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Most buyers should pick Square.
Choose Shift4 if you run a table-service restaurant or need venue commerce; its listed bundle starts at $29.99 per month, with processing and device fees listed separately. Choose Square if you want a free POS plan and tools for payments, teams, marketing, and cash flow. Square’s subscription prices and processing fees are not published on the vendor's site. The review scores favor Square overall, but Shift4’s listed pricing gives buyers more concrete cost figures to assess.
01Side by side
| Shift4 | Square | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $29.99/month table-service bundle | Free plan; paid prices not published |
| Free plan | No free plan listed | Square Free plan listed |
| Best for | Table-service restaurants and venues | Businesses selling in person or online |
| Core strength | Industry-specific payment and commerce solutions | POS plus team and business tools |
| Learning curve | Ease-of-use review score: 6/10 | Ease-of-use review score: 8/10 |
| Integrations/data | Marketplace integration pricing not published | Connects business apps through app partnerships |
| Team/seat costs | Device add-ons listed at $29.99/month each | Team tools; seat costs not published |
| Support | Support review score: 3/10 | Premium lists 24/7 phone support |
Shift4 Choose Shift4 if
- Choose Shift4 if you run a table-service restaurant.
- Choose Shift4 if you need concessions, retail, parking, and ticketing tools.
- Choose Shift4 if listed device and processing fees help you compare costs.
Square Choose Square if
- Choose Square if you want a listed free plan.
- Choose Square if you need POS, team, marketing, and cash flow tools.
- Choose Square if a higher ease-of-use review score matters to you.
02Pricing compared
Shift4 lists its Dine Table-Service Bundle at $29.99 per month. Handhelds, tablets, kiosks, customer-facing displays and kitchen display systems are each listed at $29.99 per month. Standard credit card processing is listed separately at 2.75% plus $0.15 per transaction; annual pricing is not published. Marketing and loyalty, reservations and waitlist, QR codes and a website builder are advertised from $0.
Square offers a Free plan, but the published pricing details don’t publish subscription prices for Plus or Premium, or Square’s processing fees. Plus includes the first 500 marketing texts; additional texts cost 3¢ each. Premium includes the first 2,500; additional texts cost 1.5¢ each. KDS and kiosk prices are also listed, but some device rates aren’t tied to a specific plan. Compare processing and hardware costs before treating Square Free as your total cost.
03Features and depth
Shift4’s range is built around payments and commerce across in-person and online channels, with offerings for food and beverage, hospitality, retail and travel. Its listed capabilities include restaurant POS, mobile and contactless payments, online payments, and venue commerce for concessions, retail, parking and ticketing. It also offers tax-free shopping and refunds through Global Blue. That makes Shift4 the more directly specified fit here for table-service restaurants and venue operations; the published details don’t spell out every tool’s availability by plan.
Square combines in-person and online payments with tools for managing a business. Its Free plan lists a POS app, online site, item library, invoicing and booking, plus checking and savings accounts. Plus adds advanced POS features, loyalty and email campaigns; Premium adds advanced reporting and 24/7 phone support. Square also promotes team scheduling and payroll, app connections, cash-flow tools and Square AI business insights. The published details don’t establish that every feature is included in every plan, so check plan eligibility before switching.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Our review scores rate Square higher for ease of use: 8 versus Shift4’s 6. That points to Square as the safer starting point if straightforward setup is your priority, but a score alone doesn’t tell us how either system will fit your workflows.
Both platforms span more than payment acceptance. Square’s listed tools cover POS, online sales, teams, marketing and cash flow; Shift4’s offerings vary across restaurant, hospitality, retail and venue use cases. More scope can mean more decisions about plans, devices and integrations. The published details don’t document setup time, migration support for standard buyers or training requirements. Confirm what’s included for your business before signing, especially if you need multiple devices or third-party marketplace integrations.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, Shift4 or Square?
Shift4 publishes a $29.99 monthly price for its table-service bundle and lists standard processing at 2.75% plus $0.15 per transaction. Square has a Free plan, but the published details don’t publish its processing fees or Plus and Premium subscription prices. Compare your transaction costs and required add-ons.
Is Square really free to use?
Square lists a Free plan with a POS app, online site, item library, invoicing and booking, and checking and savings accounts. But the published pricing details don’t publish Square’s processing fees, so Free doesn’t establish your total cost of accepting payments.
Is Shift4 or Square better for restaurants?
Shift4 lists a $29.99 monthly table-service bundle and restaurant-focused POS, mobile and contactless payment tools. Square’s Plus plan includes advanced POS features and loyalty, while Premium adds reporting and 24/7 phone support. Compare the exact features and processing costs your restaurant needs.
Does Square or Shift4 cost less to process payments?
The published details list Shift4 standard credit card processing at 2.75% plus $0.15 per transaction. They don’t publish Square’s processing fees, so we can’t make a like-for-like cost comparison from these figures. Ask Square for rates that match your payment mix and sales volume.