Square and Stripe are popular payment-processing platforms that enable you to accept customer payments online or in person. Square’s software and dashboards are easier to set up and use, with website design features and in-person hardware supporting businesses running web-based or brick-and-mortar stores. On the other hand, Stripe offers a customizable virtual checkout experience and more flexible payment options, making it an excellent choice for companies with international customers.
In this article, we’ll compare Square vs. Stripe in 2025, helping you decide which payment processing system is better for your business.
Featured Partners
1
Stax
No
First Month Free
$99 per month, 7 cents to 15 cents per transaction plus interchange rate
2
Payment Depot
No
First Month Free
$59 per month, $0.07 - $0.15 per transaction + interchange rate
3
Finix
No
Save up to 40% on credit card processing
Transparent subscription-based pricing with 0% markup on interchange fees
Square vs. Stripe: At a Glance
| Square | Stripe | |
|---|---|---|
| Star Rating |   |  |
| Monthly Fees | No monthly fees | No monthly fees |
| Per-Transaction Fee | Online: 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
In-person: 2.6% + 10 cents per transaction | Online: 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction
In-person: 2.7% + 5 cents per transaction, plus 10 cents for Tap to Pay |
| Accepted Payment Methods | 20-plus options, including:
| 100-plus options, including:
|
| Accepted Currencies | Primary currency of the business’s country | 135-plus currencies |
| Standout Customizable Features | Website, marketing and SEO campaigns | Online checkout |
| Hardware Options |
|
|
| Learn More | - | |
| Read Reviews |
Square and Stripe offer online and in-person point-of-sale (POS) systems with customizable features and similar pricing rates. However, Square has more hardware options and website design tools, while Stripe accepts a wider variety of payment sources and currencies.
Key Features: Square vs. Stripe
Square and Stripe offer data-rich dashboards and enable you to accept over 20 types of payments—though Stripe accepts many more than that. Stripe’s checkout page design options are also more customizable, but your team needs a developer to get the most out of its design features. Square has more in-depth tools for managing and automating your inventory, plus software systems tailored for specific types of in-person businesses.
Below, we examine each provider’s features, advantages and drawbacks in more detail.
Dashboard and User Interface
Square (left) and Stripe (right) both offer data-rich dashboards, though Square has a more comprehensive left-hand menu.
Square and Stripe offer web-based dashboards for monitoring your company’s daily sales, transaction history, invoices and customer data. Both let you sort the data by date and specific metrics and view it as a chart, graph or numerical value. Further, both offer left-hand menus to drill down into particular transactions and customers.
I found Square’s main dashboard more comprehensive overall. It lets you manage data, inventory, staffing and unique features such as customer loyalty points. While Stripe’s dashboard felt more bare bones, its data displays are visually appealing and customizable. I appreciated how I could view details about particular transactions and customers with one click, making it easy to offer refunds and look further into reported issues.
Winner: It’s a tie. Square’s dashboard is more comprehensive, while Stripe’s makes it easy to view transaction and customer data.
Payment Types
Square (left) and Stripe (right) both accept most popular payment methods, though Stripe offers a wider variety—including Venmo and PayPal.
Stripe and Square both accept over 20 types of payments. You can accept all major card types and virtual wallets—such as Apple Pay and Google Pay—in person or online. Online checkout boasts even more payment options, including ACH bank transfers and the Cash App.
However, Stripe offers dozens of payment methods that Square does not, including PayPal, Amazon Pay and Venmo. Stripe also lets you accept payments in 135-plus currencies, while Square limits you to the primary currency of your business’s local country.
Winner: Stripe. It accepts more payment types and international currencies than Square.
Online Checkout Features
Square (left) and Stripe (right) both let you design branded checkout pages, though Stripe offers more customization options.
Square and Stripe offer strong online checkout features, such as branded pages with custom fields. You can use either platform to generate links to your checkout page, which you can share on social media, email or SMS. Both platforms let you collect custom donations, offer gift cards and coupons and provide subscriptions or recurring payments.
However, Stripe’s checkout designs are more customizable, allowing you to edit elements such as colors, fonts and shapes—or choose a premade template. The software’s integration with Link enables customers to save their payment information for repeated use, with responsive fields that instantly verify customer cards and provide detailed prompts when customers make errors.
Winner: Stripe. Its checkout menus are more customizable than Square’s.
Inventory and Product Management
Square (left) has built-in inventory management features, while Stripe relies on a third-party integration with Stockify (right).
Square has a built-in inventory management system that flows seamlessly with the rest of the platform and supports various types of businesses. You can integrate Square with your inventory management software for real-time updates and daily stock alerts, and you can import products and information in bulk via CSV spreadsheet.
