Compare Aloha vs Lavu: pricing, features, pros, cons, and which is right for your business.
Aloha vs Lavu
Updated October 2026 · Restaurant POS Software software comparison
At a Glance
| Criteria | Aloha | Lavu |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
★ 3.7
224 reviews |
★ 4.2
259 reviews |
| Starting Price | Contact vendor | Contact vendor |
| Pricing Model | Quote Only | Quote Only |
| Free Trial | No | No |
| Deployment | cloud, hybrid, mobile | cloud, mobile |
| Best For | Smb, Mid Market, Enterprise | Smb, Mid Market |
Strengths & Weaknesses
Who uses restaurant software — and what each person does with it
Watches sales, food cost, labor and prime cost across shifts and locations on one dashboard — sees which menu items and dayparts actually make money.
Builds the schedule against forecasted sales, approves shift swaps, seats the floor and clears the waitlist, and pulls the daily close from the POS.
Fires orders from the POS or a handheld, splits and adjusts checks, takes payment tableside, and the kitchen sees the ticket instantly on the KDS.
Works tickets on the kitchen display with station routing and timers, marks items 86'd, and depletes inventory automatically as dishes sell.
The flow the software runs end to end: guest orders (dine-in, online or delivery) → ticket fires to the KDS → items depleted from inventory → payment captured at the POS → sales, food and labor cost post to reporting and accounting → schedule and purchasing adjust to the numbers. Each stage hands off to the next without re-keying.
Who Should Choose Which?
- Your team fits the smb or mid market or enterprise profile
- Your preferred deployment is cloud or hybrid or mobile
- Deep full-service workflows — complex modifiers, multi-tier check splitting, multiple revenue centers, check transfers
- Your team fits the smb or mid market profile
- You prioritise peer-verified quality — higher rating (4.2 vs 3.7)
- Your preferred deployment is cloud or mobile
- Runs on off-the-shelf Apple iPads — not locked to proprietary hardware, so you can buy replacements anywhere
Our Verdict
Aloha targets smb/mid_market/enterprise businesses with quote only pricing . Its strongest selling points include deep full-service workflows — complex modifiers, multi-tier check splitting, multiple revenue centers, check transfers and centralized menu management publishes one menu across pos, online, kiosk, and delivery, pushed across locations.
Lavu targets smb/mid_market businesses with quote only pricing . Its key advantages include runs on off-the-shelf apple ipads — not locked to proprietary hardware, so you can buy replacements anywhere and in-house lavu pay processing is integrated with the pos and accepts payments offline during an internet drop.
Both tools are reviewed independently — see the full reviews below to dig into integrations, implementation timelines, and user sentiment.
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