I Compare Square Online vs Shopify in 2025: Features, Pricing, and More

Pros ✔️

• Shopify has the best sales features. This includes powerful inventory management tools, multichannel integrations, and over 100 payment options
• You can use the AI-powered Shopify Magic tool to help you run your store. You can generate product descriptions or edit product image backgrounds
• It offers a wider range of ecommerce themes than Square Online does, with just over 200 professional paid templates to choose from

Cons ❌

• Shopify’s pricing plans can be pricey, most notably the more expensive plans that demonstrate large price jumps
• If you’re on a budget, Shopify only has 13 free templates to choose from which limits your design options
• When using Shopify, you may find yourself relying on additional apps to add more functionality to your store. Be careful, since having too many apps installed can weigh your site down

Pros ✔️

• Square Online’s free ecommerce builder allows you to set up an online store without spending a cent
• It has the best POS on the market and comes with useful tools such as fraud protection, the ability to create Square gift cards for your customers, and a variety of hardware to choose from
• If you’re new to creating online stores, you’ll be happy to hear that the setup process is beginner-friendly and offers a straightforward onboarding experience

Cons ❌

• Square Online isn’t a good fit for larger stores since its sales tools aren’t as powerful as Shopify’s
• The platform doesn’t offer as many payment options as Shopify, which includes some Buy Now Pay Later methods like Klarna or Shop Pay
• Templates are limited, with only three basic designs to choose from if you’re using the free plan

The Winner

Square Online lets you set up and sell for nothing

Square Online has something that Shopify doesn’t: its free plan. It’s more affordable, if less scalable, than any of Shopify’s price plans.

Regarding the pricing of both ecommerce website builders, Shopify and Square online have three main plans to choose from. The pricing of each plan varies, as shown in the table below:

As shown above, Square Online’s pricing includes a Free plan, while Shopify’s pricing does not, only offering a three-day trial. In fact, Square Online is the only ecommerce builder that allows you to sell for free. This is super convenient if you’re on a tight budget, since you’ll be able to build an online store without any setup fees.

Just be aware that although Square Online’s Free plan can help you save money, it will make your site look unprofessional. Branded Square Online ads will show up on your site and you’ll be forced to use a default domain ending (“square.site”).

Shopify may not have a Free plan, but it shines when it comes to the quality of ecommerce features on offer. Though the Shopify plan is the same price as Square Online’s Plus plan, it comes with far better features – which include significant discounts on your shipping costs and a wider range of multichannel integrations.

Although Square Online comes out on top in this section, I think it’s well worth paying for one of Shopify’s plans if your store will benefit from the more impressive features that come with it.

Which Platform Has Higher Transaction Fees?

Both Shopify and Square Online charge fees per transaction, but Shopify’s fees are cheaper, and you can remove them completely if you choose the platform’s native payment solution, Shopify Payments.

If you’re not using Shopify Payments, the price of the transaction fee depends on the plan you’re on – the more expensive your plan is, the lower it gets.

Square Online also comes with transaction fees that differ based on the plan you’re on. I’ve compared the fees for both Shopify and Square Online in the table below:

The Winner

Shopify has more powerful sales tools than Square Online

Whether you’re a first-time seller or you’re looking to grow an already successful business, Shopify’s ecommerce tools can help support your long-term selling goals.

Shopify is our top-rated ecommerce builder, largely due to its powerful ecommerce features that are unlike anything else on the market. During our in-house testing, we found that these tools were best fit for large or scaling stores with substantial inventories to manage.

Of course, you may be at the helm of a smaller store instead. If that’s the case, Square Online might be a more suitable platform for you, but let’s explore each platform’s key sales tools first.

Multichannel Selling

To increase your reach and attract more customers to your store, Shopify gives you the opportunity to connect and sync your site with different sales channels. From Shopify’s backend, I could link my site with:

• Online marketplaces such as Amazon, Target Plus, eBay, Etsy and Walmart (I had to download the Shopify Marketplace Connect app to do so)
• Social media business platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and X

In comparison, Square Online has fewer multichannel integrations to offer its users. Through your dashboard, you’re limited to connecting Instagram or Facebook with your online store, while there’s no direct way to sync with marketplaces like Etsy or eBay.

Shipping Options

Both Shopify and Square Online allow you to ship your products through popular carriers like USPS, UPS, DHL, and FedEx. Additionally, these ecommerce builders also give you multiple ways to calculate your shipping costs, including:

• Free shipping – sending your products to the buyer at no extra cost (i.e. free shipping for all orders over $50)
• Flat shipping – charging a set fee for all shipments (i.e. $5 shipping for all orders)
• Weight-based shipping – charging different fees depending on the total weight of the customer’s order (i.e. $4.99 for all orders weighing 0.99 lb and under)

However, Shopify has a slight edge over Square Online thanks to its integrated Shopify Shipping feature. This built-in suite of tools is available on all plans and comes with real-time shipping rates, the ability to purchase and print labels, and track orders once dispatched.

