The verdict
- Pick Square if you sell mostly in person. Square Free costs $0 a month, includes Square’s POS app, and charges 2.6% + 15¢ per in-person card sale.
- Pick Stripe if you sell mostly online. Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ per online card sale. Square Free charges 3.3% + 30¢. To get 2.9% + 30¢ at Square, you need Square Plus at $49 a month per location.
- In person, sale size decides the rate. Stripe’s 2.7% + 5¢ costs less than Square Free’s 2.6% + 15¢ on any sale under $100, and more on any sale over $100. But Stripe has no POS app, so you also pay for POS software.
- Square pays out faster as standard. Next business day, free, for payments taken before 5 PM PT. Stripe’s standard US payout takes 2 business days.
| Feature | Square Checked Oct 19, 2026 | Stripe Checked Oct 19, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Flat rate | Flat rate |
| In person | 2.6% + 15¢ | 2.7% + 5¢ |
| Online | 3.3% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Keyed in | 3.5% + 15¢ | 3.4% + 30¢ |
| Monthly cost | $0 (Free plan) | $0 (Reader bought separately) |
| Contract | No contract | No contract |
| Payouts | Next business day free (payments before 5 PM PT); faster for a fee | 2 business days (standard) |
| True cost: first year at $10K/month | $3,899 (est.) | $3,539 (est.) |
| Visit | Visit Square | Visit Stripe |
What a month costs
These are estimates. They use each provider’s published standard rates, Square’s Free plan, and US-issued cards with no currency conversion. For Stripe in person, they assume you use a Stripe reader you bought, not Tap to Pay, and they leave out the cost of POS software, because Stripe doesn’t list a POS plan.
Example 1: a small shop, $5,000 a month in person, 200 payments.
- Square Free: 2.6% × $5,000 = $130, plus 200 × 15¢ = $30. About $160 a month, an effective rate of 3.2%.
- Stripe: 2.7% × $5,000 = $135, plus 200 × 5¢ = $10. About $145 a month, an effective rate of 2.9%, plus your POS software.
Example 2: a bigger business, $20,000 a month, half in person (400 payments) and half online (200 orders).
- Square Free: in person 2.6% × $10,000 = $260, plus 400 × 15¢ = $60. Online 3.3% × $10,000 = $330, plus 200 × 30¢ = $60. About $710 a month.
- Square Plus: in person 2.5% × $10,000 = $250, plus $60. Online 2.9% × $10,000 = $290, plus $60. Plan $49. About $709 a month.
- Stripe: in person 2.7% × $10,000 = $270, plus 400 × 5¢ = $20. Online 2.9% × $10,000 = $290, plus 200 × 30¢ = $60. About $640 a month, plus your POS software.
Example 3: an online-only shop, $8,000 a month, 160 orders of $50.
- Square Free: 3.3% × $8,000 = $264, plus 160 × 30¢ = $48. About $312 a month.
- Square Plus: 2.9% × $8,000 = $232, plus $48, plus the $49 plan. About $329 a month.
- Stripe: 2.9% × $8,000 = $232, plus $48. About $280 a month.
Online only, Stripe wins by about $32 a month against Square Free, or $384 a year. Square Plus has the same online rate as Stripe, but the plan fee puts it last at this size.
Example 4: a busy store, $60,000 a month in person, 1,200 payments of $50.
- Square Free: 2.6% × $60,000 = $1,560, plus 1,200 × 15¢ = $180. About $1,740 a month.
- Square Plus: 2.5% × $60,000 = $1,500, plus $180, plus $49. About $1,729 a month.
- Square Premium: 2.4% × $60,000 = $1,440, plus $180, plus $149. About $1,769 a month.
- Stripe: 2.7% × $60,000 = $1,620, plus 1,200 × 5¢ = $60. About $1,680 a month, plus your POS software.
The gap here is about $49 a month in Stripe’s favor against Square Plus. That’s only a real saving if your POS software costs less than that. Square’s price includes its POS app.
Stripe’s in-person gap shrinks if you take payments with Tap to Pay on a phone. Stripe adds 10¢ per authorization for that, which makes its per-sale fee 15¢, the same as Square’s. Stripe also adds 1.5% on international cards.
Want to try your own numbers? Use the Square fee calculator, the Stripe fee calculator, or compare every provider in the fee calculator.
Square vs Stripe on one sale
Sale size decides which one charges less in person. Here’s each fee on four sale sizes, by our math from the published rates:
| Sale | Square Free, in person (2.6% + 15¢) | Stripe, in person (2.7% + 5¢) | Square Free, online (3.3% + 30¢) | Stripe, online (2.9% + 30¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $0.41 | $0.32 | $0.63 | $0.59 |
| $50 | $1.45 | $1.40 | $1.95 | $1.75 |
| $100 | $2.75 | $2.75 | $3.60 | $3.20 |
| $1,000 | $26.15 | $27.05 | $33.30 | $29.30 |
In person, the two meet at exactly $100. Below that, Stripe’s smaller cents fee wins. Above it, Square’s lower percentage wins. Online, Stripe is cheaper at every size, unless you’re on Square Plus or Premium, which match Stripe’s 2.9% + 30¢.
Differences that matter beyond rates
POS software. Square Free includes Square’s POS app for $0 a month. Square says its Point of Sale “includes business solutions for restaurants, retail, services, and beauty.” Stripe sells readers and says they “integrate with hundreds of third-party POS systems,” but it doesn’t list a POS plan.
Hardware. Both list a basic reader at $59. Square Terminal is $299, and Stripe’s Reader S700 is also $299. Stripe charges an optional $10 a month per reader for cellular data.
Typed-in cards. Square charges 3.5% + 15¢ on every plan. Stripe charges 3.4% + 30¢ (its online rate plus 0.5% for manually entered cards).
