Lavu vs Otter
Lavu is an iPad-based restaurant point of sale system with its own payment processing, kitchen display, online ordering and payroll. Otter started as a tablet that gathers orders from delivery apps and is now sold as a restaurant point of sale system. Both are listed under Restaurant POS. Where the profiles show a difference, it is in price, audience and platforms.
Key differences
price
Otter publishes a starting price of USD 79 per location per month. Lavu does not publish a starting price.
audience
Audience differs between the profiles. Listed by one product alone: Lavu: Independent restaurants and bars on iPad; Otter: Quick service and fast casual restaurants taking online orders.
platforms
They do not run on the same platforms. Lavu: Web, iOS; Otter: Web, iOS, Android.
countries covered
On geography, Lavu names 1 country and Otter names 4 countries. 1 country appears in every list.
integrations
On integrations, Lavu names 23 integrations and Otter names 34 integrations. 6 partners appear in every list.
security and compliance
Security and compliance claims are not the same. Lavu: PCI compliant; Otter: CCPA, GDPR.
company background
Headquarters: Lavu, Albuquerque, United States; Otter, Los Angeles, United States.
Side by side
| Field | Lavu | Otter |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Lavu is an iPad-based restaurant point of sale system with its own payment processing, kitchen display, online ordering and payroll. | Otter started as a tablet that gathers orders from delivery apps and is now sold as a restaurant point of sale system. |
| Best for | Independent restaurants and bars on iPad; Venues wanting POS and payment processing together; Breweries, wineries, pizza shops, food trucks and coffee shops | Quick service and fast casual restaurants taking online orders; Restaurants on several delivery apps; Food stands, small cafes and food trucks; Multi-store and high-volume restaurants |
| Pricing model | Quote only | Subscription per location |
| Starting price | Not published | USD 79 per location per month |
| Free plan | Not published | Not published |
| Free trial | Not published | Not published |
| Contract | Not published | Monthly plans renew monthly; hardware leases need 24 months |
| Platforms | Web, iOS | Web, iOS, Android |
| Countries | United States | Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States |
| Languages | Not published | Not published |
| Number of integrations | 23 | 34 |
| Certifications | PCI compliant | CCPA, GDPR |
| Security practices | Not published | Not published |
| Founded | 2010 | Not published |
| Headquarters | Albuquerque, United States | Los Angeles, United States |
| Owner | Not published | Not published |
| Last reviewed | 29 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 |
Integrations
Named by both
- DoorDash
- Flipdish
- Grubhub
- Marketman
- Restaurant365
- Uber Eats
Named only by Lavu
- Bar-i
- Checkmate
- CheckPlease
- CheddarSuite
- Chowly
- Davo
- Digital Pour
- Dolce
- LoyaltyMatch
- Open Dining
- OpenTable
- Otter
and 5 moreshow fewer
- Pepper
- QuickBooks
- Shogo
- Up'n Go
- Xero
Named only by Otter
- 7shifts
- ChowNow
- Clover
- Deputy
- DoorDash Drive
- Epos Now
- ezCater
- GoTab
- Homebase
- Hungry Panda
- Lavu
- Lightspeed
and 16 moreshow fewer
- Loyverse
- Micros
- Order with Google
- Brink
- POSitouch
- Postmates
- Revel
- Seamless
- Shift4
- Shipday
- Skip the Dishes
- Slice
- Square
- Squirrel Systems
- Stripe
- Toast
Which to choose
Lavu
Choose Lavu if you are in one of these groups: Independent restaurants and bars on iPad; Venues wanting POS and payment processing together; Breweries, wineries, pizza shops, food trucks and coffee shops.
Otter
Choose Otter if your business matches one of the audiences it is listed for: Quick service and fast casual restaurants taking online orders; Restaurants on several delivery apps; Food stands, small cafes and food trucks.
What we could not confirm
Lavu
- POS subscription price
- Payment processing rates
- Contract terms
- Employee count
- Funding
- Founders' names
Otter
- Base prices of the Lite and Standard order-aggregation plans (the details page lists features but not the plan prices)
- Enterprise or multi-location pricing (the site offers a quote)
- Founding year, founders, funding and parent company: the site has no About page and states none of these
- Employee count
- Full list of countries and which integrations work in which country; the vendor's own customer claims differ (100,000+ restaurants on the homepage, 275k+ customers and 40+ countries on the why-otter page)
- Interface languages of the product (the marketing site has Spanish, French and Portuguese versions)
- Security certifications such as SOC 2 or PCI level
- Free trial or free plan
- Whether Otter is owned by or affiliated with another company: the legal terms mention affiliates but name none
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/
Otter, reviewed 29 September 2026
- Homepage: positioning, pricing bundles, comparison, claimshttps://www.tryotter.com
- POS bundle prices, processing fees, hardware termshttps://www.tryotter.com/pricing
- Order aggregation plan details, add-on prices, hardware priceshttps://www.tryotter.com/pricing-details-aggregate
- Integration partner listhttps://www.tryotter.com/integrations
- POS product pagehttps://www.tryotter.com/products/otterpos
- Order Managerhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/order-management
- Kitchen displayhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/kds
- Kioskhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/kiosk
- Online orderinghttps://www.tryotter.com/products/online-ordering
- Cateringhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/catering
- Menu managementhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/menu-management
- Loyaltyhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/loyalty
- Marketing automationhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/marketing
- Ratings and reviewshttps://www.tryotter.com/products/ratings-and-reviews
- Financialshttps://www.tryotter.com/products/financials
- Analyticshttps://www.tryotter.com/products/analytics
- Live alertshttps://www.tryotter.com/products/live-alerts
- Website builderhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/website-builder
- Virtual brandshttps://www.tryotter.com/products/virtual-brands
- Inventory Savings cash backhttps://www.tryotter.com/products/inventory-savings
- Otter Go apphttps://www.tryotter.com/products/app
- Company claims, customer nameshttps://www.tryotter.com/why-otter
- FAQ topicshttps://www.tryotter.com/faq
- Legal terms by regionhttps://www.tryotter.com/legal
- Legal entity, billing and cancellation termshttps://www.tryotter.com/legal/tech-services
- Legal entity and Los Angeles addresshttps://www.tryotter.com/legal/privacy-policy
- Page discovery; UK and Australian site versionshttps://www.tryotter.com/sitemap.xml
