Square Online Store Pricing: Which Plan Should You Choose?

Square Online has three website builder plans. There’s the free plan and two paid plans: Plus and Premium. These plans cost between $0 per month and $79 per month when billed annually.

Paying in yearly installments is a great way to save on these plans rather than paying monthly, which is usually a higher fee:

Square Online’s main draw for many is its free plan, which lets you sell an unlimited number of products for free. However, it comes with a lot of limitations, and crucial sales features are missing – but, I’ll discuss the free plan in more detail later.

I’d recommend choosing the Plus plan ($29 per month, billed annually) if you’re serious about scaling your business since it comes with all of the essential sales features.

If you have a large store and need strong fulfillment capabilities to serve customers effectively, you should choose the Premium plan for $79 per month (billed annually). This has everything on the Plus plan, as well as extra support and advanced shipping options.

Square Online’s free plan lets you sell for free… and that’s about it. Making money for nothing sounds great on paper, but you’re going to run into a few hurdles. The free plan comes with limited features:

• Sell unlimited products
• 2.9% + $0.30 transaction fee
• Basic website builder tools
• Sell on socials
• Access to Square Online’s POS systems for in-person selling
• Accept multiple payment options, including Google Pay and Apple Pay
• Delivery and shipping options, including pickup
• Built-in SEO tools
• Create coupons

Unfortunately, the free plan also comes with banner ads and a .square.site domain name. These will make your site look unprofessional in the eyes of your customers and could damage trust in your business, which could impact sales.

Square Online’s free plan also lacks key features, including website templates and abandoned cart recovery. No themes mean your store won’t look unique, and without abandoned cart recovery, there’s no way to remind customers to complete their order.

Who Do I Recommend the Free Plan For?

Square Online’s free plan isn’t suitable for sustained growth due to its limited features and ads. That said, I do recommend using the free plan to test out the website builder to see if it’s right for you, ahead of committing to a paid plan. You can also use Square Online’s 30-day free trial for its premium subscriptions, giving you the chance to access and try additional features.

Unlike the free plan, which lacks key features, the Plus plan comes with everything you would hope to expect from an ecommerce platform. You see the removal of Square Online ads on your site, the ability to use a custom domain name, plus an upgrade in bandwidth and features.

Here are the key features that most caught my eye on this plan:

• Allow customers to create accounts
• Site statistics and advanced ecommerce reporting so you can track your progress
• Advertise your products through Facebook and Google Ads
• Sell subscriptions
• Gift options
• Schedule flash sales and discounts in advance

Who Do I Recommend the Plus Plan For?

If you’re not sure which of Square Online’s three plans to pick from, I’d recommend subscribing to the Plus plan. It’s ideal for the average online store, providing all the features you need and options to upgrade select tools.

However, if customization is important for you, Square Online’s design tools are weak across the board. You do get access to website templates with the Plus plan, but I was pretty underwhelmed by the options, especially in comparison to other platforms, like Wix.

What’s worse is that the Plus plan costs the same as Shopify’s cheapest plan. And, when you compare the two, Shopify easily comes out on top because of its unparalleled sales features. So, if you’re willing to pay this much for your online store, I’d suggest looking at other top ecommerce website builders.

The Premium plan is Square Online’s most advanced ecommerce plan. You get all the features of the Plus plan, plus a few new ones:

• Reduced rate on your processing fees – 2.6% + $0.30 per transaction
• Real-time shipping rates
• 24/7 phone support
• No in-house delivery fees

Who Do I Recommend the Premium Plan For?

While the Plus plan is great for small-to-medium-sized businesses, the Premium plan caters to large and growing stores. That said, the Premium plan is more than double the price of the Plus plan, with only some additional shipping options and premium support on offer.

For that reason, I’d only recommend the Premium plan if you really need better shipping options. If you can manage with the Plus plan, stay the course –  or move your store to a provider that can better scale your store. For the same price of $79 per month, Shopify’s mid-tier plan is better value for money.

➡️ You can compare Square Online vs Shopify in our full side-by-side breakdown.

Square Online has a number of additional costs to be aware of since a lot of standard tools are now classed as add-ons. For example:

• Domain names: from $19.95+ per year – You’ll get a free custom domain name for one year on the Plus and Premium plans, but you’ll have to pay once it’s time to renew. Domain name costs vary depending on the registrar, but Square Online’s domains range from $19.95 to $59.95 per year.
• Processing fees: from 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction – Square Online has a few different variations for processing fees, depending on the payment method and your subscription. Both the free plan and Plus plan charge a 2.9% + $0.30 rate per transaction, while the Premium plan is reduced at 2.6% + $0.30 per transaction.
• Square Payroll: from $6 per month per person – A payroll service for syncing the payment of employees. This is particularly useful for restaurants or retail stores. If you need to pay both full-time employees and contractors, then it’s a $35 per month subscription fee, as well as an extra $6 per month per person.
• Square Invoices: $20 per month – This feature allows you to create invoices, estimates, and contracts for a number of different business industries. There’s a free plan to start with, but you’ll unlock advanced tools (such as custom fields) with the premium plan.
• Square Marketing: $15 per month – Square Online’s email marketing plan starts at $15 per month for up to 500 emails per month, and then increases in price depending on the size of your mailing list.
• Square Loyalty: from $45 per month – The software uses CRM tactics to turn customers into fans with loyalty programs and creates incentives to keep customers returning. The cheapest plan allows up to 500 loyalty visits per month.

Square POS: $0 – $799

If you need to take payments in person, Square offers different solutions for various business types, including restaurants and retail. The standard Point of Sale (POS) system by Square is totally free to use, with no monthly charges. The only associated cost to be aware of is the 2.6% + $0.10 processing fee per in-person transaction.

If you need hardware, such as a card reader, then you’ll need to pay extra:

• Square Reader for magstripe: first reader is free, each additional reader costs $10
• Square Reader for contactless/chip: $59 one-off payment
• Square Stand for contactless/chip: $149 one-off payment, or $14 per month for 12 months
• Square Terminal: $299 one-off payment, or $27 per month for 12 months
• Square Register: $799 one-off payment, or $39 per month for 24 months

Square Online also offers POS bundles as part of its Square for Restaurants, Square for Retail, and Square for Appointments add-ons. Here’s a helpful table so you can see important details like cost, processing fees, and compatible hardware:

Square Online didn’t excel in our value for money testing, but it’s not the worst option out there. It’s one of the few builders that lets you sell online with its free plan, ensuring it stands out against its top competitors. That said, its features are limited and you can unlock more advanced sales features with other builders, like Shopify, for the same price point.

For this reason, Square Online is a good option for budget-conscious businesses, but not for stores looking to seriously grow online.

Overall, Square Online is a good budget-friendly ecommerce platform, especially if you’re looking for tools specifically related to restaurants or retail. Its well-integrated POS systems really make it stand out from other ecommerce competitors, leading to Square Online having a favorable offering for users seeking to have both online and brick-and-mortar representation.

While selling for free is an attractive prospect, the free plan isn’t sustainable for long-term selling. Instead, if your heart is set on Square Online, I’d recommend choosing the Plus plan for $29 per month (billed annually). This plan comes with all the sales features you need for an online store, but it doesn’t feel overpriced for what you get, unlike the Premium plan.

That said, try out Square Online’s 30-day free trial or free plan to get a feel for the builder and see if it’s the right fit for your online store.