Are you unsure how to decide between Square and Stripe?
You are not the only one.
Both Square and Stripe look very similar at first glance.
These tools, as well as other popular payment solutions like PayPal, are market leaders in their respective industries.
Business owners will find these credit card payment processing tools essential. They offer features that have revolutionized how we pay for our necessities. Stripe and Square offer businesses the best in payment technology. They provide businesses with more reliable and efficient ways to accept and manage their transactions.
While Stripe and Square have many similarities, they are not the same tools and should not be treated as such. Every payment processing solution, including Braintree and PayPal to Stripe and Square has its own pros and cons.
Square, which is an all-in-one payment processor, can do everything, from online ecommerce payments to in-person transactions using immersive register hardware. Stripe, on the other hand is digital-only and focuses on mobile and eCommerce. It also offers powerful tools to help you build subscription-based businesses and marketplaces.
Stripe vs. Square: Pricing
Let’s begin with the basics.
When making the decision between Square and Stripe, the first thing to consider is the cost of running your business.
It is important to remember that both Square as well as Round have very simple pricing plans.
Stripe’s prices
- 2.9% plus 30 cents online
- 2.7% plus $0.05 using Square terminal
- 0.8% on ACH transactions ($5 maximum)
To add Stripe payments on your website, Stripe will require you to pay a 2.9% processing fee and 30 cents per transaction. A major benefit for modern merchants is the absence of monthly fees.
Stripe also offers a wide range of payment processing options, including ACH payment processing. This will help you to save money.
Stripe gives you access to features such as embeddable checkouts and custom toolkits. You also get fast and predictable payments to your business account. You can also get recurring billing and subscriptions for as little as $1 million.
You will need to connect Stripe to an eCommerce platform to use it as an online payment processor. This could result in additional fees. You can negotiate micro-transaction rates. This is not an option that comes with the standard package and may not be available for everyone.
Stripe offers credit card processing and easy payment management for online stores. Stripe charges a very low fee compared to other payment services like PayPal or Braintree. Stripe offers a flat-rate payment system that is affordable and a user-friendly interface.
You can find out more about Square pricing by clicking.
Square, on the other hand, offers a simple pricing strategy.
Square prices are
- 2.9% plus 30 cents online
- Card transactions: 1.75%
- 2.5% for keyed entries
You pay a card transaction fee of 1.75% for chip and pin payments, or 2.9% to make payments online. Plus 30 cents per transaction. If you don’t have your card, you can access keyed in purchases offline for 2.5%
Square’s pricing includes access to a credit card reader for free when you sign up. This allows you to start accepting payments quickly. Square’s POS system is also available to you for free. This makes Square stand out in today’s market.
Square is a popular choice for business owners who want to process credit cards using devices such as the Square Terminal or Square Register. Few other payment services can offer such high-value solutions to take in person payments.
Square has no chargeback fees, which is quite unusual among today’s payment processors. Square even offers its own chargeback protection service, which covers disputes up to $250 per month. Square is not a great place to deal with customer support in the event of an issue. However, you have very low chances of being charged back.
Volume discounts can be available for those who process more than 250k payments per year and have tickets that exceed $15. Non-profits are not eligible for discounts at the moment. Square may also charge additional fees if you need to use advanced tools such as Square Payment (34 USD per month) or customer loyalty features.
Add-ons are available
- Square for Retail $60 per Month
- Square for Restaurants $60 per Month
- Management of employees $5 per employee per calendar month
- Payroll $34 per Month
- Loyalty $25 per Month
- Marketing $15 per month
Square, like Stripe, offers an amazing experience and one of best payment methods on the market. Square is a great choice for small-business owners looking for an alternative to PayPal and Braintree. This company also ensures you have all the hardware tools you need to make in-person payment, including a magstripe or chip card reader.
The Setup and Ease to Use: Square vs. Stripe
It doesn’t matter what payment system you choose, you need to feel at ease using it. Square understands that simplicity is the most important thing for merchants today. Small business owners don’t need to contact customer service to learn how to use their credit card processing system. Solutions like Square, Stripe and PayPal are so popular with online businesses and growing businesses today because of their simplicity.
The Square portfolio includes software that is built to seamlessly work together. There’s a free POS for all devices, centralized reporting and interfaces designed to get great responses on any device, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet or desktop. Square’s eCommerce options and mobile POS app are easy to use.
You’ll have all the tools you need to manage and take payments from the moment your Square account is set up. Keep in mind, however, that depending on which shopping cart service you use, the complexity of your online experience might increase. Square’s user-friendly nature is also helped by the many options available for taking in-person payments. You can use your magstripe reader and chip reader to provide in-person payment services while on the move if you have the Square Register. You will be able for people to use your chip card, contactless system, or debit card wherever you sell your goods. You can also track and check all payments through your Square system.
