MENU TIGER vs Lightspeed Restaurant: Which is Your Platform?

Restaurant management can be facilitated with software that offers the features you need, but what if two of your choices are similar on paper?

In this article, we compare the capabilities of MENU TIGER vs Lightspeed Restaurant as well as their features and paid plans. Both are versatile management systems that offer similar features to their users, so the key to making your decision lies in the small differences between the two.

Whether you need a digital menu or an efficient POS system, this breakdown should help you make your decision.

TL;DR: Quick takeaways 

Choose MENU TIGER if…	Choose Lightspeed if…
An online ordering system is your primary ordering channel.	You need several ordering channels.
You want an affordable platform that has everything you need	You want a platform that can be integrated with applications you’re experienced with
You prefer a smooth setup with little to no technical configuration.	You don’t mind setting up every feature and hardware.
You prefer that all features are available upon use	You don’t mind having several options for add-ons and integrations.
You manage up to five busy physical locations.	You have the budget to manage one or more locations
You want little to no technical onboarding for your service staff.	You are okay with technical onboarding of proprietary hardware for your service staff.

MENU TIGER vs Lightspeed Restaurant: What each system excels at

Disclaimer: The comparison is based on publicly available documentation and official guides.

MENU TIGER

Best for: Restaurants looking for an affordable, straightforward, all-in-one restaurant management platform compatible with any device

MENU TIGER is a restaurant management platform for contactless ordering, front-of-house operations, and customer engagement. 

User-friendly and convenient, restaurants won’t just move away from printed menus using this platform. Instead, users will find the ordering process streamlined, allowing them to focus on marketing and branding. 

Pros

• Speeds up digital menu setup through its AI menu maker
• Provides essential restaurant tools in one straightforward package; no modular applications or additional installations

Cons

• Lacks support for advanced accounting, payroll, or enterprise-level back-office management

Lightspeed Restaurant

Best for: Restaurants seeking a customizable restaurant management system with extensive third-party integrations.

Pros

• Offers comprehensive restaurant management features including the management of inventory, bookings and operations
• Comes with several optional apps and software integrations 

Cons

• High upfront costs despite being supported by more affordable and readily available devices
• Quantity of features and third-party software can be overwhelming for smaller restaurants

Lightspeed Restaurant is the brand’s dedicated platform for dining establishments. While primarily a POS, it offers a lot of systems, hardware and software integrations that combine to create a comprehensive restaurant management ecosystem.

MENU TIGER vs Lightspeed Restaurant: Detailed feature comparison

This comparison breaks down what each platform offers to its users. 

All in all, MENU TIGER offers restaurant-focused features right from the start, with few options for integrations and a couple of hardware options.

Lightspeed Restaurant, on the other hand, offers a robust restaurant management system that can be customized with various apps, integrations and hardware. 

Ordering system

Feature	MENU TIGER	Lightspeed Restaurant
QR code ordering system	Core ordering feature for customers who prefer contactless ordering	Ordering feature for customers who prefer contactless ordering
Restaurant POS	Built-in POS with third-party integrations	Built-in POS with third-party integrations
Online ordering	Available for pickup and delivery	Available for pickup and delivery
Kiosk	Can be deployed on compatible third-party touchscreen devices	Can be deployed on compatible touchscreen devices or using proprietary hardware

Front-of-house and back-of-house operation

Feature	MENU TIGER	Lightspeed Restaurant
Kitchen display system	Touchscreen-based KDS with customizable displays, order tracking and reassignment	Touchscreen-based KDS with customizable displays, order tracking and reassignment
Table management software	Table management with QR code assignment, real-time table status availability and monitoring	Table management with QR code assignment, real-time table status availability and monitoring
Table reservation	(Coming soon)	Addon
Inventory management	(Coming soon)	Available on all plans as an add-on.
Feedback management	Built-in customer feedback collection	Available on its Order Anywhere platform
Customer assistance	Built-in waiter call and service request from the digital menu	Available on select Lightspeed Restaurant hardware

Restaurant performance tracking and analytics 

Feature	MENU TIGER	Lightspeed Restaurant
Digital menu performance report	Tracks best-selling and underperforming items	Tracks best-selling and underperforming items
Sale report	Support real-time and full sales analytics with daily, weekly, or monthly sales reports	Support real-time and full sales analytics with daily, weekly, or monthly sales reports
Accounting	Sales and tax reporting	Sales and tax reporting with integrations with accounting platforms
Dashboards	Restaurant sales and operational dashboards	Restaurant sales dashboards

Marketing and growth 

Feature	MENU TIGER	Lightspeed Restaurant
CRM	Customer profiles, order history, feedback management and promo creation	Customer profiles, order history, feedback management and promo creation with third-party integrations
Email and SMS	Built-in promotional tool, send notifications, and customer updates	Available with third-party integrations
Restaurant website	SEO-optimized website with online ordering	Not available
Social marketing	Display social media links on the restaurant website	Available with third-party integrations

