Square Review 2026: The Complete Deep Dive (Features, Pricing, Issues, and Alternatives)

Square is a commerce platform combining payment processing, point-of-sale software, online selling, appointments, invoices, customer engagement, staff management, and business banking tools.

Its free entry point and integrated ecosystem make Square attractive to small businesses. However, processing costs vary by plan and payment method, Plus and Premium charge per location, and advanced payroll, hardware, and specialist tools can increase the total cost.

Quick Verdict

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Best for: Retailers, restaurants, appointment businesses, and service providers that need payments and daily operations in one platform.

Less suitable for: Businesses needing advanced CRM pipelines, complex marketing automation, unrestricted website customization, or specialized enterprise workflows.

Square is stronger than SmartChat CRM for in-person commerce, payment hardware, inventory, and retail or restaurant operations. SmartChat CRM — the platform SmartChat provisions for its clients — is stronger for lead generation, sales pipelines, funnels, appointments, and automated follow-up.

What Is Square?

Square provides software and financial tools that help businesses accept payments and manage sales. Its ecosystem supports in-person, online, invoice, card-on-file, and bank-transfer transactions.

The current Square plans combine features that were previously spread across several industry products. Businesses can choose Free, Plus, or Premium, with advanced capabilities for food and beverage, retail, appointments, and invoicing included in the paid tiers.

Additional Square products include:

• Point of Sale
• Square Online
• Square Appointments
• Square Invoices
• Square Payments
• Square Banking
• Square Payroll
• Square Marketing
• Square Loyalty
• Gift cards
• Team management
• Hardware and accessories

Availability, rates, and financial products vary by country. The prices in this review apply to the United States.

Square Features

Point of Sale and Payments — 4.7/5

Square Point of Sale supports major payment cards, digital wallets, cash, checks, and Square Gift Cards. Businesses can take payments through Square hardware, Tap to Pay on compatible phones, payment links, invoices, virtual terminals, and online checkout.

Its POS ecosystem can manage:

• Products and services
• Taxes and discounts
• Refunds
• Customer profiles
• Receipts
• Orders
• Multiple locations
• Staff permissions
• Offline payments
• Sales reports

Offline payments carry additional risk. Transactions are processed when the device reconnects and may later be declined. Square states that users must reconnect within 24 hours of the first offline payment and remain responsible for expired, declined, or disputed transactions accepted offline.

Retail and Inventory — 4.5/5

Square provides item libraries, inventory counts, purchase and sales reporting, returns, and multi-location functions. Paid plans add more advanced retail capabilities, including staged inventory transfers and deeper reporting.

Square can synchronize online and in-person catalogs, orders, discounts, and stock. Optional integrations extend inventory management to other systems.

Businesses with manufacturing, complex purchasing, serial-number tracking, or warehouse operations should test Square carefully. It is primarily a commerce and POS platform rather than a full enterprise resource planning system.

Restaurants and Food Service — 4.5/5

Square supports menus, order routing, table and check management, service charges, online ordering, delivery integrations, and other restaurant workflows.

Advanced capabilities include:

• Course and seat management
• Split and reopened checks
• Card preauthorization
• Drive-through workflows
• Kitchen displays
• Self-service kiosks
• Menu synchronization
• Close-of-day reports
• Marketplace order management

Square KDS and Square Kiosk carry separate per-device charges. Restaurants should calculate subscription, processing, hardware, delivery, and device costs together.

Appointments — 4.5/5

Square Appointments combines online booking, employee calendars, payments, reminders, and customer records.

Paid plans offer features such as:

• Deposits and prepayments
• Automatic contracts
• No-show protection
• Processing time
• Multi-staff appointments
• Multi-location calendars
• Waitlists
• Booking restrictions
• Interactive text reminders
• Team-performance reports

This is a practical solution for salons, wellness businesses, consultants, and appointment-based services. Businesses needing complex sales pipelines or long-term lead nurturing may need a stronger CRM alongside it.

Invoices, Estimates, and Contracts — 4.4/5

Square supports unlimited invoices, recurring invoices, estimates, deposits, project files, contracts, electronic signatures, and online payments.

Paid plans add advanced functions such as:

• Custom invoice templates
• Batch invoicing
• Milestone payment schedules
• Custom fields
• Reusable contract templates
• Required signatures before payment
• Automatic estimate-to-invoice conversion

Square can generate or edit contract clauses using AI, but generated legal text should be reviewed before use.

Square Invoices is convenient for straightforward billing. It does not replace full project management, legal review, or advanced accounting.

Online Selling — 4.3/5

Square provides an online ordering profile and tools for building a website, online store, or booking site. Products, orders, inventory, discounts, and customer accounts can connect with the POS.

