Clover VS Square: Which POS System Is Best For Your Small Business?
Clover and Square both have innovative hardware, user-friendly interfaces, and affordability. The size of your business may determine which one is better for you.
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Key Takeaways
- Clover is ideal for larger or multi-location businesses due to its robust inventory management, customizable features, and built-in loyalty programs. However, it requires proprietary hardware and may require long contracts and early termination fees.
- Square is better suited for smaller businesses seeking an easy-to-use, affordable POS system with transparent pricing. It offers a free plan with strong basic features, though advanced functionalities and loyalty programs are only available on paid plans.
| Clover | Square | |
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| Pricing | $0 - $84.95/month | $0 - $149/mo/location |
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| What’s Missing |
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| Next Steps | Visit Site Read Review |
Visit Site Read Review |
Table of Contents
Clover VS Square: At A Glance
Clover and Square are two industry heavy hitters in the world of point of sale.
Both are strong POS solutions, boasting numerous features, user-friendly interfaces, and sleek hardware options.
Clover has strong back-end features better suited for larger and growing businesses. Clover’s customizable and scalable POS software grows with your business and proves itself to be a capable POS even with multi-location businesses. A strong set of features and numerous integrations provide everything you’d want in a POS system.
However, Clover’s proprietary hardware — while sleek and durable — can be expensive and limiting. And because there are numerous Clover resellers, it’s also possible to get locked into a long contract with unfavorable terms and high early termination fees. Ouch!
Meanwhile, Square’s easy, affordable pricing model and ease of use make it a popular choice among smaller businesses. Even Square’s free plan is loaded with features, although you can further enhance this plan by upgrading to a paid plan or choosing add-ons.
A downside is that you do have to use Square’s built-in payment processing. While the flat-rate model works for some businesses, larger businesses or those processing large volumes may find this to be expensive. Funds may also be subject to holds, or your account may even be terminated — a common issue with payment service providers like Square.
Where Clover Wins
- Multi-location and franchise management: While Clover and Square are similar in terms of pricing, Clover is generally more affordable if you have multiple locations and stations, and they offer solid processing rates for high-volume sellers
- Flexible processing: Along those same lines, while there are risks with Clover’s processing, you do have the potential to negotiate more affordable rates overall if you go through a reputable reseller
- Built-in loyalty: Both companies offer strong loyalty programs, but Clover’s is built into its software and cheaper overall
Where Clover Falls Short
- Potential scams: The problem with having so many resellers hawking your product is that you can’t guarantee that all of them will be operating in good faith. There are plenty of Clover scams out there, so you’ll need to do your due diligence
- Pricier hardware: Clover’s hardware options are excellent and on par with Square in terms of usability, but Square’s come at a significantly lower price.
- No built-in payroll: Clover offers a full suite of small business services, but it doesn’t have its own payroll system, which Square offers as an add-on
Where Square Wins
- Free online store: This is one of the biggest benefits to Square in general. They give you the ability to set up your own eCommerce site completely free with enough tools to customize your own website.
- Consistent pricing: While you may be able to lock in or negotiate cheaper fees with Clover, Square’s pricing and fees are upfront and there is little to no guesswork involved.
- Appointment-based features: While Clover and Square have options for restaurants and retail stores, Square also has features specifically for appointment-based establishments like spas or salons.
Where Square Falls Short
- Account stability: This is still a slight issue for Square despite improvements. They occasionally have issues withholding funds without warning, particularly for high-risk merchants.
- Expensive for high-volume sellers: Square’s affordable and consistent processing fees are excellent for small to mid-sized resellers, but if you are a larger seller, they can add up quickly.
- Less than robust inventory management: Square’s feature set is solid, particularly with its free plan, but it doesn’t quite match up to some of its competitors when it comes to tracking products and ingredients.
Clover VS Square: Pricing Comparison
| Clover | Square | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Fees | $0 - $84.95/month | $0 - $149/mo/location |
| Hardware Costs | $199 - $1,799 | $0 - $799 |
| Payment Processing Costs | 2.3% - 2.6% + $0.10 per transaction | 2.4% - 2.6% + $0.15 |
| Early Termination Fees | Varies | None |
| Additional Costs | Optional add-ons Merchant Application Fee Debit Card Setup Fee Additional Devices |
Optional add-ons |
Square offers pricing plans that range from$0 - $149/month.
Additional paid add-ons include Square Marketing and Square Payroll.
Clover has plans that range from $0 - $84.95/month.
Clover VS Square: Features Comparison
| Clover | Square | |
|---|---|---|
| Payment Processing | ||
| Split Payments | ||
| Loyalty Program | Add-on | |
| Employee Management | ||
| Inventory Management | ||
| Stock Alerts | ||
| Offline Mode | ||
| Gift Cards | ||
| Appointments | Add-on | |
| Online Ordering | ||
| Delivery | ||
| Payroll | Add-on |
Clover and Square each boast a solid set of POS features. Both options support online ordering, tableside ordering, marketing tools, inventory management, employee management, multichannel selling, gift cards, eCommerce tools, and reporting. Note that the features you have access to for either Clover or Square are dependent on the plan you select.
Clover stands out for its built-in loyalty program, which is only available on Square’s paid plans. Square’s additional add-ons include payroll, neither of which is offered directly by Clover.
Which Is Best For My Business: Clover Or Square?
While Clover and Square are both strong contenders in the POS space, what works for one business may not be the right choice for yours. If you’re still undecided between Clover POS vs. Square, consider the following situations to determine which POS solution best fits the specific needs of your business.
Choose Clover If…
- You need strong inventory management and reporting
- You own a restaurant with complex menus and table mapping needs
- You have a large-scale or enterprise business
- You need a scalable solution for a business that’s growing quickly
Choose Square If…
- You need a payment processor and minimal inventory management
- You want a POS system with numerous add-ons and integrations
- You want a simple, easy-to-use, and scalable POS with affordable hardware
- You want an easy POS solution for multichannel selling
Clover VS Square Comparison: The Final Verdict
A solid set of features at competitive pricing makes it easy to see why Clover is such a popular POS solution. While it is missing a few key features, numerous apps are available to fill in the gaps and help bolster your business. Clover does boast a bit more firepower than Square when it comes to the depth of some of its back-end features and is probably a slightly better option for large-scale or enterprise businesses.
Square’s all-in-one POS solution stands out for its simple built-in payment processing, large app store, sleek hardware, and affordable pricing. Square continues to grow and stay on top of POS trends, such as mobile ordering and eCommerce options. While Square certainly is suitable for businesses of all sizes, it’s an excellent choice for smaller businesses that want an easy-to-use solution for accepting payments and making sales through multiple channels.
Get hands-on with the software yourself with free plans and free trials to find the best POS software for your business.
Matt Sherman
Expert Contributor at Merchant Maverick
Matt has been helping small businesses make decisions since 2017. He has written reviews and articles across many different channels but specializes in the point of sale, payroll, and small business insurance categories and has been quoted in articles for Fox Business, Forbes, and other publications. Prior to joining Merchant Maverick, Matt was a journalist and editor for 14 years for a pair of weekly newspapers. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and currently resides in Gladstone, Oregon.
View Matt Sherman's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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