Square

Square uses flat-rate pricing with no monthly fee on its free plan. In-person card payments are charged at 2.6% + 15c, and online or invoice payments are charged at 3.3% + 30c. Keyed-in and card-on-file payments cost a little more. There is no setup fee and no contract, so you only pay when you take a payment.

Square's monthly fee is Free on the free plan, which covers the POS app and basic payment processing. Paid plans (Plus and Premium) add advanced features per location and lower the in-person rate slightly, but most small businesses start and stay on the free plan.

Square settles funds on a Next business day schedule by default, at no extra cost. If you need the money sooner, Square Instant Transfer moves it to a linked debit card or bank account immediately for a small percentage fee per transfer.

Yes. Square has native AI built in: Square AI is a business-insights assistant that answers questions about your sales in plain language, and Square Assistant handles automated customer messaging and reminders. Square also publishes an official Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, so you can connect Square to AI assistants and agents directly.

Square is one of the most popular options for US small businesses because there is no monthly fee on the free plan, no lock-in contract, and a free magstripe reader to get started. It suits retail, hospitality, and pop-up businesses that want the simplest path into card payments. At high volume an interchange-plus processor like Helcim can work out cheaper, which the calculator on this page will show.

Square POS software is $0/mo (Plus $49, Premium $149 per location), and in-person card payments are processed at 2.6% + 15c. The free plan covers the POS app, basic inventory, and card processing with no monthly fee and no contract. Paid tiers (Square for Retail Plus and Square for Restaurants Plus) add advanced features per location, but most small US businesses start and stay on the free plan. The comparison table on this page shows current figures.

No. Square is month-to-month with no lock-in on every plan, including the free plan. You can stop using it at any time without an early termination fee. This is one of the main reasons small US retailers, cafes, and pop-ups choose it as their first POS: there is no commitment beyond the per-transaction card rate.

Yes. Square for Restaurants adds table management, floor plans, coursing, and kitchen tickets on top of the standard Square POS. There is a free Restaurant tier and a paid Plus tier for busier venues. For a deeper, restaurant-only platform with built-in online ordering and a kitchen display, Toast goes further, but Square for Restaurants is a strong, low-commitment option for cafes and casual dining.

Square works on a phone or tablet you already own, paired with a Square reader, or on dedicated hardware like the Square Stand, Square Terminal, or Square Register. The magstripe reader is free; contactless and chip readers, stands, terminals, and registers are one-off purchases. See the hardware row in the comparison table on this page for current device costs.

Square includes native AI tools across its platform, including an AI assistant for setup and operations, AI-generated marketing copy, and Square Photo Studio for product imagery. Square also publishes an early MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for developer and operations workflows, so AI agents can connect to Square data. These tools are built in rather than sold as separate add-ons.

Yes. Square supports multiple locations with centralized inventory, reporting, and staff management. The free plan covers the basics across locations, while the paid Plus tiers (priced per location) add advanced retail or restaurant features. For very large or stock-heavy multi-location operations, Lightspeed offers deeper inventory tooling, but Square scales comfortably for most growing US businesses.

Yes. Square Online has a permanently free plan ($0 (Free)) with no monthly fee. You can list unlimited products and accept online card payments, paying only the per-transaction processing rate. The paid Plus ($49/mo (Plus)) and Premium ($149/mo (Premium)) plans add features such as removing Square branding and abandoned-cart recovery.

Square charges 0% platform transaction fee. You pay only the standard Square processing rate per sale at 3.3% + 30c (online, Free plan), with no separate platform surcharge added on top.

Yes. Square Online shares a single inventory and order system with Square's in-person POS, so online and in-store orders, stock levels, and product listings sync automatically. That makes it convenient for US businesses that sell both online and face to face on Square hardware.

Yes. Square Online includes automatic US sales-tax calculation based on the buyer's shipping or pickup location, and shares tax settings with Square POS, so online and in-person sales apply consistent rates. It covers the common needs of a small retail or hospitality business.

Yes. Square offers native AI tools, including an AI site builder, AI-written copy, and Photo Studio for product imagery. It also has a Native MCP connection in beta on the developer and operations side, which is the standard that lets AI assistants and agents work with your account; a storefront shopping-agent connection is less mature than Shopify's.

Square Online gives a genuinely free entry point and tight integration with Square's payment hardware, which suits small retail and hospitality. Shopify has a much larger app ecosystem, deeper multi-channel selling, and stronger scalability, but needs a paid monthly plan from day one.