Lightspeed vs Shopify for Canadian retailers (2026)

Pick Lightspeed if you run one shop with one register and sell mostly in person, because Lightspeed Basic costs less than Shopify Basic with POS Pro. Pay more for Lightspeed if you want landed costs (Core, CA$199 a month) or demand forecasting (Plus, CA$329 a month) built in. Pick Shopify if you have more than one register or location, sell online as much as in store, or want the online store to be the centre of the business rather than an add-on.

On list prices in CAD, Shopify is usually cheaper as soon as you add registers. Two stores with two registers each cost CA$536 a month on Lightspeed Core and CA$337 on Shopify Grow with POS Pro, both billed yearly. In-person card rates start at 2.6% on both, but Lightspeed adds 10¢ to every transaction.

Every price below is in Canadian dollars, before tax, taken from the Canadian pricing pages of both companies on 25 October 2026. EVDEV is a Shopify partner agency in Toronto, so we have a side. We have stuck to published numbers and said plainly where Lightspeed comes out ahead.

Lightspeed and Shopify at a glance

Lightspeed is a Canadian company. Its about page says it is headquartered in Montreal, has 20 years in the industry and is used by about 146,000 locations in more than 100 countries. This comparison covers Lightspeed Retail, the X-Series product, which is the one its retail pricing page prices.

Shopify sells one platform with an online store on every plan. Casual in-person selling comes with every paid plan, and POS Pro is a per-location add-on for shops that need staff roles, returns at any location and retail reports.

So the two start from opposite ends. Lightspeed charges by location and by register, and includes an online store that is cut down on its cheapest plan. Shopify charges by plan, includes the full online store, and charges for POS Pro by location.

Lightspeed vs Shopify pricing in Canada (CAD)

Lightspeed Retail plans

Lightspeed sets the currency by region. With the region set to Canada, its English and French-Canadian pricing pages both show CAD.

Each plan includes one register per location. Every extra register costs CA$69 a month on either billing cycle, and every extra location costs the full plan price again. On the Canadian page the plan price is the same whether or not you use Lightspeed Payments. The fine print says prices may vary and extra service fees may apply depending on the type of business and industry.

What changes between plans: Basic includes only the basic version of Lightspeed eCom. Core adds the full eCom, loyalty, advanced reports, integrations with accounting, ecommerce and marketing tools, the mobile scanner app and landed costs. Plus adds Insights forecasting, API access, Workflows, custom user roles and single sign-on (SSO).

For US readers, the US pricing page lists Basic at US$89, Core at US$149 and Plus at US$289 a month billed yearly, or US$109, US$179 and US$339 billed monthly.

Shopify plans

POS Pro costs CA$119 a month per location, and the Shopify POS pricing FAQ says it is billed yearly. Plus includes 20 POS Pro locations, and up to 200 with Shopify Payments. New stores get 3 days free, then pay $1 a month for 3 months. Our Shopify pricing in Canada guide breaks every plan down further.

What it costs for a real store

These are plan fees only, on yearly billing, before tax, card fees and hardware. We worked them out from the list prices above, and checked the Lightspeed figures on Lightspeed's own price calculator.

Lightspeed wins one row. A single shop with one register can run on Lightspeed Basic for CA$119 a month, which is less than Shopify Basic with POS Pro at CA$156. Shopify only beats it there if casual in-person selling is enough for you, and you give up staff roles, returns at any location and retail reports to get that price.

After that, every register you add costs CA$69 a month on Lightspeed and nothing on Shopify, and every store you add costs a full Lightspeed plan against CA$119 for POS Pro. That is most of the answer to why people call Lightspeed expensive.

Card processing fees in Canada

On the entry plans the percentage is the same, so the difference is the fixed fee. Take 1,000 in-person card sales of $50, which is $50,000. Shopify Basic charges $1,300. Lightspeed charges $1,400, because the 10¢ adds $100. If a share of those customers tap Interac instead, Shopify charges 15¢ each, whatever the sale amount.

Lightspeed does not publish its online card rate in Canada. Other sites quote different figures, so we have left them out. Ask for the online rate in writing before you sign. To run your own sales mix through Shopify's rates, use our Shopify fee calculator.

