Payments Updated on: October 1, 2026

13 min read

Lightspeed vs SumUp: Swiss Restaurant POS Compared

Author Bardhyl

Quick Answer: In the Lightspeed vs SumUp decision, SumUp suits Swiss cafés, takeaways, bars and market stands that want to start at CHF 0 a month and pay per transaction, with a hospitality tier at CHF 49 a month. Lightspeed Restaurant suits full-service restaurants and groups that need table management, handhelds, kitchen displays and deeper reporting, with plans at CHF 89, CHF 159 and CHF 249 a month. Lightspeed connects TWINT at the till, while SumUp’s Swiss payment list covers cards and mobile wallets. The two can also work together, because Lightspeed lists SumUp as a payment integration in Switzerland.

Choosing between Lightspeed vs SumUp looks like a software decision, but for most Swiss restaurants the card fees decide the final bill. On CHF 60,000 of monthly card sales, a difference of just 0.1 percentage points in processing costs CHF 720 a year. The comparison below uses both brands’ live Swiss pricing pages from September 2026, in CHF, so you can run the numbers for your own venue.

Lightspeed vs SumUp at a Glance: The Swiss Comparison

Most comparisons that rank for this search are written for the US or UK market, quote prices in dollars or pounds and treat both brands as general retail tools. Here is how the two line up for a restaurant in Switzerland today.

	Lightspeed Restaurant	SumUp
Built for	Hospitality first: table service, courses, kitchen flow, multi-location groups	Small businesses of every type, with a hospitality tier on top
Software price in Switzerland	CHF 89 Basic, CHF 159 Core, CHF 249 Pro per month	CHF 0 for the free POS, CHF 49 per month for Kassensystem Plus
Extra device licence	CHF 49 per month per additional licence	No per-device software fee listed
Card processing	Lightspeed Payments: standard rate on Basic, customisable rate on Core and Pro	Published: 1.50% debit and 2.50% credit or premium cards, or 0.99% and 1.99% with Payments Plus at CHF 29 a month
TWINT	Integrated at the till once your TWINT merchant account is connected	Not among the payment methods on SumUp’s Swiss pricing page
Hardware	iPad-based setup with stand, printers, terminal and cash drawer, quoted per venue	Bought outright: card reader bundle from CHF 29, the Kasse register from CHF 249 on current promotion
Contract	Plans can be upgraded any time, with a dedicated account manager	No long-term contract, cancel any time, 30-day money-back guarantee on its products
Support	24/7 chat and phone support	24/7 priority support with Payments Plus
Scale	Around 150,000 customer locations worldwide	More than 4 million businesses worldwide

The table shows two different philosophies. SumUp keeps fixed costs close to zero and grows with you through add-ons. Lightspeed bundles restaurant workflows into a monthly plan and adds depth as you move up the tiers. Neither is better in general. The right choice depends on how your service runs and how much you process by card.

What Lightspeed Restaurant Costs in Switzerland

Lightspeed’s Swiss pricing page lists three restaurant plans, each billed per month in CHF.

Basic at CHF 89 is built for taking orders and payments quickly. It includes one licence, reporting, the Lightspeed Pulse mobile app and 24/7 chat and phone support. Handheld ordering, a kitchen display, QR ordering and inventory are available as add-ons.

Core at CHF 159 includes two licences, which you can split between a fixed till, the Lightspeed Tableside handheld and a kitchen display system, often shortened to KDS. QR order-and-pay at the table, inventory management, vouchers and loyalty come included, and the card processing rate becomes customisable.

Pro at CHF 249 adds a third licence, multi-location management, benchmark data, your own click-and-collect and delivery ordering through Lightspeed’s Order Anywhere, and integrations with third-party delivery platforms.

Every additional licence costs CHF 49 a month on all three plans. Hardware is configured per venue. Lightspeed’s standard setup includes an iPad with a dedicated stand, kitchen and receipt printers, a payment terminal and a cash drawer, and its team quotes the package after a demo.

One point to confirm on your quote: the Swiss pricing page does not state whether the monthly prices include 8.1% MWST, the Swiss value added tax. Ask for the figure with and without it before you compare.

What SumUp Costs in Switzerland

SumUp’s Swiss pricing page separates software from payments, which makes its costs easy to model. All prices below exclude MWST.

Payments without a subscription cost 1.50% per in-person debit card transaction and 2.50% for American Express, premium cards, credit cards and cards issued outside the EU. There are no monthly fixed costs.

Payments Plus at CHF 29 a month, or CHF 299 a year, lowers in-person debit and credit card fees to 0.99% and premium, Amex and non-EU cards to 1.99%. SumUp says it pays off from around CHF 4,700 in monthly card payments, it can be cancelled any time, and it includes 24/7 priority support. From CHF 10,000 in monthly turnover, SumUp offers individually agreed rates.

