Square is a payments company offering card readers, a POS system and an online store builder that share one inventory, with pay-as-you-go pricing and no monthly fees or contracts on the entry plans.
Best for
Small retail, hospitality and pop-up businesses wanting card payments, a POS and an online store from one provider.
Card readers, terminals and Tap to Pay on phone at one flat in-person rate that includes Amex, with no monthly fee on the free plan, no contract, and next-business-day settlement.
Every fee we track, grouped by where it applies.
In-person terminal and tap-to-pay transactions.
UK-issued cards. Same flat rate for Visa, Mastercard, Amex.
Plus plan from £29/mo for advanced features.
Online checkout and keyed-in card transactions.
UK cards online. Non-UK cards online: 2.5% + 25p. MOTO (keyed-in): 2.5%.
Plus plan from £29/mo for advanced features.
Square absorbs dispute admin cost (confirmed from review).
Same 1.75% flat for UK-issued Amex.
Non-UK cards in-person: 1.75% + 1.5% = 3.25% total.
No lock-in contracts.
Square Instant Transfers fee.
PCI compliance and chargeback protection included at no extra charge.
Via Square Invoices and Subscriptions.
Side-by-side with the closest alternatives by estimated cost.
Based on £15,000/mo card volume at a £50 average transaction.
Square
£262.50/mo est.
Zettle (PayPal Point of Sale)
£262.50/mo est.
SumUp
£253.50/mo est.
Paymentsense
£275/mo est.
Free POS software for retail and hospitality with paid tiers per location, integrated Square card processing, inventory, staff and loyalty tools, and Square for Restaurants table management.
Every fee we track, grouped by where it applies.
Side-by-side with the closest alternatives by estimated cost.
Based on £20,000/mo card volume (software plus processing; hardware excluded).
Square
£350/mo est.
Zettle (PayPal Point of Sale)
£350/mo est.
SumUp
£338/mo est.
talech
£420/mo est.
Square Online store builder with a free plan and no platform transaction fee, taking payments through Square and syncing with Square POS so online and in-person sales share one catalogue.
Side-by-side with the closest alternatives by estimated cost.
Subscription plus hosting estimate for self-hosted platforms. Payment processing not included.
Square
£210/mo est.
Squarespace
£222/mo est.
Adobe Commerce (Magento)
£229.29/mo est.
PrestaShop
£229.29/mo est.
The same questions UK merchants ask before signing up.
Yes. Square Online has a permanently free plan (£0 (Free)) with no monthly fee. You can list unlimited products and accept online card payments, paying only the per-transaction processing rate. The paid Plus (~£20/mo (Plus)) and Premium (~£64/mo (Premium)) plans add features such as removing Square branding and abandoned-cart recovery.
Yes. Square publishes and bills in pounds (GBP) for UK businesses, including its card processing, so there is no exchange-rate movement on either your plan or your transaction fees.
Square charges 0% platform transaction fee. You pay only the standard Square processing rate per sale at 1.4% + 25p (online), with no separate platform surcharge added on top.
Yes. Square Online shares a single inventory and order system with Square's in-person tools, so online and in-store orders, stock levels, and product listings sync automatically. That makes it convenient for UK businesses that sell both online and face to face.
Yes. Square offers native AI tools, including an AI site builder, AI-written copy, and Photo Studio for product imagery. It also has a Native MCP connection in beta on the developer and operations side, which is the standard that lets AI assistants and agents work with your account; a storefront shopping-agent connection is less mature than Shopify's.
Square Online gives a genuinely free entry point and tight integration with Square's payment hardware, which suits small retail and hospitality. Shopify has a much larger app ecosystem, deeper multi-channel selling, and stronger scalability, but needs a paid monthly plan from day one.
Cards, wallets, and other methods supported by Square for UK merchants.
Square offers integrated card readers, terminals and online payment processing for Australian businesses. Pricing is per-transaction with no monthly fees on the free tier.
Square was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, USA.
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