Comparison

Jamatu or Lightspeed. One price per venue, not per device.

Lightspeed bills per device, Jamatu per venue, no matter how many devices are out on the floor. On top of that there is the assistant Jonida, who makes changes when you ask.

CHF 35 a month per venue
Payment terminal free of charge
No fixed fee per receipt
Cancel monthly, no prepayment needed

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The JamWaiter demo runs right in your browser, no sign-up needed. The login details are pre-filled, so you are in the POS in two clicks.

In brief

Two systems, two starting points

For a comparison to be worth anything, first a fair description of both.

Jamatu

Built for Swiss hospitality

From the canton of Zurich, for restaurants, bars, cafés, hotels, take-aways and canteens. POS on a tablet, smartphone or JamTerminal, self-ordering by QR code and at the kiosk, kitchen display and ticket printing, plus the assistant Jonida.

Billing is per venue. Whether you run one POS or have five devices out on the floor, the price stays the same. We provide the payment terminal free of charge, there is no fixed fee per receipt, and the subscription can be cancelled monthly.

Lightspeed

The big platform

Publicly listed, around 150'000 businesses worldwide, more than 100 countries. POS, payments, inventory management, kitchen display, delivery and a separate product line for retail, plus in-depth reporting.

Billing is per licence, and one licence covers one device, including the kitchen display. Basic includes one licence, Core two, Pro three. Terminals, transaction rates and add-on modules are negotiated in a sales conversation; only the software packages are published.

Honestly, up front

Which system suits whom

The decision isn't made on the feature list but on how your venue works.

Choose Jamatu if

you have several devices out on the floor and don't want each one to mean another subscription
you want features such as QR ordering, pick-up and delivery, kitchen display, vouchers and cash book included in the price instead of buying them through a bigger package or add-ons
lots of small receipts go through your POS and fixed fees add up
you operate seasonally and want to be able to cancel monthly
you want setup, training and support straight from the provider, with no reseller in between

Choose Lightspeed if

you run retail with stock and variants alongside hospitality in the same system
you manage many branches across national borders centrally
benchmarks and a task list for your team matter to you

At a glance

What both publish

Only information shown on the official websites. Where Lightspeed publishes nothing, we say so instead of guessing.

What you need	Jamatu	Lightspeed
Software per month	CHF 35¹	CHF 89 Basic, 159 Core, 249 Pro
Billing basis	per venue	per device: Basic 1, Core 2, Pro 3 licences, each additional one CHF 49
Payment terminal	free of charge²	not published³
Per transaction	depends on payment method and volume⁴	not published; Basic at standard rate, negotiable from Core³
Fixed fee per receipt	none	not published³
Order and pay by QR code	JamOrder, no monthly fee	from Core
Kitchen display	included⁵	from Core, uses one licence
Online ordering, pick-up and delivery	JamOrder, no monthly fee	from Pro
Vouchers	included	from Core
Task management	not included	from Core
Benchmarks and trends	not included	in all packages
AI assistant	Jonida, beta	Lightspeed AI, in all packages
Retail with stock and variants	not included	separate product line
Setup and training	free of charge, on site too	through partners such as Vendomat, price not published
Support	24/7 and on site	chat and phone around the clock, on site through partners such as Vendomat
Contract	cancel monthly	monthly or annual
After a break	data is kept	not published³

CHF 35 a month when prepaying two years (CHF 840), CHF 40 for one year, otherwise CHF 49 a month. One subscription per venue, no minimum term.
No purchase and no monthly rental, with at least six months of use.
Lightspeed publishes no figures for this. Terminal prices, transaction rates and additional fees are set in a sales conversation. Ask for the figures in your quote to complete the comparison.
The rate depends on payment method and volume and is stated in your quote. We deliberately do not give a flat figure, because depending on your mix it would be misleading in either direction.
Kitchen display (Order Dashboard in OrderAdmin) for the kitchen; for bars and small kitchens, Order Master directly in JamWaiter.

Source Lightspeed: public hospitality pricing page on lightspeedhq.com, accessed 21.10.2026; partner Vendomat according to vendomat.ch, accessed 20.10.2026. Source Jamatu: own terms, as of 21.10.2026.

Costs

What software and fees cost

Both publish their software prices; Lightspeed does not publish its card fees. So first, what fees amount to for a restaurant, so you can check against your quote. Then the software, Lightspeed first, then Jamatu.

CHF 1'200a year for 10 centimes per payment
What fees add up to
A restaurant with CHF 40'000 in card sales a month and an average receipt of CHF 40, so 1'000 card payments. Lightspeed does not publish its rates, so use this to compare with your quote.
Every 0.1 % of rate: CHF 480 a year · every 10 centimes of fixed fee per payment: CHF 1'200 a year · no fixed fee per receipt with Jamatu
CHF 2'568less per year
One device
One restaurant, one POS, plus QR ordering, kitchen display and pick-up.
Lightspeed Pro CHF 2'988 · Jamatu CHF 420
CHF 3'744less per year
Five devices
One POS at the counter, four devices on the floor. With us the price stays the same, because billing is per venue.
Lightspeed Pro with three licences plus two at CHF 49: CHF 4'164 · Jamatu CHF 420

Costs in CHF. Software: Jamatu with two years prepaid (CHF 35 a month), Lightspeed at the published monthly price, compared with the Pro package, because only that package includes QR ordering, kitchen display, and pick-up and delivery. Fees: Lightspeed sets rates and any fixed fees in the quote. We do not give our rate as a flat figure, because it depends on your mix of payment methods; it is in your quote, with no fixed fee per receipt, and we put it next to your Lightspeed statement.