Payment Options

Shopify is the clear winner when it comes to payment options. It not only comes with over 100 payment methods (spanning digital wallets, credit and debit cards, and more), but it also has a native payment processor, Shopify Payments, that I could sign up to from my dashboard.

I highly recommend using the payment processor because it removes third-party transaction fees and makes it easier to manage all payments in one place. 

Though Square Online doesn’t have as many payment options available, you can still access popular ways to take online payments that are already integrated with Square’s payment software. This includes:

• Afterpay
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• Cash App
• PayPal (paid plan only)

The Winner

Setting up with Shopify feels easy and personalized

Shopify’s dashboard helps sellers setup quickly thanks to its personalized setup guide. Once you’ve answered key onboarding questions, you can easily follow the steps you create and publish your store with ease.

My Experience Setting Up

Based on our hands-on testing, Shopify is the easier platform to setup with due to its speedy onboarding process. Once I’d signed up with my email address and answered three key questions about my business (this included the stage I’m currently at and where I’m selling from), I was immediately redirected to a dashboard.

From this page, I accessed a setup guide that included 14 key tasks to complete. This guide was also personalized to my needs. For instance, because I told Shopify that I was already running a pre-existing store during onboarding, the first task encouraged me to contact Shopify staff for migration support.

From my dashboard, I could then begin adding products and customizing my site’s look. Shopify always recommends adding your products first, since you’ll need these product details in the backend so they can show up on your site. If you need any assistance, you can use the AI-powered Shopify Magic tool which generates product descriptions for you.

Shopify’s editor is section-based, so you’ll need to stack different sections on top of each other to change a page’s design. Though I found this process quick and easy to pick up, it can feel quite restrictive at times because it limits the number of ways that you can rearrange your site’s look.

Square Online was also easy to setup with, but I found its dashboard less personalized than Shopify’s. After answering key questions about my business, my dashboard only featured five generic setup steps: adding items, setting up a domain, publishing the site, customizing the site, and upgrading to another pricing plan. 

Square Online had also generated a simple base template for me which I could customize from the editor. The design appeared on the right-hand side of my dashboard and I had to select the “Edit Site” button to tweak it. Unfortunately, on the Free plan, you only have three free templates to choose from, with the other 24 designs requiring a paid plan to access. 

When I jumped onto Square Online’s site editor, I did find it straightforward to use. I could click on the “Site design” button to tweak colors and fonts, or change the look of site banners, headers, and footers from the left-hand sidebar. All in all, the editor’s stripped-back layout does make it easy to use, especially if you’re a beginner!

The Winner

Shopify has better templates than Square Online

While Square Online’s design process makes it very easy to use, its limited themes failed to impress me. Shopify’s feature-rich, fully customizable templates, however, look good – and give you tons of control over your branding and product displays.

Template Choice

Shopify has the best template choice overall. In fact, from its “Theme store” you can access over 200 professional Shopify themes fit for multiple ecommerce industries, be it arts and crafts, health and beauty, or home and decor. Do note that only 13 of those templates are free, with the rest costing between $100-$500 each. 

However, many of these themes are worth the higher price tag. For instance, some designs come with sophisticated design features that Square Online can’t offer, including slide-out checkout carts and complex mega menus. 

In contrast, Square Online only has three free themes and 24 paid themes to choose from, limiting your creative options. If you do want to access the paid themes, you’ll need to upgrade from its free plan to the Plus plan or above. I did find that the themes available, however, are responsive and will present your online store in a professional way – just don’t expect as many ecommerce design features as Shopify.

The Winner

Shopify’s marketing features are more effective than Square Online’s

Shopify puts more effort into its marketing features. For example, it offers a wider range of blogging tools than Square Online, while its SEO goes above and beyond with multilingual support that optimizes listings for international searches.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Square Online and Shopify are evenly matched when it comes to covering your site’s SEO basics, which is a crucial way to boost your store’s rankings in search engine results pages. For instance, both ecommerce builders enable you to:

• Create custom meta titles and meta descriptions
• Create custom URLs
• Add alternative text to images (also a key way to make your site accessible)

In the end, Shopify just beats Square Online thanks to some more advanced SEO features like the automatic generation of hreflang tags. If you plan to sell your goods overseas, these tags optimize your listings for search engines in other countries, making it easier for international markets to find your products.

Blogging

Shopify and Square Online aren’t known for their advanced blogging capabilities, though Shopify does have the better blogging feature overall. 