You could also argue that Stripe is slightly more complex than other payment processing systems. However, that’s to be expected with a tool so rich in features that was designed for developers. Your Stripe experience will vary depending on your requirements.
If you don’t have a developer or tech professional, you can copy JavaScript code and embed a checkout on your website. If you have access to a developer, you can access your customized toolkit and build your platform from scratch.
Although Square is more difficult than Square, it offers the same level of ease-of-use as Square. You can also choose how complicated your setup will be.
Payments accepted
We now know how costly Square and Stripe can be and how easy it is to use them. Let’s take a look at the various features each option has, including the payment options.
Square has the good news that it can process all major credit cards including eWallet payments and Apple Pay across any channel. Square is a great way to make payments. Square offers a free card reader, access to hardware registers, and a number of other benefits. Square is a great option for credit card or contactless payments that can be sent directly to your merchant account.
Square is flexible but it is worth noting that Stripe allows you to make online payments more easily than Square. However, Square is better suited for in-person payments.
Stripe is a great choice for online businesses. It accepts more than 135 currencies and offers an affordable ACH payment option that allows you to make payments up to $5.
Stripe processes all major credit cards. It also offers digital options such as Android Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay. You can also use AliPay to make international payments. Stripe is a great choice if you want to build a global online business.
Mobile and eCommerce
How does Square and Stripe compare when it comes mobile and eCommerce payments?
Square recently acquired Webly in order to provide a more cost-effective and engaging eCommerce platform for your online transactions. It’s also worth noting Square already has an extensive list of integrations, including many shopping cart options.
Square APIs can be used to create your solution using Square’s wide range of developer tools, even if the shopping cart you prefer isn’t on the integrations list. Square’s developer tools allow you to create almost any custom integration for transactions or checkouts. Square Checkout also gives you access to perks such as next-day deposits and chargeback protection. You can also customize the transaction API to meet your business’s needs.
It’s also impossible to overlook the impact Square has had on mobile payments. Square POS is one the most powerful mobile apps today. It works perfectly as an iPad POS if your goal is to get selling as soon as possible. Sign up for a Square account to get a magstripe reader and a variety of other compatible hardware. Square’s POS APIs and Reader APIs allow you to use Square Checkout in your own apps.
Square is not ideal for mobile payments and ecommerce. The subscription tools are limited. There are limited options for installment payments and recurring invoices, but you can still access them. Square may not offer the most extensive range of options for digital merchants.
Stripe is an online payment platform that is as impressive as PayPal. Stripe, like Square, has a great reputation for being a great option for developers who want to integrate payment tools with a variety of third-party apps for faster processing.
Stripe’s eCommerce payment processing options go beyond what square can offer in terms the number of shopping cart integrations it has. Stripe integrates with many eCommerce vendors and offers plugins and integrations for businesses that use tools such as Magneto and WordPress.
Because of its amazing flexibility and extensive documentation, Stripe is a favorite tool for developers. It also supports multiple programming languages both on mobile and the web. Stripe Elements allows you to create a custom solution by using pre-built components. Stripe Checkout allows you to create a pre-built form that you can then drop onto your website.
Stripe Terminal is the best option for mobile payments. This is not a standalone mobile PSO, but it allows you to integrate Stripe Payments into your POS if the developer skills are available.
Stripe is an attractive option for eCommerce and online payments, but it is not for everyone. Stripe may not be the best choice if you are looking for an easy-to-use tool that can manage a variety of sales channels simultaneously. Stripe is a better choice for people who are tech-savvy and have coding skills.
Notably, Stripe does not have a complete virtual terminal like Square. It can only accept minimal keyed in payment options via Stripe’s dashboard. It is possible to enter phone orders but it can be a bit difficult. Square makes it easier to accept payments from customers who don’t have cards.
Additional Features
Many payment processing tools, such as PayPal, offer additional features such as invoicing and back-end administration to simplify your life.
The choice between Stripe and Square is ultimately based on what your business needs are. Square can be a great choice if you are looking for something that is ready to use and capable of handling a variety of payment channels. Square’s free POS solution is a leader in small business transaction management. Square allows companies to process many sales transactions, track inventory, manage their inventory and gather vital contact information from customers.
Square also allows you to add advanced features such as appointment scheduling, loyalty programs, marketing, and marketing. Stripe, on the other hand is much less comprehensive. Stripe is one those tools you need to create from scratch using a variety of APIs and developer tools. Stripe is a powerful tool, but you will need to put in a lot of work and resources to get your campaigns running.
Stripe, for example, doesn’t allow you to access POS features like Square. The company is still testing its own programmable POS system, but it has a lot of work ahead before it can offer the same functionality as Square.
