What Does Square Cost For Processing & POS Software? A Complete Guide

Square is one of the best POS systems as well as one of the best credit card processors available for small businesses, and Square’s fees are simple to understand and competitive compared to similar companies. But pricing Square for your business can be slightly more complicated than you’d expect, given the wide range of services the company offers merchants.

So, how much does Square cost? That depends on what you plan to do with Square.

Are you only processing transactions in person? Do you sell online? Do you use the virtual terminal or card-on-file features? Do you want any of the software add-ons?

Before you make any decisions, you might want to research more about what Square does, what it offers, and how it works. But don’t worry, we’ll discuss Square’s pricing features, so keep reading.

Square Rates At A Glance

Square transaction fees are simple to understand and vary depending on what type of transaction you are processing. Square rates will also vary slightly depending on what software you are using. Fixed fees are as follows:

Note that the lowest transaction fees are available on Square’s paid plans.

How Much Does Square Charge Per Transaction?

As mentioned, Square’s fees are upfront, but they do vary slightly depending on the plan you choose and the type of transaction.

Square deducts its fees from the total value of your transaction — including tax and tip. The fees are deducted before the funds ever hit your bank account (instead of deducting an entire month’s worth of fees at once).

Now, let’s look at Square’s merchant fees for its specific programs.

Is Square POS really free?

Erica has been writing about small business finance and technology since 2008. She joined Merchant Maverick in 2018 and specializes in researching and reviewing business software, financial products, and other topics to help small businesses manage and grow their operations. Her expertise has been cited in MSN, Reader's Digest, Vox, U.S. News & World Report, and Real Simple. She is a Certified ProAdvisor for QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll, a graduate of Limestone University, and currently resides in Greenville, South Carolina.

Erica SeppalaEditor & Senior Staff Writer

Yes, Square POS is free, allowing you to access many great features at no cost. However, processing fees will apply when you accept payments, and you will incur charges if you upgrade to one of Square’s paid plans or purchase add-ons like Square Payroll.

Square POS Monthly Fees

Square does offer a free plan, giving you access to some of Square’s most popular features for no cost. There are still processing fees and optional subscription services and add-ons, but you can still access many of its features for no cost.

Previously, Square had different plans for Square For Restaurants, Square For Retail, and Square Appointments. However, Square has since consolidated these industry-specific features across three main plans: Square Free, Square Plus, and Square Premium.

Square’s Point of Sale software is free, so if you’re going this route, you’ll only have to worry about hardware costs unless you want to purchase optional features, such as Square Payroll.

The free app includes some basic inventory, reporting, and employee management tools.

If you want more advanced features and lower processing costs, you can subscribe to Square Plus or Square Premium.

How Much Does Square Charge For Other Apps & Services?

Square is a comprehensive platform with many optional add-ons for businesses that want expanded functionality. You don’t need these to process transactions, but they may be worth considering if they meet your business’s specific needs.

Square Payroll

Square Payrolls costs $35/month + $6/employee, and you’ll get timekeeping, direct deposit, records of time off and sick days, payroll tax filing, workers comp, and more. Square supports hourly wages, salaries, and flat payments, too.

There’s also a contractors-only plan that simply costs $6/contractor per contractor, with no monthly subscription required. Check out our Square Payroll pricing guide for a more detailed breakdown.

It’s worth noting that while you do get timekeeping with Payroll, you don’t get the other Employee Management features, such as permissions settings. For that, you’ll have to subscribe to both services.

Square Marketing

Square’s customer engagement tools include a customer database, which you can use to get feedback as well as send out marketing emails. With the customer database integration, you can keep records of what customers buy (and when) and then use that information to target customers with specific recommendations or special offers.

Pricing starts at $15/month and scales based on your number of customer contacts.

Square Banking

Square has been slowly increasing its bank-like offerings. Anyone who signs up to sell with Square can qualify for a Square Checking account. Square does not charge service, minimum balance, monthly maintenance, overdraft, or even ATM fees.

This is now the easiest way to speed up your deposits. If you have a Square Checking account, your money will be immediately available through your Square checking account. You can then access it through your Square Debit Card or provided checking service.

Final Verdict On Square Pricing

One of the reasons Square is so well regarded at Merchant Maverick — and why it’s so popular with merchants — is that the company makes it very easy to figure out exactly what you’re paying. There are no hidden fees or additional costs apart from processing fees and optional software.

That said, you’ll want to make sure Square is still the best option for you or if one of our top-rated alternatives to Square might fit you better. There are many comparable free POS systems, though not all of them are quite as all-inclusive as Square. In particular, Square offers incredible value to businesses that want to process credit card transactions but don’t necessarily make a lot of them.

High-volume, low-ticket-sale businesses may find Square to be a bit on the expensive side. Full-service restaurant owners may want something a bit more robust and could be better off with one of the best POS systems for restaurants. That said, Square does offer some foodservice features. Similarly, if you have robust POS inventory needs for your retail establishment, a dedicated retail POS system might offer more than the basic Square package can provide.

If you’re new to Square and trying to figure out how much Square is going to cost you, all of the numbers can seem overwhelming. The cost of POS can vary quite a bit depending on what you need. Start by figuring out which of Square’s services you’ll regularly use — specifically, for online and in-person sales. Invoices might make up a significant portion of your sales too. You don’t really need to worry about estimating keyed entry and other less-common transactions; just plan for some transactions to cost a little bit more. The software costs are also predictable.

All this said, Square isn’t for everyone. If you’re thinking of canceling your Square account and finding another cheap credit card processor for your small business, make sure to follow our tips on how to do so correctly.