Orderbird
Founded in 2011 in Berlin, Orderbird is one of the pioneers of the iPad-based POS movement in Europe. It was designed to make professional, tax-compliant POS technology accessible to small businesses that previously used traditional “calculator” registers. In 2022, Orderbird was acquired by the European payment giant Nexi, further integrating its payment and software capabilities.
Why we win
Why we lose
Target market
Lightspeed is built for mid-to-large venues, multisite, and complex workflows.
Target market
Orderbird is “plug-and-play” for smaller restaurants, such as a 1-terminal coffee shop or food truck.
Feature maturity
Feature-rich with native online ordering, advanced CRM, and sophisticated floor plan editing.
Simplicity
Orderbird feels like a consumer app; if a user is tech-averse, they’d typically prefer Orderbird.
Payments
Lightspeed payments is more robust for high-volume transactions.
Payments
Since the Nexi acquisition, Orderbird’s card processing is very tightly integrated for local DE cards.
Inventory
Lightspeed offers deep stock tracking, unit conversions, and vendor management, whilst Orderbird’s inventory feature is much more simple.
Stronger integration ecosystem
180+ integrations across payments, delivery, loyalty, and more. Orderbird only offers limited integrations.
“Orderbird seems much simpler to set up and use. I don’t need a complex system.”
If you’re just looking for a digital calculator, Orderbird is great. But ‘simple’ often turns into ‘limited’ the moment your business gets busy. A simpler UI on the surface often means more manual work for you in the background. Lightspeed is designed so that your staff can understand the basic functions in just 15 minutes, and your manager has all further tools. Don’t sacrifice the power you need tomorrow for a slightly faster setup today.
“Orderbird is cheaper upfront. They offer low-cost hardware bundles and a lower base fee.”
Orderbird’s low base fee may look attractive, but once you start adding the features a growing business actually needs, those fees start to stack up quickly. With Lightspeed, you get a value-packed ecosystem. More importantly, we offer integrated payments that can actually lower your total cost of ownership. So once you factor in support, hardware replacements, and transaction fees, Lightspeed is often the more cost-effective partner for a serious business.
“I prefer a local German company. They understand the local scene and TSE requirements better than a global firm.”
At Lightspeed, we as well understand the importance of local compliance, and we have a dedicated German engineering team. You get German-level compliance backed by a global R&D budget. While local players are struggling to keep up with new regulations, we’ve already implemented them across thousands of businesses globally. On top of that, keep in mind that Orderbird is now owned by Nexi, a massive Italian payment corporation.
Category
Feature
Orderbird
Lightspeed
Cloud-based
✅
✅
iOS
✅
✅
Advanced order
❌
✅
Mobile POS
✅
✅
Reservations
Reservation widget
✅ Very basic, only via POS
✅ Native and via integration
KDS
KDS
❌
✅
Inventory
✅ Basic
✅
Loyalty
Loyalty / Punch cards
✅ Whitelabel solution
Via Resmio
✅
Hardware
Hardware shop
✅
Hardware starting from €499
✅
Support
24/7 support
❌ Local daytime support only
Emergency support available on weekends
✅
Integrations
Third-party integrations
❌ Basic
✅ Wide-ranged
180+ available integrations
Payment solution
✅ Basic
Own solution (PAT via Orderbird Mini)
✅
Tap to Pay
❌
✅
Bundle S
From €99.90/month
Service license
Device license
Onboarding
24/7 support
Online TSS
Bundle M
From €139.90/month
Everything included in S, plus:
Cashbook
QR code ordering