Square
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're a small seller or developer who wants simple payments and POS with a free tier.
New check
Comparison
Square vs Stripe
Square lands on Depends, and Stripe lands on Worth it.
Stripe
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're adding online payments and have any developer capacity . it's the industry default, reportedly used by 50% of the Fortune 100.
| Compare | Square | Stripe |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Worth it |
| Best for | Small retail shops and cafes | SaaS and subscription billing |
| Who it's not for | High-volume merchants chasing lower rates | Non-technical founders wanting plug-and-play checkout |
| Privacy | Core platform advertises encryption and PCI compliance; parent-company breach and third-party plugin CVEs are the flags.15 | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | Recurring Reddit reports of holds and poor support | No support evidence in sources |
| Public sentiment | Reviews are polarized: small sellers praise the convenience and payroll, while many report painful account holds, fee hikes, and weak support.² | Independent user reviews are scarce in the sources; most available commentary echoes Stripe's own marketing posts. |
| Biggest gotcha | Sudden fund holds can freeze revenue; multiple Reddit threads document this⁷ | Account freezes reported around policy changes; 'enforcement lag' means risk status can shift quietly |
Pick Square when
- Small retail shops and cafes
- Mobile and pop-up sellers
- Developers adding payments fast
- Solo operators wanting one stack
When Square is not a fit
- High-volume merchants chasing lower rates
- Restaurants . Toast fits better
- Businesses that can't survive frozen funds
- Teams needing responsive human support
Pick Stripe when
- SaaS and subscription billing
- Developer-led product teams
- Marketplaces and platforms
- Global or scaling commerce
When Stripe is not a fit
- Non-technical founders wanting plug-and-play checkout
- High-risk merchants who cannot survive sudden account freezes
- Simple invoicing or POS-only needs . this is overkill
Sources
review
- Square US Reviews - Trustpilottrustpilot.comreview
review
- Square Reviews - Consumer Affairsconsumeraffairs.comreview
review
- A Change to our Tap, Dip, and Swipe Rate - Square Communitycommunity.squareup.comreview
- Square Fees Explained 2026 - Swipesumswipesum.comreview
- Square Review - CardFellowcardfellow.comreview
official
- Payments Pricing with Square APIs and SDKsdeveloper.squareup.comofficial
- Block confirms Cash App breach affecting 8M users - Security Magazinesecuritymagazine.comnews
- CVE-2026-57810: WooCommerce Square Plugin SQLi - SentinelOnesentinelone.comsecurity