Square POS vs Shopify POS Pricing (2026)
Compare / Square POS vs Shopify POS
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Team size
25 seats

Square POS vs Shopify POS

Retail POS pricing comparison · 2026

Square POS has a free plan, then $49–$149/mo, while Shopify POS starts at $39/mo. Square POS is typically 6% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

Visit
See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Square pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Shopify pricing
Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · Retail POS
Side-by-side · live
Square POS
Square POS pricing starts at $0/month on the Free plan, which covers basic point-of-sale o
verified 7d ago
$468 $1.0K
View pricing →
Shopify POS
Shopify POS pricing starts at $39/month for the Basic plan, which includes POS Lite for ba
verified 4mo ago
$468 $1.0K
View pricing →
Recorded annual contract medians
Shopify median is $532 less than Square · different customer contracts; not a quote
Cheapest $468
Spread 53%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Square Premium
$1.8K/yr
year 1 license · flat plan price
Grow
$1.3K/yr
year 1 license · flat plan price
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$1.0K/yr
Vendr · n=69
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$468/yr
Vendr · n=75
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 5 sourced facts
3 hidden-cost · Vendr median · 1 review platform
Last verified 1w ago
Confidence High confidence
Sources 19 sourced facts
13 hidden-cost · 2 contract · Vendr median · 3 review platforms
Last verified 3mo ago
Confidence High confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
3 documented
  • Credit card processing fees
    2.6-3.5% of transaction volume
    1 source
  • Additional card reader hardware
    $10 per additional reader
    1 source
  • Flat-Rate Transaction Fees
    2-3% of gross transaction volume
    1 source
5 documented
  • Hardware Costs
    $49 to $2,000
    1 source
  • Shopify Payments Transaction Fees
    2.6% + $0.10 to 2.4% + $0.10
    1 source
  • App Integration Costs
    $20 to $100+ per app
    1 source
  • Staff Training Time
    $300 per person at $15/hour
    1 source
  • Multi-location Scaling Fees
    $89/month or $79/month per location
    1 source
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
TrustRadius
9.1out of 5 (91)
Best for
Small businesses and startups wanting free POS software with pay-per-transaction pricing
TrustRadius
8.7out of 5 (702)
Trustpilot
1out of 5 (25)
G2
4.4out of 5 (366)
Best for
Solo entrepreneurs starting in-person sales
Watch out
Platform takes no meaningful action against fraudulent or scam merchants
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit Square pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Visit Shopify pricing
Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
Retail POS

Square POS

Free plan; paid $49–$149
/mo
4 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Retail POS

Shopify POS

From $39
/mo
5 plans
Full pricing breakdown →

Square POS and Shopify POS both operate in the retail pos category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Square POS Shopify POS
Square Free Free /month $39 /month
Square Plus $49 /month $105 /month
Square Premium $149 /month $399 /month
Square Pro Custom $89 /location/month
Plus — $2.3K /month

Market Intelligence

Square POS

Median annual cost
$1,000
Based on
69 deals

Shopify POS

Median annual cost
$468
Based on
75 deals

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

Square POS 3 hidden costs

medium
Credit card processing fees 2.6-3.5% of transaction volume
low
Additional card reader hardware $10 per additional reader
high
Flat-Rate Transaction Fees 2-3% of gross transaction volume
See all Square POS hidden costs →

Shopify POS 12 hidden costs

medium
Hardware Costs
high
Shopify Payments Transaction Fees 2.6% + $0.10 to 2.4% + $0.10
medium
App Integration Costs $20 to $100+ per app
low
Staff Training Time $300 per person at $15/hour
high
Multi-location Scaling Fees $89/month or $79/month per location (source dated Jul 2026)
See all Shopify POS hidden costs →

Continue researching

Square POS

Shopify POS

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