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Square Fees: Calculator and Pricing for 2026
Square processing fees depend on your subscription tier. Those range from $0 to $149 each month.
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Square charges fees for payment processing, software and hardware. It uses flat-rate pricing for payments, with costs varying by subscription tier. In-person card transactions range from 2.4% plus 15 cents to 2.6% plus 15 cents. Online transactions have a bigger spread — from 2.9% plus 30 cents to 3.3% plus 30 cents.
In terms of software, Square has free and paid options. You can also get a variety of paid add-ons. Businesses receive a free mobile card reader. Additional hardware costs anywhere from $59 to $799.
Here’s a complete rundown, plus a calculator to estimate your processing costs with Square's free plan.
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Square unveiled major pricing changes in October 2025. (You can read the company's press release here.)
The biggest shifts involved standardized monthly software fees for different subscription tiers. All businesses now pay $0 (Free), $49 (Plus) or $149 (Premium) per month. That might be good news in some instances. Retail subscribers paid $89 per month for Plus previously, for instance. But it's less ideal for online businesses. Plus used to cost them just $29 per month.
As is often the case with these kinds of changes, Square juggled features among tiers. It moved some advanced capabilities to the more expensive Premium plan. Restaurants will need to pay up to get 24/7 phone support now, for example.
Square also increased processing rates for its Free plan, in particular for online transactions. Those now cost 3.3% plus 30 cents. Plus subscribers get the previous (now discounted) rate of 2.9% plus 30 cents.
Business owners will need to figure out if the $49 fee for Plus exceeds the additional savings costs. Our editorial team still thinks you get can a lot of value from the Free plan. But Square certainly seems to want people to choose Plus, and it has made the math trickier as a result.
Square fees at a glance
Square fees usually fall into one of three categories:
Per-use fees for payment processing.
A monthly subscription cost for software.
The price of any Square hardware you buy.
The basic Square POS app is free. Hardware and additional software features cost extra.
Payment processing fees
2.6% plus 15 cents for in-person transactions with Free plan.
3.3% plus 30 cents for online transactions with Free plan.
2.5% plus 15 cents for in-person transactions with Plus plan.
2.4% plus 15 cents for in-person transaction with Premium plan.
2.9% plus 30 cents for online transactions with Plus and Premium plans.
3.5% plus 15 cents for manually keyed transactions.
Monthly software fees
$0 for Square Free plan.
$49 for Square Plus plan.
$149 for Square Premium plans.
Hardware costs
$0 for Square magstripe-only card reader ($10 for each additional reader) or if using Tap to Pay for iPhone (iPhone not included).
$59 for Square Reader contactless and chip card reader.
$149 for Square Stand iPad POS or Square Stand Mount (iPad not included; monthly financing available).
$149 for Square Kiosk for self-serve ordering.
$299 for Square Terminal mobile card reader with built-in printer (monthly financing available).
$399 for Square Handheld portable POS system with built-in barcode scanner (monthly financing available).
$799-$899 for Square Register two-screen system (monthly financing available).
How do Square’s payment processing fees work?
Square uses a flat-rate model for payment processing fees. That means fees consist of two parts:
A percentage of the transaction total (e.g., 2.6%).
A set amount (e.g., 15 cents).
The fee varies depending on whether the customer uses a card in person, online or if the merchant enters it manually without the customer present.
For instance, say a customer made a $100 purchase in person with their credit card. On Square's free plan, you’d pay $2.75 in processing fees. That's a combination of 2.6% of the transaction total — or $2.60— plus 15 cents.
Use the calculator below to estimate how much you’ll pay in processing fees on Square's free plan, depending on your transaction total.
Here are some additional things to know about Square’s payment processing pricing structure:
Some premium Square software subscription levels come with cheaper in-person rates. Those go as low as 2.4% plus 15 cents instead of 2.6% plus 15 cents on the free plan.
Square provides custom rates to some businesses — generally those doing more than $250,000 in business with Square per year with an average sale of more than $15.
All Square POS software subscriptions are month-to-month, and users can cancel at any time without penalty. Here are Square’s plan selections for retailers, restaurants and appointment-based businesses, along with their monthly fees and key features.
Retail POS plans: $0 to $149/month and up.
Free plan: $0.
Basic inventory management tools, including low stock alerts.
E-commerce website.
Discounted shipping.
Social media selling.
Basic reporting.
Invoicing.
Refunds management.
Customer profiles.
Time tracking and scheduling for up to five employees.
Plus plan: $49.
The Plus plan includes all features in the free plan, plus some additional capabilities:
Discounted in-person transaction rates (2.5% plus 15 cents per transaction).
Discounting online transaction rates (2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction).
Advanced inventory tools, like smart stock forecasts.
Purchase order and vendor management.
Time tracking and scheduling for more than five employees.
Premium plan: $149.
The Plus plan includes all features in the free plan, plus some additional capabilities:
Further discounted in-person transaction rates (2.4% plus 15 cents per transaction). Online transactions cost the same as on the Plus plan.
Advanced inventory tools, like smart stock forecasts.
Purchase order importing (e.g., via CSV).
Vendor sales reports.
Cross-location returns.
Pro plan: custom pricing.
The Pro plan is for businesses that process more than $250,000 per year. It includes all features above, in addition to:
Square for Restaurants’ Plus plan includes all the features in the free plan, plus:
Discounted in-person transaction rates (2.5% plus 15 cents per transaction).
Discounting online transaction rates (2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction).
$30 per month for the Square KDS app per device.
$50 per month for the Square Kiosk app per device.
