Square fee calculator: what are Square's fees?
Square keeps a percentage of every card payment plus a small fixed fee, set by how the buyer pays and your Square plan. Type a payment to see the fee, or flip it to see what to charge so the customer pays it.
Square keeps a percentage of each payment plus a fixed fee, set by how the buyer pays and your Square plan. Type a payment to see the fee, or flip it to pass the fee on.
You receive, in person: tap, dip or swipe
$97.25
Square keeps $2.75 of $100.00, 2.75% of the payment. Example payment; type yours or drag the chart.
Fee on $100.00, every way to get paid with Square Free. Click one to make it yours.
The faint line is Stripe's online card rate, 2.9% + 30¢, for scale: $3.20 on this payment.
- Square fee
- $2.75
- Effective rate The fee as a share of the payment, fixed fee included. It's higher on small payments, where the fixed fee weighs more.
- 2.75%
- Rate
- 2.6% + 15¢
- Buyer pays
- $100.00
Square Plus covers its $49 a month once your in-person sales pass $49,000 a month. Square Premium covers its $149 a month once your in-person sales pass $74,500 a month.
Square’s published rates for US accounts. Other countries’ accounts, and businesses on custom pricing, pay their own.
How to read your number
The Square fee is what Square keeps from a card payment. On Square Free, a $100 payment tapped, dipped or swiped in person costs 2.6% + 15¢, so $2.75, and you receive $97.25. Online or on an invoice it's 3.3% + 30¢, so $3.60. A card issued outside the US adds 1.5%. To receive a full $100 online, charge $103.72.
Why it matters
Square's online rate on its Free plan is 0.4 points above Stripe's, and its paid plans charge a monthly fee to close that gap. Knowing the fee by payment type and plan tells you whether Square Plus pays for itself at your sales, and what to charge when the customer pays the fee. A small payment pays most: $10 online costs $0.63, over 6%.
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Formula
Square fee = payment × percentage rate + fixed fee. You receive = payment − Square fee
On Square Free: 2.6% + 15¢ in person, 3.3% + 30¢ online and on invoices, 3.5% + 15¢ for a typed-in card or a card on file, and 6% + 30¢ for Afterpay. Square Plus ($49 a month per location) charges 2.5% + 15¢ in person and 2.9% + 30¢ online; Square Premium ($149) charges 2.4% + 15¢ in person. A card issued outside the US adds 1.5% on every plan.
Other ways to work out Square fees
- Fee on an in-person payment
- fee = amount × 2.6% + $0.15 (Free), 2.5% (Plus), 2.4% (Premium)
- Tap, dip or swipe on a Square reader, terminal or Tap to Pay on a phone.
- Fee on an online payment
- fee = amount × 3.3% + $0.30 (Free), 2.9% + $0.30 (Plus and Premium)
- Square Online, invoices and payment links paid by card.
- Pass the fee to the customer (reverse Square fee)
- charge = (amount you want + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − rate)
- Invoices and fixed-price jobs where you need to receive an exact amount. Adding the rate to the target falls short, because Square charges its fee on the larger total.
- Card issued outside the US
- fee = amount × (rate + 1.5%) + fixed fee
- Any card payment on a card issued abroad, on every Square plan.
- When a paid plan pays for itself
- monthly sales = plan's monthly fee ÷ rate saved
- Square Plus saves 0.4 points online for $49 a month: $49 ÷ 0.004 = $12,250 a month in online sales.
How to calculate Square fees: a worked example
A shop on Square Free takes a $100 payment by card in person, then sends a $100 invoice that the customer pays online.
- In person: $100 × 2.6% + $0.15 = $2.75, so you receive $97.25
- Online: $100 × 3.3% + $0.30 = $3.60, so you receive $96.40
- Online with a card issued abroad: $100 × 4.8% + $0.30 = $5.10
- To receive $100 online: ($100 + $0.30) ÷ (1 − 0.033) = $103.72
- On Square Plus, the online payment costs $3.20
Square keeps $2.75 of a $100 payment in person and $3.60 online. To pass the fee on and receive $100 from the online invoice, the shop charges $103.72.