One point in Lightspeed's favour: in Canada its plan price does not change if you use another processor. On Shopify, paying through a provider other than Shopify Payments adds 2% on Basic down to 0.2% on Plus.

POS features day to day

Lightspeed's hardware kits are built around an iPad or an iMac. Shopify says that to start you need a smartphone or tablet and a Shopify card reader. Past that, the differences that show up at the counter are these.

• Registers. Lightspeed includes one per location and charges CA$69 a month for each extra one. Shopify says you can add as many registers per location as you want at no extra cost.
• Staff. Shopify POS Pro includes unlimited staff logins with roles and permissions. On Lightspeed, custom user roles are a Plus feature.
• Returns. With POS Pro, Shopify takes returns and exchanges at any location. Without it, returns go back to the location where the item was bought.
• Loyalty and customers. Lightspeed includes loyalty from Core up. POS Pro includes rich customer profiles and loyalty insights.
• Reports. Lightspeed adds advanced reports on Core and Insights forecasting on Plus. POS Pro includes retail reports.

Inventory and multiple locations

Shopify's Basic, Grow and Advanced plans allow 10 inventory locations, and Plus allows 200. Each location that sells in person with POS Pro adds CA$119 a month. POS Pro includes inventory management and omnichannel selling, so stock counts are shared with the online store.

Lightspeed counts each location as a full plan, so three stores on Core cost CA$597 a month before a single extra register. In return, Lightspeed Core includes landed costs and Lightspeed Plus adds Insights forecasting. Shopify's POS pricing page lists neither. If you import stock and price it on true landed cost, that is a real reason to stay on Lightspeed or to pay for an app on Shopify.

Ecommerce: Lightspeed eCom vs the Shopify online store

Lightspeed Basic includes only the basic version of Lightspeed eCom. The full version starts on Core at CA$199 a month, so that is the real entry price for a retailer who wants a proper online store on Lightspeed.

On Shopify the online store is the base of every plan, starting at CA$37 a month. You pay the online card rates above, plus the extra fee on any order you take through another processor. Retail features that Shopify does not build in come from apps. On its Lightspeed comparison page Shopify points switchers to Matrixify for bulk imports, WorkMate for work orders and ReSelly for consignment.

If most of your growth is going to come from the website, Shopify is the safer base. If the website is a small extra next to busy shops, Lightspeed Core can carry both.

Hardware prices in CAD

Shopify lists its hardware in CAD on its Canadian hardware store. Lightspeed sells hardware kits by quote only.

Lightspeed's iPad kit includes a LAN receipt printer, a cash drawer, a Bluetooth scanner, a Lightspeed iPad stand and receipt paper, with the iPad and payment terminal not included. The desktop kit includes a USB receipt printer, a cash drawer and a USB scanner, with the iMac not included.

If you switch, budget for new card readers. Shopify lists a Shopify card reader as one of the things you need to sell with Shopify POS. Our reading is that Lightspeed Payments terminals won't carry over, so plan to replace them. Check every printer and scanner against Shopify's supported hardware before you assume it will work.

Can you keep Lightspeed POS and use Shopify online?

Yes. Lightspeed has a built-in Shopify integration, and you can choose which store or warehouse inventory syncs to Shopify. On the current plans it is available on Core and Plus. It shares product, inventory, customer and sales data, and the rules in Lightspeed's setup guide matter:

• Lightspeed is the system of record. Changes made in Shopify may be overwritten or cause syncing issues.
• You can't sell products only on Shopify. A product created in Shopify is created in Lightspeed automatically.
• By default, barcodes sync from Shopify to Lightspeed once, during the first setup. Two-way barcode sync is available through Lightspeed Support.
• Images on Shopify products don't sync to Lightspeed.
• Lightspeed advises against Shopify apps that change prices, SKUs or handles.

On list prices, Lightspeed Core plus Shopify Basic is CA$236 a month on yearly billing, before card fees on both sides. This suits a retailer whose staff know Lightspeed well and who wants a better online store without retraining the shop floor. It suits you less if you want Shopify apps to change your catalogue, because Lightspeed may overwrite those changes or cause sync problems.

Moving from Lightspeed to Shopify: what moves and what breaks

Most data leaves Lightspeed as a spreadsheet. The catch is that some exports are capped, and some data can't go into Shopify by CSV at all.

