Gift Up! vs Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Gift Up!
This app helps businesses manage and redeem gift cards sold online. It allows staff to quickly scan customer gift cards from various sources, ensuring a smooth redemption process. Businesses can also easily sell their own gift cards through the platform.
- Scan customer gift cards
- Redeem gift cards from email, print, and Apple Pay
- Sell business gift cards online
- Fully automated gift card sales
- Supports any website and currency
- Immediate payment for sales
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Staff companion app to quickly scan gift cards presented by a customer, either via email/print and Apple Pay wallet. The simplest way to sell your business’ gift cards online It only takes 5 minutes, and we handle everything from payment to delivery. - Fully automated - Any website, any currency - You get paid straight away - No monthly fees, no setup fees. Free account required. Sign up at https://www.giftup.com
Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)
Streamline restaurant operations with a comprehensive iPad-based platform. Manage menus, orders, payments, and employee tasks efficiently. Offers offline functionality and detailed reporting for businesses of all sizes.
- Real-time menu and floor plan management
- Tableside ordering and payment processing
- Offline mode for uninterrupted service
- Comprehensive sales and employee reporting
- Multi-store management capabilities
- Extensive integration options
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Imagine upgrading every single aspect of your restaurant with a simple touch. We’re talking quicker service, increased profits and simplified workflows for your front and back of house. Lightspeed Restaurant (K Series) lets you run your entire restaurant via iPad from anywhere. Tailored for pubs, bars, cafes, bakeries, hotels and both casual dining and fine dining restaurants. Lightspeed Restaurant (K Series) is a seamless, intuitive and reliable restaurant management solution trusted by restaurateurs around the world. Menu and floor plan - Create and modify your menu and floor plan in real time. - Multiple adjustable floor plans - Customisable menu - Real-time editing Ordering and payments Go where your customers are and take orders on the spot while they’re being sent directly to the kitchen or the bar. - Tableside ordering by course or by seat - Order sequence suggestions - Mobile service - Takeout and delivery - Accept any payment type or currency - Review and adjust items in bulk Offline mode Internet down? Don't sweat it. Lightspeed Restaurant will continue to process and send orders to the kitchen or bar, and data will sync to your back office once the internet is back up. Thanks to Lightspeed TrueSync serverless technology, your ePOS doesn’t quit. - Uninterrupted service - Fully-featured offline mode - Automatic syncs and backups Reporting and data Get unrestricted access to over 50 detailed reports via iPad, mobile phone or desktop computer. - Sales reports - Product reports - End-of-day reports - User reports - Accounting reports - Mobile reporting Free onboarding and support With Lightspeed Restaurant, you get support whenever you need it. - Training and support - Free onboarding - Phone support - Email and chat support Employee management Manage your employees with a comprehensive suite of tools and integrations available. - Clock in and clock out - Customisable employee permissions - Employee performance reports - Set up individual accounts - Scheduling integrations Multi-store management Whether you’re managing one or multiple locations, Lightspeed Restaurant (K Series) has the tools to streamline how you operate and minimise complexity. - Consolidated multi-store reports - Shared products - Multiple price-lists - Location reporting - Inventory management and transfers - Centralised and localised gift cards - Customer data per location Add ons Choose from a host of add-ons to further boost your restaurant’s productivity and elevate the customer experience. - Lightspeed Delivery - Built-in Xero Integration - Lightspeed Live: mobile reporting application - Kitchen Display System - Customer Facing Display Integrations Our network of over 95 integration partners allows you to tailor your Lightspeed Restaurant ePOS to your business’ specific needs. - Payment terminals - Online reservation tools - Click and collect modules - Hotel property management systems (PMS) - Accounting suites - Business analytics - Employee scheduling - Inventory management software - And more “With a live feed of all transactions from different channels, we can better allocate staff for busy periods and use data to generate reports.” —Timothy Stevenson, CPRESS Juice “A lot of other systems make things so much more complicated than they need to be. The simplicity of Lightspeed just makes running a business that much easier.” —Ben Ryan, Mamma Dough “Lightspeed understood immediately the challenges we were facing. The Back Office is easy to use, and allows us to easily track our sales metrics and KPIs. That helped us stay on top of things during our transition from pop-up to brick and mortar restaurant.” —Seb Shaw, Morty and Bob’s Questions? You can always reach our friendly team of specialists by calling +44 203 695 9599 or by going to our Help Center for helpful tips, training videos and system updates.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K) at every 2 weeks against Gift Up!'s every 16 months. Gift Up!'s advantage is rating (3.1 vs 2.8) and review sentiment (43% vs 27%). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Gift Up! holds the better App Store score, 3.1 against 2.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 15 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of Gift Up!'s written reviews are positive against 27% of Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)'s.
Gift Up! ships an update every 16 months, Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K) every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Gift Up! | Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.1 (9 ratings) — better | 2.8 (15 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 42.9% of reviews — better | 27.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9 | 15 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 16 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 18.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 403 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Koan Adventures Ltd | Lightspeed Commerce Inc. |
Customer experience
Gift Up!
Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)
In-app purchases
Gift Up!
No in-app purchases
Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Gift Up! free?
Is Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K) free?
Which has better reviews, Gift Up! or Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)?
Do Gift Up! or Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K) have ads?
Which is updated more often, Gift Up! or Lightspeed Restaurant POS (K)?
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