Square Register is an all-in-one POS station updated to reflect modern customer preferences for card and digital payments. It includes a dynamic touch-screen POS display, tap, dip, and chip card and digital payment readers, a responsive customer-facing display, and an optional cash drawer—making it an excellent countertop system for any business type.
Square Register is a dedicated countertop system and isn’t really a practical choice if you need high mobility—for that, you’ll want to go with Square Terminal. Our Square Register review also finds it doesn’t have the lowest price tag around but it is still reasonable for a full POS register, and you can elect to pay in monthly installments. Square Register will cost you $799 upfront or $39 per month for 24 months.
Square Register Overview
Pros
- Interactive customer-facing screen guides customers through the payment process
- Quick set-up; 24/7 phone support
- Two-year warranty
Deciding Factors
Supported Business Types | Most business types Retail, restaurants, service businesses & more |
|---|---|
Upfront Cost | $99 (or $39 for 24 months) |
Monthly Fees | None required for the reader itself; you can use it with the free level of any Square POS |
Payment Types Accepted |
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Supported Payment Processors | Square Payments |
Processing Rates |
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Contract Length | Month to month |
Dimensions | Register screen: 13.25 inches Length: 12.5 inches Depth: 5 inches Height: 10 inches Customer-facing display has a 7-inch screen, and it is 6.85 inches in length and width |
Weight | Register: 3.9 pounds Customer display: 1.2 pounds Power kit: 0.8 pounds Total unit: 5.9 pounds |
Customer Support | 24/7 by phone |
Why You Can Trust My Recommendation
I’ve been writing about retail-focused topics—in particular, software and hardware suitable for small retail businesses—for over two years. I’ve researched and evaluated dozens of software systems and hardware for a variety of specialized purposes (inventory management, ecommerce, in-person sales, etc.) and industries (retail, restaurant, services, etc).
For this review of the Square Register, I assessed its pricing, hardware specifications, features, and ease of use.
- More than two years specializing in software and hardware designed for small businesses
- Hardware evaluation across 21 data points
- Strict editorial policy
Is Square Register Right for You?
Who should use Square Register:
- Businesses that want an integrated customer-facing screen
- Businesses that need to accept multiple payment types
- Businesses that want sales tracking and reporting tools built into their register
Who should use an alternative:
- Businesses that need sales mobility or a handheld terminal
- High-risk businesses and other businesses not suitable for Square Payments
Square Register Video Review
Square Register Alternatives
Best For | Pricing | |
|---|---|---|
 Square Stand | iPad POS users | $149 (or $14 per month for 12 months) |
 Clover Station Solo | Working with an existing merchant account | $1,699 + $49.95 per month (or $125 per month) |
 Toast Countertop Kit | Full-service restaurants | $799.20 + $69 per month (or $0 upfront, $0 per month for Pay-as-You-Go) |
Square Register User Reviews
| Users Like | Users Dislike |
|---|---|
| Great value for money | Does not print to a regular printer |
| Integrated customer-facing display | Glitches when logging inventory |
| Inventory management and sales reports | Randomly shuts down or goes offline |
One of the most common points of praise among Square Register reviews is its value for money. While it costs several hundred dollars, it does come with monthly financing to ease the burden on new, cash-strapped small businesses. More importantly, however, the register functions as a full point-of-sale system with versatile payment processing, inventory management, and sales reporting tools. The screens are large, clear, and easy to use.
However, a few users complained about functionality. Square Register does not print to a regular printer; you will need to either obtain a Square receipt printer or certain models of Star Micronics printers. One user spent hours inputting new inventory, only to find out the next day that every logged item had disappeared from the system. Another user reported that the register sometimes goes offline or shuts down randomly when under heavy use, which is a nightmare scenario for a busy shop.
Here’s how Square Register performed on Amazon user reviews:
- Amazon: 4.4 out of 5 (over 530 reviews)
Square Register is sold directly via Square’s website. You can pay a one-time cost of $799 for the complete unit or opt for monthly payments ($39 per month for 24 months). However, note that the monthly installment payment service is not currently available in Alabama, Delaware, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, or Tennessee.
This is middle-of-the-road price-wise for a countertop POS. Other industry-grade countertop terminals like Toast and Clover’s offerings tend to be pricier (from $875 to $1,699), but iPad POS stations can cost much less (especially if you already have iPads). None of those comparable registers include a customer-facing display for the price like Square Register, though. If you need a register plus a customer-facing display, Square Register is the best deal.
The Square Register comes programmed with Square Payments for processing. Currently, Square’s processing rates are:
- In-person: 2.6% + 10 cents
- Manually keyed: 3.5% + 15 cents
- Online: 2.9% + 30 cents
However, if you process more than $250,000 in credit card transactions annually, Square will custom-quote rates for you.
Square Register operates versions of all the Square POS suites. Current pricing for Square’s POS offerings is:
Square POS Subscription Costs
POS | Free | Plus | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
Square | $0 per month | $29+ per month | Custom-quoted |
Square for Retail | $0 per month | $89 per location, per month | Custom-quoted |
Square for Restaurants | $0 per month | $69+ per location, per month | $165+ per location, per month |
Square Appointments | $0 per month | $29 per location, per month | $69 per location, per month |
All Square POS suites have a free baseline subscription tier that is fully compatible with the Square Register. There are no long-term contracts for the software, so you can cancel or upgrade your Square POS account at any time. However, if you opted for the 24-month installment payment plan for the hardware, you will be locked into that. If you’re on the fence about Square’s paid POS plans, you can test drive any of them free for 30 days.
