Retail POS Stay on Square Plus ($49/mo per location) if you run one or two locations and your bottleneck is day-to-day retail operations. Plus already includes inventory tracking, purchase orders, barcode label printing, stock counts, loyalty, staff management and the full reporting suite — plus lower rates (2.5% + 15¢ in person, 2.9% + 30¢ online).
Upgrade to Square Premium ($149/mo per location) when one of three things is true: you process more than ~$100,000/month in card-present sales (the 2.4% rate alone repays the $100 difference), you run multi-location inventory operations that need CSV purchase-order import, transfer orders or cross-location returns, or you need 24/7 phone support because your store sells around the clock.
The short version: Plus is the retail kit; Premium is a volume-and-operations tier. Between them sits exactly one rate change, one support change and a short list of ops gates — and if you process over $250,000/year, Square's new custom-priced Pro tier may beat both.
At a Glance
| Square Plus | Square Premium | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49/mo per location | $149/mo per location |
| In-person processing | 2.5% + 15¢ | 2.4% + 15¢ |
| Online processing | 2.9% + 30¢ (identical) | |
| Keyed-in / card on file | 3.5% + 15¢ (identical) | |
| ACH bank transfer (via invoice) | 1% + $1 min, $10 cap | 1% + $1 min, $10 cap |
| Gift card load fee | 2.5% | 0% |
| Text message marketing | 500/mo included, then 3¢ | 2,500/mo included, then 1.5¢ |
| Phone support | 6am–6pm PT, Mon–Fri | 24/7, priority |
| Purchase orders & vendor management | Included (both) | |
| Import purchase orders (CSV/Excel) | — | Yes |
| Transfer orders between locations | — | Yes |
| Print barcode labels from received POs | — | Yes |
| Vendor sales report | — | Yes |
| Cross-location returns & fulfillment | — | Yes |
| Free trial | 30 days | 30 days |
All prices, rates and feature gates verified against Square's official pricing page (squareup.com/us/en/pricing) on 2026-09-03, including the full plan–feature matrix. Plans reflect Square's October 2025 unified pricing revamp; monthly fees apply to each location you run. Above Premium sits Square Pro — custom pricing for merchants processing over $250,000/year.
What You Already Get on Plus
Premium is an incremental tier, so it pays to be clear about the baseline. At $49/mo per location, Plus includes everything from Free plus the retail operations kit:
- Inventory tracking with stock counts on hand, unit costs and inventory history
- Vendor & purchase order management, bulk intake and the inventory counting tool
- Barcode label printing, product bundles and the inventory report suite (aging, COGS, sell-through, projected profit)
- Loyalty rewards, promotions and email marketing (plus 500 free texts/month)
- Staff management: timecards with breaks and overtime, scheduling, custom permission sets
- Lower rates: 2.5% + 15¢ in person and 2.9% + 30¢ online, versus 2.6%/3.3% on Free
For a single-store retailer, that's already the complete package. Premium's gates only start to matter at scale.
What Premium Unlocks: The Gate List
Everything below sits behind the $149 plan per Square's official feature matrix (re-verified 2026-09-03). It's a shorter list than the Free-to-Plus jump:
| Feature gate | Square Plus ($49) | Square Premium ($149) |
|---|---|---|
| In-person rate cut: 2.5% → 2.4% + 15¢ | 2.5% + 15¢ | 2.4% + 15¢ |
| 24/7 priority phone support | 6am–6pm PT M–F | 24/7 |
| Advanced reporting | — | Included |
| Import purchase orders (CSV/Excel) | — | Included |
| Transfer orders across locations (draft → pending → received) | — | Included |
| Print barcode labels from received purchase orders | — | Included |
| Vendor sales report | — | Included |
| Cross-location returns and fulfillment | — | Included |
| Gift card load fee | 2.5% | 0% |
| Text marketing allowance | 500/mo, then 3¢ | 2,500/mo, then 1.5¢ |
| Square KDS app (per device) | $30/mo | $20/mo |
| Square Kiosk app (per device) | $50/mo | $30/mo |
Notice what's not on the list: inventory tracking, POs, labels, loyalty and staff tools are already on Plus. If you're comparing from Free, start with our Square Free vs Plus breakdown instead — the jump from Free to Plus is much bigger than Plus to Premium.
Cost Math: The $100 Question
Premium costs $100/month more per location. In exchange, exactly one rate changes: in-person drops from 2.5% + 15¢ to 2.4% + 15¢ — a 0.1-point saving. That gives a clean breakeven:
| Breakeven test | Rate saving | Volume where the $100/mo pays for itself |
|---|---|---|
| In-person card volume | 2.5% → 2.4% (0.1 point) | $100,000/mo in card-present sales |
| Gift card loads | 2.5% → 0% | $4,000/mo in gift card load volume |
Worked example for one store doing $80,000/month in card sales (≈1,600 transactions at ~$50 average ticket, all in person):
| Cost line | Square Plus | Square Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Software /mo | $49 | $149 |
| Processing /mo | ~$2,240 (2.5% + 15¢) | ~$2,160 (2.4% + 15¢) |
| Total /mo | ~$2,289 | ~$2,309 |
| Difference | $20/mo — Plus still cheaper | |
At $100,000/month the two plans cost exactly the same all-in; above it, Premium wins on rates alone. At $120,000/month, Premium is ~$20/month cheaper; at $150,000, ~$50/month. For most single-location retailers — median card volume well under $40k/month — the rate cut never repays the subscription, and Premium only makes sense as a features-and-support decision.
