Shopify POS Lite vs Pro: Which Plan Should You Choose?
By Sam Nguyen
Do you need help choosing Shopify POS Lite or Shopify POS Pro for your retail operations? Look no further as we delve into a comprehensive comparison of these two plans.
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Shopify POS Lite vs. Pro: Quick Comparison
Both Shopify POS plans deliver a comprehensive in-store experience, equipping Shopify merchants with everything they need to sell both online and in-person seamlessly. They share the ability to handle unlimited products and collections, support multi-location selling, and synchronize online and offline store information. The distinction between the two plans lies in their respective feature sets.
Shopify POS Lite, free with every Shopify plan, is designed to help Shopify merchants of any size quickly set up and run a physical store or sell in-person on the go. It provides fundamental features such as product and inventory management, payment acceptance, and customer management. In short, Shopify POS Lite serves as a solid foundation for businesses with basic retail needs and a smaller in-person sale volume.
Shopify POS Pro, an upgraded version of Shopify POS, encompasses all the features available in Shopify POS Lite while adding extra perks specifically tailored to accommodate high-volume transactions and meet the demands of a robust retail operation. It provides an efficient omnichannel selling solution, staff management, valuable insights to drive business growth and more. Shopify merchants who opt for Shopify POS Pro have to pay additional monthly fees to access the expanded functionality.
Merchants with many footprints, a wide range of products, a sizable staff, complex inventory, and order management needs may find the additional investment in Shopify POS Pro highly beneficial and worthwhile.
Pros and Cons of Shopify POS Lite and Shopify POS Pro
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Shopify POS Lite vs Pro: Pricing And Free Trial
Shopify POS Lite
Shopify POS Lite comes free with every Shopify plan, with monthly subscription fees ranging from 5 USD to 399 USD. This makes Shopify POS Lite an attractive and cost-effective option for businesses wanting to test the platform or sell in person.
If you want to sell to a specific country, it is recommended to locate your Shopify store there. However, make sure you check Shopify pricing for that country first.
Shopify offers a 3-day free trial for every plan. During this trial period, store owners can download the Shopify POS App and fully experience the features and functionalities of POS Lite to test if it fits their needs.
After the free trial ends, they can take advantage of the 1 USD for the first three months deal to continue exploring and familiarize themselves with the Shopify platform and its POS system at a reduced price before making a long-term commitment.
Shopify POS Pro
As an upgraded version, Shopify POS Pro is available for an extra monthly fee of 89 USD per location. For merchants who opt for annual billing, the price is reduced to 79 USD per month per location.
It’s important to highlight that Shopify Plus, with monthly subscription fees starting at 2,000 USD, automatically includes Shopify POS Pro at no additional cost.
Shopify POS Pro also has a separate 14-day free trial. After that, merchants can choose to continue using POS Pro by subscribing to the monthly fee. If they opt not to, the app will automatically revert back to Shopify POS Lite.
Shopify POS Lite vs Pro Detailed Comparison: What Do They Offer?
Seamless Omnichannel Selling
Shopify POS Lite and Pro shared features
Both Shopify POS Lite and Shopify POS Pro provide a seamless shopping experience for customers, whether in-store or online, by syncing all information from product collections and customer profiles to inventory counts, enabling businesses to have consistent and unified operations.
The Shopify POS system automatically updates in real-time when a change is made. This ensures that merchants have the most accurate and up-to-date information available, including product availability, enabling them to efficiently serve their customers.
Shopify POS Pro’s advanced functionality
Shopify POS Pro takes a step further to offer more options for customers, enhancing their omnichannel experience, such as:
- Local Pickup: Customers can place orders online and then select their most convenient physical store location to pick up the orders.
- Buy in-store, ship to customers: Merchants can make sales in-store and ship directly to customers from where they have the available inventory.
- Buy online, exchange, and return in-store: Customers who make purchases online or in another location can exchange or return items at a physical store location of their choice. Inventory will automatically update.