The SumUp POS software is free in its basic version. It covers the item catalogue, order handling, reports and basic staff and customer data, and it connects a terminal, cash drawer, printer, kiosk or kitchen display. Kassensystem Plus at CHF 49 a month adds what most sit-down restaurants need: a table plan, kitchen printers, multiple printers, staff PINs with individual access rights, a cash book and accounting integrations.

Hardware is bought outright rather than rented. At the time of writing, SumUp’s Swiss shop lists the Solo Lite reader with charging cradle at CHF 29, down from CHF 49, the portable Terminal with built-in printer at CHF 109, down from CHF 169, and the two-screen Kasse register at CHF 249, down from CHF 399. These are promotional prices, so check the current figure before you budget.

Payouts arrive on the next working day at no extra cost, and SumUp charges nothing for failed payments or for cash sales recorded in its app.

Lightspeed vs SumUp in CHF: Three Swiss Restaurant Scenarios

Percentages only mean something when you apply them to your own card volume. The three scenarios below assume a typical card mix: 75% debit cards, 15% standard credit cards and 10% Amex, premium or foreign cards. That puts SumUp’s blended rate at 1.75% without a subscription and 1.09% with Payments Plus.

Lightspeed does not publish its Swiss processing rate, so the Lightspeed rows show the software cost plus your quoted rate. Use the rule of thumb in each scenario to plug in the number from your own offer.

Scenario 1: A café in Winterthur with one till

Monthly card sales: CHF 20,000. No table service, one counter, busy weekends.

	Monthly cost	Yearly cost
SumUp free POS, standard fees	CHF 350	CHF 4,200
SumUp free POS with Payments Plus	CHF 247	CHF 2,964
Lightspeed Basic software	CHF 89 plus processing	CHF 1,068 plus processing

Every 0.1 percentage point on Lightspeed’s quoted rate adds CHF 20 a month at this volume. For a counter-service café, SumUp with Payments Plus is a lean and predictable setup. Lightspeed becomes interesting if the café plans a second site or wants deeper reporting.

Scenario 2: A 60-seat restaurant in Lucerne

Monthly card sales: CHF 60,000. Table service, one handheld for the terrace and a kitchen display.

	Monthly cost	Yearly cost
SumUp Kassensystem Plus with Payments Plus	CHF 732	CHF 8,784
Lightspeed Core with one extra licence for the KDS	CHF 208 plus processing	CHF 2,496 plus processing

At this volume, SumUp’s individual pricing applies, so your real SumUp figure may come in below CHF 732. On the Lightspeed side, every 0.1 percentage point on the quoted rate is worth CHF 60 a month or CHF 720 a year. This is where the processing rate matters more than the software line. Ask both providers for a written rate on your actual card mix and compare the totals, not the plan names.

Scenario 3: A seasonal terrace or market stand

Monthly card sales: CHF 6,000 from May to September, close to zero the rest of the year.

SumUp’s pay-per-transaction model fits this profile naturally: about CHF 105 a month during the season at standard fees and nothing when you are closed. Payments Plus would bring that to about CHF 94, and because it can be cancelled any time, you can run it for the season only. A monthly POS plan such as Lightspeed’s makes more sense for venues that trade all year, since the subscription runs whether you are open or not.

If you also take online orders, add those costs to the same sheet. Our breakdown of online ordering costs in Switzerland shows how subscription and commission models compare over a year.

TWINT, Payouts and Payments: Where Lightspeed vs SumUp Differ in Switzerland

Payment habits in Switzerland are not the same as in the markets most POS reviews are written for. According to the Swiss National Bank’s Payment Methods Survey 2025, the debit card remains the most used payment method at physical points of sale, followed by cash and mobile payment apps. Only 2% of respondents favoured abolishing cash, so your till still needs to handle it well.

TWINT. TWINT reports more than 6 million active users, which is why Swiss guests often ask for it at the table. Lightspeed Restaurant supports TWINT as a payment type at the till. You create a TWINT merchant account, generate the connection details in TWINT’s portal, and Lightspeed’s support team completes the integration. SumUp’s Swiss pricing page lists Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, V PAY, American Express, Diners, Discover, UnionPay, JCB, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Restaurants on SumUp that want TWINT can add it through TWINT’s own merchant solution, such as a QR code at the counter, alongside their SumUp setup.

Payouts. SumUp pays out on the next working day at no extra cost. Lightspeed Payments lets you request payouts at any time, with same-day deposits possible, including at weekends.

Pay at table. Lightspeed supports paying at the table with its Castles S1F2 terminal, including card tips. SumUp’s portable Terminal combines card payments and a receipt printer in one device, which suits terrace service.

Cash. Both systems record cash sales, and SumUp charges no fee on cash sales recorded in its app.

Can you use Lightspeed and SumUp together?

