Stripe vs Square 2026: Fees, Payouts and Features Compared

Stripe charges a flat 2.9% plus 30 cents on online cards on every account, while Square charges 3.3% plus 30 cents on its Free plan and 2.9% plus 30 cents on Plus ($49 a month) and Premium ($149 a month). In person the order flips above $100: Square’s Free plan is 2.6% plus 15 cents against Stripe’s 2.7% plus 5 cents (as of October 2026). So for an online-first store Stripe is the cheaper or equal choice on fees, and for a store that also takes cards face to face, Square’s ready-made hardware and software can be worth a slightly higher online rate. This guide compares fees, features, payouts, disputes and hardware using only each company’s own pages.

Disclosure: some links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I wrote this at Ecommerce Paradise for store owners who need to pick a way to get paid, and every figure below comes from stripe.com, docs.stripe.com, squareup.com or developer.squareup.com pages I read in October and November 2026. Where a page did not show a number I say so. Rates change and your account may have custom terms, so confirm everything on the provider’s page. This is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice, and it is not a recommendation for every business.

Stripe vs Square at a Glance (as of October 2026)

This table uses US rates in US dollars. Square rates come from its pricing page and fees help article, and Stripe rates come from its pricing page and local payment methods page.

The first thing to notice is that the headline online rate is the same, 2.9% plus 30 cents, unless you sit on Square’s Free plan, where it is 0.4 points higher. The second is where the two pull apart: Stripe has no monthly fee on standard pricing, Square charges for the plans that lower its rates, and the two price in-person payments with different mixes of percentage and fixed fee. Neither company shows a full answer to every question, and I list what I could not find in a section further down.

How I Sourced This Comparison

I took every fee, feature and date from official pages and used no review sites. Stripe’s figures start with its pricing page. Square’s start with its pricing page, and the rest come from the documentation and help articles listed at the end.

Square’s pricing table loads with JavaScript, so I read its figures through a fetch of the page and in a browser, and cross-checked them against the fees help article, and the numbers matched. A few figures differed between Square pages or cached copies, and I re-checked them on the live pages: the instant transfer fee (1.95% on the live pages), the Free plan’s online rate (3.3% on both pricing pages) and the Cash App Pay rate, which the pricing page does not show. Everything labeled as an example is my arithmetic from the published rates, not a quote, and opinion is labeled as opinion.

Processing Fees in Detail

Online card payments

On a $2,000 online order Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30 costs 0.029 x $2,000 + $0.30 = $58.30, and you keep $1,941.70. Square’s Free plan at 3.3% + $0.30 costs $66.30, so you keep $1,933.70, which is $8.00 less. Square’s Plus and Premium plans match Stripe at $58.30. Square also lists an online API rate of 2.9% + $0.30 on every plan, but whether your store’s checkout counts as an API payment depends on how it connects, so test an order and read the fee.

My Stripe fee calculator shows the math for Stripe. My Square fee calculator does the same for Square.

In-person card payments

Stripe lists 2.7% + $0.05 for Terminal and Tap to Pay, with Tap to Pay adding $0.10 per authorization. Square lists 2.6% + $0.15 on Free, 2.5% + $0.15 on Plus and 2.4% + $0.15 on Premium. A lower fixed fee wins on small tickets and a lower percentage wins on large ones, so there is a crossover. Setting the two fees equal gives 0.027 x sale + $0.05 = 0.026 x sale + $0.15, so the sale is $0.10 / 0.001 = $100.

At $50 Stripe costs $1.40 against $1.45 on Square Free, and at $100 they tie at $2.75. By $2,000 Stripe’s fee is $54.05 against $52.15 on Square Free, a $1.90 gap per sale, before Tap to Pay’s extra $0.10 or any plan fee. Against Square Plus the tie is at $0.10 / 0.002 = $50, and against Premium it is at $0.10 / 0.003 = $33.33. For a high-ticket store that takes a few large in-person orders, Square’s in-person rate is slightly lower, and for a coffee-cart ticket Stripe is slightly lower.

Keyed-in payments, bank payments and buy now, pay later

A keyed-in card is 3.4% + $0.30 on Stripe (the 2.9% plus a 0.5% manual-entry add-on) and 3.5% + $0.15 on Square. On $2,000 that is $68.30 against $70.15. The two tie at $150 and Square is cheaper below that.

