Lightspeed vs Zeller — Australia 2026
Lightspeed vs Zeller for AU businesses. Compare full POS features, card rates, EFTPOS hardware, inventory management & pricing.
Lightspeed for full POS; Zeller for simple EFTPOS
Lightspeed retail is $129–$329/month ex GST with 1.5% card-present; hospitality starts at Starter $79, not $89 or $40. Offline mode is listed on hospitality plans. Zeller is $0 monthly with 1.4% in-person (1.2% POS) and POS Lite on both terminals at $99 promo / $199 standard. Zeller is not a Lightspeed inventory substitute. Choose Zeller to take cards cheaply; choose Lightspeed when you need retail stock control or restaurant workflows and will pay the subscription.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Lightspeed | Zeller |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Montreal, Canada | Melbourne, VIC |
| Entry Price | $129/mo ex GST | Free |
| BAS Lodgement | POS. Accounting integration is listed; BAS lodgement is in Xero/MYOB, not Lightspeed. | EFTPOS/POS. BAS via Xero integration or other accounting — not Zeller lodgement. |
| STP Phase 2 | n/a | n/a |
| Payday Super | n/a | n/a |
| Modern Awards | N/A | N/A |
| Data Hosting | US/Canada | Not AU-only |
| AU Support Hours | 24/7 | 24/7 |
| Phone Support | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | 200+ apps | 600+ apps |
Pricing Comparison (AUD, Mar 2026)
Lightspeed Plans
- ✓Registers: 1
- ✓Locations: 1
- ✓Ecommerce: Yes
- ✓Loyalty: No
- ✓Registers: 1
- ✓Locations: 1
- ✓Ecommerce: Yes
- ✓Loyalty: Yes
- ✓Registers: 1
- ✓Locations: 1
- ✓Ecommerce: Yes
- ✓Loyalty: Yes
- ✓Advanced Reporting: Yes
- ✓Registers: 1
- ✓Registers: 1
- ✓Registers: 1
Zeller Plans
- ✓Transactions: unlimited
- ✓Pos Lite: Yes
- ✓Transactions: unlimited
- ✓Pos Lite: Yes
AU Compliance Scores
Lightspeed
Zeller
Pros & Cons
Lightspeed
Pros
- Retail inventory (variants, POs, catalogues, e-commerce) on every retail plan
- Hospitality offline mode listed on Starter, Essential and Premium
- 1.5% card-present on the AU retail payments row
- 24/7 chat and phone listed on the retail pricing table
- Accounting integrations listed for Xero/MYOB tax sync
- Separate retail and restaurant products instead of a generic till
Cons
- Retail from $129/month ex GST — not a free POS
- Hospitality public plans now start at $79, not the stored $40 Basic
- Privacy policy allows US/Canada (and other) storage — not AU-hosted
- Extra hospitality register $39/month; hardware is extra
- Restaurant inventory is an add-on on Starter (+$99)
- Card surcharging in the software ends 1 October 2026 under RBA reforms
Zeller
Pros
- 1.4% in-person incl. GST (1.2% Zeller POS integrated) — lowest published flat rate in this set
- No monthly software or terminal rental
- POS Lite now on Terminal 1x and Terminal 2
- Hardware $99 promotional / $199 standard incl. GST
- Free Transaction Account and debit cards on the pricing page
- PCI Level 1 claimed; AU company with local phone support
Cons
- Privacy policy discloses overseas processing — not AU data residency
- POS Lite is a basic item library, not Lightspeed inventory
- Offline card-taking for POS Lite was not documented on the pages opened this check
- Invoice 1.1% is a dated promo for new accounts, not the ongoing standard
- RBA surcharge ban from 1 Oct 2026 removes Zero-Cost EFTPOS as a long-term fee-offset
- About page support hours (9AM–1AM) differ from the pricing-page 24/7 claim
Who Should Choose Lightspeed
Lightspeed is best suited for businesses that need multi location retail, hospitality venue, restaurant.
Choose Lightspeed if you are:
- Multi Location Retail
- Hospitality Venue
- Restaurant
- Omnichannel Retail
- Large Inventory
Who Should Choose Zeller
Zeller is best suited for businesses that need small retail, cafe, market stall.
Choose Zeller if you are:
- Small Retail
- Cafe
- Market Stall
- Tradies Taking Payments
- Low Volume Eftpos