Available functions include:

• Pickup and local delivery
• Shipping
• Product reviews
• Customer accounts
• Subscriptions
• Coupons and pop-ups
• Custom forms
• Multiple sites
• Online menus
• Product bundles
• Order notifications

Square also promotes a Wix connection for businesses wanting a more flexible storefront. Confirm which platform controls products, inventory, orders, refunds, and customer data before connecting them.

Marketing, Loyalty, and Messaging — 4.2/5

Square Plus and Premium include email campaigns, text-message marketing, and a loyalty program.

Plus includes the first 500 marketing texts per account each month, followed by a charge of three cents per text. Premium includes 2,500 texts, followed by 1.5 cents per text.

These allowances are per account rather than per location. Businesses with several locations should model combined messaging volume.

Square’s marketing tools are convenient for customer promotions and retention. SmartChat CRM offers broader workflow automation, pipeline triggers, landing pages, and lead-nurturing sequences — and for Philippine businesses, SmartChat AI is the practical way to get that platform, with a provisioned SmartChat CRM sub-account plus a 24/7 AI front desk on SMS, Messenger, Instagram, and web chat.

Team Management and Payroll — 4.2/5

Square supports timecards, break and overtime tracking, employee scheduling, shift trades, team communication, permissions, tips, and commissions.

Payroll is a separate service with its own pricing, eligibility, and tax responsibilities. Confirm worker limits, contractor support, benefits, multistate requirements, and payroll-service charges before relying on it.

Square Banking — 4.1/5

Eligible sellers can access Square Checking, Savings, debit cards, and loan offers. Funds from Square processing may become available in Square Checking shortly after payment, although availability can vary.

Square promotes savings without a monthly fee or minimum and custom loan offers based on eligibility. Banking and credit products are provided through partner or Square-affiliated financial institutions.

Loans are not guaranteed, and their repayment structure differs from a normal subscription. Review every financial agreement separately.

What Square Does Not Replace

Square should not automatically be treated as a replacement for:

• Advanced sales CRM software
• Full accounting and tax software
• Enterprise inventory planning
• Complex marketing automation
• Complete field-service management
• Enterprise ecommerce platforms
• Legal or financial advice
• Every business bank account

Its integrated tools cover many daily needs, but specialist systems may still be necessary.

Square Pricing in 2026

Square now offers three main US plans:

Plan	Monthly price	In-person processing	Online and invoice processing
Square Free	$0 per location	2.6% + $0.15	3.3% + $0.30
Square Plus	$49 per location	2.5% + $0.15	2.9% + $0.30
Square Premium	$149 per location	2.4% + $0.15	2.9% + $0.30

Square Plus and Premium charge their monthly fee for every location.

Additional published rates include:

Payment method	Published rate
Online API payment	2.9% + $0.30
Manual entry or card on file	3.5% + $0.15
Afterpay	6% + $0.30
ACH through API	1%, with a $1 minimum and $5 maximum
International card	Additional 1.5%

ACH payments through invoices cost 1%, with a $1 minimum. Plus and Premium cap that charge at $10. The reviewed pricing table does not show the same $10 cap for Free.

Businesses processing more than $250,000 annually can ask Square about custom processing rates, hardware discounts, onboarding, technical assistance, and account management.

Other Published Costs

• Square Plus gift-card loads: 2.5%
• Square Free gift-card loads: 2.5%
• Square Premium gift-card loads: 0%
• Square KDS on Plus: $30 per device monthly
• Square KDS on Premium: $20 per device monthly
• Square Kiosk on Plus: $50 per device monthly
• Square Kiosk on Premium: $30 per device monthly

Hardware, payroll, third-party integrations, delivery, instant transfers, and other services may cost extra.

Is Plus or Premium Worth It?

At an average in-person sale of $100, the published processing fee is:

• Free: $2.75
• Plus: $2.65
• Premium: $2.55

Plus saves ten cents per $100 in-person transaction compared with Free. Processing savings alone would require about $49,000 in monthly in-person card volume to recover its $49 location fee.

Premium saves ten cents per $100 transaction compared with Plus. Recovering its additional $100 monthly location fee through in-person processing alone would require approximately $100,000 in monthly card volume.

These calculations exclude differences in online rates and the value of software features, messaging, loyalty, and gift-card fees. Businesses should use their actual mix of transaction sizes and payment channels.

Free Trial, Billing, and Cancellation

Square Free has no monthly subscription charge. Square Plus and Premium each offer a 30-day free trial.

Square states that users can cancel or switch plans at any time. Businesses should still check the billing date, treatment of partial months, add-on cancellation, hardware financing obligations, and access to paid features after downgrading.

Export customer, sales, item, invoice, employee, and transaction records before closing an account.

Issues and Buying Risks

Processing Costs Vary by Channel

In-person, online, invoice, manually entered, stored-card, ACH, and Afterpay transactions use different rates. Model the actual payment mix.

