Shopify vs Square: Pricing, Features & What’s Best in 2023

If you’re comparing Shopify vs Square, you are likely looking to sell online or need a multichannel sales tool for online and in-person sales. Shopify and Square offer user-friendly point-of-sale (POS) software, online store and ecommerce functionality, and integrated payment processing with industry-leading omnichannel and contactless payment tools. Overall:

• Shopify: Best if ecommerce is the backbone of your business or you’re serious about online sales
• Square: Best if your primary sales channel is brick-and-mortar and you need basic online store functionality

Shopify vs Square Quick Comparison

In addition to best multichannel POS systems, both Shopify and Square Online are top picks for:

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Why We Recommend Shopify for Online Sales

If ecommerce is the backbone of your business, choose Shopify because its web builder, sales tools, and inventory management functions are more robust. Shopify is our pick for the best ecommerce platform for small businesses.

While Square Online can accommodate curbside pickup orders and occasional online sales, it has limited inventory management tools and overall basic functionality that a scaling ecommerce business would quickly outgrow.

Why Square Is Best for Brick-and-Mortar Businesses

Square is the best choice for most storefronts that don’t need robust ecommerce functions. It offers a free plan, top-rated POS apps, and solutions for industries outside of retail, including restaurants and appointment-based businesses. It is an affordable, user-friendly software with tons of add-ons, which makes it our top-recommended POS system for small businesses.

When to Use an Alternative

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*If billed annually and with Lightspeed Payments.

Shopify vs Square: Pricing

*Shopify POS Pro is included under Shopify Plus Plans. It is an additional $89 per location.

Both Shopify and Square have affordable solutions that offer:

• Month-to-month billing
• Discounted processing fees for high-volume sellers
• Several pricing plans and add-ons so you can customize your solution as your business grows

However, only Square offers an entirely free online store and POS system. In minutes, anyone can sign up for a free Square account and sell through an online store or smartphone.

Shopify has tiered software plans for ecommerce stores and two options for POS, while Square offers multiple free POS and online store options with optional upgrades. However, Square provides solutions (like payroll, loyalty programs, and team management) that you can add and remove as needed.

Shopify’s ecommerce plans have three tiers: Basic Shopify ($39/month), Shopify ($105/month), and Advanced Shopify ($399/month). It recently offered a much lower tier at $5/month, the Shopify Starter plan, which provides a checkout link and allows you to sell through social media channels.

Its POS system, Shopify POS Lite, is free under all Shopify ecommerce plans. We recommend using it when running temporary stores such as pop-up shops and farmers market locations.

Note that if you want to use Shopify POS for your brick-and-mortar operations, you would need to upgrade to the POS Pro plan with a monthly fee of $89 per location. The main difference between these two Shopify POS pricing schemes is access to advanced features such as smart inventory management and in-store analytics.

Square’s pricing is very transparent. Its free option and lack of hidden fees make it a strong contender against Shopify when it comes to pricing. You can add or change add-ons anytime, and there are no long-term contracts.

• Point-of-sale app: Free – Pro POS plans available for $60 per month, per location
• Online ordering and ecommerce: Free – upgrades available from $12–$72 per month
• Payroll: $35 per month plus $5 per employee
• Team management: Free – upgrade to Team Plus at $35 per month, per location
• Marketing: Starts at $15 per month for up to 500 customer contacts
• Loyalty program: Starts at $45 per month, per location, for up to 500 loyal visits

Shopify vs Square: Retail POS Features

Shopify earns perfect points in our evaluation of retail POS features—inventory management, CRM tools, contactless payments, cloud reporting, and employee management. Square also made perfect points for contactless payments and employee management but got deducted points for having basic CRM and marketing features.

If you have an ecommerce business through Shopify, using the connected Shopify POS is by far your best option. All of your data and transactions will seamlessly sync between online and in-person. Plus, you can use Shopify POS for free on your smartphone or tablet, which is ideal for Shopify ecommerce businesses that need a POS for pop-up sales or events.