Bank payments are where Stripe’s listed price is lowest: ACH Direct Debit is 0.8% with a $5.00 cap, so a $5,000 payment costs $5.00 and you keep $4,995.00. Square’s invoice ACH is 1% with a $1 minimum, a $10 cap on Plus and Premium (so $10.00, keeping $4,990.00) and no cap listed on Free (so $50.00, keeping $4,950.00). Stripe’s docs say ACH can take up to 4 business days to confirm, is not a guaranteed payment method and can be disputed for up to 60 days on a personal account, while Square’s ACH page says funds arrive in two to three business days.

For installment payments, Square lists Afterpay at 6% + $0.30, which is $120.30 on $2,000. Stripe lists Cash App Afterpay at the same 6% + $0.30, Klarna at 5.99% + $0.30 ($120.10) and Affirm at 6% or 7.99% + $0.30. Stripe’s page also says some businesses may get temporarily reduced Klarna and Affirm rates.

International cards

Both add 1.5% for international cards. On a $2,000 online order that makes Stripe 4.4% + $0.30, or $88.30, and Square Free 4.8% + $0.30, or $96.30. Stripe also lists a 1% currency conversion fee when conversion is needed, which would take its total to 5.4% + $0.30, or $108.30. I did not find a conversion fee on Square’s pages, so ask Square before you sell in other currencies.

Plans and Monthly Costs

Stripe’s FAQ says it charges no setup fees, monthly fees or closure fees on standard pricing, and Square’s Free plan has no monthly fee either. Square’s Plus plan is $49 a month and Premium is $149 a month per location, each with a 30-day free trial per the pricing page. Square’s page also says there are no locked-in contracts. Stripe’s optional products carry their own pricing: Radar fraud tools from $10 a month, Invoicing at 0.4% per paid invoice on the Starter plan, and Billing from $620 a month on a one-year contract or 0.7% of billing volume.

Here is what the plan fee does to the math. Square Plus matches Stripe online and costs $49 more a month, so Plus only makes sense for you if its lower in-person rate or its features earn that back. Against Square Free, Plus saves 0.4% on online sales, so online volume has to reach $49 / 0.004 = $12,250 a month before it pays for itself. Premium has the same online rate as Plus, so it needs heavy in-person volume to justify $100 more.

Features Compared

I compared features only where each company’s pages describe them. Where a page did not mention something, the cell says so.

My read, and this part is opinion: Stripe is a toolkit that rewards you if you or your platform can wire it up, and Square is a bundle that works on day one. Stripe’s Terminal page says a custom point-of-sale build takes code and can run to weeks, while Square sells a finished POS app and devices. If you do not have a developer, that difference matters more than a few tenths of a percent.

Payouts and Cash Flow

Stripe’s payout docs say that after your first live payment, the initial payout is typically scheduled within 7 to 14 days depending on industry, country and risk, and the US settlement timing is 2 business days after that. Manual payouts typically take one to four business days, and US accounts can use same-day manual payouts before 5 PM Eastern under conditions the docs list. Square lists standard transfers as next business day and free for payments before 5 PM PT, with later payments by the second business day.

For instant access, Stripe’s pricing page lists Instant Payouts at 1.5% with a 50 cent minimum, and its docs say funds usually arrive within 30 minutes, new users are not immediately eligible, and US payouts are limited to $9,999 each and 10 a day. Square’s instant transfer fee is 1.95% on both its instant transfers page and its help article, with a $25 minimum balance, a $10,000 maximum and a one-a-day, $2,000 limit for some new sellers. On a $1,941.70 balance that is $29.13 on Stripe against $37.86 on Square.

One cash-flow risk deserves a warning for large orders. Square’s payment terms say it may withhold funds, delay payouts or require a reserve, with no amounts shown. I did not find a reserve statement on the Stripe pages I read, so I cannot compare them. Ask both about holds on a new account that sells expensive items.

Disputes and Chargebacks

Stripe’s docs say it debits the disputed amount plus a dispute fee from your balance and holds the funds while the case runs. The pricing page lists $15.00 per dispute received, a further $15.00 if you counter it manually (refunded if you win) and an optional Smart Disputes service at 30% of the disputed amount for each dispute won. Stripe says you usually have 7 to 21 days to respond and that the full process can take 2 to 3 months.

Square’s help article gives you seven days to respond and says the bank can take up to 90 days. It lists no fee for dispute management on chargebacks it helps challenge, although its payment terms say a fee may be charged on notice. In both cases the cardholder’s bank decides. I wrote a separate guide on Stripe chargeback protection. My Square chargeback protection guide covers the other side. Neither company’s pages I loaded describe a general guarantee that reimburses a lost dispute.

Hardware Compared

The entry price is a tie at $59. The difference is in what you plug into: a Stripe reader needs software that you or a partner built or bought, while a Square device runs Square’s own point-of-sale app. If you only sell online, you may not need any hardware at all.

