Square vs SumUp
Last updated: September 2, 2026
Square
A
Square offers simple, transparent payment processing ideal for small businesses. Flat-rate pricing, no monthly fees, and excellent software make it a top choice — but account holds and limited support are key concerns.
SumUp
B+
A pay-as-you-go card reader and POS provider with flat published rates, no monthly fee and no contract. Strong for small and mobile sellers; the recurring complaint is account freezes and held funds with slow resolution.
VS
Overview
Both charge one flat rate, neither requires a contract, and both will have you taking cards the day the reader arrives. The difference is scope. SumUp is a card reader and a light POS: 2.6% + 10¢ in person, a $99 standalone reader, no monthly fee and nothing else to think about. Square is an entire commerce platform — full hardware line, e-commerce, invoicing with ACH, staff and inventory tools — at 2.6% + 15¢ in person and a nickel more per sale. For a merchant who only needs to take payments in person, SumUp is the cheaper and simpler answer. For nearly everyone else, the five cents buys a great deal.
Key Takeaways
- ✓SumUp is cheaper in person: 2.6% + 10¢ against Square's 2.6% + 15¢ on the free plan, a nickel on every sale.
- ✓Square is cheaper online above about a $75 ticket — 3.3% + 30¢ against SumUp's 3.5% + 15¢, with the two lines crossing at $75.
- ✓Square pays out next business day and sells instant transfer at 1.95%; SumUp takes 1–2 business days to an outside bank and publishes no instant option.
- ✓Square sells a full hardware line from a $59 chip reader to the $899 Register; SumUp stops at the $99 Solo and the $249 Terminal.
- ✓Square adds ACH at 1% (minimum $1) and a full e-commerce stack; SumUp offers neither.
Square
Square fits any business that needs one system for in-person, online, invoicing, staff and inventory, and that wants funds in the bank the next business day.
SumUp
SumUp fits mobile and micro-merchants selling face to face who want the lowest cost per swipe, no fixed monthly spend and no software to learn.
Overall Winner
🏆 Winner
Square
Aexpert grade
Runner-up
SumUp
Why?
Square wins for most businesses, but not because it is cheaper — SumUp beats it by a nickel on every in-person sale, and on a thousand transactions a month that is $50 Square never gives back. Square wins because of what the nickel buys. Money arrives the next business day rather than in one to two, and can arrive instantly for 1.95% when cash is tight. Invoices can be paid by ACH at 1% capped at $10, which turns a $3,000 invoice from an $87 card fee into a $10 one. There is a hardware line that goes from a $59 reader to an $899 register, an online store, and inventory and staff tools that a growing business stops being able to do without. SumUp offers none of that: it is a card reader, a handheld terminal and a light POS, and it is very good at being exactly that. So the honest split is by shape rather than size. If your business is one person taking card payments face to face and you want the lowest cost per swipe with nothing else attached, SumUp is the better buy and the tables above say so. If you sell online as well as in person, invoice for meaningful amounts, need a fixed till, or expect to add staff and stock control, choose Square and treat the extra five cents as the price of not migrating in a year.
Feature by feature
Detailed Comparison
Filter Options
Processing rates
| Feature | Square | SumUp |
|---|---|---|
| In-person (tap, dip, swipe) | 2.6% + 15¢ free plan; 2.5% + 15¢ Plus; 2.4% + 15¢ Premium | 2.6% + 10¢, flat Winner |
| SumUp is 5¢ cheaper per sale than Square's free plan at the same percentage. Square's paid plans buy the percentage down but cost $49 or $149 a location each month to do it. | ||
| Online and e-commerce | 3.3% + 30¢ free plan; 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium | 3.5% + 15¢ |
| The two cross at a $75 ticket against Square's free plan: below that SumUp is cheaper, above it Square. On Square's paid plans Square is cheaper at any ticket over about $25. | ||
| Keyed and manual entry | 3.5% + 15¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ |
| Identical on both. | ||
| Invoices | 3.3% + 30¢ by card on the free plan (2.9% + 30¢ on paid plans) | 2.9% + 15¢ when paid through a SumUp link, free to send Winner |
| On card payments only. Square's ACH option changes the answer on large invoices — see the row below. | ||
| ACH bank transfer | 1%, $1 minimum, capped at $10 on Plus and Premium Winner | Not offered |
| The $10 cap makes Square dramatically cheaper on large invoices: a $3,000 invoice costs $10 by ACH on a paid plan against $87 on SumUp's card rate. | ||
In-person (tap, dip, swipe)
Square
2.6% + 15¢ free plan; 2.5% + 15¢ Plus; 2.4% + 15¢ Premium
SumUp
2.6% + 10¢, flat
Winner
SumUp is 5¢ cheaper per sale than Square's free plan at the same percentage. Square's paid plans buy the percentage down but cost $49 or $149 a location each month to do it.
