What Square is
Square is made by Block, Inc.. It sits in our E-commerce & POS category, alongside the other options listed at the end of this page.
Best suited to: Shops, restaurants and service businesses taking payments in person.
What it does
- Card payments and POS hardware
- Software for retail, restaurants and appointments
- Online store
- Payroll, loyalty and marketing add-ons
Which business sizes it fits
How Square lines up with the four business sizes we use across Wordle.
Solo
Good fit
Freelancers and one-person businesses
Main Street
Good fit
2–20 employees
Growth
Good fit
20–200 employees
Global
Less typical
Teams across borders
What to check before you buy
Questions to answer, ideally during a free trial or a demo, before you commit:
- Processing fees for your volume.
- Hardware costs.
- Which industry software you need.
- Payout timing.
- US tax and compliance. Software doesn't replace professional advice on payroll, sales tax or industry rules.
- Getting your data out. Ask how you would export your data if you ever switch.
Pricing
Square pricing depends on the plan, number of users and add-ons, and vendors change it often. We don't list prices on overview pages; check the current plans on the official Square website. Our full review will break down the real cost.
Other options in E-commerce & POS
Next step
Shortlist it, then test it on real work.
Read our five-step guide to choosing business software, then run Square through one real week of your work before you decide.