Stripe is able to outperform Square in several areas, including subscriptions, memberships and recurring payments. These are two areas where Stripe excels over other tools such as PayPal.
Although Square may be the best selling solution for companies looking to start in-person businesses with point-of-sale systems and registers, Stripe is better for recurring payment. Although Square offers recurring payments for monthly fees, it isn’t as user-friendly as Stripe.
Stripe offers a better alternative to Square, especially for companies with high-volume sales strategies. Stripe Subscriptions allows you to design and manage recurring payments that suit any subscription-based business. This includes subscription box retailers, memberships and educational sites.
These are the unique features that make square the best payment processing solution for Omnichannel Merchants who want to sell anywhere.
- Invoicing
- Advanced inventory management
- Management of employees
- Apis for inventory management, item catalogs and customer management
- Virtual terminals available for free
- Mobile POS free
- Dashboard reporting
- Customer database
These are the distinctive features that make Stripe a great choice for membership companies and high-volume online sellers.
- Reporting in custom SQL
- Multiple currency display
- Conversion of currency
- Both digital and physical cards
- Tools for building platforms and marketplaces
- There are many options for developer customization
You should also look at the integrations available to business owners when they set up Square and Stripe credit card processing and payment system. Many online payment services, such as those offered by Braintree or PayPal, can be integrated with top tools to integrate with your online store’s backend systems. You can integrate with accounting software or Shopify to link to Shopify.
Make sure you have all the features and integrations that you require before you decide between Stripe or Square for your online shop. There’s more than just finding the most convenient payment method or the lowest pricing package.
Chargeback Protection and Contracts
When choosing between Stripe or Square, one thing to remember is that both offer pay-as you-go payment processing solutions similar to PayPal. This means you won’t be stuck with pesky contracts for any longer than you want. You can terminate your Square or Stripe account to get rid of all your payments. Stripe even offers the option to transfer customer data to another company.
You can also get a 30-day trial for Square’s “add-on” features. And you can cancel these features at any moment. You don’t have to pay an annual fee and there are no discounts for paying annually.
When comparing these vendors, one thing you should pay attention to is how they handle chargeback protection. Many vendors are concerned about chargebacks. You can be protected if something goes wrong with transactions you accept by choosing the right payment processor.
Square is the market leader in Chargeback Protection, providing up to $250 per month. You can also protect yourself from loss if a customer disputes a charge you made to their bank account or card. To be eligible, you must respond within seven days to payment disputes. Square will see that you are following their best fraud practices.
Stripe uses industry-standard procedures to handle disputes and chargebacks. If a customer files a dispute, there is a $15 chargeback fee. However, if the dispute is resolved in your favor, that fee will be refunded. There is no protection coverage for a dispute, unlike Square.
The best thing about Square in terms of chargebacks is the absence of any chargeback fees. If your customers dispute your claim to their money they won’t lose any money. This is a huge relief for vendors. Although Stripe does not offer the same level of security or freedom, it does provide access to “Radar,” which is a highly-rated fraud protection tool. This tool uses machine-learning technology to identify high-risk sales and flags you about potentially hazardous transactions.
Verdict
There are many options when it comes to choosing the best payment system. These include Braintree and Paypal to Square and Stripe to name a few.
It’s easy to see that Square and stripe share many similarities and have many similar features. These tools are both compelling third-party payment processors that have a good reputation in the digital marketplace. Both Square and Stripe give merchants the tools they need to sell online. However, neither of these tools is relevant to high-risk companies.
There are many differences between Square and Stripe.
Companies looking for an all-in-one solution for payment processing are best served by Square. It offers a pre-made strategy to accept payments in many different environments and provides a complete set of tools for facilitating transactions. Without having to switch between multiple dashboards, you can sell your products and services online, in-store and on-the-go.
Everything you need can be found on one intuitive dashboard. Square continues to improve its service for merchants by releasing new software and hardware. Square is the best option for those with limited tech knowledge who want everything ready-to-use, designed and built just for them.
Stripe, on the other hand is a payment processor that focuses on online payment strategies. This company offers a wide variety of tools that make it easy for businesses to sell worldwide. They also offer the ability to set up subscription and membership platforms. Stripe is an excellent choice if you are looking for an international payment provider which makes digital transactions more simple.
Stripe is a great choice for developers and coders. There are many ways to personalize your payment processing experience, if you’re able to use the technology to your advantage. Stripe is the best option if you are looking for something you can customize to meet your needs.
It’s difficult to say which one is better because they were designed for different purposes. While both Square and Stripe are great, it comes down to your business’s needs. You should also consider other options such as PayPal, Braintree and .
