If you’re comparing Shopify vs Square, it’s likely you are looking to sell online or need a multichannel sales tool for online and in-person sales. Both providers 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.
- 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
 |  | |
Best for | Ecommerce-focused businesses, large retailers, complex inventories | New or small businesses, brick-and-mortar shops, businesses on a budget, food-based businesses |
Ecommerce software monthly fee | $9–$299 (monthly billing) | $0–$72 (annual billing) |
Available sales channels | Shopify site, add “buy” buttons to an existing site, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, eBay, Walmart, mobile POS, in-store | Square Online store, payment links, add checkout to an existing site, Facebook, Instagram, mobile POS, in-store, local delivery |
App/extension marketplace | Excellent | Good |
POS software monthly fee | $0–$89 | $0–$60; custom plans available |
Industry-specific software | Retail | Retail, restaurants, appointment, and general-purpose |
Payment processing options | Shopify Payments or connect a third-party processor for an additional fee | Must use Square Payments |
Ease of use | Good | Excellent |
Customer support | 24/7 phone support, community forum, help center, and resource library | Monday–Friday phone support, 24/7 automated chat support, seller community, and resource library |
Both Shopify and Square Online are two of our top picks for:
- Best ecommerce platforms
- Best multichannel POS systems
- Best mobile POS apps
- Best POS systems for inventory management
- Best retail POS systems
Why We Recommend Shopify for Online Sales
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Scalable platform | Shopify website themes are not that customizable |
| Print discounted postage straight from Shopify | Shipping calculator requires an annual plan |
| Access to hundreds of additional features and integrations via Shopify app store | No low-stock alerts without upgrade |
If ecommerce is the backbone of your business, choose Shopify because its web builder, sales tools, and inventory management functions are more robust. 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 could quickly outgrow.
Why Square Is Best for Brick-and-Mortar Businesses
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Free plan | No advanced inventory management features |
| All-in-one ecommerce and payment processing solution | Shipping tools available only in higher plans |
| Includes POS software for in-person sales | Limited customization options |
Square offers a free plan, top-rated POS apps, and solutions for industries outside of retail, including restaurants and appointment-based businesses. Its affordable, user-friendly software with tons of add-ons makes it our top-recommended POS system for small businesses and the best choice for most storefronts that don’t need robust ecommerce functions.
Best for Affordability: Square
Both Shopify and Square offer affordable solutions. However, only Square offers an entirely free online store and POS system. Anyone can sign up for a free Square account and start selling through an online store or smartphone in minutes.
Shopify vs Square Pricing
| | |
Monthly POS subscription | $0–$89* | $0–$299 |
Monthly ecommerce subscription | $9–$299 | $0–$72 |
Card reader pricing | $49 | $0–$49 |
Terminal and register pricing | $229 (iPad not included) | $299–$799 (all-inclusive) |
Card-present transaction fees | 2.4% to 2.7% | 2.5% + 10 cents to 2.6% + 10 cents |
Ecommerce transaction fees | 2.4% + 30 cents to 2.7% + 30 cents | 2.9% + 30 cents |
*Shopify POS Pro is included under Shopify Plus Plans. It is plus $89 per location.
Both Shopify and Square 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
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 also provides solutions (like payroll, loyalty programs, and team management) that you can add and remove as needed. Learn more in our full breakdown of Square’s pricing and fees.
Best for Ecommerce: Shopify
| | |
Best for | Most ecommerce businesses, online retailers, and growing multichannel retailers | Storefronts needing a simple online presence |
Domain | Domain, hosting, SSL certificate included in all plans | Domain, hosting, SSL certificate included in all plans; custom domain only for paid plans |
Design | 70+ professional templates, free and paid options. Full access to HTML and CSS to customize | Several templates, mobile-friendly design, limited customization options |
Checkout | ShopPay, over 100 gateway integrations, accept Apple Pay, Google Pay, and all major credit cards | Square Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and all major credit cards |
Shipping | Up to 88% off DHL Express, UPS, and USPS | Up to 55% off US shipping rates |
Marketing | Built-in SEO, blogging tool, automated abandoned cart recovery, product reviews, email templates | Customer reviews, abandoned cart emails, email marketing, Facebook ads, customer messaging, and loyalty programs |
When comparing Square vs Shopify just on ecommerce, Shopify is the best solution by far. It has more templates, better customization options, sophisticated order management, detailed product pages and inventory tracking, more significant shipping discounts, and a streamlined checkout process.
An example of a Shopify store
If you are looking to start or scale an online retail business, Shopify is the best choice. If you’re ready to get started, follow our guide on how to set up a Shopify store.
