Square Fee Calculator

Risk. A card physically tapped or dipped is hardest to fake, so it earns the lowest rate (about 2.6% + $0.15). Online checkout and invoices carry more fraud risk at 2.9% + $0.30, and manually keyed numbers are riskiest at 3.5% + $0.15. If staff routinely key in cards when the reader "acts up," you are paying nearly a point extra for it.

Not for the core processing account: no monthly fee, no minimum, and no PCI or statement fees. You pay per transaction only. Paid add-ons exist (Square Online paid tiers, Appointments plans, custom pricing hardware), and Instant Transfers cost extra versus free next-business-day deposits. For low-volume sellers, the zero fixed cost is the main draw versus a merchant account.

Standard deposits are free: Square sends your balance to your bank the next business day at no charge beyond the processing fee already taken from each sale. The extra fee appears only when you rush it: instant transfers cost an additional percentage of the amount (around 1.75%) to move money to a linked debit card in minutes. If cash flow allows the one-day wait, skip the instant rate; on $2,000 of weekly volume that is roughly $35 a week saved.

For online cards the list rates are nearly identical: Square and Stripe both 2.9% + $0.30, PayPal higher at 3.49% + $0.49 for invoices and checkout. The real differences are elsewhere: Square wins in person with the 2.6% + $0.15 rate and free POS software; Stripe wins for developer checkout and ACH; PayPal wins where buyers insist on it.

Yes. Square restructured its fee schedule in 2025–2026 and rates vary by product (Invoices, Online, Terminal, keyed). The defaults here are the typical online rate; both fields are editable so you can model your actual channel. Check the current rate table in your Square Dashboard before quoting margins on a new sales channel.