If you are also weighing Clover for in-person sales, my Clover vs Square comparison covers its hardware and contract terms.

Four Worked Examples

These are labeled examples with my assumptions stated. They use the rates above as of October 2026, US dollars, one location and no discounts, taxes or custom pricing. Your account may differ.

Example 1: a $2,000 online order

Stripe: 0.029 x $2,000 = $58.00, plus $0.30 is $58.30, so you keep $1,941.70. Square Free: 0.033 x $2,000 = $66.00, plus $0.30 is $66.30, so you keep $1,933.70. Square Plus or Premium: $58.30, the same as Stripe. Over 20 such orders a month the Free plan costs 20 x $8.00 = $160.00 more than Stripe in fees alone.

Example 2: a $50 sale and a $2,000 sale in person

At $50: Stripe is 0.027 x $50 = $1.35 + $0.05 = $1.40. Square Free is 0.026 x $50 = $1.30 + $0.15 = $1.45. At $2,000: Stripe is 0.027 x $2,000 = $54.00 + $0.05 = $54.05, and Square Free is 0.026 x $2,000 = $52.00 + $0.15 = $52.15. With Tap to Pay on Stripe, add $0.10 to each, so $1.50 and $54.15.

Example 3: a mixed month

Assume 20 online orders at $2,000 ($40,000) and 100 in-person sales at $50 ($5,000), with no refunds or disputes. Online on Stripe is 20 x $58.30 = $1,166.00. In person on Stripe is 100 x $1.40 = $140.00, so the month totals $1,306.00. Square Free is 20 x $66.30 = $1,326.00 online plus 100 x $1.45 = $145.00 in person, or $1,471.00. Square Plus is $1,166.00 + 100 x $1.40 = $140.00 + the $49 plan fee, or $1,355.00. Square Premium is $1,166.00 + 100 x $1.35 = $135.00 + $149, or $1,450.00.

Stripe is cheapest on fees in this mix, by $49.00 over Square Plus and $165.00 over Square Free. That excludes hardware and any software Stripe needs for in-person selling, which Square includes. The result would change with a different mix, so rerun it with your own numbers.

Example 4: a $2,000 order that ends in a lost dispute

Assume a $2,000 card order paid online and a cardholder who disputes it. On Stripe you received $1,941.70 after the $58.30 fee. If you accept the dispute or lose it without countering, Stripe debits $2,000.00 plus the $15.00 dispute fee, so the order nets $1,941.70 – $2,000.00 – $15.00 = -$73.30. If you counter and lose, the $15.00 countered fee is kept as well, for -$88.30. If you counter and win, the $2,000.00 and the countered fee come back, leaving $1,941.70 – $15.00 = $1,926.70.

On Square Free you received $1,933.70. A lost dispute takes the held $2,000.00 and, per the fee article, adds no dispute management fee, so the order nets $1,933.70 – $2,000.00 = -$66.30, and on Plus or Premium it is -$58.30. If you had already paid a supplier $1,400 (an assumption), a lost dispute on Stripe leaves you out $73.30 + $1,400.00 = $1,473.30 against not making the sale. The dispute fee is the small part either way. The lost order is the cost.

What I Could Not Find on the Official Pages

Here is the list, so you know what to ask. On Square’s pages I could not find a dollar dispute fee, a reserve percentage, a currency conversion fee, a Cash App Pay rate on the current pricing page, a Square Checking monthly fee or the paid Square Online plan prices. On Stripe’s pages I could not find a reserve or hold policy, a return window for readers, a T600 reader price or the rate for a custom pricing package, since Stripe says custom pricing exists for high-volume businesses without listing it.

Some Square figures conflicted between pages or cached copies, so I re-checked them on the live pages. The instant transfer fee is 1.95% on both the instant transfers page and the help article, although one cached text copy still showed 1.75%. The Free plan’s online rate is 3.3% + $0.30 on both the pricing page and the online store plans page. A small test sale in your own account will settle anything that differs for your plan.

Who Each One Fits

This section is my opinion, built on the published numbers. Stripe fits an online-first store that has a developer or a platform doing the integration, sells to international buyers, or wants tools like Payment Links, invoices and subscriptions without a monthly processing plan. It is also the lower-cost choice for bank payments on big orders at 0.8% with a $5.00 cap.

Square fits an owner who wants to open a free online store, take cards at events or a showroom and send invoices without writing code, and who is fine paying 3.3% online on the Free plan or $49 a month for the Plus rate. If that sounds like you, look at Square’s current plans and rerun the examples above with your own volume. Neither is the right answer if your orders are mostly large phone or invoice sales, where a bank payment option matters more than the card rate.