Setup and implementation 

Stage	MENU TIGER	Lightspeed Restaurant
Initial setup	Simple setup with automated menu import through AI	Standard setup that consists of downloading the POS app, building menus, organizing floor plans and connecting hardware
Staff onboarding	Minimal training required	Length of training depends on the integrations and hardware used
Hardware requirements	Works with existing smartphones and other devices	Works with existing smartphones and other devices but specialized hardware is also available
Time to launch	Typically within hours	Typically within hours depending on the hardware
IT involvement	Minimal	Considerable

MENU TIGER and Lightspeed pricing comparisons

Looking at their prices alone, it’s clear that MENU TIGER is the more affordable option. Still, the features of each paid plan determine which one is worth subscribing to.

MENU TIGER

MENU TIGER pricing include:

• Freemium
• Regular ($17 per month or $173.40 per year)
• Advanced ($46 per month or $469.20 per year)
• Premium ($119 per month or $1,213.80 per year)

Starting at the Freemium tier, users get access to the following:

• Management of 1 restaurant
• AI Menu Builder
• QR code ordering and online ordering
• Basic QR code customization
• Access to sales and revenue report
• Creation of 1 promo deal
• Cash and Stripe payment processing
• Customer survey creation
• Customer and feedback report via automated email
• 24-hour customer support via automated email
• Multi-language menu translation

From Regular to the Premium tier, the following features are added:

• Management of up to 5 restaurants depending on the plan
• Advanced menu settings
• Reports on the most-sold dishes
• PayPal payment processing
• Customizable WiFi QR code
• Customizable URL QR code
• Creation of multiple promo deals
• POS integration
• Canva integration
• Zapier integration
• Kitchen display system
• Table management system
• White-labeling

With features at these prices, MENU TIGER can support the management of most types of restaurants, from food trucks and pop-ups to hotels and resorts.

Lightspeed Restaurant

Lightspeed Restaurant’s paid plans include:

• Starter ($69 a month)
• Essential ($189 a month)
• Premium ($399 a month)

Starter Plan users get access to the following features:

• Customizable POS
• Menu manager
• Floor planner
• Advanced analytics and insights
• Lightspeed AI, its performance review tool
• Default integrated payments
• Take-out and delivery order management
• Pre-authorizations for bar tabs
• Lightspeed Reservations add-on
• Reservation tool integrations
• Kitchen Display System (KDS)

Starting with the Essential plan, users can gain these additional features:

• Lightspeed Tempo, its service workflow optimization tool
• Customizable integrated payments
• Online ordering
• Contactless ordering
• Tableside order and payments with QR codes
• Lightspeed Pulse, its insights and operations mobile app
• Lightspeed Tasks, its task management tool
• Multi-location management
• Advanced inventory management
• Multiple revenue center support for hotels
• Raw API access

The platform also offers an Enterprise-level plan for businesses looking to customize their Lightspeed experience.

In addition to these paid plans, the platform also offers its own proprietary hardware. While helpful in creating a singular operating ecosystem, the additional costs can be too much for many businesses. 

Fortunately, many of Lightspeed’s features can be deployed on iOS, Android, and Windows devices.

Overall, it’s safe to say that Lightspeed Restaurant offers everything a dining establishment could need and more.

Why is MENU TIGER a Lightspeed alternative?

While both are effective restaurant management platforms, there are three reasons why MENU TIGER could be the platform for you.

1. All-in-one package

While Lightspeed has a whole host of features, several of them come as add-ons or third-party integrations. 

MENU TIGER can be integrated with other software, but its core offerings are still available in one package, ready to use. All you need is the right paid plan to get started.

2. AI-powered menu setup

The platform's straightforward nature already makes it easy to set up, but this is sped up considerably more by MENU TIGER’s AI menu builder.

If you already have a menu, you won’t have to recreate it in MENU TIGER’s interface. Instead, you can use its AI to scan and import your menu items, digitizing your menu for you.

3. Powerful yet affordable

MENU TIGER comes with a ton of useful features, but it is still an affordable platform for most restaurants. 

From its AI menu maker to its built-in POS system, the platform offers everything a restaurant expects to use, making it a great menu management software.

What’s more, the platform can be easily integrated into popular devices, and users aren’t required to purchase any other hardware to use everything. 

Choose the platform with the features you need

After comparing the two, it is clear that the costs of using MENU TIGER vs Lightspeed Restaurant give a user just what it needs to run their establishment, even up to five if they have that many. 

Still, the high prices of Lightspeed Restaurant’s subscription plans cover a ton of features that might be familiar to some restaurant owners, making them a good choice if experience is a factor. 

Overall, the choice of platform relies on what you need in your smart QR code menu system as well as your budget. Be sure to check what your restaurant requires, what you have on hand, and how much you can allot to either ecosystem.