San Francisco, California, USA
Square Review
ASquare 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.
- Rate from
- 2.9% + $0.30
- Payout
- Next business day
- Contract
- Month-to-month
- Support
- 24_7
- Founded
- 2009
Connect with Square
Tell them what you need. This goes to Square only.
How it scores
Pricing5.0
Features4.0
Ease of use5.0
Support1.0
Contract5.0
Reputation score4.0
The takeA
Chapter 1
Should you choose Square?
The headline take, the audiences it's right (and wrong) for, and the genuine differentiators behind the verdict.
About
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.
Pros, cons, and audience
Best for
- Small businesses
- New merchants
- Mobile and seasonal sellers
- Retail, food trucks, salons, and pop-ups
Skip it if you
- High-risk businesses
- High-volume businesses needing lower rates
- Merchants needing 24/7 support
- Businesses requiring custom contracts or pricing
Pros
- transparent, flat-rate pricing
- Ease of use
- Wide hardware selection
- Fraud and security features
Cons
- Can be expensive for high-volume or keyed-in/manual transactions
- Costs for add-on services
- Limited offline functionality
- Customer support issues
How we score it
5
Pricing Transparency
4
Feature Set
5
Ease of Use
1
Customer Support
5
Contract Terms
4
Industry Reputation
Chapter 2
What it costs
Real-world cost at three volumes, plus the rates, fees, payouts, and contract terms that drive them.
What Square actually costs
Estimated annual cost at three realistic processing volumes, using Square’s published online rate plus monthly fees. Real costs vary with average transaction size, chargeback rate, and any negotiated terms.
Small business
$10K/mo volume · ~$75 avg transaction
$4.0K/year
≈ $330/mo · 3.30% effective rate
Growing merchant
$50K/mo volume · ~$100 avg transaction
$19K/year
≈ $1.6K/mo · 3.20% effective rate
High volume
$250K/mo volume · ~$150 avg transaction
$93K/year
≈ $7.8K/mo · 3.10% effective rate
Processing Rates
Online Transactions
Card-not-present, e-commerce, and online payments
2.9% + $0.30
Per transaction
In-Person Transactions
Card-present retail and point-of-sale transactions
2.6% + $0.15
Per transaction
Keyed Transactions
Manually entered card-not-present transactions
3.5% + $0.15
Per transaction
International Transactions
Cross-border and foreign currency transactions
No added fee
Per transaction
Payouts
Standard Payout Time
Next business day
Regular deposit schedule to your bank account
Expedited Payout Time
Instant (1.5% fee)
Faster deposit option (may have additional fees)
Minimum Payout Amount
$10
Minimum balance required before payout
Contract Terms
Flexible Contract Terms
This provider offers month-to-month terms with no long-term commitment.
Contract Length
Required commitment period
Month-to-month
Cancellation Process
How to terminate your account
Cancel any time via dashboard
Square Pricing Calculator
Estimate your monthly costs
Pick a published plan, enter your volume and transaction profile, and we’ll compute the math the same way an underwriter would. Real costs vary with card mix, chargeback rate, and any negotiated terms.
$
$
Estimated Monthly Cost
$350.00
Effective Rate
3.50%
Discount rate (2.9% × $10,000)$290.00
Per-transaction fees ($0.30 × 200)$60.00
Number of transactions200
Flat all-in rate (interchange built in)
Chapter 3
What you actually get
Products, integrations, payment-type coverage, security posture, and how their support holds up in practice.
Products & Services
PAYMENT PROCESSING
Square Payments
2.6% + $0.15 in-person, 2.9% + $0.30 online, 3.5% + $0.15 keyed, 1% ACH transfers
Square’s core payment processing service, supporting in-person, online, and remote payments with flat-rate pricing and free POS software.
Key Features
- In-person card payments (EMV, contactless, magstripe)
- Online payments (eCommerce, invoices, virtual terminal)
- POS software (inventory, reporting, customer management)
- Next-business-day payouts
- Chargeback protection and dispute management
Special Features
Subscription Management
Manage recurring subscriptions and billing cycles
Supported
Invoicing
Create and send professional invoices
Supported
Marketplace Tools
Multi-vendor marketplace functionality
Not Available
Virtual Terminal
Accept payments manually via web interface
Supported
Recurring Billing
Automated recurring payment processing
Supported
Multi-Currency Support
Accept and process multiple currencies
Not Available
Accepted Payment Types
Credit & Debit Cards
Visa
Mastercard
Amex
Discover
Digital Wallets
Apple Pay
Google Pay
Bank Transfers
ACH
Integrations
E-commerce Platforms
Compatible shopping cart and online store platforms
Square OnlineWooCommerceWix
3 integrations available
Accounting Software
Sync transactions with your accounting tools
QuickBooksXero
2 integrations available
CRM Systems
Connect with customer relationship management platforms
MailchimpZoho
2 integrations available
Support & Contact
Chapter 4
What others say
Synthesis of third-party platform reviews and industry ratings — agreements, disagreements, and which signals to weight.
Platform Ratings
Aggregated Trust Score
Based on 6,239 reviews across 2 rating platforms
2.7
out of 5
Overall Rating
Better Business Bureau
Reviewer Notes
Square holds an A+ BBB rating, but customer reviews are overwhelmingly negative, with complaints mostly focused on account holds and frozen funds.
Trustpilot
Reviewer Notes
Trustpilot reviews are largely positive, praising ease of use and functionality, but a minority report frustrations with account holds and support responsiveness.
Industry Ratings
The Strawhecker Group
Top Innovator Award (2023)
Payments Source
Positive Mention (No Formal Score)
Card Payment Options
B-
CardFellow
4/5
How we evaluated Square
We evaluate every payment processor independently — Payment Review does not accept paid placement. Our analysis combines hands-on product testing where possible, public pricing and policy documents, third-party reviews from BBB, Trustpilot, Google, and G2, and employee feedback from sites like Glassdoor and Indeed. We update reviews on a rolling cadence and flag the next review date so readers know how fresh the analysis is.
Reviewed by Payments Analyst
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