- Local delivery: Customers can buy products online and have merchants deliver them directly from the offline store.
Efficient Inventory Management
Shopify POS Lite and Pro shared features
With Shopify POS Lite and Pro, merchants can easily track inventory and assign products to different sales channels and locations. The inventory count is automatically updated when an order is fulfilled from a specific source, ensuring accurate stock management.
Shopify POS Pro’s advanced functionality
Shopify POS Pro features an advanced inventory management app called Stocky, which serves as a valuable business partner or consultant, aiding merchants in effectively managing inventory across multiple locations. Here’s what merchants can benefit from it:
- Transfer inventory between locations: Depending on stock demand, merchants can request to transfer stock from other areas with updated information about what items have been received and are being sent out, allowing for streamlined inventory management across the entire retail network.
- Demand forecasting: Shopify POS Pro provides merchants with purchase order suggestions based on recent product performance, seasonality, sales trends, and historical patterns. This proactive approach assists merchants in maintaining optimal stock levels to meet customer demand, minimize stockouts, and maximize sales opportunities.
- Low stock reports: merchants can benefit from low stock reports that provide timely warnings when inventory levels run low. It allows them to take prompt action, such as placing reorder requests or adjusting inventory levels, to prevent stockouts and ensure a smooth and uninterrupted sales process.
- Inventory analysis and Sale items suggestion: The stock performance grading system comprehensively evaluates each product’s performance. Merchants gain valuable insights into which items are worth reordering and which are not performing as expected, allowing them to make informed decisions and take proactive steps.
Customization
Shopify POS Lite
With Shopify POS Lite, merchants can tailor their POS system’s smart grid, arranging categories to maximize efficiency and streamline the checkout process. The layout can be optimized for devices like tablets or smartphones, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly interface across various platforms.
Additionally, merchants have the ability to customize reports to gain deeper insights into their business performance. They can select the desired data fields, such as sales, inventory, customer information, or product performance, and apply filters to focus on specific segments or periods.
Shopify POS Pro
In addition to the Smart grid and customizable reports, Shopify POS Pro allows subscribers to customize printed receipts templates. This feature enables merchants to align their printed receipts with their brand identity, creating a consistent and professional image for their customers.
Merchants can personalize the receipt template by adding their store’s logo, customizing the color scheme, and including relevant information such as the store’s contact details or social media.
Staff Management
Shopify POS Lite
Shopify POS Lite provides basic functionality for staff management. With this plan, merchants can only have a certain number of staff members, each with a unique pin to log in to the POS system. Generally, Shopify POS Lite provides a streamlined solution for businesses with a small team and simple staff management requirements.
Shopify POS Pro
Shopify POS Pro gives merchants more control over staffing with a range of exclusive features:
- Unlimited POS staff: Merchants can easily add and manage staff members with access to the POS system without granting them full admin access.
- Staff roles and permissions: Store owners define specific roles and set permissions for each staff based on their unique requirements and operational structure. Staff members will need manager approval for actions such as applying discounts or editing taxes, providing an extra layer of control and security.
- Attribute sales to staff: Merchants can track staff members’ performance. This information can be used to calculate commissions or provide recognition and rewards for exceptional performance.
With Shopify POS Pro, merchants can effectively streamline their operations, delegate responsibilities, and empower their team members to contribute to the business’s success without compromising security or administrative control.
Reports And Analytics
Shopify POS Lite and Pro shared features
Both Shopify POS Lite and Shopify POS Pro offer comprehensive reports and analytics, allowing merchants to gain valuable insights into their business performance, both online and in-store, all in one place. Merchants using both POS plans can get access to:
- Sales reports: detailed information on sales performance, including revenue, units sold, and average order value. These reports enable merchants to track sales trends, identify top-selling products, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their sales strategies.
- Finance reports: information including sales, returns, taxes, payments, and more. Merchants can track their financial performance, monitor expenses, and ensure accurate financial record-keeping.