To create a Shopify blog post, I had to go to the “Sales channels” section in my dashboard and click on “Blog posts.” From here, I could write out my first post and tweak its settings. This included toggling its visibility on or off, adding an excerpt, changing its SEO settings, and uploading its featured image.

Once your blog post is live, you can also enable comments so site visitors can engage with your content.

In comparison, Square Online’s blogging feature is less advanced and difficult to find at first. To add a blog post, I had to add a new page from the editor, then select the “Story” option that was tucked away behind a “Show more” toggle.

The feature itself was underwhelming, since all I could do was write out the blog post, add one image, and customize the background color. I did also have the option to AI generate the copy, but this is only available on the paid plans. If you’re looking for a stronger blogging tool with better features, you’ll need to opt for Shopify instead.

Email Marketing

Shopify and Square Online have impressive email marketing tools, alongside a wide range of third-party integrations. However, I’d recommend Shopify here, purely because it supports a larger number of third-party apps that give you more choice. 

Shopify does have its own email marketing tool, Shopify Email, that you’ll need to download from the app store. It’s free to install, while your first 10,000 emails of each month are free. It comes with an intuitive editor that allows you to create stylish emails, as well as automations you can set up.

With Square Online, you can also access an email marketing tool to create professional campaigns, but it will cost you more. Pricing starts from $15 per month, varying depending on the number of customer contacts you have.

Similarly to Shopify Email, you can also set up email marketing automations and use pre-built templates to create professional designs.

The Winner

Shopify and Square Online's security features tie

Both platforms provide built-in SSL security, are PCI compliant, and come with fraud protection tools to help you spot phony transactions.

Security

You don’t need to worry about security with Square Online or Shopify. Both platforms are fully equipped to protect your store and your customers, coming with:

• PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliance
• Built-in SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) security to encrypt sensitive data passing between your customers and your store (like login or payment details)

Additionally, both ecommerce platforms come with powerful fraud protection features. For example, Shopify’s built-in fraud analysis feature enables you to look out for any fraud indicators and offers further support via third-party fraud apps that can boost your ecommerce security.

Be aware that to access this feature, you’ll need to sign up for Shopify Payments first, or be on the Shopify plan and above.

If using Square Online, you can use its free Risk Manager to keep a close eye on your store. Its machine-learning platform is designed to spot any fraudulent orders, and it’ll immediately notify you if it suspects any strange activity.

The Winner

Shopify and Square Online's help and support is a tie

Both platforms offer strong help and support, but they shine in different areas. Square Online offers more customer support methods, whereas Shopify has a better resource center.

As you create your online store, it’s likely that you’ll run into an issue or two. Shopify and Square Online do make it easy to find the support you’re looking for. However, there are key differences between the two platforms: Shopify has the better resource center, while Square Online has more customer support options.

Customer Support

When it comes to reliable customer support, Square Online has the upper hand. From its “Contact support” page, you can:

• Make a call from Monday to Friday (6AM-6PM PST)
• Send them an email
• Leave a message for a Support Assistant
• Ask the community for help

As of 2025, Shopify no longer offers email support nor phone support (though only Shopify Plus users can access a Shopify phone line now). If phone and email support is important to you, Square Online would be a more appropriate choice out of the two.

Knowledge Center

Shopify and Square Online come with useful resources for whenever you get stuck, which includes in-depth articles to read through or threads from the community forum. However, Shopify offers a wider range of resources. This includes:

• Video tutorials
• Webinars from other Shopify store owners
• Business courses to upgrade your ecommerce skills
• Posts from the Shopify Blog

These resources can help you, not only create and run your online store, but become a savvier store owner too.

However, both platforms would benefit from tutorials during the setup process, especially Shopify because of its more advanced features. 

Neither Shopify nor Square Online can carry out site migration for you, but there are still ways to migrate from one platform to another – just be aware that this won’t be a speedy process.

Shopify, according to its official help resources, encourages store owners to migrate via one of three methods:

1. Manually importing your products via CSV (only recommended for smaller stores)
2. Downloading a migration app from its app store
3. Hiring a Shopify Partner to do the job for you

Unfortunately, Square Online has fewer options for site migration. You’ll need to copy and paste key site content, like imagery and blog posts, across to your site manually, then use the bulk importer tool to transfer your products to your new storefront.

In the Shopify vs Square Online battle, Shopify’s website builder comes out on top overall. This comes down to its powerful sales tools, marketing features enabling you to grow your store, and professional store templates.

However, this doesn’t mean that Square Online won’t be a good fit for your business. If you’re interested in setting up and selling for free, or are running a smaller store that doesn’t require features as powerful as Shopify’s, it’s still a strong option.