A Square vs. Clover comparison
Looking for the best all-in-one POS system? Square offers easy-to-use tools to reach your customers and run your business - in person, online, and everywhere in between.
Four things you can count on with Square.
Each comprehensive POS system comes with fundamental features that are valuable to any type of business.
Why businesses choose Square over Clover
When comparing Square with Clover, many people are drawn to the flexibility and affordability of Square software and hardware, along with the seamless integrations that support all aspects of your business.
Peace of mind
Square is the merchant of record. This means we manage payment processing, chargebacks, and PCI compliance (without charging you hefty compliance fees). We even offer offline mode, so you can continue to take payments when your internet is temporarily unavailable.
Unique solutions
If you need a point of sale for your retail store, quick-service restaurant, or on-the-go jobs, Square offers a variety of POS systems that will best support you and your unique business needs.
Add-on tools
Your POS can do so much more than take payments. The Square end-to-end solution seamlessly integrates with a rich ecosystem of tools to help you run and grow your business. Manage and pay your team, offer gift cards and loyalty programs, and send email marketing campaigns to your customers — all from one central POS.
Meet our POS solutions.
See how Square compares with Clover.
The satisfaction ratings below are based on Square and Clover user reviews collected for the POS category in March 2022 by G2 Grid® Reports.
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 |
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|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 95% | 88% |
| Ease of Setup | 94% | 81% |
| Hardware Integration | 92% | 79% |
| Quality of Support | 87% | 71% |
| Accounting Integrations | 93% | 85% |
| Sales Tracking | 83% | 76% |
Our customers love us on Trustpilot
“An exceptional solution”
“Square has been an exceptional solution for our company. We use Square to accept payments for our Auction & Retail business. We sell secondary market goods (used) and wanted something easy, mobile and quick. Security is a major concern for both us and our clients. We needed something that was easy to train staff to use. Our sales may all come on event days so being able to use the system as needed has been a big plus. Square solved a problem and didn’t ask for a 3 year contract we didn’t need. Thanks for being our partner and offering us support at every turn”
“Square helps us stay organized”
“Very Happy with Square for Restaurants. Rolled off old POS with ease. Menu Entry VERY user friendly. They are making improvements with updates in a timely manner. Time clock is a great labor cost right up front where it should be. Changes update immediately. No credit card info stored on site…Big liability gone !! Square processes all my credit cards at a GREAT rate and deposit next business day in most cases. Support 24/7 and very reasonable software rates. I would recommend Square for Restaurants !!”
“It’s all built into one system”
“We are loving the simplicity of square, yet are appreciating all of the various tools it has to offer to meet various needs. We are using it not only as a POS, but also for employee time tracking, payroll, and now for online ordering and delivery for our small restaurant. We get help quickly when we need it, from a real person. And we don’t pay big monthly fees for any of this. We pay a very reasonable monthly fee to run payroll, which is about the best deal on the market that I’ve found, and the rest is fee-free. We just pay card processing fees. A little higher than we could get from a different POS< but overall, the monthly cost is less because those other providers are charging monthly fees. And the beauty is that it’s all built into one system”
“It has a lot of options”
“Square POS is an excellent App for Apple devices. Set up is relatively easy and straight forward. It has a lot of options from item setup to payment processing to payment settlement. For us nerds, the Desktop version is best for detailed reporting and downloading of detailed reports”
“Order/shipping process so much easier”
“I absolutely love Square and it’s made my order/shipping process so much easier. I love that I can edit and sync my items for online sales within minutes then post it to Instagram with a checkout link.”
Create your free account today.
Set up your POS system now and start selling in minutes.
Hardware for selling anywhere.
We design and build our hardware in-house, so it all works together seamlessly.
Take payments, print receipts and run your business with a powerful and portable payment terminal.
$299 or $27/mo over 12 months*
Square Reader for contactless and chip
Take contactless payments anywhere with a card reader that pairs directly with your device.
$59
Accept payments anywhere using this magnetic stripe reader for swiping credit cards anywhere on your smartphone or tablet
$10
Turn your iPad into a point of sale with integrated contactless and chip payments - no readers required.
$149 or $14/mo over 12 months*
Get an all-in-one POS register with a dedicated customer display that lets you start selling right out of the box.
$799 or $39/mo over 24 months*
Frequently Asked Questions
(by people thinking about switching from Clover to Square)
Yes. You can sign up for free, migrate your item library and customer information with the Square CSV import tool, and easily link to existing third-party software, like QuickBooks.
There is not a Square/Clover integration, but it’s simple to switch your POS system and eCommerce platform from Clover to Square.
Pricing for Square for Retail and Clover’s POS systems depends on what hardware and software you want to include in your setup.
Square hardware that is compatible with Square for Retail ranges from $149 for the Square Stand to $799 for the Square Register. You can compare different Square hardware options here to determine which is best for you.
Comparable Clover hardware ranges from $499 for the Clover Flex to $1,649 for the Clover Duo*.
Square for Retail offers different software plans, starting from $0:
- Free plan: Includes free Retail POS system, online store, unlimited items and variations, low stock alerts, and more. Free to use, only pay when you take a payment.
- Plus plan: Available for $60 per location per month, with advanced features including exchanges, cost tracking, purchase orders, Cost of Goods sold reporting, Square Team Management Plus, and more.
- Premium plan: Includes everything in our Plus plan, with custom pricing options available depending on eligibility. Contact our sales team to get started.