Payouts. Square: next business day, free, for payments before 5 PM PT. Instant or same-day transfers cost 1.95%. Stripe: 2 business days as standard. Instant Payouts cost 1.5%, with a 50¢ minimum.
Disputes. Stripe charges $15 per dispute, plus $15 if you respond manually (refunded if you win). Square says it charges no dispute-management fee, but you lose the processing fee if the customer wins.
Bank payments. Square lists invoice ACH at 1% with a $1 minimum, and no cap shown on the Free plan. Stripe lists ACH Direct Debit at 0.8%, capped at $5.
Contracts. Neither locks you in. Square says there are “no hidden fees or locked-in contracts.” Stripe says it charges no setup, monthly or closure fees.
Square vs Stripe for online payments
If most of your sales happen on a website, these are the lines that decide it.
| Online cost | Square | Stripe |
|---|---|---|
| Standard online card rate | 3.3% + 30¢ on Free, 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Payments through the provider’s APIs | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Typed-in or saved card | 3.5% + 15¢ | 3.4% + 30¢ |
| Buy now, pay later | Afterpay, 6% + 30¢ | Klarna, 5.99% + 30¢ |
| Bank payment (ACH) | 1%, $1 minimum. No cap on Free, $10 cap on Plus and Premium. Through the API, $5 cap. | 0.8%, $5 cap |
Square’s API rate is for card payments made “within your web or mobile application’s workflow” through its payments APIs. Square’s pricing page lists that rate without splitting it by plan, so a custom checkout built on Square’s APIs may get 2.9% + 30¢ without Plus. Confirm it with Square before you build.
Bank payments show the biggest gap on large invoices. A $2,000 invoice paid by ACH costs $20 on Square Free, $10 on Square Plus and $5 on Stripe.
The downside of each
Neither is perfect. Here’s the main catch with each one, from their own pages.
Square’s downsides:
- The Free plan has Square’s highest rates, and online costs 3.3% + 30¢ on it.
- Paid plans are charged per location, so three stores on Plus cost $147 a month.
- Typed-in and saved-card payments cost 3.5% + 15¢ on every plan.
- Refunds don’t return the processing fee.
- Instant transfers cost 1.95%, against 1.5% (50¢ minimum) for Stripe’s Instant Payouts.
Stripe’s downsides:
- No POS app of its own, so you pay for POS software separately.
- Disputes cost $15 each, plus $15 more if you respond and lose.
- International cards add 1.5%, and currency conversion adds 1%.
- Tap to Pay adds 10¢ per authorization.
- Standard payouts take 2 business days, not one.
The full list for each is on our Square fees and Stripe fees pages.
Pick Square if
- You sell mostly in person and want one company for the POS app and the payments.
- You want your money the next business day without paying for it.
- You have slow months and want a $0 monthly bill when sales are low.
Pick Stripe if
- You sell mostly online, or through your own website or app.
- You already use a POS system that works with Stripe’s readers.
- Your in-person sales are mostly under $100, and you’ll use a Stripe reader rather than Tap to Pay.
- You bill large invoices and can get clients to pay by bank, at 0.8% capped at $5.
What about PayPal?
PayPal is the third name most owners weigh. PayPal POS lists 2.29% + 9¢ for in-person cards, lower than both Square Free and Stripe, with a free POS app. Online, PayPal’s standard card payments cost 2.99% + 49¢. That’s more than Stripe on every order, and more than Square Free on orders under about $61. PayPal also charges $20 per chargeback, plus a $15 dispute fee.
So PayPal can beat both at the counter, and usually costs more than Stripe online. See Stripe vs PayPal and our PayPal POS fees page for the full picture.
More on each: our full pages on Square fees and Stripe fees. Selling online and in store? See Square vs Shopify and Stripe vs PayPal.
Common questions
Is Stripe cheaper than Square?
Online, yes. Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ and Square Free charges 3.3% + 30¢. In person, it depends on your sale size. Stripe's 2.7% + 5¢ costs less than Square Free's 2.6% + 15¢ on sales under $100, and more on sales over $100. Stripe has no POS app, so add the cost of the POS software you pair it with.
Can I use Stripe as a POS system?
Not on its own. Stripe sells card readers from $59 and says they can work with hundreds of third-party POS systems, but it doesn't list a POS plan of its own. So you need separate POS software. Square Free includes Square's POS app at $0 a month.
Which one pays me faster, Square or Stripe?
Square, by its own terms. Square says payments taken before 5 PM PT arrive the next business day at no charge. Stripe's standard US payout is 2 business days. Both offer faster payouts for a fee: 1.95% per transfer at Square, and 1.5% (50¢ minimum) for Stripe Instant Payouts.
What happens with chargebacks at Square vs Stripe?
Stripe charges $15 for each dispute you receive, plus another $15 if you respond to it manually. You get the second $15 back if you win. Square says it charges no fee for managing chargebacks, but if the customer wins, you don't get the processing fee on that payment back.
How much is the fee on a $1,000 sale at Square vs Stripe?
In person, Square Free charges $26.15 (2.6% + 15¢) and Stripe charges $27.05 (2.7% + 5¢). Online, Square Free charges $33.30 (3.3% + 30¢) and Stripe charges $29.30 (2.9% + 30¢). Square Plus matches Stripe online at $29.30, for $49 a month per location. Those are our calculations from each one's published rate.
Which is better for online payments, Square or Stripe?
On price, Stripe, unless you pay for Square Plus. Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ online with no monthly fee. Square Free charges 3.3% + 30¢, and Plus brings it to 2.9% + 30¢ for $49 a month per location. Stripe also charges less for bank payments: 0.8% capped at $5, against Square's 1% with a $10 cap on paid plans.