Both Shopify and Square offer templated web builders with a selection of themes, user-friendly order tracking and management, shipping discounts, marketing tools, and seamless integration with POS software. While Shopify is our pick for the best ecommerce platform and earned a 4.68 out of 5 in our evaluation, Square Online also made that list and earned the top spot in our list of best free ecommerce website builders.
When to Use Square Online
Square offers a user-friendly and economical solution for storefronts that want to add online ordering for shipping or pickup. Its product management features are relatively limited, especially if you have a large inventory or many variants. Square Online is not as customizable as Shopify and does not offer as many built-in marketing features—and its ecommerce app marketplace is not as extensive.
However, Square does have seamless tools for customer communications, including messaging and automated order updates, seamless buy-online pickup in-store (BOPIS) features, and options for local delivery. So, Square Online is a user-friendly, low-maintenance option for storefronts wanting a simple online presence. It also has a solution specific to restaurants and is one of our recommended restaurant online ordering systems.
Square Online allows stores to quickly create and manage an online ordering page. (Source: Square)
If you want to get a website for your store up and running in a few minutes, follow our guide on how to set up a Square Online store.
Best for Multichannel Sales: Shopify
| | |
Best for | Growing retailers needing a feature-rich multichannel solution | New and small businesses wanting a free solution |
Inventory | Unlimited products, variants, and collections; multilocation inventory with transfer options; demand forecasting and detailed reports | Unlimited products and categories; multilocation inventory with transfer options; demand forecasting |
Multichannel features | Show in-store availability on product pages; email carts for browse in store, buy online; in-store QR codes that bring shoppers to product pages | Cross-location returns and exchanges |
Multichannel ordering | Buy online, pickup in store; buy online, return in store; buy in store, ship to customer; traditional ecommerce | Buy online, pick up in-store; buy online with local delivery |
Shopify offers more sophisticated multichannel features that enable retailers to offer a truly seamless shopping experience, eliminating the barriers between online and in-store functions—like order fulfillment and delivery, inventory, and marketing.
However, both Shopify and Square offer some of the best multichannel sales tools on the market for small businesses with seamlessly integrated ecommerce and POS solutions. Shopify tops our recommended multichannel POS systems list with a score of 4.8 out of 5. But Square, which earned a 3.9 out of 5, offers great value with free and low-cost solutions.
When to Use Square
While Shopify offers the best solution for most multichannel retailers, Square could be a good choice for new and small businesses on a budget, especially if your focus is brick-and-mortar instead of online sales.
Square also has one key advantage over Shopify—its industry-specific products. While Shopify is designed just for retailers, Square has an all-purpose POS and even specific solutions for food and beverage (such as cafes and food trucks), appointment-based (spas, salons, and other health and wellness providers), and retail businesses.
Best for Brick-and-Mortar Businesses: Square
| | |
Best for | Shopify ecommerce sellers | Most storefronts |
POS options | POS, POS Pro | Square POS, Square for Retail, Square for Restaurants, Square Appointments |
Industry-specific POS apps | ✖ | ✔ |
Receipts | Print and email | Print, email, and text |
Offline capabilities | Limited | Strong |
Tax rate calculation | Auto-detection based on store location | Manual |
Accepts all forms of payments | ✔ | Limited |
Reporting tools | Excellent | Good |
In general, Square offers the best POS systems for small businesses, and in our evaluation, it earned a 4.48 out of 5, narrowly beating Shopify with a 4.47 out of 5. Square’s POS offers the best value because anyone can create a free account to start selling in just a few minutes. Square also has a few standout features, including a more reliable offline mode and a user-friendly digital receipt process that automatically collects customer feedback.
Learn more in our full review of Square POS.
Square Register, one of Square’s hardware options, comes with a customer-facing display—a feature Shopify does not have.
(Source: Square)
Square’s industry-specific Square for Retail product tops our list of the best retail POS systems—with a score of 4.54 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 best choice.
See more in our full Square for Retail review.
When to Use Shopify
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.
Unlike Square, which doesn’t have a customizable interface, Shopify POS has customizable hotkeys for a speedy checkout. (Source: Shopify)
Learn more about Shopify’s POS features in our detailed Shopify POS review.
Best for Mobile Payments: Square
| | |
Best for | Online businesses expanding into mobile sales | Most individuals and new businesses needing a mobile sales solution |
POS app pricing | Free POS app available only with ecommerce subscription | Several free mobile POS apps are available |
Hardware | One mobile card reader option | Multiple card reader options |
Compatibility | iOS and Android devices | iOS, Android, and Square devices |
Card-present transaction fee | 2.4%–2.7% | 2.6% + 10 cents |
Square’s payment processing is our favorite payment processor for small businesses, earning a score of 4.38 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.
