Software comparison

PayPal vs Square

Square and PayPal both offer competing small-business payment processing, POS, and checkout products.

Direct competitorRelationship source ↗Verified September 25, 2026

Selection guide

Square vs PayPal: choose around how customers pay

Editorial review · October 15, 2026

Square and PayPal evaluation checklist
Decision	Square	PayPal
Main checkout	Test Square's counter or mobile payment workflow.	Test PayPal's checkout or hosted payment link.
Cost model	Include processing rates plus hardware and any software plan.	Include the rates for the specific PayPal payment product and market.
Bookkeeping	Verify sales and fee exports against deposits.	Verify transaction and fee exports against deposits.
Before switching	Trial devices and staff workflows.	Trial the customer checkout and order matching.

Start with your main sales channel

Square offers payments across in-person and online workflows. PayPal offers online checkout and hosted payment links, among other business payment products. Begin with the channel responsible for most of your sales, then test the exact product you would deploy. A shop counter, a service invoice, and a checkout on an existing website have different requirements; neither brand name alone decides the better fit.

When should you evaluate Square first?

Start a Square trial when the counter or mobile checkout is the center of your workflow. Test the actual reader or terminal, staff access, receipts, refunds, and the movement of sales into bookkeeping. If inventory or multiple locations matter, include those requirements in the plan comparison. Confirm device compatibility, regional availability, and what happens during a connectivity failure before buying hardware.

When should you evaluate PayPal first?

Start with PayPal when you are evaluating a PayPal checkout option for an existing site or want to collect payment through a hosted link. Its payment links let customers open a checkout page without your building a separate store. Test the enabled payment methods, the customer experience, and how the transaction is matched to an order or invoice. Availability and fees depend on the payment product and market.

Compare the same transaction mix

Build a sample month with your expected card-present, online, manually entered, and international transactions. For each provider, calculate percentage fees plus per-transaction fees, then add subscriptions, hardware, currency conversion, and any other applicable charges. A fixed fee matters more on many small tickets than on a few large invoices. Use the current regional fee schedules rather than comparing one headline rate against a different transaction type.

Walk through refunds, payouts, and bookkeeping

Before switching, run a permitted test transaction through payment, payout, reconciliation, and refund. Check payout timing, refund-related costs, dispute handling, and the reports your bookkeeper needs. If you keep both providers, record why each exists and how duplicate orders or invoices are prevented. The useful result is a payment stack you can operate reliably, with a clear owner for every transaction.

Sources and further reading

Vendor documentation supports product details; the evaluation checklist is MapMyApps editorial guidance. Pricing and availability can change.

PayPal

PayPal Holdings, Inc.

Online payment processing platform enabling businesses to accept card, wallet, and bank payments.

Categories: Payments
Published pricing: Subscription and transaction fees vary
Community rating: Not rated yet
Member stacks: 0

Current official plans

PayPal Payments Advanced$5/mo

Payments Advanced add-on monthly fee ($5/month) in addition to per-transaction processing rates.

Plan verified September 25, 2026 · Vendor source ↗

PayPal Payments Pro$30/mo

Payments Pro add-on monthly fee ($30/month) in addition to per-transaction processing rates.

Plan verified September 25, 2026 · Vendor source ↗

PayPal Checkout (standard)From $0.49/transaction/usage

Formula: 3.49% + $0.49 USD flat fee per domestic online transaction via PayPal Checkout/guest checkout. amount_cents holds only the flat fee component.

Plan verified September 25, 2026 · Vendor source ↗

PayPal standard card processingFrom $0.49/transaction/usage

Formula: 2.99% + $0.49 USD flat fee per domestic transaction for standard credit/debit card payments (non-PayPal-Checkout). International transactions add 1.5%.

Plan verified September 25, 2026 · Vendor source ↗

Square

Block, Inc.

Point-of-sale, online, and in-person payment processing platform for small and medium businesses.

Categories: Payments
Published pricing: Subscription and transaction fees vary
Community rating: Not rated yet
Member stacks: 0

Current official plans

Square Plus - software fee$49/mo

Square Plus software subscription fee, billed per location, in addition to per-transaction processing rates.

Plan verified September 25, 2026 · Vendor source ↗

Square Premium - software fee$149/mo

Square Premium software subscription fee, billed per location, in addition to per-transaction processing rates.

Plan verified September 25, 2026 · Vendor source ↗

Square (Free plan) - in-personFrom $0.15/transaction/usage

Formula: 2.6% + 15 cents per in-person (tap/dip/swipe) card transaction. amount_cents holds only the flat 15-cent component; the 2.6% component is not separately representable.

Plan verified September 25, 2026 · Vendor source ↗

Square (Free plan) - online/keyedFrom $0.3/transaction/usage

Formula: 3.3% + 30 cents per online or manually keyed card transaction. amount_cents holds only the flat 30-cent component.

Plan verified September 25, 2026 · Vendor source ↗

Square Plus - in-personFrom $0.15/transaction/usage

Formula: 2.5% + 15 cents per in-person transaction. Requires Square Plus monthly software fee (see separate row).

Plan verified September 25, 2026 · Vendor source ↗

Shared ecosystem

Products that integrate with both

QuickBooks

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