RetailPOS vs Square
Last reviewed 2026-08-13 · by the RetailPOS team
Square and RetailPOS solve the same job — take a payment, track stock, report the day — but bet differently on pricing. Square bundles processing into a fixed per-transaction cut and gives the software away cheap; RetailPOS charges a flat monthly fee per shop and lets you bring your own processor. Which is cheaper depends entirely on your volume. Here is the honest breakdown.
At a glance
| RetailPOS | Square | |
|---|---|---|
| Software pricing | $29–69/shop/month, flat | Free plan; Plus ~$60/mo/location |
| Card processing | Bring your own (e.g. Stripe) | Square Payments, ~2.6% + 10¢ in person |
| First-party hardware | No — use tablets/printers you own | Yes — readers, Register, Terminal |
| Feature model | All features on every plan | Core free; some behind Plus/add-ons |
| Multi-store | Standard on every plan | Higher tier for full multi-location reporting |
| Works offline | Yes | Limited (card capture only) |
| Lending / capital | No | Yes — Square Capital |
| Tamper-evident audit trail | Yes — hash-chained | No |
Where Square wins
Zero cost to start.Square's free plan plus a cheap reader gets you selling for almost nothing. RetailPOS is free until your first 100 sales, then a monthly fee — Square stays free indefinitely at the base tier.
First-party hardware and instant setup.Square's readers, Terminal and Register are polished, pair in minutes, and payments work out of the box. RetailPOS has no hardware of its own — you supply the tablet and printer and connect a processor, which is a bit more setup.
The ecosystem. Instant deposits, Square Capital lending, payroll, marketing and a large app marketplace are all one login away. RetailPOS deliberately does none of these — no lending, no payroll.
Very small / mobile sellers.If you do a low volume or sell at markets, Square's pay-as-you-go model with no monthly fee is hard to beat.
Where RetailPOS wins
Processing cost at volume. A fixed ~2.6% + 10¢ on every sale compounds. Bring-your-own processing lets you negotiate a rate against your real volume, and the RetailPOS software fee is flat whether you do $5k or $500k a month.
Every feature on every plan. Recipe/ingredient inventory, multi-store reporting and loyalty are included, not tiered. On Square several of these sit on Plus or paid add-ons.
Multi-store and offline as standard. Full cross-location stock and reporting ship on the base plan, and the register keeps ringing sales fully offline, not just capturing cards to settle later.
Compliance and auditability.Tamper-evident, hash-chained receipts and regional e-invoicing (FBR in Pakistan, GST in India, FIRS in Nigeria, KRA eTIMS in Kenya) are built in — relevant if you operate where that's mandated.
The honest cost trade-off
There is no universal winner on price. Below roughly $10–15k/month in card sales per location, Square's free software usually nets out cheaper even with its processing cut. Above that, the flat RetailPOS fee plus a negotiated processing rate typically wins, and the gap widens as you grow. Do the arithmetic on your own volume before switching either way — the bring-your-own vs bundled processing guide walks through the break-even.
Who should pick which
Pick Square if you want the lowest possible cost to start, value first-party hardware and instant payment setup, might use lending or payroll, or run a single low-volume or mobile location.
Pick RetailPOS if the processing percentage is adding up, you want to own your hardware and choose your processor, you run (or plan to run) more than one location, or you need offline resilience and compliance-grade audit trails.
If you decide to move, the Square migration guide covers exporting items, inventory and customers and reconciling stock before go-live.
Frequently asked
- Is RetailPOS cheaper than Square?
- It depends on volume. Square's free software plus its ~2.6% + 10¢ processing is usually cheaper for low-volume single locations; RetailPOS's flat per-shop fee plus a negotiated processing rate usually wins at higher volume and across multiple stores. Model your own numbers before switching.
- Can I keep my Square hardware with RetailPOS?
- Some of it. RetailPOS runs on standard tablets and receipt printers you own; Square-locked card readers are tied to Square Payments and won't carry over. General-purpose peripherals (printers, cash drawers, barcode scanners) usually do.
- Does RetailPOS have its own card reader?
- No. RetailPOS is bring-your-own-processor by design, so you choose a provider (e.g. Stripe) and its hardware rather than being tied to a single first-party reader. That's the trade-off for negotiable rates.
- Does Square do multi-store better?
- Square handles multiple locations but gates full cross-location inventory and reporting behind higher tiers. On RetailPOS multi-store is standard on every plan.
Open your shop in 30 seconds.
No card. Free until your first 100 sales. No cut of your sales; keep your hardware.