Automated gratuity amounts (based on party size).
Ability to split checks.
Additional reports, including close-of-day.
Premium plan: $149.
The Premium plan includes all of the above, plus:
Further discounted in-person transaction rates (2.4% plus 15 cents per transaction). Online transactions cost the same as on the Plus plan.
$20 per month for the Square KDS app per device.
$30 per month for the Square Kiosk app per device.
Seat management.
Course management.
24/7 phone support.
Pro plan: custom pricing.
The Pro plan is for businesses that process more than $250,000 per year. It includes all features above, in addition to:
Custom processing rates.
Potential hardware discounts.
Additional customer support.
Appointments POS plans: $0 to $149/month.
Free plan: $0.
Scheduling tools and staff calendars.
Text and email reminders for clients.
Booking website.
Invoicing.
Prepayments.
Low stock alerts.
Basic sales reporting.
Customer profiles.
Plus plan: $49.
The Plus plan includes all of the features that the free plan does, plus some additional ones:
Discounted in-person transaction rates (2.5% plus 15 cents per transaction).
Discounting online transaction rates (2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction).
Waitlists.
Google Calendar sync.
Appointment confirmations.
Cancellation fees.
Advanced reports on sales trends and future bookings.
Custom contract fields.
Premium plan: $149.
Square Appointments’ Premium plan builds upon the Plus plan with the following capabilities:
Further discounted in-person transaction rates (2.4% plus 15 cents per transaction). Online transactions cost the same as on the Plus plan.
Resource management tools, like room assignments.
Advanced staff scheduling and time tracking.
Service costs tracking.
Bookings reporting.
Pro plan: custom pricing.
The Pro plan is for businesses that process more than $250,000 per year. It includes all features above, in addition to:
Custom processing rates.
Potential hardware discounts.
Additional customer support.
Square Online plans and pricing
Square’s POS plans come with a basic online e-commerce website. You can layer higher-tier Square Online plans on top of your POS subscription for extra online capabilities.
Here are Square Online’s monthly fees and features.
Free plan: $0.
Website builder with basic layouts.
Social media selling.
Customer accounts.
SEO tools.
Plus plan: $49/month.
Square Online’s Plus plan includes everything the free plan does, plus:
Discounted in-person transaction rates (2.5% plus 15 cents per transaction).
Discounting online transaction rates (2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction).
Website themes.
Custom domain.
Professional branding.
Abandoned cart emails.
Product reviews.
Subscriptions.
Site statistics.
Multiple location management.
Premium plan: $149/month.
The Premium plan includes everything the Plus plan does, in addition to the following:
Further discounted in-person transaction rates (2.4% plus 15 cents per transaction). Online transactions cost the same as on the Plus plan.
Display real-time shipping rates.
24/7 phone support.
Pro plan: Custom pricing.
The Pro plan is for businesses that process more than $250,000 per year. It includes all features above, in addition to:
Custom processing rates.
Potential hardware discounts.
Additional customer support.
Square Invoices plans and pricing
Square’s POS plans already include basic invoicing features — these invoicing-specific plans are meant for businesses that don’t need a full POS system and transact almost entirely via invoice. Read on for a summary of Square Invoices’ plan options, fees and features.
Free plan: $0/month.
Send unlimited invoices.
Recurring invoicing.
Deposit collection.
Automatic payment reminders.
Invoice reporting.
Plus plan: $49/month.
Square Invoices’ Plus plan includes all features in the free plan, plus:
Discounted in-person transaction rates (2.5% plus 15 cents per transaction).
Discounting online transaction rates (2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction).
Batch invoicing.
Customize invoices with brand logo and colors.
Custom invoice fields.
Custom contract fields.
Automatically convert estimates to invoices.
Premium plan: $149/month.
The Premium plan includes everything in the Plus plan, in addition to:
Further discounted in-person transaction rates (2.4% plus 15 cents per transaction). Online transactions cost the same as on the Plus plan.
24/7 phone support.
Pro plan: Custom pricing.
The Pro plan is for businesses that process more than $250,000 per year. It includes all features above, in addition to:
Custom processing rates.
Potential hardware discounts.
Additional customer support.
Square add-ons pricing
Square has a variety of add-on tools for small businesses — especially those with larger teams. Here are descriptions of its main add-on options, along with their monthly price ranges.
Square Shifts: $0-$4.50 per employee/month.
Square Shifts is free for up to five employees. with monthly per-employee costs varying for larger teams:
1 to 10 employees: $4.50.
11 to 20 employees: $4.00.
21 to 50 employees: $3.25.
51+ employees: $2.75.
You can use it to publish schedules, make shift notes, set employees’ availability and track time and labor costs.
Square Team Communication: $2.50 per employee.
This add-on lets you and employees chat with each other online, send announcements and share files.
Square Payroll: $35/month plus $6 per employee.
Square Payroll is broken up into two plan offerings: one for contractors only and the other for full-service payroll and HR tools.
The contractor-only option is $6 per employee. It doesn’t charge a monthly fee. Full-service payroll costs $35 per month, plus $6 per employee.
Square Loyalty allows customers to accumulate points and earn rewards to keep them coming back. Pricing is based on how many loyalty visits your business gets each month:
0 to 500 loyalty visits: $60 per location/month.
501 to 1,500 loyalty visits: $100 per location/month.
1,500 to 10,000+ loyalty visits: $140 per location/month.
Featured card placement may be affected by compensation agreements with our partners, but these partnerships in no way affect our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. Here is a list of our partners.
