Shopify POS vs Square: Costs and Which One Fits (Oct 2026)
Shopify POS vs Square comes down to where you sell. Choose Shopify POS if the online store is a main channel and you want one catalog. Choose Square if you sell mostly in person and want a $0 starting plan. As shown on Square’s US page when checked October 22, 2026, Square Free costs $0 a month.
Choose Shopify POS if … choose Square if …
Choose Shopify POS if
- you sell online and in the shop and want orders and inventory in one place.
- you run several locations and want returns at any location, which Shopify lists under POS Pro.
- you already pay for a Shopify plan, since POS hardware access is listed on every plan.
See Shopify plans and pricing paid link
Choose Square if
- you sell mostly in person and want a plan that costs $0 a month.
- you want in-person card rates published before you sign up.
- you want hardware at listed prices, such as a $59 reader or a $299 Terminal.
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Key takeaways
- Square lists a $0 plan. Shopify’s Basic plan, the first on its pricing page, costs $25 a month, or $19 with yearly billing (US pages, October 22, 2026).
- Square publishes in-person card rates: 2.6% + 15¢ on Free, 2.5% + 15¢ on Plus and 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium.
- The Shopify pages read do not publish an in-person Shopify Payments percentage, so no fair fee total for Shopify can be written here.
- On $10,000 of in-person sales a month, Square Free is the cheapest Square plan. Plus only pays off above $49,000 a month.
- Both accept some card payments offline, with limits. Square’s pending payments expire after 72 hours.
- Square lists a Shopify inventory sync called Thrive, so using both is possible.
How we compared Shopify POS and Square
This comparison uses the two companies’ own public pages. For Shopify: the pricing page and POS pricing page (US, USD), the POS hardware page, the hardware store and the Help Center. For Square: the US pricing page, the US hardware page and its support pages. Fees were read from the raw page text. No account was opened and nothing was tested.
Checked: October 22, 2026.
What is the difference between Shopify POS and Square?
Shopify is an online store platform that includes a point of sale. Square is a payments company that sells point of sale software, hardware and a basic online store. In a Shopify vs Square POS choice, the starting point decides most of the rest.
| Topic | Shopify POS | Square |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | An online store plan (Basic, Grow, Advanced, Plus); POS hardware access is listed on every plan | Square Free, Plus or Premium, paid per location for Plus and Premium |
| What the higher tier adds | POS Pro adds unlimited staff, roles and permissions, inventory management, omnichannel selling and returns at any location | Plus lists lower fees, loyalty, marketing and staff management; Premium lists 24/7 priority support and advanced reporting |
| Online selling | The online store is the core product; the POS syncs with it | Square Free lists a basic website or online store |
| Hardware | Shopify hardware stores in 15 countries, plus supported third-party devices | Reader, Stand, Terminal, Handheld, Register and Kiosk |
| Where it works | Shopify POS “in nearly every country”; Shopify Payments and hardware only in select regions | Card processing in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK, Ireland, France and Spain |
How much do Shopify POS and Square cost per month?
Square starts at $0 a month. Shopify starts at $25 a month, or $19 with yearly billing, and POS Pro adds $89 per location. All prices below come from US pages in US dollars, checked October 22, 2026.
| Plan | Month to month | Billed yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Basic | $25 | $19 a month |
| Shopify Grow | $65 | $49 a month |
| Shopify Advanced | $399 | $299 a month |
| Shopify POS Pro add-on, per location | Not shown separately | $89 a month, billed yearly |
| Square Free | $0 | Not applicable |
| Square Plus, per location | $49 | Not shown on the page |
| Square Premium, per location | $149 | Not shown on the page |
Shopify’s plan fee covers your online store as well as the POS, so it is not a like-for-like price against Square Free. For the plan split, read our guide to POS Lite versus POS Pro. For hardware, card fees and the full monthly bill, see what Shopify POS costs in total.
Does Shopify take more fees than Square?
The pages checked do not answer that. Square publishes its in-person rates for every plan. The Shopify pages read publish no in-person Shopify Payments percentage, and Shopify’s Help Center says credit card rates vary by plan and market and differ for online and in-person sales. The fee Shopify lists for using a non-Shopify payment provider is a separate charge, not a card rate.
| Payment type | Square Free | Square Plus | Square Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| In person (tap, dip or swipe) | 2.6% + 15¢ | 2.5% + 15¢ | 2.4% + 15¢ |
| Online or invoice | 3.3% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Manual entry or card on file | 3.5% + 15¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ |
| EBT, in person | 1.8% + 5¢ | 1.8% + 5¢ | 1.8% + 5¢ |
Worked example: $10,000 of in-person sales a month
Hypothetical shop: $10,000 of in-person sales a month at an average ticket of $40, which is 250 transactions. The fixed 15¢ fee adds 250 x $0.15 = $37.50 on every plan.
| Square plan | Percentage fee | Fixed fees | Plan fee | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $260.00 | $37.50 | $0 | $297.50 |
| Plus | $250.00 | $37.50 | $49 | $336.50 |
| Premium | $240.00 | $37.50 | $149 | $426.50 |
Each step down in rate is 0.1 percentage point, which is $10 on $10,000. Plus beats Free once the saving covers its $49 fee: $49 / 0.001 = $49,000 of monthly in-person sales. Premium beats Plus above $100 / 0.001 = $100,000.
