# Alternatives to Lavu

Lavu is an iPad-based restaurant POS covering tableside ordering, kitchen display, inventory, and online ordering, aimed at independent restaurants and bars.

Lavu ranks #5 of 9 in Restaurant POS & management, with an Alt Score of 85. It is licensed under Proprietary (commercial SaaS) and available on iOS and Web. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/lavu/
Category: Restaurant POS & management

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Lavu targets independent and multi-unit restaurants, bars, breweries, cafes, food trucks, pizzerias and other food-and-beverage operators, from single locations to high-volume, multi-location concepts. It positions itself for operators who want an iPad-based POS with award-winning support rather than an enterprise-tier system.
- **What you get**: An iPad restaurant POS bundled with a kitchen display system, native online ordering, integrated payment processing (Lavu Pay) with dual-pricing/cash-discount options, fully integrated payroll, inventory management, detailed reporting, offline mode and multi-location controls. It also layers in Marty AI, which surfaces daily profit-recovery insights across labor and food cost, plus an open API and a large marketplace of integrations (loyalty, accounting, delivery).
- **How it works**: Staff run the point of sale on iPads, taking orders tableside and firing them straight to the kitchen via the KDS, while a cloud/web back office handles menu, pricing and reporting across locations. The system keeps taking orders and payments offline and auto-syncs when the connection returns. Payments run through the integrated Lavu Pay processing, and pricing is obtained by booking a demo rather than a public price list.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (commercial SaaS) (verified 2026-07-12)
- **Pricing model**: ?
- **Starts at**: ?
- **Platforms**: iOS, Web
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-12)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Toast](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/toast.md) | 100 | Proprietary | iOS, Android, Web |
| 2 | [Clover](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/clover.md) | 96 | Proprietary / commercial (Clover Network, LLC, a Fiserv company) | iOS, Android, Web |
| 3 | [Lightspeed Restaurant](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/lightspeed-restaurant.md) | 96 | Proprietary (commercial SaaS) | iOS, Web |
| 4 | [SpotOn](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/spoton.md) | 96 | Proprietary (commercial SaaS) | iOS, Web |
| 5 | [Revel Systems](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/revel.md) | 85 | Proprietary (commercial) | iOS |
| 6 | [Square for Restaurants](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/square-restaurants.md) | 85 | Proprietary | iOS, Web |
| 7 | [TouchBistro](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/touchbistro.md) | 70 | Proprietary (commercial SaaS) | iOS, Web |
| 8 | [GloriaFood](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/gloriafood.md) | 55 | Proprietary SaaS (owned by Oracle) | Web, iOS, Android |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Restaurant POS & management checklist | Lavu | Toast | Clover | Lightspeed Restaurant | SpotOn | Revel Systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ? | Freemium | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription | ? |
| Starts at | ? | Free | ? | US$69/month | $0/station per month (All-In plan) | ? |
| License | Proprietary (commercial SaaS) | Proprietary | Proprietary / commercial (Clover Network, LLC, a Fiserv company) | Proprietary (commercial SaaS) | Proprietary (commercial SaaS) | Proprietary (commercial) |
| Platforms | iOS, Web | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Web | iOS, Web | iOS |
| Tableside / handheld ordering | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Menu management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Online ordering & delivery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kitchen display system | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Inventory management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Staff scheduling & payroll | Partial | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Loyalty & gift cards | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Reporting & analytics | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payment processing included | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Own hardware | No | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Partial |
| Multi-location | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Lavu. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: Proprietary (commercial SaaS) — <https://lavu.com/restaurant-pos/> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “© 2026. All rights reserved. | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy”
- **Platforms**: iOS, Web — <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lavu-pos/id1449885676> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Note: POS front end runs on iPad/iOS; back-office/payroll management is web-based (https://lavu.com/payroll/: 'A fully web-based solution gives you total control from anywhere').
  - Quote: “Requires iOS 13.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.”
- **Status**: active — <https://lavu.com/about-lavu/> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “The Lavu Story How It Started In 2010, our founders were sitting in a busy restaurant”
- **Tableside / handheld ordering**: Yes — <https://lavu.com/restaurant-pos/fine-dining> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Tableside ordering. Reduce floor traffic and errors with mobile ordering direct from the table.”
- **Menu management**: Yes — <https://lavu.com/restaurant-pos/multi-location> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Centralized menu management. Push menu changes, price updates, and 86’d items across all locations instantly from one dashboard.”
- **Online ordering & delivery**: Yes — <https://lavu.com/online-ordering/> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Offer your own takeout and delivery options without paying the steep fees of outside marketplaces.”
- **Kitchen display system**: Yes — <https://lavu.com/kitchen-display-system-kds/> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Lavu’s KDS sends orders instantly to the kitchen from any device — no more paper ti”
- **Inventory management**: Yes — <https://lavu.com/integrations/> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “With Lavu, you can easily manage your inventory and use powerful inventory integrations.”
- **Staff scheduling & payroll**: Partial — <https://lavu.com/payroll/> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Note: Payroll is native (Lavu Payroll); staff scheduling is via integrations (e.g., Dolce) per lavu.com/integrations/, not a native module.
  - Quote: “Unlock Fully Integrated Payroll Save time and money with Lavu Payroll”
- **Loyalty & gift cards**: Partial — <https://lavu.com/integrations/> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Note: Loyalty delivered through integrations (LoyaltyMatch, Pepper, OpenTable); no native loyalty or gift-card program stated.
  - Quote: “If you use Lavu, you can increase loyalty and benefit from powerful integrations.”
- **Reporting & analytics**: Yes — <https://lavu.com/restaurant-pos/> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Lavu offers features and detailed reports to help you streamline operations and make informed decisions.”
- **Offline mode**: Yes — <https://lavu.com/restaurant-pos/offline-mode> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Full order and payment processing offline. Lavu doesn’t degrade to a notepad when your internet d”
- **Payment processing included**: Yes — <https://lavu.com/payment-processing/> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Give your guests a fast and secure checkout experience – and take control of your processing costs with Lavu Pay”
- **Own hardware**: No — <https://lavu.com/restaurant-pos/> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Note: Runs on third-party Apple iPad hardware; no Lavu-branded POS hardware advertised.
  - Quote: “Run your point-of-sale system using an iPad that is extremely easy to manage and update.”
- **Multi-location**: Yes — <https://lavu.com/restaurant-pos/multi-location> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Centralized menu management. Push menu changes, price updates, and 86’d items across all locations instantly from one dashboard.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/