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Which of the various Square products are right for your business? This guide to Square POS hardware will help you choose the right Square equipment.
WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Lead Staff Writer
Last updated onUpdated
REVIEWED BY
Lead Staff Writer
Square POS hardware is among the most innovative and cost-effective on the market. Square’s easy-to-use payment processing and free point of sale platforms make it easy for small business owners to start selling at an affordable price.
From the free mobile card reader to the all-in-one Square Register POS system, Square has you covered no matter what your business might need. In this post, we’re going to take a look at your Square hardware options as well as what you can do to control your costs and manage your cash flow with Square’s financing.
Table of Contents
To start taking payments with Square, you don’t actually need any equipment. You can start accepting payments the same day you open your account, right from the virtual terminal on your dashboard. But if you want to lower your processing rate, you’ll want to use one of Square’s credit card readers so that you can securely process chip and/or contactless payments.
Compare rates between the reader and manually entered payments:
The Square POS app is completely free, despite what equipment you use, and comes with a whole host of features, including:
When you need something more substantial, you have plenty of options. Keep reading to learn about Square equipment — and what you need to know before buying!
Square has made the pricing for its hardware relatively straightforward as well. Keep in mind that Square’s basic point of sale app (plus Square for Retail, Square for Restaurants, and Square Appointments) has free plans available as well as tiered pricing plans with advanced features.
You can run nearly all of the software options on any of Square’s pieces of hardware. Currently, Square Appointments is incompatible with Square Terminal, but the company is looking to add that capability soon.
Here’s a quick breakdown of Square’s hardware offerings. Additionally, you can add Square KDS to help facilitate your restaurant’s needs for $20/month.
Square’s mobile readers are ideal for businesses always on the go — farmer’s market stalls, service businesses, food trucks, etc. These card readers work with any of Square’s POS apps as well.
However, compatibility with specific tablets or smartphones will vary, and you should check before you buy that a card reader is compatible with your device. Square has a helpful compatibility checker tool on its website for this purpose.
Square has been offering free basic magstripe readers for years. The boxy design hasn’t changed significantly over time and is simple to use. Recently, the company added a Lightning connector variant in addition to the 3.5mm headphone jack connector.
New Square merchants get one free card reader; additional card readers sell for a very reasonable $10.
Square doesn’t impose excessive limits or restrictions on transactions processed with a magstripe reader. There’s no limit to the number of swiped transactions you can process before you trigger a hold. (All Square merchants have a per-transaction limit of $50K, but Square suggests splitting up payments into multiple installments as a workaround if needed.) That’s a nice touch.
If you process large transactions or do a significant volume of credit card payments, you should consider upgrading to a chip-card-capable reader because you’ll be better protected from certain types of credit card fraud.
The Square Contactless + Chip Reader is a departure from Square’s earlier mobile credit card readers. First, it connects via Bluetooth. Second, it doesn’t support magstripe transactions, so Square also includes one of its free magstripe readers in the box.
Square also sells a charging dock, which can be plugged into a wall or the Square Stand’s USB hub. It sells for $29 separately. You can use it in a countertop retail environment and let customers insert their payment cards themselves, or you can set the dock aside and grab the reader by itself whenever you need to make a transaction.
Check out our Square Contactless + Chip Reader review for a close-up look at the device.
If you’d like something a bit more permanent and stationary in your POS setup, Square offers options tailored to different environments. The offerings here get a little more complex.
The Square Stand has been one of the company’s core offerings for a long time. It swivels, has minimal cords, and looks good. Square later re-launched it and bundled the Contactless + Chip Reader as well as the reader’s dock and brought the price up to $199, which was lowered to where it currently sits at $149.
Because the Square Stand runs on iPad, it can also support merchants using Square Point of Sale, Square for Retail, or Square for Restaurants. There is an assortment of recommended hardware bundles for the Square Stand, but if you prefer to build your own setup, you will be happy to know that the Square Stand supports USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth printers, and other devices.
The newest addition to Square’s lineup of hardware, Square Terminal takes the concept of the Square Stand and the traditional credit card terminal and combines them into one portable machine. The display is large enough to be a fully functioning POS. It accepts magstripe, chip cards, and contactless transactions. It even has a built-in thermal receipt printer.
While you can operate Terminal by keeping it plugged in, Square promises the battery will last all day if you prefer to go wireless. You also get a cleverly designed power brick and USB hub to connect accessories, such as the USB barcode scanner and cash drawer. Bluetooth accessories aren’t supported, so the USB hub will be important for some merchants.
While Terminal runs Square Point of Sale, it also offers compatibility with the iPad-based premium POS app, Square for Restaurants, Square for Retail, and Square Appointments. Specifically, Terminal can be used for tableside ordering and payments. It doesn’t support all of Square for Restaurant’s features, though, so it’s essential that you make sure the Terminal fits your needs.
Check out our Square Terminal review for an in-depth look at the hardware.
With a price tag of $799, Square Register targets a higher-end market. This price does not include a cash drawer, receipt printer, or barcode scanner. However, for that price, you get a 13.25-inch screen running Square Point of Sale and a 7-inch consumer-facing screen with integrated support for magstripe, chip cards, and contactless transactions.
All in all, Square Register is a gorgeous piece of hardware that would look great in a retail space. The addition of the customer-facing display, combined with all of the supported hardware, brings Register on par with more traditional countertop POS systems.
There are Square POS Kits available for the Square Stand and Square Register — but if you’d prefer to use a different tablet stand for an iPad, Square also offers some alternatives.
