Calculate Square fees for every transaction type — in-person, online, invoice, and manual entry.
In-person, online & invoice · 2026
✓ Square Free plan rates from Square Support Center · checked September 2026
Square built its reputation on transparent, predictable pricing aimed squarely at small businesses and in-person retailers — a free hardware reader, no monthly minimums, and rates that are simple to explain to a first-time business owner. While Stripe has become the default for purely online businesses, Square remains the stronger choice for anyone with a meaningful in-person sales component, from coffee shops to craft fair vendors.
Square's 2.6% + 15¢ in-person rate is meaningfully cheaper than its 3.3% + 30¢ online and invoice rate on the Free plan — a pattern that holds across most payment processors, since card-present transactions carry lower fraud risk than card-not-present online purchases. For businesses straddling both channels, this means tracking which percentage of sales come through each method matters for accurate financial forecasting, and it's worth encouraging in-person payment methods where genuinely convenient for your customer base.
Picture a vendor selling handmade soap at weekend markets, averaging $600 in sales across 40 transactions per event. At Square's in-person rate, fees total $600 × 2.6% + (40 × $0.15) = $15.60 + $6.00 = $21.60 for the day — about 3.6% of revenue. Notice how much of that comes from the fixed 15¢: with a $15 average sale, the per-transaction fee adds a full percentage point. If that same vendor also took some online pre-orders processed at the higher 3.3% + 30¢ online rate, those specific transactions would cost proportionally more, making it worth encouraging customers toward in-person payment whenever both options are genuinely available.
Square Plus lowers in-person payments from 2.6% to 2.5% (+15¢) and online checkout and invoices from 3.3% to 2.9% (+30¢). That online cut is where most of the value is: $10,000 a month in online or invoice payments saves $40 a month, while the same volume in person saves only $10. Compare those savings with the plan's current monthly price per location before upgrading. Vendors who are almost entirely in-person rarely save enough to justify it; businesses with heavy invoice or online volume often do.
Online, Square's Free plan charges 3.3% + 30¢ for its standard checkout and invoices, versus Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ — though Square's online API rate (for custom integrations) and its paid plans match Stripe at 2.9% + 30¢. In person the two are nearly even, so the choice is usually less about pure cost and more about your business model. Square's integrated hardware ecosystem — readers, terminals, point-of-sale software — creates a smoother experience for physical retail than assembling a comparable setup around Stripe. Stripe, conversely, offers deeper API flexibility for businesses building custom checkout experiences or complex subscription models. Many hybrid online-and-offline businesses end up using Square specifically for in-person sales while running their website through Stripe, capturing each processor's relative strength.
| Payment Type | Rate | Fixed | On $100 | You Keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-person (tap / dip / swipe) | 2.6% | $0.15 | $2.75 | $97.25 |
| Online checkout / invoices | 3.3% | $0.30 | $3.60 | $96.40 |
| Online API | 2.9% | $0.30 | $3.20 | $96.80 |
| Manual entry / card on file | 3.5% | $0.15 | $3.65 | $96.35 |
| International card (any of the above) | +1.5% | — | +$1.50 | — |
Square Free plan, US. Paid plans: in person 2.5% + 15¢ (Plus) or 2.4% + 15¢ (Premium); online and invoices 2.9% + 30¢. Source: Square Support Center, checked September 2026.
Square Free plan, US-issued cards. The fixed per-transaction fee matters most on small sales: on a $5 coffee, the 15¢ alone is 3% of the ticket.
| Sale | In person (2.6% + 15¢) | Online / invoice (3.3% + 30¢) | Manual entry (3.5% + 15¢) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5 | $0.28 | $0.47 | $0.33 |
| $10 | $0.41 | $0.63 | $0.50 |
| $25 | $0.80 | $1.13 | $1.03 |
| $50 | $1.45 | $1.95 | $1.90 |
| $100 | $2.75 | $3.60 | $3.65 |
| $250 | $6.65 | $8.55 | $8.90 |
| $500 | $13.15 | $16.80 | $17.65 |
| $1,000 | $26.15 | $33.30 | $35.15 |