Shopify vs Square: Which One Works Better for Your Business?

The Square vs Shopify discussion has been debated for decades. Both are incredibly popular eCommerce platforms, but choosing the best one for your business should be carefully considered. While they’re both quality options, the subtle differences matter.

Since Square acquired Weebly in 2018, the financial services and mobile payment company has launched a robust eCommerce division. Although it doesn’t yet compare to Shopify’s mammoth number of users, it is the fastest-growing eCommerce platform, with a 53% year-over-year increase in the fourth quarter of 2023.

In this comprehensive guide, we break down the pros and cons of each platform. We dissect features, payment options, and ease of use to help you make an informed decision between Shopify, Square, or a different alternative.

Shopify vs Square: A Quick Overview

Square’s eCommerce platform (Square Online) provides users with comprehensive tools to set up and run an online store. Square also provides payment processing, POS services, and a suite of business tools to manage online and brick-and-mortar outlets.

While Shopify also offers payment services, it specializes in eCommerce, providing users with an easy way to set up a digital store. Shopify supports all business sizes, providing a scalable solution for online sales. Its comprehensive ecosystem includes marketing, dropshipping, and customer engagement tools, making it a popular all-in-one online solution.

Pros and Cons of Square

Pros and Cons of Shopify

Square vs Shopify: A Detailed Look

Although Square and Shopify have many similarities, there are also key differences to consider. We compare the two e-commerce services side by side.

Shopify provides three scalable pricing tiers to accommodate your business growth and budget. All plans include unlimited product listings, analytics, gift cards, customer segmentation, and POS features for on-the-go transactions. You will need to purchase your own domain name at an additional cost, but hosting and SSL certificates are included in your monthly subscription.

Shopify eCommerce plans include the following:

The platform also offers an enterprise-level plan, Shopify Plus. The comprehensive solution costs $2,000 monthly and includes features like omnichannel commerce and B2B eCommerce functions.

Square offers three affordable eCommerce plans. One advantage is its free bottom-tier plan, which charges only for transactions. All plans include SSL certificates and hosting, Square POS synchronization, and the ability to sell on social media.

Here’s what you can expect from Square’s eCommerce offering on each tier:

Besides monthly subscription fees and add-ons, consider transaction processing fees before choosing a plan. These fees account for a significant part of your business expenses and can dig into profits if not strategically considered.

Shopify Processing Costs

Shopify Payments is Shopify’s in-house payment processor, accepting major credit and debit cards like Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, as well as mobile wallet options and buy now pay later (BNPL) services. While Shopify supports a variety of third-party payment gateways, using them comes with added fees of 0.5–2% per transaction, depending on your plan. Opting for Shopify Payments removes these extra charges, leaving you with only the standard transaction fees as follows:

Note that with Shopify Plus, transaction fees are customized according to sales volumes.

Square Processing Costs

Unlike Shopify, which allows you to use third-party payment processors, Square Online requires you to use Square as your payment service provider.

Square accepts most major credit cards, including PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Square Pay, and Cash App Pay. Additionally, you can facilitate installment payments through Afterpay. Square’s in-person payment processing fees are 2.6% + $0.10 across all plans. Online transaction fees are 2.9% + $0.30 on the Free and Plus plans and drop to 2.6% + $0.30 cents with the Premium plan.

Note that Square’s Afterpay fees are exorbitant: 6% + $0.30. You will also pay fees for gift cards when using the Square Invoicing feature.

Website design is critical for attracting and retaining customers, as well as for facilitating smooth transactions and keeping bounce rates low.

Shopify is well-known for its easy setup and appealing, professional templates explicitly designed with eCommerce in mind. Users can access various free and paid mobile-responsive and customizable themes. Shopify supports essential eCommerce display functions like product variations, complex catalogs, easy checkout, and straightforward navigation.

Square provides a selection of modern templates for many different types of businesses. All themes come preloaded with layouts, pages, and sections. While they can be customized to match your branding, design variations are not as extensive as Shopify’s; nevertheless, Square’s options are often more than sufficient for straightforward online stores.

Shopify was built from the ground up for eCommerce, whereas Square Online evolved from a POS and financial services foundation to include a website builder and eCommerce capabilities. Thus, Shopify naturally offers a broader range of eCommerce features—though both platforms offer key tools like abandoned cart recovery, inventory tracking, coupons, lead-capture forms, product reviews, and shipping.

Both platforms include most of the essential eCommerce features small and medium-sized businesses require as part of the monthly subscription plans. But if your business is growing and requires more specialized features, you might need some add-ons, which may come at an extra cost. These can include accounting tools, advanced marketing, drop shipping solutions, and customer loyalty programs.

Shopify offers thousands of add-ons and marketplace integrations, allowing users to expand store features significantly. Square offers some integrations but doesn’t come close to Shopify’s extensive range.

Shopify focuses on providing a seamless user experience, especially for eCommerce tasks. This is achieved through a well-thought-out navigational structure, a comprehensive onboarding process, and extensive documentation and support.

Square provides a straightforward, user-friendly interface with a minimalistic design emphasizing quick and easy access to features. The built-in step-by-step guide helps users set up their online store, and the process-oriented approach is aimed at helping business owners who may have little to no prior eCommerce experience.