Square Register is compact and durable. The main display unit is 10 inches tall, 12.5 inches wide, and 5 inches deep, so it won’t overtake your countertop. The built-in customer-facing display can click into the main display stand to save room or rest on the countertop, separate from the main display to accommodate wider counters.
The customer-facing display must be tethered to the Register base to operate. Your Register comes with a 3-foot display cable, but you can purchase an extended 6.5-foot cable ($12) if you need more slack to accommodate self-service in a drive-thru or other configuration.
Square Register is primarily a register for processing transactions and payments. It comes equipped with built-in swipe, tap, and chip card readers to accept credit and debit cards, digital wallets, gift cards, and Cash App payments. The Register can also process tips and email or text digital receipts to customers.
It also tracks your sales information to feed Square’s excellent reporting tools and can act as an employee time clock to log your staff’s hours. All the data from your Square Register is retained in your online Square Dashboard, where you can easily manage employee permissions, detailed reporting, and add additional Square devices.
Square Register communicates with several third-party apps to expand your systems’ functionality. You can’t access these tools directly in the Square Register itself, but these tools can be managed centrally through your online Square Dashboard. These integrated apps include:
Square Register Supported Apps
Accounting & Tax Apps | Reporting | Restaurant Management | Team Management |
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Square Register comes with a 5-port connection hub for connecting peripheral devices via ethernet and USB. It cannot communicate via Bluetooth, so any peripheral accessories will need to be connected via this connection hub.
You can extend Square Register’s functionality by adding optional hardware. Accept cash payments with a USB cash drawer ($299), scan barcode labels with a barcode scanner ($119), or print paper receipts via a thermal receipt printer ($299). You can also sell items by weight with an integrated scale ($500).
Square Register is a compact, user-friendly countertop POS that gives small businesses the polish of much larger operations. While the $799 price tag is fairly high, the built-in customer-facing display and swipe, dip, and tap card readers justify the expense. We awarded Square Register extra points for its affiliated suite of feature-rich and affordable business tools.
Nearly every Square Register user review mentions how easy the POS is to use. Unlike an electronic cash register, you can program your Square Register quickly via your online Square dashboard. Most Square Register users say they can start processing payments in a couple of hours—another area for which we gave the hardware more points.
If you still prefer not to use a POS system, check out our top picks for the best cash registers for small businesses.
That said, Square has some opportunities to improve its customer support. Users with paid POS subscriptions and users who purchase a full Square Register Kit (including a receipt printer and cash drawer for $1,199) get 24/7 customer support. Free POS users and baseline Register users may only be able to access live customer support Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Time.
Here is a quick summary of what kind of support you can expect from Square:
- Square Support Center
- Square Seller Community
- Email (24 to 48 hours response time)
- Instant messaging (less than 5 minutes response time)
Many users find that they get better answers from the Square Seller Community—which consists of other small business owners—rather than directly from Square representatives. Overall, Square Register could have scored even higher if its customer support were more accessible and knowledgeable.
Methodology
The scores in this review reflect the criteria we use to rate card readers. We rate these tools on how they handle a slew of small business issues including cost, available functions, and user-friendliness. You can click through the tabs below for a full description of our process:
25% of Overall Score
We prioritized affordable devices that can be purchased along with payment processing services that don’t require long-term contracts and offer transparent, low-cost, pay-as-you-go transaction fees. We gave high marks for low (or even free) card readers and providers that offer interchange-plus transaction rates.
25% of Overall Score
We evaluated how the device is built, taking into consideration flexibility, compatibility, and mobility. Can the card reader be used in both a mobile and countertop setup? Is it compatible with popular operating systems? We also gave extra points for card readers with extra tools such as pin pads and displays.
25% of Overall Score
We gave high marks for card readers that offer offline transaction processing, accept a wide variety of payment types, and integrate POS tools such as inventory management and ecommerce. We also looked for seamless processing by researching user experience reviews for any issues when accepting payments.
15% of Overall Score
Setting up and using credit card readers should be easy. We awarded points to providers that offer automatic updates, round-the-clock support, and extensive online user guides for setting up and maintaining their devices.
10% of Overall Score
Finally, we evaluated each device’s overall performance to award points for any standout features, assessed the overall value each reader provides for the cost, read user and critic reviews, and considered our own personal experience operating card readers and interacting with each company’s customer support.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
These are some of the most common questions we get about Square Register.
It can process sales and payments (including contactless and Cash App payments), and act as your employee time clock. With additional peripherals, Square Register can scan barcode labels, accept cash payments, print paper receipts, communicate with a kitchen display system (KDS), or sell items by weight.
Square Register is incredibly user-friendly. Most Square Register user reviews—even the negative ones—mention this. Most users can get the register up and running within a couple of hours of unboxing it. You can program your products, manage employees, and more from your online Square POS dashboard, then sign into your Square account on the Square Register, and you’re good to go.
Square Register needs to connect to the internet via WiFi or ethernet to operate. But it doesn’t provide internet access like an iPad POS might. The Square Register only uses the Internet to send payment information, you cannot use the Internet connection on a Square Register to perform any other Internet function like checking email or running a third-party app.
Bottom Line
Square Register is an excellent countertop POS station for brick-and-mortar businesses that want contactless digital payments. With a built-in swipe, tap, and chip card readers and a customer-facing display, it easily supports cashless business right out of the box. However, you can easily extend the system’s capabilities by adding an optional USB cash drawer. This countertop register is built for the modern shopper who prizes contactless service and digital payments, and it gives small and growing businesses access to advanced tools for a reasonable price.