Here’s a breakdown of Clover’s comparable retail software plans*:
- Starter: $14.95 monthly plan, with limited item functionality compared to Square for Retail’s Free plan
- Standard: $44.95 monthly plan, with cost tracking, exchanges, and returns.
- Advanced: $54.90 monthly plan, with similar functionality to the Standard plan.
*This rate comparison is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guarantee of any specific amount of savings. Clover pricing information was last updated on 3/28/22. All rates are subject to change and will be updated on an ongoing basis.
With Square for Restaurants, what you see is what you get — no long-term contracts, no hidden fees, and the flexibility to opt out at any time.
Square hardware that is compatible with Square for Restaurants ranges from $149 for the Square Stand to $799 for the Square Register. You can compare different Square hardware options here to determine which is best for you.
Comparable Clover hardware ranges from $499 for the Clover Flex to $1,349 for the Clover Station Solo*.
Here are our three restaurant POS system plans to meet your needs:
- Free plan: Includes all the essentials you need to run daily restaurant operations, including table management, menu management, and conversational ordering. Free to use, only pay when you take a payment.
- Plus plan: Available starting at $60 per month per location, and offers advanced restaurant features like table and course management, unlimited Team Management, unlimited KDS devices, advanced reporting, and more.
- To get started with our Premium plan, contact our sales team. Learn more about Square for Restaurants pricing here.
Here’s a breakdown of Clover’s comparable restaurant software plans*:
- Starter plan: $74.95 monthly plan compared to Square for Restaurants’ Free plan
- Standard plan: $84.90 monthly plan
- Advanced plan: $94.85 monthly plan
*This rate comparison is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guarantee of any specific amount of savings. Clover Full Service Dining pricing information was last updated on 3/28/22. All rates are subject to change and will be updated on an ongoing basis.
You can use supported hardware with your Square for Retail Point of Sale to run your business — giving you an all-in-one checkout solution. Square for Retail Free and Square for Retail Plus are currently compatible with the iPad, iPhone, Square Reader, Square Stand, and Square Register. With Square Stand, you can connect your iPad to a cash drawer, receipt printer, and bar code scanner to equip your business with a full POS setup. Square Register, our most complete point-of-sale solution, includes two displays. It’s a fully integrated point-of-sale system — no additional tablets or payment terminals needed.
Square for Restaurants Free and Square for Restaurants Plus are currently compatible with iPad, iPhone, Square Reader, Square Stand, Square Register, and Square Terminal. Square Register is our fully integrated countertop point-of-sale solution, including a customer-facing display with no additional tablets or terminals needed. With Square Stand, you can turn any iPad into a full POS setup with a connected cash drawer or receipt printer.
With Square Terminal, you can easily take tableside orders and payments, empowering your servers to drive more sales without creating traffic jams around the countertop POS.
Compare the different Square hardware options here.
Square Register is available for $799 and includes an integrated customer-facing display (payment processing fee is 2.6% + 10¢ per tap dip, or swipe taken). By comparison, the Clover Station Duo* is available for $1,649 (payment processing fee is 2.3% + 10 cents per tap, dip, or swipe taken).
Square Stand is available for $149 (payment processing is 2.6% + 10¢ per tap dip, or swipe taken). By comparison, a Clover Mini* is available for $749 (payment processing fee is 2.3% - 2.6% + 10¢).
Square Reader costs $49 when purchased separately (payment processing is 2.6% + 10¢ per tap dip, or swipe taken). By comparison, a Clover Go* costs $49 (payment processing fee is 2.6% + 10 cents).
Square Terminal costs $299 (payment processing is 2.6% + 10¢ per tap dip, or swipe taken). By comparison a Clover Flex* costs $499 (payment processing fee is 2.3% + 10¢).
Monthly fees for hardware vary by plan. With Square for Restaurants, pay $40 per month per added POS device.
*This hardware pricing comparison is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guarantee of any specific amount of savings. Clover pricing information was last updated on 3/28/22. All prices are subject to change and will be updated on an ongoing basis.
Yes. Sales from different channels — in store, online, or on social channels like TikTok — sync automatically. You can even set low stock alerts so you never miss a sale. With Square for Retail Plus, you also get advanced inventory management tools, like inventory counting, purchase orders, smart stock forecasts, Cost of Goods Sold tracking and more. Learn more about Square for Retail’s inventory management tools here.
Absolutely. Square is much more than the little white card reader. We’ve been a champion of small businesses from the start, and our suite of feature-rich add-ons lets you pick and choose tools to suit the size of your business. Manage teams, take payments in the field or at pop-ups, and sell online through Square Online. Sell in person safely with curbside pickup or delivery, and get paid with invoices — or even over the phone — so you can manage your business with ease and reach your customers everywhere.
You bet. Square lets you set up and sync your online store in no time. You can also sell gift cards online, and through social media with just a few taps.
Yes! Square App Marketplace lets you find third-party apps that you may already use and depend on. From accounting apps and eCommerce solutions to inventory and employee management, Square works with apps that can help with whatever your business needs. Check it out here.
* All credit sale plans are issued by Square, Inc. Not available to merchants in AL, DE, MS, MO, NH, and TN. Purchase amounts must be from $49 to $10,000. APR is 15%. Available plan lengths vary from 3, 6, 12, and/or 24 months installments depending on purchase amount. Sales tax, where applicable, will be due at checkout. All plans subject to credit approval and other factors.