Two softer levers can pull the breakeven down. Gift card load fees drop from 2.5% to 0%, so a store loading $4,000+/month in gift cards covers the $100 difference by itself. And heavy text marketers get 2,500 free messages instead of 500 — worth $60/month at the 3¢ rate if you actually send them.
Who Should Actually Upgrade
- High-volume single stores ($100k+/mo in card-present sales): the 2.4% rate makes Premium self-funding. This is a ~$1.2M+/year card revenue store.
- Multi-location retailers: transfer orders, cross-location returns and fulfillment, and PO import are Premium gates — this is the clearest operational case. (Remember the $149 applies per location.)
- Gift-card-heavy retailers: holiday load volumes above ~$4,000/month flip the math on the 0% load fee alone.
- Stores that sell around the clock: 24/7 priority phone support matters if a down register at 9pm on Saturday costs real money.
- Anyone processing $250,000+/year: before paying list price for Premium, ask Square about Pro — its new custom-pricing tier with negotiable rates, hardware discounts, onboarding and account management. At $250k+/year you may qualify for better-than-Premium economics.
Who Should Stay on Plus
- Single- and two-location retailers under ~$100k/month card volume — the rate saving can't cover $100/mo, and all core retail features are already included.
- Merchants who don't reorder by CSV or run transfers — if purchase orders are created in-app and stock stays put, the Premium ops gates are theoretical.
- Online-heavy sellers — the online rate (2.9% + 30¢) is identical on both plans, so Premium buys nothing on your Square Online volume.
- Stores with modest support needs — if weekday phone hours cover your operating schedule, 24/7 support is paying for quiet nights.
Pros & Cons Recap
Square Plus
Pros
- Complete retail kit: tracking, POs, labels, counts, loyalty, staff tools
- 2.5% + 15¢ in person — already below Free's rate
- $100/mo less per location than Premium
- 30-day free trial, month-to-month, cancel anytime
Cons
- No PO import, transfer orders or cross-location returns
- Phone support limited to 6am–6pm PT weekdays
- 2.5% gift card load fee; 500 texts then 3¢
Square Premium
Pros
- 2.4% + 15¢ in person — self-funding above $100k/mo card volume
- The multi-location ops gates: PO import, transfer orders, cross-location returns
- 24/7 priority phone support and advanced reporting
- 0% gift card load; 2,500 free texts; cheaper KDS/Kiosk apps
Cons
- $149/mo per location — $100 over Plus, multiplied by every store
- Online rate unchanged at 2.9% + 30¢
- Below ~$100k/mo in-person volume, the rate cut doesn't repay it
Final Decision
You run one or two locations below ~$100k/month in card-present sales, you don't need transfer orders or PO import, and weekday support hours match your store hours. Plus is the complete retail package.
See Square Plus PricingYou clear ~$100k/month in card-present sales, run multi-location inventory operations, load $4k+/month in gift cards, or need 24/7 support. And if you process $250k+/year, ask about Square Pro first.
Compare Premium PlansFAQ
Does Square Premium lower online processing rates?
No. Online stays 2.9% + 30¢ on both Plus and Premium — the only rate Premium improves is in-person, from 2.5% + 15¢ to 2.4% + 15¢. Keyed-in stays 3.5% + 15¢ on every plan. If most of your volume is online, Premium's rate benefit is worth nothing to you.
When does Premium pay for itself on rates alone?
At 0.1 points (2.5% → 2.4%), the saving repays the $100/month difference at $100,000/month in card-present volume. Below that, Premium is strictly a features-and-support purchase; above it, the rate cut funds the upgrade.
What is Square Pro?
A custom-pricing tier for merchants processing over $250,000 per year. You talk to Square's team about custom rates and fees, plus hardware discounts, onboarding and implementation support, and account management. If you qualify, get a Pro quote before paying Premium list prices.
Can I switch between Plus and Premium anytime?
Yes — both plans are month-to-month with no long-term contract, and each includes a 30-day free trial. The monthly fee applies per location on either plan, so a three-store chain pays 3 × $49 or 3 × $149.
Do I need Premium for multiple locations?
No — you can run multiple locations on any Square plan, and the per-location fee simply multiplies. But the multi-location workflow gates (transfer orders, cross-location returns and fulfillment, PO import) are Premium-only, so chains that move stock between stores usually end up there.
Is the gift card difference really meaningful?
It can be. Plus charges a 2.5% load fee on physical and eGift card top-ups; Premium charges 0%. If you load $4,000/month in gift cards, that's $100/month saved — the entire price difference — before counting any rate or support value.