For Shopify, run the same sum with your own numbers: monthly plan, plus sales times your in-person rate, plus your fixed fee times the number of transactions, with the rate and fee read from your Shopify admin. Add $89 per location if you take POS Pro. No Shopify total is shown because the pages read give no rate to use.
Which one is better for selling online and in a shop?
Shopify POS fits better when the online store is a main channel. Shopify’s Help Center says the POS syncs with the admin to track orders and inventory across retail locations, the online store and other channels. Square’s pricing page lists a basic website or online store on its Free plan. It also lists a Shopify inventory sync called Thrive and a Wix online store sync.
If you plan both channels from day one, our guide to selling online and in a shop with Shopify walks through the setup.
What hardware does each one need?
Both need a card reader and a screen. Shopify’s POS pricing page says to start you need a smartphone or tablet and a Shopify card reader. Square sells its own readers, a stand, a Terminal and a Handheld. Prices below are list prices from each company’s hardware page.
| Device | Shopify hardware store (“$” only) | Square (US page) |
|---|---|---|
| Card reader | Tap & Chip Card Reader, $49 | Reader for contactless and chip, $59 |
| Countertop terminal | POS Terminal, $349 | Terminal, $299 |
| Tablet stand | Eddy Tablet Stand, $149 | Stand, $149 |
| Handheld | Verifone Victa Mobile, $399 | Handheld, $399 |
Square also lists a Register at $899 and a Kiosk at $1,999. For the full Shopify device list, setup steps and where to buy, see our page on Shopify POS hardware.
What happens if the internet goes down?
Both take some card payments offline, with limits, and both need you to reconnect. Square gives 72 hours from the start of an offline session to upload (24 recommended), and pending payments expire after 72 hours and cannot be recovered. Shopify’s page advises reconnecting within about 24 hours.
| Shopify POS | Square | |
|---|---|---|
| Offline card payments | Need the admin setting “Allow offline payments”, POS app 9.14.0 or later, a compatible reader and staff permission | Turn on in the Dashboard (Settings, Device management, Modes) or in the app (More, Settings, Checkout, Offline payments) |
| Not available offline | Swipe, Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, manual card entry | Afterpay, Cash App Pay, Square Gift Cards, Tap to Pay, manual entry, EBT |
| Time limit | Reconnect ideally within 24 hours | Upload within 72 hours (24 recommended); pending payments expire after 72 hours and are lost |
| Other limits | A daily limit per device and a limit per order | Per-transaction cap of up to $50,000 |
On Square, the seller is responsible for payments that are declined, expired or disputed after an offline sale. Shopify’s page also notes that offline checkout needs a customer phone number or email and that Interac and eftpos do not work offline.
What are the limits of each?
Each has limits that depend on country and plan. These come from the official pages only.
- Shopify POS, devices: it runs on iOS and Android only, not laptops, desktops or Amazon Fire tablets.
- Shopify POS, regions: Shopify Payments and POS hardware are available only in select regions, and the Help Center lists hardware stores in 15 countries.
- Shopify POS, staff and inventory: every plan includes casual in-person selling features with limited staff access, and roles and inventory tools sit in the POS Pro add-on.
- Square, regions: card processing is listed for 8 countries, and an account is tied to the country where it was activated.
- Square, plans: Plus and Premium are charged per location, and the page says Premium has the lowest processing fees.
- Square, volume: above $250,000 a year in processing, Square points you to custom pricing.
Weighing other systems? Compare Shopify versus Clover, Shopify versus Lightspeed, POS systems for small business or Shopify POS reviews.
FAQ
Sources
- Shopify pricing page, shopify.com/pricing (US, USD, checked October 22, 2026)
- Shopify POS pricing page, shopify.com/pos/pricing (US, USD, checked October 22, 2026)
- Shopify POS hardware page, shopify.com/pos/hardware, and hardware store, hardware.shopify.com (“$” only, no country shown, checked October 22, 2026)
- Shopify Help Center: POS overview, hardware getting started, offline checkout and Shopify Payments rates pages (checked October 22, 2026)
- Square US pricing page, squareup.com/us/en/pricing (US, USD, checked October 22, 2026)
- Square US hardware page, squareup.com/us/en/hardware (US, USD, checked October 22, 2026)
- Square Support: offline payments (article 7777) and card processing countries (article 4956), squareup.com/help (checked October 22, 2026)
