Square Alternatives (2026): 8 Additional Options for POS and Payments

What it does better than Square

Clover offers sleek, configurable POS hardware and an app marketplace that extends functionality for retail, restaurants, and services. It is more customizable at the counter than Square's fixed lineup. You can choose processors in some cases.

Where Square still wins

Clover often involves a processor or merchant-account relationship and monthly software fees, making pricing less transparent than Square's flat model, and reviews average lower.

What it does better than Square

Toast is purpose-built for food service with kitchen display systems, online ordering, tableside devices, and restaurant-grade reliability. It handles restaurant workflows far better than Square's general POS. Hardware is designed for busy kitchens.

Where Square still wins

Toast is restaurant-only and involves monthly software fees and contracts, so it is overkill and pricier for non-restaurants.

What it does better than Square

Stax charges a flat monthly membership with 0% markup on interchange, so high-volume merchants pay less per transaction than Square's flat percentage. Savings grow as your volume rises. It bundles processing, invoicing, and reporting.

Where Square still wins

Its $99/mo membership only pays off above a certain volume, and it is less turnkey than Square for tiny sellers.

What it does better than Square

Stripe gives online businesses a programmable, feature-rich payments platform with global reach and deep billing tools. For e-commerce and software it is far more flexible than Square's payments. APIs allow fully custom checkout.

Where Square still wins

Stripe's in-person POS and hardware are weaker than Square's, and it assumes developer resources to use fully.

What it does better than Square

PayPal offers instantly recognized online checkout with easy setup and no developer, plus invoicing and buyer protection. Shoppers trust it, which can lift conversion. It is simple to add alongside other methods.

Where Square still wins

PayPal is not a POS system, and its in-person options are limited compared with Square's hardware and register.

What it does better than Square

Shopify Payments is built into Shopify with no third-party gateway and no extra Shopify transaction fee, ideal if your store lives there. It also supports in-person sales via Shopify POS. Reconciliation is seamless with your store.

Where Square still wins

It is tied to the Shopify ecosystem and less suited to businesses not selling through Shopify.

What it does better than Square

SumUp offers very low-cost mobile card readers and pay-as-you-go pricing with no monthly fee, perfect for market stalls, tradespeople, and pop-ups. Hardware is cheap and setup is quick. It is leaner and often cheaper than Square for occasional selling.

Where Square still wins

It lacks Square's deeper POS, inventory, and ecosystem features for growing storefronts.

What it does better than Square

Helcim uses interchange-plus pricing with no monthly, setup, or PCI fees, and automatic volume discounts that lower your rate as you grow, typically cheaper than Square's flat rate above a few thousand dollars a month. Pricing is fully transparent. It includes invoicing and a virtual terminal.

Where Square still wins

Helcim's hardware and turnkey POS ecosystem are narrower than Square's, and the savings mainly help once you have steady volume.