# Alternatives to Square

Payments and POS for in-person and online

Square ranks #4 of 13 in Payment processors, with an Alt Score of 89. It is proprietary and available on Web, iOS and Android. 13 of 13 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/square/
Category: Payment processors

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Small and medium-sized businesses across food & beverage, retail, beauty, and services that need to take payments in person and online.
- **What you get**: A bundled suite of point-of-sale hardware (readers, terminals, registers, kiosks) and software covering payments, invoicing, online ordering, customer marketing, staff scheduling/payroll, and business banking.
- **How it works**: Businesses set up Square hardware or Square Online/APIs to process card, contactless, and digital-wallet payments, with transactions, reporting, and other tools managed from the Square dashboard.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-12)
- **Pricing model**: Usage-based (verified 2026-07-12)
- **Starts at**: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (verified 2026-07-12)
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-12)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Stripe](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/stripe.md) | 96 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 2 | [Adyen](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/adyen.md) | 93 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 3 | [Mollie](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mollie.md) | 93 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [Checkout.com](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/checkout-com.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 5 | [PayPal](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/paypal.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android, Browser extension |
| 6 | [Braintree (PayPal)](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/braintree.md) | 83 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 7 | [Helcim](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/helcim.md) | 83 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android, Windows |
| 8 | [Razorpay](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/razorpay.md) | 79 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 9 | [Worldpay](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/worldpay.md) | 79 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 10 | [GoCardless](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/gocardless.md) | 59 | Proprietary | Web |
| 11 | [Amazon Pay](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/amazon-pay.md) | 55 | Proprietary | Web |
| 12 | [Authorize.net](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/authorize-net.md) | 55 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Payment processors checklist | Square | Stripe | Adyen | Mollie | Checkout.com | PayPal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Usage-based | Usage-based | Usage-based | Usage-based | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Starts at | 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction | 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction | $0.13 + Interchange++ + 0.60% per transaction (cards) | EUR 0.32 per transaction (iDEAL) | ? | 2.99% + $0.49 per transaction |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android, Browser extension |
| Hosted checkout / payment links | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Recurring billing & subscriptions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| In-person / POS payments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
| Local payment methods (wallets, bank debit) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-currency settlement | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Marketplace / split payments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Built-in fraud & risk tools | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dispute / chargeback management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sales-tax calculation add-on | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| PCI DSS Level 1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Developer API & SDKs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Interchange++ / cost-plus pricing | Partial | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Instant / fast payouts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Square. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **Pricing model**: Usage-based — <https://squareup.com/us/en/pricing> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Note: 2.9% + 30¢",tier_plus:"2.9% + 30¢",tier_premium:"2.9% + 30¢""
  - Quote: “tier_free:”
- **Starts at**: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction — <https://squareup.com/us/en/pricing> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Note: Online API",tooltip:"Applies to card payments made within your web or mobile application's workflow using our payments APIs.",tier_free:"2.9% + 30¢",tier_plus:"2.9% + 30¢",tier_premium:"2.9% "
  - Quote: “feature:”
- **License**: Proprietary — <https://developer.squareup.com/docs/payments-api/take-payments-and-collect-fees> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “© 2026 Square, Inc. Developer terms of service”
- **Status**: active — <https://squareup.com/us/en/press/claude-chatgpt-integrations> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Square Introduces New ChatGPT and Claude Integrations, Helping Sellers Reach Customers Through AI-Powered Discovery”
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android — <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/square-point-of-sale/id335393788> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Square Point of Sale - iPhone/iPad app on the App Store”
- **Hosted checkout / payment links**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/payment-links> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “A payment link that does it all | Square Payment Links”
- **Recurring billing & subscriptions**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/subscriptions> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Set recurring payments for donations, membership fees, professional services, and more. Generate recurring revenue today.”
- **In-person / POS payments**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “POS Systems | Point of Sale Systems for all Businesses | Square”
- **Local payment methods (wallets, bank debit)**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/payments> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Customers can also pay using digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, or choose installment options through Afterpay.”
- **Multi-currency settlement**: No — <https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/5415-can-i-accept-multiple-currencies-with-square> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “The ability to charge your customers in different currencies with Square Point of Sale is not available.”
- **Marketplace / split payments**: Yes — <https://developer.squareup.com/docs/payments-api/take-payments-and-collect-fees> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “You can create an application integrated with Square to process payments on behalf of sellers that sign up to use the application. You can collect a portion of each payment that your application proce”
- **Built-in fraud & risk tools**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/security> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Risk Manager helps you detect fraud and prevent loss without slowing the growth of your online business. Create custom rules and automatically block suspicious cards.”
- **Dispute / chargeback management**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/security> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Allow our team of experts to help shepherd your dispute through the process.”
- **Sales-tax calculation add-on**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/5061-create-and-manage-your-tax-settings> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Step 1: Add tax enrollments to automatically calculate US taxes”
- **PCI DSS Level 1**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/security> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “PCI Data Security Standard, Level 1”
- **Developer API & SDKs**: Yes — <https://developer.squareup.com/docs> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Square API and SDK Documentation. Your toolkit for building custom apps with Square.”
- **Interchange++ / cost-plus pricing**: Partial — <https://squareup.com/us/en/pricing> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “If you process over $250,000 per year, talk to our team to see if you're eligible for custom pricing and processing fees.”
- **Instant / fast payouts**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/payments/instant-transfers> (verified 2026-07-12)
  - Quote: “Same-Day and Instant Transfers — Get Paid Instantly | Square Transfers”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/