Retail POS Choose Square (3.8/5) if you want pricing you can verify before signing: a genuinely $0 plan, official flat-rate processing, month-to-month terms, free continuous software updates, and the easiest setup we've tested. Its retail tools are gated by tier, and Square processing is mandatory.
Choose Clover (3.0/5) if hardware quality is the priority: polished devices you buy once rather than rent, simple day-to-day operation, and reseller competition that can — sometimes — produce aggressive deals. The catch is opacity: software fees, rates and contract terms vary by Fiserv reseller, and purchase orders or cycle counts need paid apps.
The short version: Square wins on transparent flat pricing, the free plan and software updates; Clover wins on hardware quality and its one-time purchase model — provided you shop the reseller quotes carefully.
At a Glance
| Square | Clover | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 3.8 / 5 | 3.0 / 5 |
| Starting software cost | $0/mo per location | $16/mo × 36 Starter bundle (official online) |
| Full retail tier | Plus $49 / Premium $149 per location | Retail Growth $84.95/mo + $1,899 Station Duo (official online) |
| In-person processing | 2.6% + 15¢ (Free) to 2.4% + 15¢ (Premium) | 2.6% + 10¢ (Starter) / 2.3% + 10¢ (Retail Growth) — official online |
| Own processor allowed? | No — Square processing required | Tied to Fiserv/reseller (~$25/mo outside-processor fee quoted) |
| Free plan | Yes — POS + Square Online at $0 | No free plan |
| Inventory depth | Tracking, POs, counts on Plus; transfers on Premium | Basic — POs and cycle counts need paid apps |
| Hardware model | Buy; wide lineup; financing available | Buy once; polished proprietary devices |
| Pricing transparency | Official published prices and rates | Official online list prices now published; reseller quotes and contracts still vary |
Square prices and rates are from Square's official pricing and hardware pages (re-checked 2026-09-05). Clover figures are official online bundle prices read directly from clover.com/pricing/retail (2026-09-05); reseller channel quotes may still differ. All figures checked 2026-09-05.
Pricing & the Free Plan
Square restructured on October 6, 2025 into three per-location bundles, all month-to-month:
| Square plan | Price per location | What you get | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | POS + Square Online; no inventory tracking, purchase orders or barcode labels | 30-day free trial on paid plans; cancel or switch anytime |
| Plus | $49/mo | Adds inventory tracking, purchase orders, barcode labels, stock counts, staff management | |
| Premium | $149/mo | Adds PO import, transfer orders, advanced reporting, 24/7 phone support |
Clover has no free plan, and its online bundles come with 36-month subscription terms: Clover is a Fiserv brand sold via clover.com, Fiserv, banks and authorized resellers, and the reseller still sets your effective processing rate, contract length and hardware deal. Official online bundles (verified 2026-09-05):
| Clover bundle | Price (official online) | What you get | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic (Starter) | $16/mo × 36 or $349 | Compact terminal; payments and reporting only — no item management or inventory tracking | Official online |
| Standard (Retail Growth) | $84.95/mo + $1,899, or $180/mo × 36 | Station Duo register; items, inventory, returns, loyalty, online store | Official online |
| Advanced (Retail Growth) | $104.90/mo + $2,648, or $240/mo × 36 | Standard plus Flex handheld | Official online |
Winner: Square. The $0 plan is real, every price is published, and there's no contract to exit. Clover now publishes official online prices, which closes much of the transparency gap — but the online terms are 36-month subscriptions, and your final rate still depends on the channel that sells you the system. Reseller competition can produce aggressive bundles, so quote shopping can pay off. Some reseller contracts run 36 months with early-termination fees commonly reported at $500–$2,000+. Read before you sign.
Payment Processing
Square processing rates (US, official pricing page — Square processing is mandatory):
| Square plan | In-person | Keyed-in | Online |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 2.6% + 15¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ | 3.3% + 30¢ |
| Plus | 2.5% + 15¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Premium | 2.4% + 15¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ |
Clover processing runs through the Fiserv/reseller channel. The official online rates (verified 2026-09-05) are 2.6% + 10¢ in person on the Starter bundle and 2.3% + 10¢ on Retail Growth, with 3.5% + 10¢ keyed-in — but your actual rate can still depend on who sells you the system, and some resellers offer interchange-plus. Clover devices are generally provisioned to the reseller that activated them; an outside processor is sometimes possible with a quoted ~$25/mo integration fee.
Winner: Square. Neither system lets you freely shop processors, but Square's flat rates are verified, public and identical for every merchant on a plan. Clover's quoted range is plausible and its 10¢ fixed fee is lower than Square's 15¢ — but it's a quote, not a price. High-volume merchants should note Square reportedly offers custom pricing above roughly $250k/year in card sales.