While Shopify beats Square in retail POS features, Square is still considered the best POS system for small businesses. Square’s POS offers the best value because anyone can create a free account to start selling in just a few minutes. It also has a few standout features, including a more reliable offline mode and a user-friendly digital receipt process that automatically collects customer feedback.

Note that we evaluated Square’s free POS system against Shopify’s in this article. However, its industry-specific POS for retail businesses, Square for Retail, tops our list of the best retail POS systems—with a score of 4.58 out of 5 compared to Shopify’s 4.48. Square for Retail’s low price point ($0–$60) and user-friendly back-office features make it the top pick.

Shopify vs Square: Online Sales & Multichannel Features

When comparing Square vs Shopify just on ecommerce, Shopify is the best solution by far—it is our top pick for the best ecommerce platform. Shopify offers more templates, better customization options, sophisticated order management, detailed product pages, and inventory tracking, more significant shipping discounts, and a streamlined checkout process.

On the other hand, Square’s payment processing is our leading payment processor for small businesses, earning a score of 4.43 out of 5. It also provides a more flexible solution with industry-specific features, a more stable offline mode, and more hardware options for mobile payments. While Shopify Payments is tied to its ecommerce and POS products (and requires a subscription), Square offers a standalone payment solution for mobile, in-store, and online. See more in our guide to the best mobile POS apps.

Shopify vs Square: Ease of Use

Square lets you set up an online store and start selling in a few hours, and its store management function is straightforward—primarily because of its basic functions. Shopify provides robust ecommerce features, but it may require more time to set up. We still find its interface easy to use and navigate.

When it comes to support, both providers’ self-service resources are excellent. They have active and helpful community forums, comprehensive help centers, easy-to-follow video tutorials, and setup help wizards. Both provide a selection of communication channels—live chat, email, and phone. However, Shopify wins in this area because of its 24/7 customer support.

Shopify vs Square: Expert Score

Shopify and Square are both excellent multichannel POS systems in our book, as evidenced by the tie-in scores given by the Fit Small Business experts and based on the majority of user reviews. The choice will greatly depend on the type of business you are running—Shopify is better for online stores branching out to retail sales, while Square is better suited for in-store selling with just a little need for online store functionality.

Shopify vs Square Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Which is better: Shopify vs Square?

When choosing between Shopify vs Square, the best choice greatly depends on your business needs. We recommend Shopify for growing online businesses, merchants with complex inventories, and those looking for a seamless POS and ecommerce system for multichannel selling.

On the other hand, we recommend Square for businesses on a budget looking to accept payments offline and online. Restaurants, food trucks, and coffee shops would particularly benefit from Square’s curbside delivery and click-and-collect options. At the same time, service-based businesses, such as hairstylists, makeup artists, and massage therapists, can use Square Online’s checkout function to accept prepayment for services or automatically charge for monthly services.

Which is cheaper, Square or Shopify?

Regarding pricing, Square is more affordable than Shopify because it offers a free plan and a magstripe card reader on initial sign-up. All you will be paying for are processing fees on credit and debit card payments (Square requires you to use its built-in payment processor).

Is Shopify or Square easier to use?

Both platforms are intuitive for beginners. Its POS systems and web builders are easy to set up and navigate. Managing stores is also convenient. However, Shopify provides 24/7 customer support via phone, email, and chat, while Square doesn’t. Support is a crucial need for small businesses with no in-house technical support that can troubleshoot when things go wrong.

How We Evaluated Shopify vs Square

To help you decide which multichannel POS system to use, we compared Shopify vs Square based on what’s important to small businesses, including pricing, retail POS features, multichannel tools, and ease of use. We looked for affordable, easy-to-use functionalities and considered our retail and restaurant POS expert’s evaluations of each software as well.

Bottom Line

Square and Shopify offer user-friendly POS, ecommerce, and payment processing solutions. Shopify has more sophisticated ecommerce tools, making it a better fit for online and multichannel businesses. Meanwhile, Square offers a free POS and mobile app that are best for businesses selling in-person.

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