What Square Charges for Each Way You Get Paid
One processor, many rates. Here is what Square's own pricing page says it charges, sorted by how the customer actually pays you.
You want one number. Square does not publish one. Its pricing page posts a different rate for every payment method a buyer might use. The card rate also moves with the plan you pick. Below is what that page reports, grouped by the way each sale comes in.
How Square's fees are set up
According to Square's pricing page, its plans begin at zero dollars and carry no surprise charges or long-term commitments. Switching or dropping a plan can happen whenever you like. On Square Free, nothing is billed each month, and processing fees only hit when a sale goes through. The page also states that the plan you pick changes what you pay in processing fees. The same tap of a card can cost more or less on each plan.
You can take every major card. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover all cost the same to process. American Express is not priced apart from the others.
In-person card payments
Tap, dip, or swipe fees apply to in-person payments when a card is present. Square's pricing page says in-person card payments run from 2.6% + 15¢ to 2.4% + 15¢, depending on the plan. The plan you choose sets where your rate falls in that range.
Online and invoice card payments
Online fees apply to card payments made online or through an invoice. Square's pricing page says online and invoice card payments run from 3.3% + 30¢ to 2.9% + 30¢, depending on the plan. Where most of your sales come in online or by invoice, this is the range that matters most to your costs.
Manually entered and card-on-file payments
Per Square's pricing page, keyed-in payments and charges to a stored card are billed at 3.5% + 15¢. That is the rate for typing a card number in by hand or charging a card you keep on file.
Card payments through Square's APIs
Square's pricing page says card payments through its payments APIs cost 2.9% + 30¢. The page calls this Online API. It covers card payments made inside a web or mobile app using Square's payments APIs.
ACH bank transfers
Square's pricing page says ACH bank transfers on invoices cost 1% with a $1 minimum. This applies to payments made on invoices with an ACH bank transfer. There is also an ACH bank transfer via API, which applies to ACH transfers through the Web Payments SDK and Payments API.
Other ways customers can pay
Square's pricing page lists several more payment types:
- Taking cash or a check costs nothing.
- There are no additional fees when a gift card is redeemed.
- Afterpay payments cost 6% plus 30¢. Afterpay lets customers pay over time in four installments while the seller gets paid immediately.
- EBT card payments for SNAP-eligible items cost 1.8% plus 5¢. This covers in-person payments made with an EBT card for SNAP-eligible items.
- Cash App Pay lets customers pay by scanning a QR code.
Monthly plan fees
Square's pricing page says the monthly fee per location is $0, $49 or $149, and Square Plus and Square Premium charge it per location. The no-cost plan bills nothing on a monthly basis. Every plan includes end-to-end encrypted payments, active fraud prevention, next day transfers, and offline payments.
The plan you choose sets both your monthly fee and your processing rates, so weigh the two together against your own sales.
Getting your money
Square's pricing page says you can transfer funds to an external bank account the next business day for free or instantly for a fee. Early deposit access is automatic and there is no fee. Early access to ACH deposits gets your ACH funds deposited up to two days early.
Funds from Square's payment processing are generally available in the Square Checking account balance immediately after a payment is processed. Instant availability does not apply to funds added to the Square Checking account via ACH transfer.
Square's pricing page says you can transfer funds instantly for a fee, so that fee is part of what moving your money costs. We walk through that idea in Paying to Be Paid Tonight.
International cards and custom pricing
Per Square's pricing page, cards issued beyond US borders carry an extra charge when used to pay you. If you sell to customers whose cards were issued abroad, plan for that added cost.
The page adds that sellers moving more than $250,000 a year can speak with Square about rates tailored to them.
Hardware and contracts
Square's pricing page says you do not need to purchase hardware to take payments with Square.
Check the page before you sign
Square's pricing page says these pricing changes are designed to make its pricing simpler and give you more flexibility. Rates on any published page can shift, so verify each figure on Square's own pricing page right before you commit. For a sense of how these rates compare at the counter, see A Forty Dollar Sale at the Counter.