Hardware
| Role | Square | Clover |
|---|---|---|
| Entry card reader | Contactless + chip $59 · magstripe $10 | Clover Compact $349 (official) · Go ~$49–$99 (street) |
| Handheld all-in-one | Square Handheld $399 | Clover Flex ~$599–$749 (street; in $2,648 Advanced bundle) |
| Countertop terminal | Square Terminal $299 | Clover Mini ~$799–$849 (street) |
| Two-screen register | Square Register $899 | Station Duo $1,899 (official; buy once) |
| Devices supported | Own iPhone/iPad/Android; Tap to Pay on phone | Proprietary Android-based devices |
| Financing | Installments offered ($49–$10,000, 15% APR cited) | Sold outright; reseller leases available (costly over time) |
Square's prices are verified from its official hardware page; Clover's are third-party street quotes for devices you buy outright — no rental. That buy-once model is Clover's strongest argument: the Flex, Mini and Station Duo are the best-feeling devices in this matchup and they're yours. One warning: reseller equipment leases can cost several times the buy price over the term (one cited example: ~$150/mo × 48 months ≈ $7,200 versus ~$1,800 to buy).
Winner: Clover on hardware itself — polish and ownership earn it a 4.5 hardware subscore versus Square's broader-but-plainer lineup. Square answers with verified prices, cheaper entry, BYOD flexibility and financing. If you'll lease, buy instead — on either system.
Inventory Management
| Capability | Square | Clover |
|---|---|---|
| On-hand stock tracking | Plus ($49) | Basic variant-level tracking |
| Purchase orders / vendors | Plus (PO import on Premium) | Not native — paid App Market apps |
| Inventory counts | Plus | Not native — apps for cycle counts/audits |
| Low-stock alerts | All plans | Supported natively |
| Barcode label printing | Plus (from POs on Premium) | Supported; native extent not verified |
| Cross-location transfers | Premium (transfer orders) | Limited sync reported; apps/higher tiers for automation |
Winner: Square. Square's retail workflows are gated — basic on-hand tracking isn't even on the Free plan — but once you're on Plus ($49/mo) it delivers tracking, counts, POs, bundles and COGS reports natively. Clover's native inventory covers basics (with working low-stock alerts), but purchase orders, vendor management and structured cycle counts live in paid apps (~$10–$100+/mo each). At comparable monthly spend, Square gives you more retail software.
Ease of Use & Software Updates
Both are easy day to day — Clover's register UI is consistently rated intuitive, and Square is the easiest start in retail POS: sign up, download the app, sell the same day; Tap to Pay on your phone needs zero hardware. The difference is how the platforms evolve. Square ships continuous updates to every seller — new features land on the same free platform, across your own phones and tablets. Clover devices run a proprietary Android-based OS tied to the reseller that activated them; new retail capabilities often arrive as paid App Market apps rather than free platform updates.
Winner: Square. Easier start, and improvement is part of the subscription you're already paying — including $0. Clover's register experience is genuinely pleasant, but its progress is monetized app by app.
Ecommerce & Omnichannel
Square includes a Square Online website builder on every plan — even the $0 one — with pickup and local delivery on all plans, shipping label printing and discounts, and social/Google selling. Custom domains and preorders need Plus; real-time carrier rates need Premium. Clover's Retail Growth bundles include a branded online store (official feature matrix, 2026-09-05), but deeper ecommerce is app-marketplace-based: “sell online” tiles, an official BigCommerce integration, and third-party Shopify/WooCommerce connectors; online-store fees quoted by third parties (~$49–$79/mo) couldn't be verified directly.
Winner: Square. An included web store with pickup and delivery at $0 beats an app-catalog approach with unverified add-on fees.
Support
Square offers chat and email on all plans; phone on the Free plan runs 6am–6pm PT weekdays for your first 90 days, Plus keeps those hours, and Premium gets 24/7 phone. Clover-brand 24/7 support is advertised, but in practice support quality is reseller-dependent — your merchant-services provider is often the first line — and reviews are mixed on response times.
Winner: Square. Vendor-direct support with published tiers beats a channel where the answer to “who do I call?” depends on who sold you the system — support subscores 3.0 vs 2.5.