Both, however, offer payment processing services that allow small businesses to accept card payments online and in person without applying for a traditional merchant account. They also provide predictable fees with no contracts, monthly minimums, or cancellation charges and offer discounts for high-volume sellers, options for customers to store payment methods, and mobile card readers.
Square Mobile Card Readers
Square Reader for Magstripe | Square Reader for Contactless and Chip | Square Terminal |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
First free, additional $10 | $49 | $299 or $27 per month for 12 months |
Available with lightning or audio jack input; accepts payments via magstripe (swiped) | Connects via Bluetooth; accepts payments via EMV (chip) or NFC (Apple Pay, Google Pay) | All-in-one credit card machine with POS, card reader, and receipt printer. |
Learn more in our full Square Payments review.
Shopify Mobile Card Readers
Chip and Swipe Card Reader | Chipper 2X BT Reader | Tap and Chip Card Reader |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
$29 | $49 | $49 |
Connects via Bluetooth; accepts magstripe (swipe) and EMV (chip) payments; Android only | Connects via Bluetooth; accepts EMV (chip) or NFC payments (Apple Pay); iOS only | Connects via Bluetooth; accepts EMV (chip) or NFC payments (Apple Pay, Android Pay) |
Best in Ease of Use: Square
| | |
Onboarding | Excellent; with setup wizard | Excellent; with setup wizard |
Store setup | Good | Excellent; quick and easy |
Store management | Excellent | Good |
Both platforms are easy to use (their setup wizards are straightforward and have links to tutorials and tips—e.g., step-by-step guides and videos) and beginner-friendly. Square, however, 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. Meanwhile, Shopify provides robust ecommerce features, but it may require more time to set up. We still find its interface easy to use and navigate.
Square Offers Intuitive Store Setup
Square Online’s dashboard is very intuitive. Its setup guide outlines the steps to launch your store in the form of automated prompts—allowing you to build your store without any technical assistance. You can choose to watch video tutorials (all of which are accessible from the user dashboard) or go straight to building the website using the setup wizard.
Shopify offers a similar setup, but its website builder is a bit clunky and doesn’t provide drag-and-drop features based on our initial testing; we found Square Online’s website builder easier to navigate. We were given choices to add or remove from an existing template, with real-time changes reflecting—so you can easily change your choices if needed. In our guide, we outline the steps on how to set up a free Square Online store.
Square Online shows real-time changes as you update your website from the site builder.
Shopify recently launched Online Store 2.0 (OS 2.0), along with new themes, which offer more customization options than the previous version. Its new default theme, Dawn, is mobile-first and 35% faster than Shopify’s themes for the previous version (now referred to as “Vintage”). See what it looks like when we set up a Shopify store.
Shopify Provides Better Store Inventory Management
If you have a complex inventory with multiple product variants, go with Shopify. It has one of the best POS inventory management systems, with all account levels allowing users to import items, manage returns, and view basic inventory reports.
Square Online’s inventory features are very basic, and if you are a retailer looking to manage inventory for free (and sell in-store, online, via invoice, or through mobile), this fits the bill. It allows you to make the following stock updates: stock received, inventory recount, restock return, and loss of stock due to damage or theft; there are no barcode, supplier, or purchasing features.
Square for Retail ($60 per month) offers advanced tools for inventory—such as kitting or bundling items, vendor and purchase management, COGS tracking, and cross-location inventory tracking.
Best in Help & Customer Support: Shopify
| | |
Phone, live chat, and email | 24/7 | Weekdays: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time Weekends: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time Emails: 24 to 48 hours response time |
Video tutorials | ✔ | ✔ |
Help center | ✔ | ✔ |
Advanced specialist support | ✔ | ✔ |
Shopify wins because of its 24/7 phone, live chat, and email support. Third-party user and expert reviews also rave about its professional and competent support team. As a small business or startup, it is reassuring to know that you can ask for help if something goes wrong with your store, no matter what time of day.
Shopify and Square 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 as well—live chat, email, and phone.
Shopify vs Square Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does Shopify work with Square?
No, Shopify and Square can’t be integrated.
Is it easy to switch from Square to Shopify or vice-versa?
Yes. As your business needs change, you might find one platform is better for you. As such, you can import CSV files with your items or customer information to Shopify or Square. If you have a larger inventory, Shopify and Square recommend that its support team be contacted for help.
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 great for businesses that primarily sell in-person.
You May Also Like …
- Learn how to manage inventory for your small business
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