Comparison

Lightspeed Retail (X) vs Time Clock by Homebase

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Lightspeed Retail (X)

This iPad point of sale system empowers retailers to manage their business from anywhere. It offers flexible checkout options, enhanced customer service tools, and real-time business insights. Connect with hardware and integrate with other services for a comprehensive commerce solution.

Highlights
  • Mobile checkout
  • Customer management
  • Real-time reporting
  • Sales target tracking
  • Hardware integration
  • Third-party integrations
  • Open API
Features
Read full description

Lightspeed Retail POS is the most powerful and intuitive iPad point of sale system for retail. Designed with a modern and sleek interface that’s as beautiful as your store, Lightspeed Retail POS is the #1 point of sale system that lets you run your business right from your iPad. Join 150,000+ customer locations worldwide who use Lightspeed’s award-winning one-stop commerce platform—no contracts, no commitment necessary. Untether the checkout experience • Move out from behind the counter and take your checkout process to the customer • Speed up the checkout process with Quick Keys and an easy search function • Run various types of promotions and discounts right from the app Serve your customers better • Make selling flexible with layaways, gift cards, on-account sales, and on-the-spot returns • Collect customer details using Lightspeed Retail POS to grow your database and personalize the shopping experience Gain new insights into your business • Access data from anywhere with real-time reporting • Create custom sales, inventory, and customer reports to always have a handle on your retail performance • Manage and track sales targets per store and per team member so everyone can keep improving Enjoy speed and reliability • Delight shoppers with speedy transactions and reduced waiting times in store • Enjoy continuous stable app usage even through your busiest periods Expand the power of your POS • Connect with your own hardware, from barcode scanners to receipt printers • Access powerful capabilities—including Lightspeed Payments and ecommerce—from Lightspeed’s one-stop commerce platform • Integrate with the best solutions in the world, including top accounting software, marketing platforms, and more • Tap into Lightspeed’s open API to create bespoke apps and workflows that suit your business Free onboarding & 24/7 support • Enjoy award-winning customer support from our in-house team that’s available 24/7 • Get the undivided attention of a dedicated account manager • Get free step-by-step articles and resources in our comprehensive Help Center • Watch step-by-step video tutorials to help you navigate and get the most out of your POS Lightspeed Retail is the effortless POS software for busy retailers. You live and breathe retail… and guess what? So do we. We know the unique challenges that brick-and-mortar retailers face, and we’re giving you all the tools you need to run a thriving physical store. Thanks to Lightspeed’s one-stop commerce platform, you can get all the tools to successfully run your business from one powerful solution.

About

Time Clock by Homebase

This app simplifies employee time and attendance tracking, reducing payroll errors and ensuring labor law compliance. It offers features like early clock-in prevention, overtime alerts, and photo verification to prevent time theft. Seamless integration with payroll and POS systems streamlines operations.

Highlights
  • Employee time and attendance tracking
  • Payroll export
  • Labor law compliance
  • Overtime prevention
  • Photo verification
  • Offline mode
  • POS and payroll integration
Features
Read full description

The Homebase time clock makes it easy to track your employees’ time and attendance -- for free. The Homebase time clock helps you: Reduce payroll headaches. Accurately track your employees’ hours, and easily edit time cards when necessary. Then easily export to run payroll. Stay compliant with labor laws. Integrated timesheets make it easy to see who took a break and when. And employee time cards, including edit history, are stored securely in the cloud to ensure FLSA compliance. Save on labor costs. Set up early clock-in prevention and get notified when employees are about to hit overtime. Eliminate buddy punching and time theft. Automatically snap a photo so you can be sure the right person is clocking in and out. The Homebase time clock app for iPad works seamlessly with all of our time clock apps using a secure PIN. So your employees can clock in on your iPad and clock out from their smartphone, computer, or your point of sale terminal. And there’s a built-in offline mode, so you’ll never miss a clock out—even with unreliable wi-fi. The Homebase time clock integrates with popular payroll providers to make running payroll a breeze. Employee time cards are automatically formatted for easy import. - Gusto - Intuit Quickbooks Online Payroll - Square Payroll - Heartland - ADP - And more The Homebase time clock also integrates with leading point-of-sale systems, so your employees can clock in and out for shifts right from your POS. - Clover - Square - Toast - Revel - Lightspeed - Upserve - And more

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Lightspeed Retail (X) at 3.0 against Time Clock by Homebase's 2.3. Lightspeed Retail (X) also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). Time Clock by Homebase's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and review sentiment (38% vs 18%). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lightspeed Retail (X) holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 2.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 47 and 37 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 18% of Lightspeed Retail (X)'s written reviews are positive against 38% of Time Clock by Homebase's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lightspeed Retail (X) ships an update every 9 days, Time Clock by Homebase every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Lightspeed Retail (X) versus Time Clock by Homebase: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLightspeed Retail (X)Time Clock by Homebase
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (47 ratings) — better2.3 (37 ratings)
Positive reviews18.0% of reviews38.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings47 — better37
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPadiPad
Requires iOS17.515.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size303 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLightspeed Commerce Inc.Pioneer Works, Inc.

Customer experience

Lightspeed Retail (X)

All ratings47 ratings
Positive46.8%
Neutral6.4%
Negative46.8%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive18.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative74.0%

Time Clock by Homebase

All ratings37 ratings
Positive29.7%
Neutral2.7%
Negative67.6%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive38.5%
Neutral7.7%
Negative53.8%

In-app purchases

None

Lightspeed Retail (X)

No in-app purchases

None

Time Clock by Homebase

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lightspeed Retail (X) free?
Lightspeed Retail (X) is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Time Clock by Homebase free?
Time Clock by Homebase is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Lightspeed Retail (X) or Time Clock by Homebase?
Lightspeed Retail (X) is rated higher. Lightspeed Retail (X) averages 3.0 out of 5 from 47 ratings, while Time Clock by Homebase averages 2.3 from 37 ratings.
Do Lightspeed Retail (X) or Time Clock by Homebase have ads?
Neither Lightspeed Retail (X) nor Time Clock by Homebase shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lightspeed Retail (X) or Time Clock by Homebase?
Lightspeed Retail (X) ships an update every 9 days, and Time Clock by Homebase every 2 months. Most recently, Lightspeed Retail (X) was updated on September 21, 2026 and Time Clock by Homebase on September 17, 2026.

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