Pros & Cons Recap
Square
Pros
- $0 plan with POS and Square Online included
- Verified flat-rate processing; no contract, cancel anytime
- Easiest setup; free continuous software updates
- Fairly priced hardware with installment financing
Cons
- Inventory tracking, POs and barcode labels gated to Plus ($49)
- Square processing is mandatory — no rate shopping
- PO import and transfer orders need Premium ($149)
- Free-plan phone support ends after 90 days
Clover
Pros
- Polished hardware you buy once — Flex, Mini, Station Duo
- Intuitive day-to-day operation; fast staff training
- Large App Market for add-ons
- Reseller competition can produce aggressive quotes
Cons
- Reseller-dependent final rates and contracts — online list prices exist but on 36-month terms
- No native purchase orders or cycle counts — apps cost extra
- Devices locked to the reseller that activated them
- 36-month terms and $500–$2,000+ termination fees reported
Which Is Cheaper?
Worked example for one store doing $30,000/month in card sales across roughly 1,500 transactions, all in person:
| Cost line | Square (Free plan) | Clover Starter (official) | Clover Retail Growth (official) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software /mo | $0 | $16 | $84.95 | Clover official online prices |
| Processing /mo | ~$1,005 (2.6% + 15¢) | ~$930 (2.6% + 10¢) | ~$840 (2.3% + 10¢) | ~1,500 txns/mo; official Clover rates |
| Total /mo | ~$1,005 | ~$946 | ~$925 | |
| Year-one total | ~$12,060 | ~$11,352 | ~$11,100 | Excludes one-time hardware (see below) |
Assumptions: all sales card-present; Square's official Free-plan rate; Clover's official online rates (Starter 2.6% + 10¢, Retail Growth 2.3% + 10¢); ~1,500 transactions; no paid apps on either side.
This one is closer than the scores suggest — Clover's 10¢ fixed fee beats Square's 15¢ by $75/month at this transaction count, and Retail Growth's 2.3% rate pulls its running cost below Square Free's. Three adjustments decide it in practice. First, hardware: Square starts at a $59 reader with your own tablet; Clover adds $349 (Compact, Starter) or $1,899 (Station Duo, Retail Growth) up front, pushing Clover's realistic year one to roughly ~$11,700–$13,000. Second, rate quotes: the official online rates apply to the 36-month online checkout — a reseller deal may differ, in either direction, so get the number in writing. Third, apps: purchase orders or cycle counts on Clover add ~$10–$100+/mo, and the Starter bundle lacks item management entirely. Verdict: Square Free remains the cheaper, provable default once hardware is counted; Clover can win on running cost, especially on Retail Growth's 2.3% rate, but check which rate your channel actually quotes.
Which Is the Safer Buy?
Square — and it isn't close. Every Square number on this page is published and identical for every merchant; you can leave month-to-month with no termination fee; and updates are free and continuous. Clover can be a good deal, but you have to earn it: compare at least two or three reseller quotes in writing, refuse equipment leases, check the contract term and early-termination clause, and budget for the retail apps you'll need. That's exactly the discipline our buying guide walks through.
Final Decision
You run one or two smaller stores, want a $0 entry point, verified flat rates, free updates and no contract — and you're comfortable with Square as your permanent processor. Upgrade to Plus ($49) when inventory tracking or POs become the bottleneck.
Visit SquareHardware quality and one-time ownership matter most, you want simple day-to-day operation, and you'll shop reseller quotes and read the contract terms before signing anything.
Visit CloverFAQ
Which is better overall, Square or Clover?
Square scores 3.8/5 in our methodology versus Clover's 3.0/5, driven by transparent pricing, the free plan, native inventory tools, omnichannel and support. Clover remains the pick when buy-once hardware quality and register simplicity outweigh everything else.
Is Square actually cheaper than Clover?
Usually, once hardware is counted: Square starts with a $59 reader and your own tablet, while Clover's buy-once devices run ~$599–$1,899 up front. On running cost alone the two land close at $30k/month (Clover's 10¢ fixed fee nearly offsets Square's $0 plan), and Clover's official Retail Growth rate (2.3% + 10¢) puts it ahead on running cost — confirm which rate your channel quotes.
Why do Clover prices vary so much between sellers?
Clover is a Fiserv brand distributed through clover.com, banks, ISOs and authorized resellers, and each channel can set processing rates, contract length and hardware deals. clover.com now publishes official online bundle prices (verified 2026-09-05) — on 36-month terms — while reseller quotes may still differ. Two merchants on identical plans can pay materially different effective costs.
Can I switch from Clover to Square later?
Yes, but budget for friction: Clover devices are locked to the reseller that activated them and won't work on Square, so expect to rebuy hardware (Square's entry reader is $59). Product and customer data can be exported and re-imported; plan a few weeks to verify barcodes and retrain staff. Our buying guide covers the process.