Lightspeed is a general-purpose retail POS that happens to have a pet store landing page. It runs bike shops, jewelers, and golf pro shops on the same software.
eTailPet was built for one thing: independent pet retail — Astro Loyalty that auto-syncs, a 160,000+ product catalog, and grooming tied directly to the register.
Here's how they compare.
Last updated: June 2026
The $750 setup fee covers data migration and configuration, and is rebated in full after you go live and process payments.
Lightspeed's $89/month starting price is competitive until you factor in what a pet store actually needs.
Most retailers will want accounting integrations (Core at $149/month) or loyalty and advanced tools (Plus at $289/month).
And processing is where the real expense shows up.
Say your store processes $200,000 in annual card sales. At Lightspeed's 2.6% + $0.10 rate, you're paying roughly $5,400/year in processing fees. Want to shop for a better rate? That's a $400/month penalty ($4,800/year) on top.
On a $500 raw food bulk order, Lightspeed takes $13.10 per transaction. High-volume pet food sales add up fast at flat-rate processing.
eTailPet's Startup plan is $99/month and includes the catalog, e-commerce, and unlimited support. Core adds Astro Loyalty and grooming, priced through sales. There is a trade-off: no third-party surcharge, but you can't shop processors either.
If you have a processor relationship you want to keep, bring it up in the demo.
*If you encounter inaccuracies or require updates, please contact us.
Three features decide most of these comparisons. Here's where the difference actually shows up:
This is the one most switchers cite. Lightspeed has an Astro integration, but it doesn't sync in real time at checkout.
eTailPet's checks, earnings, and redemptions happen automatically at the register. If your store runs on Astro, this is the difference between a system that helps and one you work around.
Lightspeed pulls supplier data through NuORDER — useful, but you're importing wholesale catalogs one supplier at a time.
eTailPet ships with 160,000+ pet products already loaded, priced, and described by manufacturers, with updates as vendors add them. That's hours a week you don't spend on SKU entry.
Expired food, recalls, and vendor defects are routine in pet retail. Lightspeed handles standard returns; it has no workflow for this, so recalled stock can land back on the shelf.
eTailPet has a dedicated credit workflow built for exactly these cases.
Switching POS systems can feel overwhelming. The right support shortens the learning curve and gets you back to selling faster.
24/7 support by phone, chat, and email on all plans, with one-on-one onboarding and data migration help.
But the team supports retailers across dozens of industries, and reviewers consistently report declining quality — phone waits over an hour, complex issues bounced between departments. For pet-specific setup, like Astro workarounds or vendor inventory, you'll need to explain the context before anyone can help.
Worth noting on the commercial side: Lightspeed isn't BBB-accredited, and one BBB complaint references an early-termination demand of up to $15,000.
Unlimited phone and email support on every plan, from a team that works only with pet retailers — not a help desk fielding restaurants and hair salons between your calls.
The $750 setup fee (rebated once you go live) covers migration from your current system and full configuration.
When you're setting up Astro sync, importing vendor relationships, and training staff on workflows like vendor credits and special orders, that specialism shows up in the details. eTailPet's team handles stores like yours every day.
The only way to know if a POS works for your store is to see it handle your products, your grooming schedule, and your day-to-day.
