The short answer
Square is billed per transaction (2.6% + $0.15 in-person). It has a free tier: Free APIs/SDKs + sandbox; sellers pay per transaction. The paid plans we list start at $49/mo (Square Plus).
Plans and prices
| Plan | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Square Free | $0/mo | 2.6% + 15¢ in-person, 3.3% + 30¢ online/invoices, 3.5% + 15¢ keyed/card-on-file; no monthly fee |
| Square Plus | $49/mo | Lower in-person rate 2.5% + 15¢ and online 2.9% + 30¢, plus advanced POS features |
| Square Premium | $149/mo | Lowest in-person rate 2.4% + 15¢, online 2.9% + 30¢, advanced features |
| Online API | 2.9% + 30¢ | Flat rate for web/mobile app payments via the Payments API, all tiers |
| ACH via API | 1%, $1 min, $5 cap | Bank transfer payments processed through the API |
| Custom / Enterprise | Custom | Negotiated rates for businesses processing over $250,000 annually |
How Square bills you
The pricing model is per transaction (2.6% + $0.15 in-person). Strong unified online + in-person API with free dev tools, a clean sandbox, and SDKs spanning web, mobile, and POS hardware. Best suited to: omnichannel (online + in-person) payments.
What to watch for on the bill
- Flat-rate pricing becomes expensive at high volume versus interchange-plus processors
- Online free-tier rate rose to 3.3% + 30¢ in October 2025
- Keyed/card-on-file transactions are costly at 3.5% + 15¢
The pricing page we read
Source: https://squareup.com/us/en/pricing. Prices change, so confirm there before you commit.
Compare Square with alternatives
Other payments apis: Stripe, Razorpay, Mollie, Braintree, Checkout.com.
Looking at quality rather than price? See the Square score on APIbenchmarks. Full entry: Square pricing.