A Square vs. Clover comparison
Looking for the best all-in-one POS system? Square offers easy-to-use tools to reach your customers and run your business - in person, online, and everywhere in between.
Four things you can count on with Square.
Each comprehensive POS system comes with fundamental features that are valuable to any type of business.
Why businesses choose Square over Clover
When comparing Square with Clover, many people are drawn to the flexibility and affordability of Square software and hardware, along with the seamless integrations that support all aspects of your business.
Peace of mind
Square is the merchant of record. This means we manage payment processing, chargebacks, and PCI compliance (without charging you hefty compliance fees). We even offer offline mode, so you can continue to take payments when your internet is temporarily unavailable.
Unique solutions
If you need a point of sale for your retail store, quick-service restaurant, or on-the-go jobs, Square offers a variety of POS systems that will best support you and your unique business needs.
Add-on tools
Your POS can do so much more than take payments. The Square end-to-end solution seamlessly integrates with a rich ecosystem of tools to help you run and grow your business. Manage and pay your team, offer gift cards and loyalty programs, and send email marketing campaigns to your customers — all from one central POS.
Meet our POS solutions.
See how Square compares with Clover.
The satisfaction ratings below are based on Square and Clover user reviews collected for the POS category in March 2022 by G2 Grid® Reports.
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 |
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|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 95% | 88% |
| Ease of Setup | 94% | 81% |
| Hardware Integration | 92% | 79% |
| Quality of Support | 87% | 71% |
| Accounting Integrations | 93% | 85% |
| Sales Tracking | 83% | 76% |
Our customers love us on Trustpilot
“An exceptional solution”
“Square has been an exceptional solution for our company. We use Square to accept payments for our Auction & Retail business. We sell secondary market goods (used) and wanted something easy, mobile and quick. Security is a major concern for both us and our clients. We needed something that was easy to train staff to use. Our sales may all come on event days so being able to use the system as needed has been a big plus. Square solved a problem and didn’t ask for a 3 year contract we didn’t need. Thanks for being our partner and offering us support at every turn”
“Square helps us stay organized”
“Very Happy with Square for Restaurants. Rolled off old POS with ease. Menu Entry VERY user friendly. They are making improvements with updates in a timely manner. Time clock is a great labor cost right up front where it should be. Changes update immediately. No credit card info stored on site…Big liability gone !! Square processes all my credit cards at a GREAT rate and deposit next business day in most cases. Support 24/7 and very reasonable software rates. I would recommend Square for Restaurants !!”
“It’s all built into one system”
“We are loving the simplicity of square, yet are appreciating all of the various tools it has to offer to meet various needs. We are using it not only as a POS, but also for employee time tracking, payroll, and now for online ordering and delivery for our small restaurant. We get help quickly when we need it, from a real person. And we don’t pay big monthly fees for any of this. We pay a very reasonable monthly fee to run payroll, which is about the best deal on the market that I’ve found, and the rest is fee-free. We just pay card processing fees. A little higher than we could get from a different POS< but overall, the monthly cost is less because those other providers are charging monthly fees. And the beauty is that it’s all built into one system”
“It has a lot of options”
“Square POS is an excellent App for Apple devices. Set up is relatively easy and straight forward. It has a lot of options from item setup to payment processing to payment settlement. For us nerds, the Desktop version is best for detailed reporting and downloading of detailed reports”
“Order/shipping process so much easier”
“I absolutely love Square and it’s made my order/shipping process so much easier. I love that I can edit and sync my items for online sales within minutes then post it to Instagram with a checkout link.”
Create your free account today.
Set up your POS system now and start selling in minutes.
Hardware for selling anywhere.
We design and build our hardware in-house, so it all works together seamlessly.
A powerful, portable point of sale lets you take orders and payments, manage inventory, and more — anywhere.
$399 or $37/mo over 12 months*
Take payments, print receipts and run your business with a compact, countertop payment terminal.
$299 or $27/mo over 12 months*
Square Reader for contactless and chip
Take contactless payments anywhere with a card reader that pairs directly with your device.
$59
Accept payments anywhere using this magnetic stripe reader for swiping credit cards anywhere on your smartphone or tablet
First reader free¹
Turn your iPad into a point of sale with integrated contactless and chip payments - no readers required.
$149 or $14/mo over 12 months*
Get an all-in-one POS register with a dedicated customer display that lets you start selling right out of the box.
$799 or $39/mo over 24 months*
Frequently Asked Questions
(by people thinking about switching from Clover to Square)
Yes. You can sign up for free, migrate your item library and customer information with the Square CSV import tool, and easily link to existing third-party software, like QuickBooks.
There is not a Square/Clover integration, but it’s simple to switch your POS system and eCommerce platform from Clover to Square.
Pricing for Square and Clover POS systems depends on what hardware and software you want to include in your setup.
Square offers a variety of hardware devices, from Square Register to power your countertop (available for $799), to Square Stand for an iPad-based POS system (available for $149). Plus, our hardware is compatible with the accessories you need, like printers and cash drawers. You can compare different Square hardware options here to determine which is best for you.
Comparable Clover hardware ranges from $849 for the Clover Mini to $1,899 for the Clover Duo.*
Here is Square’s pricing:
Square Free: Includes free Retail POS system, online store, unlimited items and variations, low stock alerts, and more. Free to use, only pay when you take a payment.
Processing fees
Tap, dip, or swipe
2.6% + 15¢Online
3.3% + 30¢Square Plus: Available for $49 per location per month, with advanced retail features like inventory management and stock intake, vendor and purchase order management.
