SumUp and Square let small businesses accept payments without a monthly software subscription. I recommend Square for most businesses that want payments, a point-of-sale (POS) system, and room to add more business tools. SumUp is worth considering if you mainly need straightforward card payments or invoices and want to keep processing costs down.
In my evaluation, Square earned 4.49 out of 5, compared with SumUp’s 3.59 out of 5. Square leads in all four scoring categories, but SumUp can still be cheaper for specific payment methods. Your sales channels, transaction count, and software needs should guide the decision.
- Square: Best for omnichannel payment processing and businesses that want payments and POS tools together
- SumUp: Best for straightforward card payments and lower entry-level in-person processing fees
Why you can trust my advice
I have more than seven years of experience evaluating payment processors, POS systems, ecommerce platforms, and retail software. My reviews look at the details that affect daily operations: how easily a business can start taking payments, what each payment method costs, how invoices and recurring billing work, hardware options, payout timing, accounting reconciliation, support, and user feedback.
For this comparison, I reviewed SumUp’s and Square’s published US pricing, product information, and support guidance alongside the Fit Small Business provider reviews. I applied our merchant services scoring criteria to compare costs, payment types, features, and overall value. My recommendations follow the Fit Small Business editorial policy.
- SumUp vs Square quick comparison
- When to use SumUp, Square, or an alternative
- When to use an alternative
- SumUp vs Square pricing and contract: Square wins
- SumUp vs Square payment types: Square wins
- SumUp vs Square features: Square wins
- SumUp vs Square expert score: Square wins
- Methodology: How I evaluated SumUp vs Square
- Bottom line
SumUp vs Square quick comparison
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| Overall score | 3.59 out of 5 | 4.49 out of 5 |
| Best for | Simple card payments and invoicing | Connected payments and POS tools |
| Starting monthly software fee | Starts at $0 | Starts at $0 |
| Paid software plans | POS Plus: $49/month; SumUp POS: from $99/month | Square Plus: $49/location/month; Square Premium: $149/location/month |
| Standard in-person processing | 2.6% + 10 cents | 2.6% + 15 cents on Square Free |
| Invoicing and automatic recurring charges | ✓ | ✓ |
| Chargeback Fees | $10 | Waived up to $250 per month |
| POS Monthly Fees | $199 | $0 |
| Entry-level chip/contactless reader | SumUp Plus: $54 | Square Reader: $59 |
| Deposit Speed | Free: Next day | Free: Next day Instant: 1.75% fee |
| Customer Service |
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| Visit provider |
When to use SumUp, Square, or an alternative
When to use SumUp
When to use Square
Both SumUp and Square are included in many of our guides:
- Best Credit Card Payment Apps
- Best Credit Card Readers for Small Businesses
- Best Mobile Credit Card Processors
When to use an alternative
Square and SumUp are similar in their pricing and features. If you are looking for something different, like interchange-plus pricing or more customizations, consider the alternatives below. For other options similar to Square, see our list of top Square alternatives.
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| Best for | Customized payment processing | Interchange-plus pricing with free POS | Occasional sales |
| Monthly fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Card-present transaction fee | 2.7% + 5 cents | Interchange plus 0.15%–0.4% + 6–8 cents | 2.29% + 9 cents |
| Keyed-in transaction fee | 3.4% + 30 cents | Interchange plus 0.15%–0.5% + 15–25 cents | 3.49% + 9 cents |
| Ecommerce transaction fee | 2.9% + 30 cents | Interchange plus 0.15%–0.5% + 15–25 cents | 2.99% + 49 cents |
| Visit Stripe | Visit Helcim | Visit PayPal |
Neither Square nor SumUp supports high-risk businesses. If you have a business in the high-risk category, consider our top option for high-risk merchant accounts, PaymentCloud. Read our full PaymentCloud review.
SumUp vs Square pricing and contract: Square wins
When comparing SumUp vs Square fees, start with the payment methods your customers actually use. Then add software subscriptions, hardware, and any services you need.
Monthly software fees
Both providers offer an entry option without a monthly software fee. Their paid tiers serve different needs, so compare the included tools before treating similarly priced plans as equivalent.
Software option | SumUp | Square |
|---|---|---|
| Entry option | $0/month | Square Free: $0/month |
| Midtier option | POS Plus: $49/month | Square Plus: $49/location/month |
| Higher-tier option | SumUp POS: from $99/month | Square Premium: $149/location/month |
Processing rates
For this Square vs SumUp fees comparison table below, I use SumUp’s published standard rates and Square Free’s current rates. Paid Square plans can have lower processing rates.
