Lightspeed Restaurant POS (L) vs SambaPOS MC3
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Lightspeed Restaurant POS (L)
Streamline restaurant operations with a comprehensive point-of-sale system. Manage menus, orders, payments, and customer data from an iPad, with offline capabilities and detailed reporting. Includes free onboarding and 24/7 support.
- Intuitive iPad interface
- Offline mode for uninterrupted service
- Menu and floor plan customization
- Streamlined ordering and payments
- Detailed sales and staff reporting
- 24/7 live support and free onboarding
- Employee permission controls
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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. Lightspeed Restaurant’s robust POS solution lets you run your entire restaurant from an iPad and access your business from anywhere, even if you lose internet connection. Whether you run a full or quick service restaurant, a bar or nightclub, a hotel or cafe, this POS system is tailored to your business’ needs. Get your staff up and running with our intuitive interface and cloud-based system that allows servers to move fluidly from table to table and take orders with fewer mistakes. It’s built to help you upsell with ease and interact with your customers during the ordering process by uploading appetizing images and suggesting modifiers for each menu item. Menu and floor plan: Easily create discounts that automatically apply to customer groups, promotional events or specific items. Combining tables or moving them around is as simple as tap and drag. Present menu items complete with photos, descriptions and prices. Make quick updates to your floorplan. Ordering and payments: Send orders to the kitchen or bar and fire courses as needed. Cut down on the time it takes for customers to get their orders. Easily split or combine bills. Have guests sign and assign tip directly on your iPad. Offline mode: Internet down? Don't sweat it. Lightspeed restaurant POS works online or offline. It never quits. Lightspeed Restaurant is the only one to keep your data safe even if your terminal is permanently damaged. Look up customer information for take-out or delivery orders. Process gift card sales or as a payment method. Liteserver stays up at all times, so operations go on as usual. Once a connection is reestablished, your data is automatically synced. Reporting and data: Easily pull-up end of day reports to access key data that will help you prepare for peak periods and better understand your customers’ needs. Use the staff performance reports to learn who your best employees are. Access all this data from your phone, iPad or laptop, anytime, from anywhere. Free Onboarding & 24/7 Support: Benefit from a dedicated team who help you get started in a 1:1 session. Get live chat support with our support heros located around the world. Employees: Customizable user permissions give you full control over employees’ access to your system. Attribute personalized profiles to each employee with individual logins. Train your team in no time with the intuitive and easy-to-learn iPad interface. Servers can take orders directly from the iPad for quicker service and more accurate orders. Add ons: Kitchen Display System module for optimized communication between the kitchen and the front of the house. Customer Facing Display module to optimize communication between your staff and customers. Self Order Menu module to allow customers to place their own orders. Integrations: Our network of over 250 integration partners allows you to tailor Lightspeed to your business’ specific needs such as accounting, delivery or loyalty programs. What our customers are saying: “It allows me to focus on taking care of my customers and not worrying about how the place is running, it really gives me peace of mind.” - Maison Cloakroom “It was easy to program and even easier to train my staff with — I could do it with my eyes closed.” -Nobu Hotel “I wanted my team to focus on what they do best. With the click of a button, they can show guests how a particular dish looks like and that adds to the experience.” -Absurd Bird “From ringing up food and drinks to managing the backend and business side, it’s freeing me up to do so much more work than I would have the time to do if I had to do all that by hand.” - Live on Air Questions? You can always reach our friendly team of specialists by calling 855-251-0441 or by going to our support center for helpful tips, training videos and system updates.
SambaPOS MC3
This mobile client digitizes restaurant operations, allowing waiting staff to take orders efficiently without traditional tools. It leverages technology to streamline business processes and support digital transformation in the food service industry.
- Digital order taking
- Streamlined operations
- Business transformation
- Mobile client for staff
- Digitize restaurant processes
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SambaPOS Mobile Client allows your waiting staff to smoothly handle the orders without having to carry a pen and notepad all the time. SambaPOS Mobile Client helps restaurants digitize operations, and helps leverage technology to accelerate your business transformation so you stay ahead in an ever-changing economy.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SambaPOS MC3 at 5.0 against Lightspeed Restaurant POS (L)'s 3.0. SambaPOS MC3 also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Lightspeed Restaurant POS (L)'s advantage is ratings volume (30 vs 1). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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.
SambaPOS MC3 holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lightspeed Restaurant POS (L) has 30 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on July 6, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Lightspeed Restaurant POS (L) | SambaPOS MC3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (30 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 46.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 30 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 207 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Lightspeed Commerce Inc. | SambaPOS |
Customer experience
Lightspeed Restaurant POS (L)
SambaPOS MC3
In-app purchases
Lightspeed Restaurant POS (L)
No in-app purchases
SambaPOS MC3
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Lightspeed Restaurant POS (L) free?
Is SambaPOS MC3 free?
Which has better reviews, Lightspeed Restaurant POS (L) or SambaPOS MC3?
Do Lightspeed Restaurant POS (L) or SambaPOS MC3 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Lightspeed Restaurant POS (L) or SambaPOS MC3?
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