- Inventory reports: visibility into the stock levels and product availability. These reports help optimize inventory management, minimize stockouts, and ensure efficient order fulfillment.
Shopify POS Pro’s advanced functionality
Sales, products, and staff performance reports are generated daily from the Shopify POS Pro system, providing a comprehensive overview of the business’s daily sales.
This allows Shopify merchants to track their sales trends, identify peak sales periods, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their business operations and profits.
Mobile POS
Both Shopify POS Lite and Shopify POS Pro offer the convenience of mobile checkout, allowing merchants to complete transactions anywhere within their store or even outside of it.
With the flexibility of using a smartphone or tablet as a mobile POS system, merchants can bring the checkout process directly to their customers or even set up a self-checkout, enabling quick and convenient transactions, reducing wait times, and enhancing customer satisfaction.
With the rise of mobile wallets, contactless payment methods, and tap-to-pay credit cards, the 2 Shopify POS systems support contactless payments. Whether in a bustling retail environment or at an off-site event, merchants can effortlessly process payments and finalize sales on the spot, maximizing sales opportunities and meeting the needs of their customers.
Customer Management
Shopify POS Lite and Shopify POS Pro can help merchants build and maintain strong customer relationships.
With the ability to create detailed customer profiles, merchants can easily store and access important information such as contact details, purchase history, lifetime spending, and specific notes. Customers’ tags, shipping addresses, taxes, and marketing preferences allow for better segmentation and personalized communication.
Rewarding customer loyalty is made simple with both POS plans. Merchants can offer exclusive events, discounts, or unique content to their loyal customers, whether they shop online or in-store.
Moreover, merchants can ask for customer emails at checkout and stay in touch through marketing emails and promotions. By leveraging customer data and preferences, merchants can create targeted and personalized email campaigns to engage with their customer base and drive sales.
Payments
Merchants using Shopify POS Lite and/or Pro can access Shopify Payments with the advantage of no transaction fees.
With the Shopify Tap & Chip Card Reader, merchants can easily accept payments from various payment service providers such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, and Google Pay with low rates for all credit cards based on your Shopify plan, specifically as follows:
POS Hardware
Merchants, whether using Shopify POS Lite or Pro, all have access to the Shopify Hardware Store, where they can find any hardware accessories they need to run a physical store, from barcode scanners, receipt printers, cash drawers to Shopify card readers.
If merchants are based in the US or Canada, they can rent a payment device, an iPad, or an entire POS hardware bundle with fees starting as low as 9 USD a day.
All products from the Shopify Hardware Store come with:
- Free shipping and 30 Day Return Policy
- 1 Year Warranty
Shopify POS Pro subscribers will enjoy an extended two-year warranty and have the option to purchase Shopify POS Go, an all-in-one handheld device that comes preinstalled and optimized with Shopify’s point of sale (POS) system.
Who should use Shopify POS Lite and Shopify POS Pro?
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Shopify POS Lite and Pro: FAQs
Can I Use Shopify POS Lite In One Location And POS Pro In Another Location?
Yes. For each of your locations, you choose the POS subscription plan that is appropriate. You can change the POS subscription plan for a location at any time in the Shopify admin.
Can I Use Shopify POS Without A Shopify Store?
Yes. You can use Shopify POS without building an online store. However, you still need to subscribe to a Shopify plan. If you only want to sell in-person with Shopify POS, we recommend subscribing to the Starter plan for 5 USD/month to save money.
Can You Use Shopify POS Without A Card Reader?
Yes. You can leverage the “Tap to Pay on iPhone” features or purchase Shopify POS Go (for Shopify POS Pro subscribers), which has a built-in barcode scanner and card reader, to take payments without needing any additional hardware.
Final Thoughts
Shopify POS Pro surpasses POS Lite with its extensive range of advanced features. While Shopify POS Lite offers fundamental features for in-person selling, we highly recommend upgrading to the POS Pro subscription to unlock essential features that are crucial for your business.
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