Shopify might have a steeper learning curve due to its extensive features and customization options, which can overwhelm some users. However, it is still designed with accessibility in mind. With less complicated features, Square is easy to use, particularly for users who don’t want the hassle of managing an intricate website.

Both Square and Shopify provide built-in SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) security and are PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant. These security measures ensure encryption of sensitive data such as login and credit card details.

Square Online is slightly ahead regarding site performance speed. We match the platforms fairly evenly to maintain high security for your business and your customers.

Square and Shopify offer all the basic SEO and email marketing tools that small to medium businesses may require. However, to access maximum marketing benefits, you might need to be on a paid or higher-tier plan.

Some standard SEO features include customizable title tags, meta descriptions, product information, Google Analytics, and mobile optimization. Although both platforms offer built-in email marketing features and social media integrations, Shopify has a more extensive range of integrations for expanding marketing and social media reach. Shopify can scale well with your business if you’re a large or growing brand.

Square and Shopify each have pros and cons regarding customer support. Shopify offers email and live chat support and a 24-hour phone service. However, if you have trouble with a third-party app integration, you will need to contact the app creator directly, and Shopify staff will most likely not be able to assist.

While Square’s phone support is limited to business hours, it offers email, live chat, and social media assistance. Square is known for its knowledgeable and efficient support team.

Whether you need something simple to sell goods at a weekend market or have multiple retail stores, Shopify and Square offer various POS options to facilitate in-person payments with debit or credit cards and selected mobile wallets.

Shopify and Square offer free and paid options that seamlessly integrate online and offline sales channels. However, they each have distinct strengths and serve different business operations.

Square’s POS system is exceptionally accessible and user-friendly, making it a popular choice among small—to medium-sized businesses and individuals looking for a cost-effective way to process transactions.

Square offers various hardware devices, from simple magstripe readers to fully-fledged Square Register systems. The company provides comprehensive features for retailers, restaurants, and service businesses.

Retailers can streamline their operations with multi-location inventory tracking, barcode printing, vendor management, payroll, purchase orders, and cost of goods sold (COGS) reporting.

Restaurants will find value in tools for table and menu item organization, seamless delivery and takeout options, customer count reports, kitchen efficiency analytics, staff management, and automatic tipping calculation.

For businesses that handle appointments, Square’s POS includes functionalities for scheduling, invoicing, sending automated reminders, setting up repeat bookings, and managing employees and venues.

Squares POS system also operates offline, ensuring sales can continue during internet outages. Its flexibility and lack of monthly fees for essential POS services make it particularly appealing for new and small businesses.

Shopify’s POS system is designed to extend the reach of its robust eCommerce platform into the physical retail space. It provides a unified system that is particularly suitable for businesses that have a solid online presence.

Shopify POS excels in features that align with an online store’s needs, such as multi-channel selling, comprehensive analytics, and inventory management. The platform also offers a selection of proprietary POS hardware that integrates with its online store, though the offerings are less diverse than Square. Shopify POS Lite is included in all plans, allowing merchants to accept in-person payments using a mobile app.

Square vs Shopify: Which Is Better for Your Business?

The better solution between Square and Shopify will depend on your business type, size, and the management features you need.

Square and Shopify provide user-friendly solutions for small businesses with relatively fast setup. Square is a good option for those who want a simple online store combined with strong in-person selling capabilities; Shopify, on the other hand, is ideal for businesses with a primary focus on online retail. It’s geared towards businesses looking to grow and scale their online operations in the long run.

Shopify provides selling tools, customization options, and app integrations to enhance functionality—all vital for eCommerce businesses poised for expansion. Additionally, it has powerful analytics and marketing tools to reach a broader audience.

Square can effectively serve middle-market businesses with both online and physical storefronts, but it might fall short for those whose operations are heavily skewed toward advanced online needs. However, since Square caters uniquely to service businesses and restaurants, merchants in that space may find that the service meets their needs.

Ultimately, the best choice will depend on your business needs and the types of products or services you provide.

Shopify Plus—the enterprise level of Shopify—offers a powerful, scalable, and customizable eCommerce platform tailored to large-scale businesses. It supports international sales, offers advanced analytics, and can handle high-volume online transactions. While suitable for small and medium ventures, Square doesn’t match Shopify Plus’s extensive integration capabilities required to manage complex operations and multichannel marketing strategies.

Boost Your eCommerce Efforts With the Right Payment Processor

When deciding between Square and Shopify, consider your business size, future goals, and ongoing needs. Square is ideal for those looking for a cost-effective solution for a quick setup. At the same time, Shopify excels in eCommerce functionality with a range of advanced features suitable for businesses anticipating growth. No matter which you choose, there’s one important element you can’t ignore.

A vital part of running a successful multi-channel business is providing your customers with convenient payment options. This can play an integral part in establishing your brand as a preferred online outlet and building customer trust.

PaymentCloud provides tailored eCommerce payment processing solutions for businesses of all sizes, ensuring transaction fees don’t erode your profits. We offer a secure, PCI-compliant gateway, seamless cart integration, and quick transactions. PaymentCloud also supports high-risk industries and offers top-of-the-line fraud and chargeback safeguards.

Whether you’re a completely new business, or a seasoned veteran looking to sharpen your knowledge about eCommerce, we’re here to help.

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