Lightspeed is a polished ePOS for restaurants and shops, from £79 a month. DUMA runs the till, kitchen screen, stock, recipe margin, rotas and customers in one workspace on a free plan, with the card machine you already have.
Free plan, foreverKeep your card machineTill works offline
Choose Lightspeed if you run a busy full-service restaurant or a multi-store shop, want payments, gift cards and a large integration marketplace from one supplier, and the monthly plan fits your budget.
Look at DUMA if you are a smaller café, food business or shop that wants stock, recipe margin, rotas and loyalty without a plan per terminal. DUMA works with the card machine you already have; Lightspeed says its payments can’t use existing terminal hardware.
Lightspeed’s figures are from its UK website, which does not say whether they include VAT. DUMA’s are from the product today.
Lightspeed’s prices and features as of November 2026, read on Lightspeed’s own UK website on . Prices change, so check the linked source before you decide.
| Job | DUMA | Lightspeed |
|---|---|---|
| Software price | Free plan, forever, with no card needed. Business is £89 a month, coming soon. | Restaurant: Basic £79, Core £149, Pro £219 a month. Retail: Basic £75, Core £149, Plus £189 a month.Source: lightspeedhq.com |
| Card machine | Included:Keep yours. Square and SumUp connect directly; any other machine works with the amount keyed in. | Not available:Lightspeed Payments. Lightspeed says you can’t use existing terminal hardware, and its hardware is sold separately.Source: lightspeedhq.com |
| When the internet drops | Included:Cash and card-machine sales save on the till and send themselves when the connection returns. Nothing queued is thrown away. | Included:Lightspeed Restaurant keeps working offline and syncs when the connection returns.Source: lightspeedhq.com |
| Stock | Included:Included and free in full. Every sale takes its recipe’s ingredients off what is on hand. | Partly:Inventory management on Restaurant Core and Pro, not Basic. Inventory and purchase orders on every Retail plan.Source: lightspeedhq.com |
| Recipe margin after VAT | Included:Cost each dish from its ingredients and see the margin after VAT, per size and per combination of options. | Partly:Stock tracked to the ingredient, with recipe consistency. We did not find margin after VAT on Lightspeed’s UK pages.Source: lightspeedhq.com |
| Kitchen display | Included:Included: tickets move from New to Preparing to Ready. | Partly:An add-on on Restaurant Basic; one of the licences you choose on Core and Pro.Source: lightspeedhq.com |
| QR ordering | Partly:Collection orders by QR: customers order and pay by card on their phone, or pay cash at the counter. No ordering to a table yet. | Partly:QR code ordering and pay on Restaurant Core and Pro.Source: lightspeedhq.com |
| Rotas and clock-ins | Included:Included and free in full: rotas, clock-in on the staff member’s phone, leave requests, and labour cost next to sales. | Partly:Not listed on the restaurant page; employee management comes through integrations.Source: lightspeedhq.com |
| Loyalty | Included:Included: stamp cards and points, applied at the till. | Partly:Gift Cards & Loyalty on Restaurant Core and Pro; in-store and online loyalty on every Retail plan.Source: lightspeedhq.com |
| Gift cards | Not available:Not in DUMA yet. | Included:Included with Restaurant Core and Pro.Source: lightspeedhq.com |
| Start for free |
Included Partly, or it depends Not available
Read on Lightspeed’s UK website on 3 November 2026. Lightspeed changes its prices from time to time, so check the linked page before you decide.
Each month, before card fees and hardware, whose prices Lightspeed doesn’t publish. Reservations, workforce and marketing are add-ons or integrations, and Lightspeed says additional fees may apply.
£0a month, forever
Till, kitchen screen, stock, recipe margin, rotas and loyalty on the free plan.
Restaurant: Basic £79 a month (one licence), Core £149 (two), Pro £219 (three). An extra register is £39.
Source: lightspeedhq.comRetail: Basic £75, Core £149, Plus £189 a month, each with one register.
Source: lightspeedhq.comPayment rates are shown as “Default” on Restaurant Basic and “Custom” on Core and Pro.
Source: lightspeedhq.comA chargeback costs a single £15 fee.
Source: lightspeedhq.comAdd-ons and integrations, with no prices published: ordering kiosk, reservations, workforce and payroll, accounting, marketing automation.
Source: lightspeedhq.comMonthly plans can be cancelled at the end of the month; annual plans run to the end of the term.
Source: lightspeedhq.comLightspeed is an established ePOS, and it does several things DUMA does not.
Lightspeed Payments is part of the system, with the same rate whatever card the customer uses.
On DUMA
DUMA does not process payments. It works with the card machine you already have.
Gift cards on Restaurant Core and Pro, and click & collect and delivery on Pro.
On DUMA
Gift cards, split bills and tips are not in DUMA yet.
Supplier catalogues, purchase orders, landed costs and eCommerce on its Retail plans.
On DUMA
DUMA has stock in every size and colour and purchase orders, but no hosted online store yet.
An integration marketplace on every Restaurant plan, with accounting, PMS and marketing add-ons.
On DUMA
DUMA connects to fewer services, adds integrations on request, and has a public API.
Over 20 years in retail, and over 200 Michelin-starred restaurants, Lightspeed says.
On DUMA
DUMA is new, built and supported by one person. When you ask for something, you’re talking to the person who builds it.
Lightspeed is the safer pick for a large venue that wants payments and gift cards from one supplier.
DUMA’s case is the whole operation on one free plan, built for smaller places.
Most of the work is your menu or products. We help with that for free.
Create a free DUMA workspace
Tell DUMA what you run, then build your menu in it, or bring it in from a spreadsheet.
Connect your card machine
Square Terminal and SumUp connect directly. Any other machine works through the till’s Card machine method, with the amount keyed in.
Add recipes and stock
Give each dish its ingredients, and DUMA shows its margin after VAT and takes stock off with every sale.
Add the team and the regulars
Put the rota, clock-ins and loyalty in the same workspace. There is nothing to connect.
For smaller cafés, food businesses and shops, yes: the till, kitchen screen, stock, recipe margin, rotas and loyalty are on DUMA’s free plan. Lightspeed’s plans start at £79 a month for restaurants and £75 for shops, and it has things DUMA does not yet, such as gift cards and built-in payments.
With DUMA, yes. Square and SumUp connect directly, and any other machine works with the amount keyed in. Lightspeed says its payments can’t use existing terminal hardware, so check your Lightspeed agreement before you move.
Yes. When the internet drops, cash and card-machine sales are saved on the till and sent when it is back, and a sale that can’t be sent is kept for you to check. A card reader connected to DUMA needs the internet; a standalone machine keeps working.
Not yet. Gift cards, split bills and tips are not in DUMA today. Promo codes and loyalty rewards are.
Start free in minutes, with no card needed. We’ll help you bring your menu and team across.