Square also offers unique inventory management features for different business types, including restaurants, retail, clothing stores, food trucks, coffee shops and grocery stores. Though they cost extra, these features connect to your checkout page, letting customers view product information and make personalized orders online. Its inventory management features are also displayed on the main dashboard’s menu, making them easy to manage and extract data from.
Stripe’s inventory management relies more on third-party integrations than Square’s does, using apps such as Stockify and WooCommerce. While these features get the job done, they can be a hassle to set up and don’t feel as integrated into the platform.
Winner: Square. Its inventory management features are more detailed and built into the platform, while Stripe relies more on third-party integrations.
Point of Sale (POS) and Hardware
Stripe and Square enable in-person POS transactions with hardware and software products, but Square has a better hardware selection. Every company using Square gets one free mobile reader that plugs into your smartphone, with additional paid options, including wireless readers, kiosks, stands, registers and terminals. It tailors these products to various POS use cases, including restaurants, retail and appointment-based services.
By comparison, Stripe’s hardware feels limited. You can choose from external mobile readers that scan or use a keypad. Both platforms let you download free tap-to-pay software on your Android or iPhone to process cards and mobile wallets anywhere.
Stripe’s Tap to Pay functionality is costlier than Square’s, but Stripe has a lower in-person fee at 2.7%, 5 cents per POS transaction, plus 10 cents for each Tap to Pay. Alternatively, Square charges a flat 2.6% plus 10 cents for all POS transactions, whether Tap to Pay or not.
Winner: Square. While the platforms have evenly matched pricing that can go either way depending on the devices you plan to use, Square offers greater variety in hardware selection and is tailored to more nuanced POS use cases.
Pricing and Value: Square vs. Stripe
| Square | Stripe | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Monthly Cost | No monthly cost | No monthly cost |
| Online Transaction Fee | 2.9% + 30 cents | 2.9% + 30 cents |
| In-Person Transaction Fee (Scan or Swipe) | 2.6% + 10 cents | 2.7% + 5 cents |
| Tap to Pay Transaction Fee | 2.6% + 10 cents | 2.7% + 15 cents |
| Keyed-In Transaction Fee | 3.5% + 15 cents | 3.4% + 30 cents |
| Hardware Costs | Plugin reader: First one is free Wireless reader: $59 Kiosk: $149 Stand: $149 Terminal: $299 Register: $799 | Wireless reader: $59 Touchscreen reader: $249 Countertop reader: $349 |
While Stripe and Square have comparable pricing overall, Square is slightly cheaper in most situations. The two platforms are equally expensive for online sales, as neither charges a monthly rate and both have a flat 2.9% fee plus 30 cents per transaction.
While Stripe takes a slightly higher percentage of your in-person transactions, you save 5 cents per sale compared to Square. Therefore, Stripe will save you money for most POS sales under $50 scanned through a device, such as one of the hardware scanners. If you do a high volume of low-cost in-person transactions, you may save a good amount with Stripe. However, this is the only situation where Stripe is cheaper than Square.
Tap to Pay charges from the provider’s free mobile app are a significantly better deal with Square. The same goes for keyed-in transactions where you manually enter a customer’s card information, such as payments taken over the phone—though those are costly with either platform.
Winner: Tie. Square and Stripe cost the same for online transactions. While Stripe is cheaper for most casual in-person sales, Square is more cost-effective for mobile Tap to Pay and sales over $50.
Learn more:
• Square Pricing
• Stripe Pricing
Our Expert Opinion
Square is a better choice for in-person transactions of all types, especially restaurants and appointment-based services. It’s also a better option for companies prioritizing inventory management features.
On the other hand, Stripe is a better option for companies with international customers or those who plan to use mobile-based Tap to Pay to process a high volume of transactions.
Who Is Square Best For?
Due to its extensive hardware selection, Square works well for most businesses seeking a POS system for in-person transactions. The software is an especially strong fit for restaurants, food trucks, coffee shops, retail services and companies that book appointments since Square has POS software systems tailored for these use cases.
Square is also better than Stripe for any company that manages a product inventory due to its built-in inventory management features.
Who Is Stripe Best For?
Stripe is a good fit for in-person companies that mainly expect to process transactions through Tap to Pay via mobile device. It’s also a better choice than Square if you want to accept payments from apps such as Venmo, PayPal and Amazon Pay since Square doesn’t support these. Finally, Stripe is a superior choice if you have international customers, as Stripe will let you accept payments in a wide range of global currencies.
Featured Partners
1
Stax
No
First Month Free
$99 per month, 7 cents to 15 cents per transaction plus interchange rate
2
Payment Depot
No
First Month Free
$59 per month, $0.07 - $0.15 per transaction + interchange rate
3
Finix
No
Save up to 40% on credit card processing
Transparent subscription-based pricing with 0% markup on interchange fees
