Square and Clover are the two POS systems most small US shops compare first. Both take cards, track stock and run on their own hardware. They differ most in how they are sold: Square directly with a free software plan, Clover through banks and resellers with Fiserv as the processor. For a shop that also sells online, the website side matters as much as the counter.
In short
- Square: no monthly fee on the free plan, published prices, no contract, its own online store included, and an official WooCommerce extension.
- Clover: strong all-in-one hardware, lower in-person rates on some plans, but prices vary by reseller, processing is tied to Fiserv, and contracts of three years are common. Online selling goes through Clover's own ordering or third-party apps.
Plans and card fees
| Square | Clover | |
|---|---|---|
| Software plans | Free $0, Plus $49, Premium $149 per location a month | Roughly $15–$85 a month for retail plans, depending on plan and reseller |
| In-person card rate | 2.6% + 15¢ (Free), 2.5% + 15¢ (Plus), 2.4% + 15¢ (Premium) | About 2.3–2.6% + 10¢, depending on plan |
| Online / card-not-present | 3.3% + 30¢ (Free), 2.9% + 30¢ (paid plans) | About 3.5% + 10¢ |
| Keyed-in cards | 3.5% + 15¢ | About 3.5% + 10¢ |
Square's prices are published on its own site. Clover's are not shown on a single public price list; the Clover figures above come from independent reviews updated in 2025–2026, which differ between each other, so a written quote from the reseller is the number to compare.
Hardware
- Square: Reader $59, Stand $149, Terminal $299, Handheld $399, Register $899 (monthly payment options for Terminal and Register).
- Clover: mobile reader (Clover Go), handheld (Flex), countertop (Mini) and full stations (Station Solo, Station Duo). Reviews list Flex around $600–750, Mini around $850 and Station Duo around $1,900; leasing through a reseller is common and can be non-cancellable.
Contracts and processing
Square has no long-term contract and no separate merchant account: Square is the processor. Clover is a Fiserv product and always comes with a Fiserv merchant account, sold by banks and resellers; reviews report 36- or 48-month agreements and promotional rates tied to them. Before signing, the cancellation terms and who owns the hardware are worth reading closely.
Inventory
Both track stock per item and variation. Square's free plan covers counts and adjustments; stock intake, vendors, purchase orders and cost reports are in Square Plus, and transfers between locations in Premium (details in Square inventory management). Clover tracks item stock and low-stock items, with deeper retail inventory on its retail plans and through apps from the Clover App Market.
Selling online
- Square Online is included on the free plan: website, pickup, local delivery and shipping, sharing the item library with the POS.
- Clover points retailers to online ordering and to App Market apps for a web shop.
- With WooCommerce: Square has an official, free WooCommerce extension for payments and catalog sync, and two-way stock sync options such as StockEven. Clover's extension for WooCommerce handles payments only and does not sync products; third-party plugins add inventory sync.
Which one to choose
- Small shop, predictable costs, no contract, website on WooCommerce or Square Online: Square.
- Higher card volume where a negotiated in-person rate matters, and a trusted bank or reseller: Clover can be cheaper per sale, once the full contract is compared.
- Either way, a shop selling the same stock online needs the POS and the website to share counts, or items sell twice.
Sources
- Square for Retail pricing · Square processing fees · Square hardware · Square Online plans
- Clover POS cost (Merchant Maverick) · Clover pricing (Tech.co) · Clover vs Square (NerdWallet)
- Clover: retail inventory · Clover for WooCommerce · WeeConnectPay
Square is a trademark of Block, Inc. Clover is a trademark of Fiserv, Inc. WooCommerce is a trademark of Automattic Inc.
StockEven keeps both stock counts the same within seconds. Free up to 50 products.