Online and e-commerce
Square
3.3% + 30¢ free plan; 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium
SumUp
3.5% + 15¢
The two cross at a $75 ticket against Square's free plan: below that SumUp is cheaper, above it Square. On Square's paid plans Square is cheaper at any ticket over about $25.
Keyed and manual entry
Square
3.5% + 15¢
SumUp
3.5% + 15¢
Identical on both.
Invoices
Square
3.3% + 30¢ by card on the free plan (2.9% + 30¢ on paid plans)
SumUp
2.9% + 15¢ when paid through a SumUp link, free to send
Winner
On card payments only. Square's ACH option changes the answer on large invoices — see the row below.
ACH bank transfer
Square
1%, $1 minimum, capped at $10 on Plus and Premium
Winner
SumUp
Not offered
The $10 cap makes Square dramatically cheaper on large invoices: a $3,000 invoice costs $10 by ACH on a paid plan against $87 on SumUp's card rate.
Best For Your Business
Recommendations based on your business type
Market stall, mobile service or pop-up taking under 200 card payments a month
Recommended
SumUp
SumUp's 2.6% + 10¢ is the cheapest published in-person rate of the two, the $99 Solo works without a phone, and there is no monthly fee to carry through a slow month. None of Square's extra machinery earns its keep at this scale.
Retail shop that also sells online
Recommended
Square
SumUp has no e-commerce product — online sales mean payment links or invoices at 3.5% + 15¢. Square includes an online store, syncs the catalogue with the in-store POS, and drops to 2.9% + 30¢ online on a paid plan.
Restaurant, bar or café needing a fixed till and staff tools
Recommended
Square
SumUp's US range stops at a handheld terminal. Square sells the Register at $899 and the Stand at $149, with a restaurant edition of the POS, staff management and offline payments.
Consultant or trade invoicing over $1,000 at a time
Recommended
Square
Square's ACH option costs 1% with a $10 cap on Plus and Premium, so a $3,000 invoice costs $10. The same invoice paid by card costs $87 through SumUp's 2.9% + 15¢ link. Below a few hundred dollars, and where clients insist on paying by card, SumUp's link is the cheaper option.
Business that needs cash in the bank quickly
Recommended
Square
Square deposits next business day as standard and sells instant transfer at 1.95%. SumUp takes one to two business days to an outside bank, and its next-day option requires keeping the money in a SumUp Business Account and still skips weekends and federal holidays.
Merchant whose priority is the lowest possible per-swipe cost
Recommended
SumUp
At the same 2.6%, SumUp's 10¢ against Square's 15¢ saves $5 per hundred sales, and SumUp charges nothing monthly to hold the rate. Square only matches or beats it by buying the rate down at $49 or $149 a location a month, which needs real volume to pay for itself.
Square: Best for 4 use cases
SumUp: Best for 2 use cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this comparison
In person, yes — 2.6% + 10¢ against Square's 2.6% + 15¢, so a nickel less on every sale. Online it depends on the ticket: SumUp's 3.5% + 15¢ beats Square's free-plan 3.3% + 30¢ below about $75 and loses above it. Keyed transactions cost the same 3.5% + 15¢ on both. And on large invoices Square is far cheaper, because it can take an ACH bank payment at 1%, capped at $10 on its Plus and Premium plans, where SumUp can only take a card.
Not to start. Square's core plan and SumUp's Standard reader plan are both $0 a month with no monthly minimum. Both sell paid tiers: Square's Plus at $49 and Premium at $149 per location, which also buy the processing rate down, and SumUp's POS Plus at $49 a month or full SumUp POS from $99 a month, which add features but leave the rate unchanged.
Square deposits the next business day for payments taken before 5pm Pacific, and sells an instant transfer at 1.95% per transfer. SumUp takes one to two business days to reach an outside bank account, on a daily, weekly or monthly schedule you choose; payouts into a SumUp Business Account arrive the next day, excluding weekends and federal holidays. SumUp publishes no instant option.
Only up to a point. SumUp POS starts at $99 a month and covers payments, staff scheduling and inventory, and the Connect tiers at $199 and $289 add loyalty and marketing. But the US hardware range is the $99 Solo reader and the $249 Terminal — there is no countertop register or kiosk. If you need a fixed till station, Square is the one that sells it.
Square, clearly. It includes an online store, integrates with WooCommerce and Wix, has a payments API at 2.9% + 30¢, and shares one catalogue between the website and the till. SumUp has no e-commerce product at all: online sales happen through invoices and payment links at 3.5% + 15¢, or 2.9% + 15¢ for an invoice paid through a SumUp link.
Both can, and both do. Square and SumUp are payment aggregators — you are onboarded in minutes onto a shared merchant account rather than underwritten individually — and the trade-off for that speed is that either can hold funds or close an account when its risk models flag activity. Square's A grade on this site carries a standing caveat about account holds for exactly this reason. If your business has an unusual risk profile, large ticket sizes or long delivery times, a traditional underwritten merchant account is a safer home than either.
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