Have your Lightspeed statement compared

The difference

Built new, not grown over the years

Lightspeed has grown over many years and many countries, with packages and add-on modules. Jamatu was built from day one for tablet, smartphone and AI, for Swiss hospitality. You notice it in daily work, not just on the feature list.

01
AI that pitches in
Ask Jonida in your own words for today's sales, mark a product as sold out or change a price. She shows you every change first, and nothing is saved until you give the okay.
02
Per venue, not per device
A second device on the floor shouldn't mean a second subscription. That is why, with us, the price is the same whether there is one POS at the counter or five devices on the move.
03
All in the price, no Pro package
QR ordering, pick-up and delivery, kitchen display and vouchers are part of the subscription. JamOrder has no licence, setup or monthly fee.
04
Direct from the provider
With us there is no reseller in between: setup and training are free, on site too, and support comes around the clock directly from Jamatu in Switzerland.

A fair comparison

Who Lightspeed suits

No POS system suits every venue. In these cases Lightspeed is a good choice.

Benchmarks and task management. We don't offer comparison with other venues or a task list for the team.
Retail and hospitality under one roof. Lightspeed has a separate product line for retail with stock and variants; we don't. For online ordering of food and drinks, we have JamOrder.
Chains across several countries. Central control of many locations with uniform menus and roles is the strength of a large platform.

For everyone else: one subscription per venue, everything important included, round-the-clock support from Switzerland. Bring your quote and we will work through your numbers.

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In practice

Venues that work with Jamatu

«JamOrder macht die Essensbestellung für unsere Mitarbeiter schnell, einfach und stressfrei!»
Thomas BreitingerHead of Hotel Services, Senevita Obstgarten
«Mit JamOrder haben wir digitale Effizienz und persönlichen Luxus perfekt kombiniert, ein Gewinn für Gäste und Mitarbeiter!»
Bardhyl ColiDirector, Cresta Palace, Celerina

Switching

What switching really involves

Sort out contract and devices
First we check when your Lightspeed contract ends and what happens to the devices. If switching only pays off later, we will tell you.
Set up your menu together
We enter items, prices, variants and extras together in one session. Your existing menu as a list is enough to start from.
Onboard your team
Your team learns the POS in a short introduction. You can try the demo yourself in your browser beforehand.

Frequently asked questions

What venues ask us

Is Jamatu always cheaper than Lightspeed?

For the software, in most cases, and the gap grows with every device because we bill per venue. For transactions it can look different depending on the payment method. That is why we work through your case with both quotes.

Why don't you state a percentage?

Because a flat figure would be misleading in either direction. The rate depends on how your guests pay and how much goes through the POS. What we firmly commit to: no fixed fee per receipt, and a rate that is in your quote before you sign.

What are Lightspeed's card fees?

Lightspeed does not publish rates for Switzerland; they are in the quote. For reference: with CHF 40'000 in card sales a month, every 0.1 % of rate costs CHF 480 a year, and every 10 centimes of fixed fee per payment costs CHF 1'200 a year at 1'000 payments. We charge no fixed fee per receipt. Bring your statement and we will put our rate next to it.

Do I need new hardware?

Not necessarily. JamWaiter runs on iPad, Android devices and Sunmi. We provide the JamTerminal for POS and card payments free of charge, with at least six months of use.

What happens if I pause or cancel?

The subscription can be cancelled at the end of any month, with no minimum term. If you come back later, your menu, items and settings are still there.

Who sets up Lightspeed in Switzerland?

In Switzerland, advice, installation, training and support are handled by partners such as Vendomat, a Lightspeed Diamond Partner. Prices for this are not public; they are added in the quote. With us there is no reseller in between: setup and training are free, and support comes around the clock directly from Jamatu.

Who is Lightspeed a better fit for?

For benchmarks and tasks, in retail and for large chains. If that is central for you, Lightspeed is a good fit. For everything else, we are happy to work through your case.

Demo

See Jamatu for yourself

In our demo you click your way through the floor plan, courses and payment all the way to the end-of-day closing. Once you sign up, we activate your access.

Free and with no obligation
In your browser, no installation

Jamatu or Lightspeed. One price per venue, not per device.

Two systems, two starting points

Built for Swiss hospitality

The big platform

Which system suits whom

Choose Jamatu if

Choose Lightspeed if

What both publish

What software and fees cost

What fees add up to

One device

Five devices

Built new, not grown over the years

AI that pitches in

Per venue, not per device

All in the price, no Pro package

Direct from the provider

Who Lightspeed suits

Venues that work with Jamatu

What switching really involves

Sort out contract and devices

Set up your menu together

Onboard your team