Processing fees
Tap, dip, or swipe
2.5% + 15¢Online
2.9% + 30¢Square Premium: Available for $149 per location per month. Get the best of the best, including cross-location returns and fulfillment, transfer orders, and 24/7 phone support.
Processing fees Tap, dip, or swipe
2.4% + 15¢Online
2.9% + 30¢Here’s a breakdown of Clover’s comparable retail software plans:*
Starter: $0 monthly plan, which offers basic POS functionality, but does not offer itemized orders, inventory management, or sales and tax reporting.
Standard: $84.95 monthly plan, with cost tracking, exchanges, returns, inventory management, and employee tracking.
*This rate comparison is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guarantee of any specific amount of savings. Clover pricing information was last updated on 6/01/25. All rates are subject to change and will be updated on an ongoing basis.
With Square, what you see is what you get — no long-term contracts, no hidden fees, and the flexibility to opt out at any time.
Square offers a variety of different hardware devices, from Square Register to power your countertop (available for $799), to Square Stand for an iPad-based POS system (available for $149), and many more. Plus, our hardware is compatible with the accessories you need, like printers and cash drawers. You can compare different Square hardware options here to determine which is best for you.
Comparable Clover hardware ranges from $849 for the Clover Mini to $1,899 for the Clover Station Duo.*
Here is Square’s pricing:
Square Free: Includes all the essentials you need to run daily restaurant operations, including table management, pickup and local delivery, and a branded online ordering page. Free to use, only pay when you take a payment.
Square Plus: Available starting at $49 per month per location, and offers advanced restaurant features like integrated inventory tracking and close of day reports, unlimited team management, and more.
Square Premium: Get the best of the best, including coursing and seat management, with 24/7 support. $149 per month per location.
Here’s a breakdown of Clover’s comparable restaurant software plans for Quick Service restaurants*:
Starter plan: $89.95 monthly plan compared to Square Free
Standard plan: $89.95 monthly plan, with additional features like customer tracking, promotions, loyalty programs, and gift cards when you opt for the Station Duo POS (device sold separately)Here’s a breakdown of Clover’s comparable restaurant software plans for Full Service restaurants*:
Starter plan: $89.95 monthly plan compared to Square Free
Standard plan: $109.90 monthly plan, same as Starter plan with handheld POS (device sold separately)Food and beverage features are included in any Square plan. Square Free, Square Plus, and Square Premium are currently compatible with iPad, iPhone, Square Reader, Square Stand, Square Register, Square Terminal, and Square Handheld. Square Register is our fully-integrated countertop point-of-sale solution. It includes a customer-facing display with no additional tablets or terminals needed. With Square Stand, you can turn any iPad into a full POS setup with a connected cash drawer or receipt printer.
With Square Terminal or Square Handheld, it’s easy take tableside orders and payments, empowering your servers to drive more sales without creating traffic jams around the countertop POS.
Square Register is available for $799 and includes an integrated customer-facing display (payment processing fee is 2.6% + 15¢ per tap dip, or swipe taken). By comparison, the Clover Station Duo* is available for $1,799 (payment processing fee is 2.3% + 10¢ per tap, dip, or swipe taken).
Square Stand is available for $149 (payment processing is 2.6% + 15¢ per tap dip, or swipe taken). By comparison, a Clover Mini* is available for $799 (payment processing fee is 2.3% - 2.6% + 10¢).
Square Reader costs $49 when purchased separately (payment processing is 2.6% + 15¢ per tap dip, or swipe taken). By comparison, a Clover Go* costs $199 (payment processing fee is 2.6% + 10¢).
Square Terminal costs $299 (payment processing is 2.6% + 15¢ per tap dip, or swipe taken). By comparison a Clover Flex* costs $649 (payment processing fee is 2.3% + 10¢).
Lower processing rates for tap, dip, or swipe payments are available with Square Plus and Square Premium plans.
*This hardware pricing comparison is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guarantee of any specific amount of savings. Clover pricing information was last updated on 3/28/22. All prices are subject to change and will be updated on an ongoing basis.
Yes. Square’s inventory management system automatically syncs sales across all your channels—in store, online, and social platforms like TikTok. You can set up low stock alerts to ensure you never miss a sale due to inventory shortages.
For more comprehensive needs, Square Plus includes advanced inventory features such as inventory counting tools, purchase order management, smart stock forecasting, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) tracking, vendor management, and barcode generation. Learn more about Square’s retail solutions.
Absolutely. Square is much more than the little white card reader. We’ve been a champion of small businesses from the start, and our suite of feature-rich add-ons lets you pick and choose tools to suit the size of your business. Manage teams, take payments in the field or at pop-ups, and sell online through Square Online. Sell in person safely with curbside pickup or delivery, and get paid with invoices — or even over the phone — so you can manage your business with ease and reach your customers everywhere.
You bet. Square lets you set up and sync your online store in no time. You can also sell gift cards online, and through social media with just a few taps.
Yes! Square App Marketplace lets you find third-party apps that you may already use and depend on. From accounting apps and eCommerce solutions to inventory and employee management, Square works with apps that can help with whatever your business needs. Check it out here.
¹Offer is limited to one redemption per Square account holder.
* All credit sale plans are issued by Square, Inc. Not available to merchants in AL, DE, MS, MO, NH, and TN. Purchase amounts must be from $49 to $10,000. APR is 15%. Available plan lengths vary from 3, 6, 12, and/or 24 months installments depending on purchase amount. Sales tax, where applicable, will be due at checkout. All plans subject to credit approval and other factors.