Payment method | SumUp | Square Free |
|---|---|---|
| In-person card payment | 2.6% + 10 cents | 2.6% + 15 cents |
| Customer pays an invoice online by card | 2.9% + 15 cents | 3.3% + 30 cents |
| Standard online payment, excluding the separate SumUp invoice rate above | 3.5% + 15 cents | 3.3% + 30 cents |
| Manually entered card payment | 3.5% + 15 cents | 3.5% + 15 cents |
Hardware and installation fees
A card reader is a separate purchase from the software subscription. For a basic chip and contactless setup, SumUp Plus costs $54, while Square Reader for contactless and chip costs $59. Check your phone’s compatibility before ordering.
SumUp vs Square: Card Reader Comparison
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SumUp Plus: $39
| Square Contactless and Chip Reader: $49
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What you would pay in common sales scenarios
These examples use the rates above. They exclude software, hardware, taxes, international-card surcharges, refunds, and other charges.
Monthly payment activity | SumUp processing cost | Square Free processing cost | Lower cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 in-person sales across 200 payments | $150 | $160 | SumUp by $10 |
| $5,000 paid through 20 online card invoices | $148 | $171 | SumUp by $23 |
| $5,000 in standard online sales across 100 payments | $190 | $195 | SumUp by $5 |
These are calculated examples, not provider quotes. A different average sale amount, payment mix, or software plan can change the result.
When SumUp is the better pricing choice
I would favor SumUp when its basic software covers the business’s needs, and the processing savings exceed any benefit from Square’s additional tools. For a merchant taking only in-person payments on the entry plans, the current difference is 5 cents per transaction.
For a business handling invoices, compare the exact collection method. A customer paying an invoice link is a different workflow from charging a saved card automatically.
SumUp vs Square payment types: Square wins
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| In-person selling | Requires a mobile card reader | Comes with free magstripe reader; Via Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android |
| Ecommerce | Through integrations and APIs and SDKs | Through Square Online and ecommerce integrations |
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Virtual Terminal | ✓ | ✓ |
| Payment links | ✓ | ✓ |
Invoicing and recurring payments
If you are choosing SumUp or Square for a service business, decide whether you need to send invoices or collect payments automatically. A recurring invoice asks a customer to pay on a schedule. Automatic collection charges an authorized saved payment method.
Square documents recurring invoice series and customer payment methods on file. That makes it the clearer recommendation for a business collecting regular service fees, retainers, or other repeat payments. Customer authorization is still required.
SumUp’s current invoicing page confirms invoice creation and payment collection, but it does not clearly establish the automatic recurring-charge setup. I would ask SumUp to demonstrate that exact workflow before choosing it for subscriptions or recurring service charges.
Online payments
If you would like to receive payments via your website or online store, SumUp offers limited integrations. It only lists WooCommerce, Wix, and PrestaShop as its ecommerce partner solutions on its website. If your website or online store does not use any of these three platforms, you will need to rely on higher-level developer skills to use SumUp’s APIs (application programming interfaces) and SDKs (software development kits).
Square, on the other hand, lets you build your own ecommerce website through its free Square Online platform. If you prefer to use a different ecommerce platform, Square can be easily integrated with some of the most popular ecommerce platforms such as WooCommerce, Wix, Magento, BigCommerce, WordPress, and Drupal Commerce. It also has developer APIs for integrating Square into custom-built websites.
SumUp vs Square features: Square wins
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| Deposit Speed | Standard: Next day No instant payout option | Instant Payout: 1.75% fee Standard: Next day |
| Chargeback Protection | ✕ | Covers chargeback fee for eligible transactions |
| Chargeback Fee | $10 (regardless of dispute result) | Waived up to $250 for eligible transactions |
| Fraud Prevention | Limited | ✓ |
| PCI Compliance | ✓ | ✓ |
| Customer Service |
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| Integrations | 8 | 26 |
| Buy Now Pay Later | Limited for those with SumUp Business Account | ✓ |
| International Support | Available in 38 countries; cross-border support within Europe | Available in 8 countries; no cross-border support |
Square has a significant lead over SumUp in this category. The only edge SumUp has over Square is its cross-border support. Although Square is available in eight countries, merchants cannot receive payments while in another country. Accepting international payments while in the home country where the Square account was opened is not a problem, but if you travel and need to accept payments while traveling, you cannot do it through Square. SumUp, on the other hand, is available in 38 countries and offers cross-border support within Europe.