The source for each export limit is Lightspeed's own help centre: products, customers, the customer workaround, sales and gift cards. Shopify's side is in its import guide.

A move usually runs in this order:

1. Export products as XLSX if you have 5,000 or fewer, and compare a sample of SKUs and barcodes against Lightspeed before importing.
2. Export customers in batches if you have more than 1,000.
3. Export sales history in date ranges of under 1,000 sales each.
4. Export gift card balances as close to the switch date as you can, so the balances are current.
5. Import into Shopify in this order: products, then customers, then historical orders. Turn off order notifications first, or staff get an email for every imported order.
6. Order Shopify card readers and test them in the shop before the switch.
7. If you ran a Lightspeed eCom site, map every old URL to its new Shopify URL with 301 redirects so you keep your search traffic.

Our Shopify migration checklist covers the redirect and launch steps in more detail, and our migration service covers how we run the whole move.

Lightspeed or Shopify: which should you pick?

Frequently asked questions

Is Lightspeed better than Shopify?

For a single shop with one register, Lightspeed Basic at CA$119 a month costs less than Shopify Basic with POS Pro at CA$156. If you want landed costs or demand forecasting built in, that is a reason to pay more for Lightspeed: landed costs come with Core at CA$199 a month and forecasting with Plus at CA$329. For several registers, several stores or a business that sells a lot online, Shopify costs less on list prices and the online store is stronger.

What are the key differences between Lightspeed and Shopify?

Pricing model and starting point. Lightspeed charges per location and per register and treats ecommerce as an add-on that is limited on Basic. Shopify charges per plan, includes the online store everywhere and charges for POS Pro per location, with unlimited registers.

Does Lightspeed work with Shopify?

Yes, on Lightspeed's current Core and Plus plans. The integration syncs products, inventory, customers and sales, with Lightspeed as the system of record. Images don't sync back to Lightspeed, and products can't be sold only on Shopify.

Why is Lightspeed so expensive?

Because of how it scales. Each extra register is CA$69 a month and each extra location is a full plan, so two stores with two registers each cost CA$536 a month on Core. A single register on Basic is CA$119 a month, which is not expensive next to Shopify Basic with POS Pro.

How much is Lightspeed POS in Canada?

CA$119, CA$199 or CA$329 a month for Basic, Core and Plus billed yearly, or CA$139, CA$239 and CA$399 billed monthly. In-person card payments through Lightspeed Payments cost 2.6% + 10¢.

Is Shopify POS good for a physical store?

For most shops, yes. Casual selling is included on every paid plan, and POS Pro at CA$119 a month per location adds staff roles, returns at any location, inventory management and retail reports. In-person card rates are 2.4% to 2.6% with no fixed fee, and Interac is 15¢. Landed costs are not on Shopify's POS feature list, while Lightspeed includes them from the Core plan up.

What is the downside of using Shopify?

POS Pro is CA$119 a month for each location. Paying through a provider other than Shopify Payments adds 2% to 0.2% per order depending on plan. Order history and gift card balances can't be imported by CSV, so a migration needs an app or the API. Below Plus you are limited to 10 inventory locations.

Can I move my Lightspeed data to Shopify?

Yes. Products and customers move by CSV, with XLSX safer for product lists up to 5,000 because CSV can change SKUs. Customer and sales exports are capped at 1,000 rows each, so large stores export in batches. Orders and gift card balances go in through a migration app or Shopify's API.

Talk to us about your move

If you're weighing a switch, we can price it before you commit. Start with our Shopify migration service, or see what else our Shopify experts team builds for Canadian retailers.

Sources and how we checked

We read every page below on 25 October 2026. Lightspeed CAD prices come from its French-Canadian page with the region set to Canada, and we checked the multi-location and extra-register totals on its price calculator. The cost examples are our own arithmetic from list prices.

• Lightspeed Retail pricing, Canada (CAD)
• Lightspeed Retail pricing, English page (currency follows the region)
• Lightspeed about page
• Lightspeed Retail hardware
• Lightspeed Shopify integration setup
• Shopify pricing, Canada
• Shopify POS pricing, Canada
• Shopify hardware store, Canada
• Shopify vs Lightspeed, Shopify's comparison page
• Shopify help: migrating to Shopify
• Shopify help: migrating from Lightspeed