SmakSpace is the New Zealand-built alternative to Lightspeed Restaurant for cafés, restaurants and takeaways: self-order kiosks, QR and online ordering, table bookings, kitchen display and loyalty on one flat NZD subscription, no per-order commission, no payments-processor lock-in. It includes a staff counter till on a tablet — staff ring up walk-up and phone orders, take cash with the change due, or mark the order paid on the venue’s own EFTPOS terminal — but there is no cash drawer, no docket printing and no card-present payment through SmakSpace, so the terminal keeps taking cards beside it. Kiosk-led and order-ahead venues drop Lightspeed entirely; venues that need a drawer and printed dockets keep theirs and run SmakSpace around it. We load your menu for you from our CSV template or a photo of the printed menu; customer lists we load on request. Supported in NZ time.
What's the best Lightspeed alternative for NZ cafés?
The best Lightspeed alternative for NZ cafés is one that bills in NZD instead of AUD, doesn't lock you into a single payments processor, and includes kitchen display without a per-screen add-on. SmakSpace is the NZ-built option that bundles self-order kiosks, online and QR ordering, table bookings, kitchen display and loyalty on a flat NZD subscription. It runs a staff counter till on a tablet — cash with the change due, or mark the order paid on your own terminal — but there is no cash drawer, no docket printing and no card-present payment through SmakSpace, so venues that need a drawer and printed dockets keep a till and run SmakSpace around it, while kiosk-led and order-ahead venues leave Lightspeed behind entirely. Either way your terminal stays exactly as it is, and we never surcharge what goes through it.
A direct comparison for NZ operators.
Comparison reflects publicly available pricing pages and verified operator reviews on Trustpilot, Capterra and ProductReview.com.au as of May 2026. Lightspeed contract terms vary by region, processor agreement and renewal date — confirm specifics in your current contract.
Why operators talk about leaving Lightspeed.
Verified review quotes from independent public platforms. We have not edited the wording. Sources cited below each quote.
"It was good when it was Kounta. When Lightspeed took over everything went bad.
"Good as Vend, utterly appalling since Lightspeed took over.
"Lightspeed will deduct 1.5% from all your takings if you do not switch to their designated merchant.
From Lightspeed to live in seven days.
Free audit
We review your current Lightspeed setup, contract status, payments processor, KDS add-ons and integrations. We tell you exactly what we can match and what we cannot — including whether you can drop the till at all, or should keep it.
Menu + customer setup
We load your menu items, categories and prices from our CSV template or a photo of the printed menu, and set up modifiers and options with you. Say the word and we load your customer list and seed loyalty points for your regulars. You sign off on all of it before it goes live.
Payments setup
Your existing NZ EFTPOS terminal stays at the counter and keeps working exactly as it does now — we do not replace it and we do not connect to it. For orders placed online or by QR, we set up card payments through your own Stripe, Windcave or PayPal account. Kiosk orders are paid at the counter. No surcharge from us.
Soft launch
Run SmakSpace and Lightspeed in parallel for a few days. Test QR ordering at one table, kitchen display on one station. Course-correct anything before the cutover.
Decide
If you have gone kiosk-led or order-ahead, cancel Lightspeed once you are comfortable and we will help with the paperwork. If you still need a till for the counter, keep Lightspeed for that and run SmakSpace as the layer around it — that is a perfectly good outcome and we will say so.