zonal.co.uk/rental-packages/pos-essentials/