Yes. Lightspeed’s Swiss integration directory lists SumUp as a payment integration for Lightspeed Restaurant. The amount entered on the Lightspeed till appears automatically on the SumUp terminal, connected by Bluetooth or cable, so staff never type the amount twice. For some restaurants this combines the best of both: Lightspeed’s restaurant workflows with SumUp’s published card fees. Confirm the current integration terms with Lightspeed before you order hardware.

Which POS Fits Your Restaurant? A Venue-by-Venue Guide

Food trucks, market stands and pop-ups. SumUp is the natural starting point. There is no monthly fixed cost, a reader costs less than a dinner for two, and you can take payments with a smartphone.

Cafés, bakeries and counter-service takeaways. SumUp’s free POS covers the essentials, and Payments Plus pays off once card sales pass around CHF 4,700 a month. Lightspeed Basic is a strong option if you want its reporting and plan to grow.

Full-service restaurants with table service. This is Lightspeed’s home ground. Courses, table plans, handhelds and kitchen displays are part of the core product, and Core bundles two licences with QR order-and-pay. SumUp’s Kassensystem Plus also covers table plans and kitchen printers, so compare both in a live demo with your own menu.

Groups with several locations or a hotel. Lightspeed Pro includes multi-location management and benchmark data, and Lightspeed offers PMS integrations for hotel restaurants. Our guide to managing multiple restaurant locations covers what to centralise first.

Seven questions to ask before you sign

What is my blended card processing rate on my real mix of debit, credit and foreign cards?
Are the quoted prices with or without 8.1% MWST?
How is TWINT connected, and who charges the TWINT fee?
What does the full hardware package cost for my floor plan, including handhelds and kitchen screens?
Is there a minimum contract term, and how do I export my data if I switch?
Which add-ons will I need in year one, and what do they cost each month?
How will online orders, QR orders and delivery platforms reach the kitchen?

The last question is easy to skip. A till handles what happens inside your restaurant, but a growing share of orders now starts on a phone. Our guide to QR code menus explains how table ordering fits into that picture.

How SparissimoFood Helps With Online Orders Next to Your POS

Whichever till you choose, online orders from your regulars are often the most expensive sales you make. Many still come through delivery marketplaces that charge Swiss restaurants 10 to 35% per order, depending on the platform and delivery model. SparissimoFood gives your restaurant its own ordering channel for delivery, pickup and QR table orders, so those guests order directly from you.

It runs next to your POS as a separate channel. Orders arrive in SparissimoFood’s order-acceptance app, which is free on Android. An optional receipt-printing POS device costs CHF 249 one-off on Starter and CHF 189 on Business, and it is included on Professional. TWINT is supported, and every guest’s name, phone number and email stay with your restaurant.

SparissimoFood charges a monthly subscription plus a commission on each order: CHF 49 a month with 8% on Starter, CHF 79 a month with 5% on Business and CHF 148 a month with 5% on Professional. There are no setup fees, and you can compare the plans and start a 14-day free trial without a credit card. Our guide to converting delivery-app customers into direct orders shows how to move regulars across once the channel is live.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Lightspeed or SumUp cheaper for a Swiss restaurant?

In a Lightspeed vs SumUp cost comparison, SumUp is cheaper to start: its POS software is free, and card fees are 1.50% for debit and 2.50% for credit or premium cards without a subscription. Lightspeed Restaurant starts at CHF 89 a month and quotes its processing rate individually. For busy full-service restaurants, the processing rate on your card volume usually decides the total cost more than the software price.

Does SumUp or Lightspeed support TWINT in Switzerland?

Lightspeed Restaurant integrates TWINT as a payment type at the till once Lightspeed’s support team connects your TWINT merchant account. SumUp’s Swiss pricing page lists cards and wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, but not TWINT. Restaurants using SumUp can accept TWINT through TWINT’s own merchant solution alongside it.

Can I use a SumUp card terminal with Lightspeed?

Yes. Lightspeed lists SumUp as a payment integration for Lightspeed Restaurant in Switzerland, with the amount sent from the till to the SumUp terminal automatically over Bluetooth or cable. This lets you combine Lightspeed’s restaurant features with SumUp’s card terminals. Check the current terms with Lightspeed before ordering hardware.

Do Lightspeed and SumUp prices include Swiss MWST?

SumUp’s Swiss prices are shown excluding VAT, so 8.1% MWST is added on top. Lightspeed’s Swiss pricing page does not state whether its CHF 89, CHF 159 and CHF 249 plans include MWST. Ask for a written quote showing both figures before you compare the two.

Which is better for a restaurant with several locations, Lightspeed or SumUp?

Lightspeed is built for this case: its Pro plan at CHF 249 a month includes multi-location management and benchmark data, and extra licences cost CHF 49 a month each. SumUp works well per location, especially for smaller sites, and offers individual rates from CHF 10,000 in monthly turnover. Groups should ask both providers for a quote covering every location.

The best till is the one whose total cost you can explain in one sentence, so ask both providers for your number in CHF before you sign.