Stripe and Square address overlapping problems with completely different defaults: Stripe is online-first with one published rate, Square is in-person-first with channel-specific rates and a free plan. The answer to which is cheaper depends almost entirely on whether the merchant is primarily card-present or card-not-present.
2.9% + $0.30 online card.
Stripe Terminal: 2.7% + $0.05 in-person.
$15 chargeback (two-tier from 17 Jun 2025).
ACH 0.8% capped at $5.
2.6% + $0.15 in-person Free, 2.4% + $0.15 in-person Premium.
Online: 3.3% + $0.30 Free, 2.9% + $0.30 Plus/Premium.
Keyed: 3.5% + $0.15 regardless of plan.
$0 chargeback fee.
Illustrative example, not a real company. $48K in-person, $32K online, $50 average ticket, 1,600 in-person and 640 online transactions.
On this 60/40 in-person/online mix, Stripe is roughly $240/month cheaper than Square Free, driven by the lower online rate. Reverse the mix to 80/20 in-person and Square Free pulls ahead because its in-person rate is lower and the $0.15 fixed fee is offset by lower transaction count online.
| Feature | Stripe | Square |
|---|---|---|
| Published online card rate | Yes | Yes |
| Published in-person rate | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan with no monthly fee | Yes | Yes |
| Subscription tiers cut card rate | No | Yes |
| Native invoice ACH | Yes | Yes |
| Native developer SDKs at scale | Yes | Partial |
| $0 chargeback fee | No | Yes |
| Owns hardware stack | Partial | Yes |