When a paid Square plan pays for itself
Square Plus, $49 a month per location, cuts the online rate from 3.3% to 2.9% and the in-person rate from 2.6% to 2.5%. It pays for itself from about $12,250 a month in online sales, or $49,000 a month in person, before its other features.
Square Premium, $149 a month, takes in-person payments to 2.4%. Against Square Free, it pays off from about $74,500 a month in person. Online it charges the same 2.9% as Plus.
Invoice large jobs by bank. ACH bank transfers on invoices are 1% with a $1 minimum, capped at $10 on Plus and Premium: a $2,000 invoice costs $10 on Plus, against $66.30 by card on Free.
Above $250,000 a year, Square offers custom pricing; ask before you pick a plan. To compare Square with Stripe, Shopify Payments and PayPal on the same order, use the payment processing fee calculator.
| How the buyer pays | Square Free | Square Plus | Square Premium | Fee on $100, Free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In person: tap, dip or swipe | 2.6% + 15¢ | 2.5% + 15¢ | 2.4% + 15¢ | $2.75 |
| Online, invoice or payment link | 3.3% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | $3.60 |
| Online, through Square's API | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | $3.20 |
| Typed-in card or card on file | 3.5% + 15¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ | $3.65 |
| Afterpay (pay later) | 6% + 30¢ | 6% + 30¢ | 6% + 30¢ | $6.30 |
| ACH bank transfer, invoice | 1%, $1 min | 1%, $1 min, max $10 | 1%, $1 min, max $10 | $1.00 |
| Card issued outside the US | +1.5% | +1.5% | +1.5% | $1.50 |
| Monthly fee per location | $0 | $49 | $149 | — |
Sell from your own site with Square or Stripe
Keep Square for online sales, and give your offer a page of its own. Make a Square payment link, and Replo builds the page on your brand and points every buy button at your link. Payments and orders stay in your Square account, at Square's online rate.
Or take cards with Replo checkout, which runs on Stripe at 2.9% + 30¢ with no Replo cut: $3.20 on a $100 online sale against $3.60 on Square Free, without a $49 plan. It takes one-time prices in US dollars, for digital products and simple items; for sizes, subscriptions or a full catalog, Replo connects your Shopify store and sells through its checkout. In-person payments stay with your Square reader.
Selling on a marketplace too? The eBay and Etsy fee calculators show what each one keeps from the same sale, next to your own store.
Questions about Square fees
- What are Square's fees?
- On Square Free: 2.6% + 15¢ in person, 3.3% + 30¢ online and on invoices, 3.5% + 15¢ for a typed-in card or card on file, and 6% + 30¢ for Afterpay. Cards issued outside the US add 1.5%. Square Plus and Premium lower the in-person and online rates for a monthly fee.
- How much does Square take from $100?
- On Square Free, $2.75 in person and $3.60 online, so you receive $97.25 or $96.40. On Square Plus, it's $2.65 and $3.20. A typed-in card costs $3.65 on every plan.
- Is Square Plus worth it for the lower fees?
- Only above about $12,250 a month in online sales, or $49,000 in person. Plus costs $49 a month per location and saves 0.4 points online and 0.1 in person. Premium, at $149, saves 0.2 points in person, worth it from about $74,500 a month.
- How do I pass Square fees to the customer?
- Add the fixed fee to the amount you want, then divide by 1 minus the rate. To receive $100 online on Square Free: ($100 + $0.30) ÷ 0.967 = $103.72. Card network rules allow a surcharge on credit cards in most US states, up to 3% and no more than your cost, but not on debit cards.
- Does Square charge more for international cards?
- Yes. Square adds 1.5% to any payment on a credit or debit card issued outside the US, on every plan. A $100 online payment on Square Free costs $5.10 instead of $3.60.
- Is Square cheaper than Stripe?
- In person, it's level: both cost $2.75 on a $100 payment on Square Free. Online, Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ beats Square Free's 3.3% + 30¢ by $0.40 on $100, and Square Plus matches Stripe for $49 a month. The Stripe fee calculator shows every Stripe rate.
Sources
Do it with Replo
Put a sales page in front of your Square link
Replo builds a page on your brand that explains the offer and points every buy button at your Square payment link.
Prompt: “build a sales page that uses my square payment link as its checkout”