The biggest advantage of choosing a Square POS kit is the cost savings. Buying individual accessories from Square will cost more than purchasing a bundle. Square lists the prices as “starting at” for most bundles, but that’s usually because you can buy an iPad directly from Square.
Square Stand on its own is pretty affordable, but if you opt for the bundle, you’ll pay $579. Your Square Stand Kit includes the following:
If you decide against the Square Stand Kit, keep in mind that you can use any piece of hardware that works with an iPad running Square Point of Sale as well as USB-enabled devices. That includes barcode scanners, receipt and kitchen printers, and cash drawers.
This Square POS bundle includes the tablet and costs $1,189. The kit also includes the following:
Square only recommends the Register Kit for businesses with routers, not mobile setups. That’s not too surprising because it’s clearly not a mobile setup. Register supports some USB and Ethernet printers (and one Wi-Fi printer) but does not support as many devices as the Square Stand or just a standalone iPad.
Square Point of Sale is included, and Square for Retail and the Square for Restaurants Free plan are supported. However, this POS bundle does not currently support Square Appointments.
We’re glad to see a more complete POS bundle for restaurants in the Square Stand Restaurant Station with Square Terminal for $1,389. You will need to bring your own iPad or purchase one directly from Square. Otherwise, here’s what you’ll get:
You can process chip cards, NFC contactless cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and magnetic stripes with this POS bundle.
This bundle makes tableside and online ordering simple and can dramatically increase your turnover rates and profitability. The kit runs for $259, and here’s what it includes:
You can process chip cards, NFC contactless cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and magnetic stripes with this POS bundle.
If you’d still like to use Square on a tablet — but without the Register or Square Stand — you can get a selection of Heckler brand tablet stands designed for iPads as well as Galaxy Tab A devices.
Prices vary by the tablet stand model and whether the kit includes an Ethernet or wireless printer. Which card reader Square includes depends on the model of iPad (remember, early models of iPad can’t upgrade to the iOS version required to support the Contactless + Chip Reader). And again, you can mix and match tablet stands and other devices to create a custom setup, though you will ultimately pay more than if you chose one of Square’s premade bundles.
Square has unleashed the ability to take contactless payments on iPhones and Android phones, allowing for even simpler payments while not sacrificing security. Using the new Tap to Pay feature, you can easily activate contactless payments through your Square app on your iPhone, ring up the sale, and then allow customers to tap their phone with mobile wallets like ApplePay and others.
When you check out Square’s hardware shop, you can also browse standalone accessories for Square’s products. I like that the site has added the ability to filter compatible accessories by the POS device. The available accessories include kitchen printers, USB and Bluetooth barcode scanners, Wi-Fi routers, and more.
However, these are far from your only options. Square supports an extensive array of hardware in addition to the options available directly through its shop. Now that you’ve had an overview of where to buy, what’s available, and the costs, what about financing options with Square? Read on to find out how to purchase what you need and make monthly payments to stay on budget.
You can purchase Square equipment and accessories directly from Square, but now you can get them at the big-box stores, too.
Generally speaking, we recommend purchasing equipment directly from Square just because the original payment documents would be easier to track down should there be any issues down the road. Square offers more cost-effective financing terms than you’ll find at the big-box retailers, too.
Keep in mind that if you want to return your equipment, you’ll be subject to the return policies of whatever store you purchased from, as you can only return items to Square if you bought them through Square. Purchasing Square equipment directly from the store puts you under whatever return policy the store has. Warranties, however, work a bit differently.
Square provides a limited warranty for most equipment (e.g., the chip card readers, Square Stand, Square Terminal) — regardless of where you purchase it. However, the warranty does not transfer, so no dice if you’ve purchased this used on eBay or if someone passed a reader on to you.
After initiating a warranty claim process, Square will ship you replacement hardware, but you must send your old hardware back within 14 days of receiving your new unit, or your account will be charged. All of these details are provided during the warranty claim process.
Square provides a FedEx label and pays for shipping both ways, which is nice to see. However, be careful you include the documentation and original packaging as instructed, or you could risk being charged.
Check out Square’s Hardware Policies and Limited Warranty page for more details.
There’s one last factor to consider when shopping for hardware from Square: the cost. If you are worried about the price of Square’s hardware or the overall price of accessories, you’ll be glad to know that Square offers financing options on purchases of $49 or more. Generally, the limit is $10,000, but you can apply for an increased limit. Depending on the total sum you’re financing, Square offers payback terms of three, six, 12, and 24 months.
Square will deduct your payments from your total processing volume before disbursing funds to your bank, so you don’t have to worry about making monthly payments. Eligibility depends on a credit check, and the financing program isn’t available in all US states — it isn’t available in Alabama, Delaware, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, or Tennessee. However, if you are eligible, this could be a great option.
Square’s markup for financing is reasonable, and the program is managed by Square directly, so you don’t have to worry about a shady third party stepping in. For the $299 Square Terminal, for example, Square advertises that you can pay $27/month for 12 months instead of $299 upfront. If you finance, you’ll pay $324, meaning there’s a $25 markup.
If you have a mobile business or simply want something small and portable, you can easily get a cheap, affordable mobile card reader (as you’ll see in our list of the best credit card readers for small businesses). However, if you need something more substantial, such as a countertop setup, you have plenty of options!
There’s Square Terminal with its very small profile, Square Stand for a good entry-level piece of hardware, and, of course, Square Register. Plus, the Square bundled kits allow you to easily add a cash drawer, receipt printer, and any other hardware you need. The number of options can seem overwhelming, but Square’s hardware is a big reason why it’s one of the best POS systems for small businesses. Ultimately, the decision comes down to how portable you need your hardware to be and what you can afford.
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