Hardware and mobile checkout
Hardware detail | SumUp Plus | Square Reader for contactless and chip |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | $54 | $59 |
| Chip payments | Available | Available |
| Contactless cards and digital wallets | Available | Available |
| Swipe payments | Available | Requires a separate magstripe reader |
| Mobile setup | Reader used with a compatible mobile device and app | Reader used with a compatible mobile device and app |
The $5 reader price difference is small. I would choose based on the checkout workflow first: whether you need a phone-connected reader, a standalone device, printed receipts, or a countertop system.
Square also supports Tap to Pay on compatible iPhones and Android phones, allowing contactless acceptance without buying a separate reader. This can reduce the upfront cost for a business that already owns a suitable phone.
Business management tools and support
My Square comparison gives more weight to the tools a business uses repeatedly than to the number of features on a product page. Look at the tasks around a payment: updating inventory, checking sales, managing staff, following up with customers, and reconciling transactions.
Square’s higher subscores for management tools and free software support its recommendation for businesses that want to handle more of those tasks in one system. SumUp remains a reasonable choice when a simpler workflow meets the business’s needs.
Check support access against the plan you intend to buy. Square’s current pricing page lists different phone support access for Square Free, Square Plus, and Square Premium, including 24/7 phone support on Premium.
SumUp vs Square expert score: Square wins
Square is always a top provider in many of our guides, and it holds up its solid reputation in our Square vs SumUp comparison. It allows small businesses to start accepting payments without any fixed monthly costs, while providing cost-effective solutions for scaling up their operations.
SumUp still earned good scores, but didn’t quite hit the mark when it comes to easy and affordable business scalability and integrations. On the other hand, Square has consistently performed strongly in our assessments because of its small business-friendly pricing and features. Merchants that start with Square can feel confident that they can start with low-cost basic payment processing and have the support to scale up their business when needed.
It provides flexible POS software, a wide range of business management tools, cost-effective yet high-quality hardware, and versatile payment processing capabilities. No matter how your small business prefers to accept payments, Square offers a reliable all-in-one payment solution.
Methodology: How I evaluated SumUp vs Square
I used the same merchant services rubric for both providers, with four weighted categories totaling 100%. Square earned 4.49 out of 5 overall, while SumUp earned 3.59 out of 5:
- Pricing 25%: I compared contract requirements, monthly fees, transaction fees, percentage markups, cancellation fees, volume discounts, and chargeback fees. This category assesses the overall pricing arrangement rather than naming the cheapest provider for every payment.
- Payment Types 30%: I assessed card-present payments, mobile POS apps, ecommerce transactions, virtual terminals, ACH/echeck processing, stored payment methods, and invoicing or recurring billing. I also considered whether the workflow requires an additional fee or setup.
- Account Features 25%: I compared customer service hours, hardware purchasing options, deposit speed, business management tools, and free software. These factors affect how much work and expense a business takes on after it starts accepting payments.
- Expert Score 20%: I evaluated pricing transparency and affordability, ease of use, popularity and reputation, and integrations. These criteria help explain the overall recommendation alongside the specific cost and feature comparisons.
SumUp vs Square FAQs
Is SumUp or Square better?
Both SumUp and Square offer zero monthly payment processing and accept a wide range of payment types. The right provider for your business depends on your specific needs. SumUp’s advantage over Square is its cross-border support, cheaper basic mobile card reader, and slightly lower invoice payment processing fees. For all other aspects, Square provides a better alternative for small businesses.Is SumUp cheaper than Square?
Is SumUp cheaper than Square?
It can be. On the entry-level plans, SumUp’s standard in-person rate has a fixed charge that is 5 cents lower per transaction. SumUp also publishes a lower online card invoice rate than Square Free. Compare your payment mix and software requirements before choosing on price alone.
Can I use SumUp or Square for invoicing and recurring payments?
Both offer invoicing. Square documents recurring invoice series and authorized payment methods on file. For SumUp, confirm the automatic collection workflow before relying on it for recurring charges. Sending an invoice on a schedule does not necessarily mean the customer is charged automatically.
Can I accept payments without buying a card reader?
Square supports contactless payments through Tap to Pay on compatible iPhones and Android phones. Both providers also offer invoice payment options, which do not require an in-person card reader. Device, account, and payment-method requirements apply.
Is SumUp part of Square?
No, SumUp is not a part of Square. SumUp and Square are two separate companies that provide payment processing solutions and operate independently.
Bottom line
If you are deciding between Square or SumUp, I recommend Square when you want payments, POS, and more business tools in one system. Its higher scores make it the stronger overall choice in this comparison.
Choose SumUp when its simpler setup covers your needs and the processing savings make a measurable difference. Use your transaction count, payment methods, and required software to compare the total cost before signing up.
