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Square and PayPal are payment service providers, or PSPs, that help small businesses accept payments in person and online. PayPal may be better for small businesses with an international customer base, but if price is a priority for you, Square may be your winner.
Here's how the two companies compare.
Square
Pros
Relatively flat in-person pricing. Square charges the same fee for in-person card transactions regardless of which card the customer uses, and there are no monthly fees. Some prices are findable on the website. In addition, Square has a handy calculator on its website that can help you estimate what your business will pay.
Customer support. Square has an online knowledge base and community. You can also get help by email (a possible two-day turnaround), chat and Twitter. There's also phone support, though the company warns on its website, "there may be a wait when you call, so feel free to use our callback option if you can't wait on the line."
Square Payments Shop Now on Square's website |
Cons
For some businesses, there's less price transparency. Small businesses with more than $250,000 in card transactions per year don't necessarily get the same rates as everyone else. They have to call and get a quote.
Not very international. Square supports card payments in only a relatively few countries, which could be a problem for companies doing business overseas.
PayPal
Pros
Transparent pricing. PayPal's prices are findable on its website.
The relative ease of use. Small-business owners who want something simple to set up may prefer PayPal Payments Standard, as it's explicitly designed to make integration simple for non-programmers.
International. PayPal accepts about two dozen currencies.
Customer support. PayPal has phone support from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central time Monday through Friday. It also has text support, an online community and a resolution center for transaction or account issues.
Cons
Relative cost. PayPal can be more expensive than Square on a per-transaction basis.
Less customization. Small businesses that are keen on detailed customization might find PayPal's cut-and-paste implementation approach off-putting.
Square features
Square may be best known for its point-of-sale software and white devices plugged into checkout systems, but Square is also a payment service provider. It works with credit cards, debit cards, corporate cards, prepaid cards and reward cards.
Card payment acceptance with the Square app is available in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Irish Republic, Spain, France and the United Kingdom. However, it doesn't support payment card processing in other U.S. territories, nor does it support cross-border card payments (i.e., you can't receive card transactions if you're outside the country where you activated your Square account).
Square integrates with Wix, BigCommerce, GoDaddy and other e-commerce platforms. The company's application programming interface also allows for customization. Businesses can also invoice customers digitally and take card payments without using the Square POS.
In addition to using its POS hardware systems for in-person payments, Square can process payments in three ways:
Online payments
Square offers online payment services that you can integrate into your online store or mobile app. You can also get a free e-commerce website, add pickup and delivery services, or sell on social media.
Remote payments
Square lets small businesses create and send digital invoices to customers, and those customers can then pay you with a card or by ACH. You can also send customers a link to pay by text or email.
Manual payments
If you need to accept payment over the phone and key the information in, you can do that with Square by either the Square app or by using the company's virtual terminal feature.
PayPal features
PayPal lets small businesses accept and process payments in person and online. It offers two payment gateway services: PayPal Payments Standard and PayPal Payments Pro. PayPal's services work with major e-commerce platforms such as BigCommerce, Wix and Shopify.
PayPal Payments Standard
This product may be best if you don't have coding experience or a developer on your team, as you'll simply need to copy and paste a line of code or integrate a plug-in with your shopping cart. Either option should take only 15 minutes to implement, according to PayPal's website.
PayPal Payments Pro
This is a customizable checkout solution that also provides access to a virtual terminal so you can accept credit cards online, by mobile or with devices that don't have an external card reader. Also, you can accept payments in 25 currencies from 200 countries, accept phone payments and get simplified payment card industry security standards.
Pricing: Square vs. PayPal
Both providers have transaction and other fees. Here's how they compare.
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Square vs. PayPal: Which PSP is right for your business?
Square may be your best option if you want customizable software at a relatively low price. But if a simple setup is more important, you may want to go with PayPal.
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