Paid Plans Charge Per Location

A five-location business would pay $245 monthly for Plus or $745 monthly for Premium before other charges.

Add-Ons Increase the Total Cost

Payroll, hardware, KDS, kiosks, instant transfers, third-party services, and other products can add recurring or transaction-based fees.

Payment Accounts Can Be Reviewed

Like other payment processors, Square may review transactions, request information, delay access to funds, or restrict accounts according to its risk controls and terms. Maintain complete business and transaction records.

The Ecosystem Can Create Dependence

Payments, hardware, customer records, appointments, invoices, marketing, and banking may become closely connected. Moving later can require several replacements.

Country Availability Differs

This review uses US pricing. Plans, products, processing fees, banking services, and hardware differ by market.

Security, Privacy, and Support

Square handles payment data, customer information, employee records, appointments, invoices, and financial activity.

Before adopting it, review:

• User permissions
• Account authentication
• Payment security
• Device management
• Refund controls
• Employee access
• Data exports
• Privacy settings
• Dispute procedures
• Incident response
• Banking protections
• Offline-payment risks

Support access can vary by product and plan. Premium advertises stronger account assistance for eligible high-volume businesses, but buyers should confirm exact response times and escalation channels.

Square vs SmartChat CRM

Category	Square	SmartChat CRM
Primary purpose	Payments and commerce operations	CRM and marketing automation
In-person POS	Advanced	Not a core function
Payment hardware	Extensive	Relies on payment integrations
Retail and restaurant tools	Strong	Limited
Inventory	Available	Not a core strength
Appointments	Commerce-connected booking	Marketing and CRM-connected calendars
Invoices	Strong integrated billing	Available, with different operational depth
Sales pipelines	Limited	Core feature
Funnels and landing pages	Basic commerce sites	Advanced funnel and website tools
Marketing automation	Customer promotion focused	Broad multistep workflows
Agency capabilities	Limited	Subaccounts and SaaS tools
Base price	Free, then per location	Included with SmartChat plans

SmartChat CRM is provisioned through SmartChat’s annual plans at flat peso pricing rather than sold as separate tiers. There are no separate platform usage charges: SMS runs through your own postpaid SIM under your telco plan, and the AI front desk is included.

For Philippine businesses, SmartChat AI is the simplest route to that SmartChat CRM column: a provisioned SmartChat CRM sub-account — CRM, pipelines, workflows, calendars — plus a 24/7 AI front desk answering SMS, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and website chat from your own knowledge base.

Which Platform Should You Choose?

Choose Square if:

• You accept in-person payments
• You operate a shop, restaurant, or appointment business
• You need payment hardware and POS software
• Inventory, invoices, or staff shifts matter
• You want a free starting plan

Choose SmartChat AI if:

• Lead generation is the main priority
• You want every inquiry on SMS, Messenger, Instagram, and web chat answered 24/7
• You need sales pipelines and automated follow-up provisioned for you
• You build funnels and landing pages
• Flat peso pricing matters: SMS + AI at ₱2,699 per month equivalent billed annually, unlimited contacts
• You do not require advanced retail or restaurant operations

Many service businesses can use both. Square processes transactions and manages commerce while SmartChat handles lead capture, nurturing, pipelines, and the conversations that book the appointments Square tracks. Square takes the payment; SmartChat answers the customer.

Migrating From Square to SmartChat CRM

SmartChat CRM cannot directly replace Square’s complete POS and hardware ecosystem. A migration is more practical for CRM, marketing, forms, calendars, and customer communication.

Export:

• Customer records
• Consent information
• Products and services
• Appointments
• Invoices
• Transaction reports
• Gift-card liabilities
• Loyalty information
• Staff records
• Marketing contacts
• Forms and message templates

Preserve accounting and payment records according to legal and tax requirements. Test the new CRM, calendars, forms, workflows, and payment links before disconnecting Square.

Businesses that still need physical POS hardware may keep Square Payments while using SmartChat — or a self-managed SmartChat CRM account — for marketing and sales.

Final Verdict

Square is one of the strongest commerce platforms for small and midsize businesses. Its POS, payments, online sales, appointments, invoices, employee tools, and banking products create a practical connected system.

The Free plan provides a low-risk entry point, while Plus and Premium add advanced tools and lower processing rates. The trade-offs are per-location subscriptions, variable transaction costs, paid add-ons, and growing dependence on the Square ecosystem.

Choose Square when payments and day-to-day commerce operations drive the decision. Choose SmartChat AI when the real need is leads answered around the clock plus a working CRM, calendar, and follow-up system — the SmartChat CRM platform, provisioned for a Philippine business, at flat peso pricing.

Before upgrading, calculate costs using actual transaction volume, average sale size, locations, payment channels, hardware, and add-ons.