Questions to Ask Before You Choose

• What share of my sales will be online, in person, keyed-in and on invoices?
• Does my store platform connect to this processor, and which rate does that connection use?
• What is the live fee on a test sale, and does it match the pricing page?
• Is there a reserve or hold on a new account that sells items over $1,000?
• How do I get a dispute response in on time, and who is notified?
• What does it cost to leave, and can I export my customer and card data?

Where Processor Fees Fit Inside a Store’s Margin

A processing fee is one line in a bigger cost stack, so make sure the product has room before you chase tenths of a percent. My guide to high-ticket dropshipping explains the model. The high-ticket niches list helps you choose categories with margin to spare.

Supplier terms matter just as much, and my walkthrough on finding high-ticket dropshipping suppliers covers how to vet them. On a $2,000 sale with a 25% gross margin ($500), a $58.30 fee takes about 11.7% of the margin and a $66.30 fee takes about 13.3%, so the choice is worth making, though it is rarely the biggest lever.

The business side counts too. A processor will ask for legal and tax details and treats your account as a business account, so read my guide to business formation for high-ticket dropshipping before you apply. Fees are a business expense you will want to track cleanly, and none of this is tax advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Stripe cheaper than Square?
For online cards, yes or equal: Stripe lists 2.9% plus 30 cents, and Square lists 3.3% plus 30 cents on Free and 2.9% plus 30 cents on Plus and Premium. In person, Square’s Free plan is cheaper above a $100 sale (2.6% plus 15 cents against 2.7% plus 5 cents). As of October 2026, and terms change, so check each provider.

Does Stripe or Square have a monthly fee?
Stripe’s FAQ says there are no setup or monthly fees on standard pricing, though optional products like Radar and Billing have their own plans. Square’s Free plan is $0 a month, Plus is $49 and Premium is $149 per location.

Which pays out faster, Stripe or Square?
Square lists free next-business-day transfers, while Stripe’s US settlement is 2 business days after an initial payout that typically takes 7 to 14 days. Instant payouts cost 1.5% on Stripe and 1.95% on Square.

Which handles chargebacks better?
Neither guarantees reimbursement on the pages I read. Stripe charges $15.00 per dispute received plus $15.00 if you counter, and Square’s fee article lists no dispute management fee. Square gives seven days to respond and Stripe usually 7 to 21 days, and the bank decides in both cases.

Can I use both Stripe and Square?
Many sellers run more than one processor, for example one for online checkout and one for in-person sales. I did not find a rule against it on the pages I read, but check each provider’s terms and your store platform’s settings. This is not financial advice.

Final Verdict on Stripe vs Square

As of October 2026, Stripe has the cleaner price list for online sales and bank payments: 2.9% plus 30 cents, 0.8% capped at $5.00 for ACH and no monthly fee. Square has the simpler path for a store that also sells in person, with free online store tools, ready-made hardware and a lower in-person rate above $100 a sale, in exchange for plan fees or a higher online rate. If you sell mostly online, start with Stripe. If you sell in person too and have no developer, price out Square. Either way, run your own numbers and read the live fee on a test sale before you commit.

Sources I Read

I read these official pages in October and November 2026. Every figure above comes from them, and they can change, so check the live page before you rely on a number.

• Stripe pricing page
• Stripe local payment methods pricing
• Stripe payments overview
• Stripe Terminal
• Stripe Radar pricing
• Stripe docs: receive payouts
• Stripe docs: Instant Payouts
• Stripe docs: how disputes work
• Stripe docs: ACH Direct Debit
• Square pricing page
• Square help: learn about Square fees
• Square help: transfer options
• Square instant transfers
• Square ACH payments
• Square hardware
• Square help: payment disputes
• Square payment terms
• Square developer payments pricing

This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Terms change, so check the provider.

Related Articles

If you found this useful, these guides go deeper on related topics:

• Stripe Fee Calculator 2026: What You Keep on Every Payment
• Square Fees Calculator 2026: What You Keep on Every Sale
• Clover vs Square 2026: Fees, Hardware and Contracts Compared
• Square Chargeback Protection: How Disputes Work and What Protection You Get
• Stripe Chargeback Protection: What It Covers, What It Costs and When It Is Worth It

Trevor Fenner

Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and world traveler from Seattle, Washington, and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.

He maintains homes in Seattle and Bali, spends most of the year overseas, and usually returns to Seattle for about a month each summer.

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