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Most buyers should pick Square.
Choose SumUp if you want a published starting price and straightforward payment and POS tools: its Free plan is $0/month, with paid plans listed from $49/month. Choose Square if team management, app connections and marketing tools matter more. Square offers a free plan, but its subscription prices and processing fees are not published on the vendor's site. Neither product’s seat costs are listed, so compare your expected payment and staffing costs before switching.
01Side by side
| SumUp | Square | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $0/month; paid plans from $49/month | Free plan; subscription price not published |
| Free plan | Free plan includes app, bookings and invoicing | Free plan includes POS, online site and invoicing |
| Best for | Small businesses needing payments and POS tools | Sellers needing POS, team and marketing tools |
| Core strength | Payments, POS and money management | In-person and online selling tools |
| Learning curve | Not published | Not published |
| Integrations and data | Business app reports and sales insights | App connections and Square AI insights |
| Team tools / seat costs | Team tools and seat pricing not listed | Payroll and scheduling; seat pricing not listed |
| Support | Review support score: 4/10 | Review support score: 4.5/10 |
SumUp Choose SumUp if
- Choose SumUp if you want a published $0 starting plan.
- Choose SumUp if you need payments, POS and money tools.
- Choose SumUp if its listed paid-plan prices fit your budget.
Square Choose Square if
- Choose Square if you need payroll and shift scheduling.
- Choose Square if app connections and Square AI insights matter.
- Choose Square if you want marketing and loyalty tools.
02Pricing compared
SumUp publishes more of its subscription pricing: Free is $0/month, POS Plus is $49/month, SumUp POS is $99/month, Connect Plus is $269/month and Connect Pro is $349/month. The published pricing details don’t state annual billing for those US prices. SumUp’s homepage lists in-person processing at 2.6% + 10¢; reader or POS Lite hardware costs extra, but the price isn’t listed.
Square has a free plan, but its subscription prices and processing fees aren’t published in the published details. Add-ons can change the bill: Square Plus includes 500 marketing texts, then charges 3¢ per text; Premium includes 2,500, then charges 1.5¢. Square KDS and Kiosk fees are listed, but the source doesn’t identify which KDS or Kiosk Lite price applies to which plan. Get a payment-cost estimate before switching.
03Features and depth
SumUp covers payments, POS and basic money management. Its Free plan includes the business app, appointment bookings, payment links, reporting and invoicing. Paid POS plans add tools such as multi-device sync, ticket-printer connections and floor plans; SumUp POS lists multi-store management and SMS messaging. Connect plans focus on loyalty: Connect Plus includes loyalty points and two standard promotions per month, while Connect Pro adds text-to-join, Review Boost and unlimited AI-enhanced promotions.
Square’s feature set reaches further into team operations and app connections. Its listed tools include payroll, shift scheduling, marketing campaigns, loyalty, cash-flow features and Square AI for business insights. Square Free includes an online site, item library, invoicing and booking; Plus adds loyalty and email campaigns, while Premium adds advanced reporting and 24/7 phone support. Square is the broader fit if those team and marketing tools matter. SumUp’s listed offers are more direct if payments, POS and loyalty are the priority.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Neither product’s published details establish how quickly a new user can learn the system, so we wouldn’t treat either as a guaranteed easier switch. In the review scores provided, SumUp receives 7/10 for ease of use and Square 8/10. Those scores are a useful signal, not a substitute for checking whether each product supports your workflows.
SumUp’s Free plan groups payments, reporting, invoicing and bookings; its paid plans add more POS and loyalty tools. Square’s options span POS, team management, marketing and app connections, which may mean more features to evaluate. Compare the tools you actually need, along with support and full payment costs, before moving systems.
Questions people ask
Is SumUp or Zettle better?
This comparison doesn’t include Zettle’s features, pricing or processing fees, so we can’t make a grounded head-to-head call. SumUp’s listed US plans include a free tier and paid options from $49/month, with in-person fees listed at 2.6% + 10¢. Compare Zettle’s current prices and fees against your expected sales.
Is Square a good POS system?
Square’s listed tools cover in-person and online sales, team management, marketing, loyalty and app connections. Its Free plan includes a POS app and online site; paid plans add features such as loyalty and advanced reporting. Whether it fits depends on your workflow, and the published pricing details don’t publish subscription prices or processing fees.
What apps are better than Square?
There isn’t enough information here to rank alternatives to Square. Square lists app connections through business app partnerships, but the published details don’t name individual integrations or compare other products. If a particular app is essential, confirm it connects to your Square setup before switching or choosing a replacement.
What are the fees for a Square card reader?
The published Square pricing details don’t publish card-processing rates or a card reader price, so we can’t give a total cost. Square’s free plan has no subscription price listed in the source, and paid plan prices are also unpublished. Ask Square for processing and hardware quotes based on your sales mix.