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PAYMENT PROCESSING · MIGRATION GUIDE

Switching from Stripe to Square

Square has no Stripe importer. You open a new merchant account, add Square’s checkout button, SDK or POS hardware, and run both in parallel briefly before cutting over.

Jump to migration steps Read the full comparison
By Bill Belcamino · Last updated September 23, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team
Switching from Stripe to SquareVerified Sep 23, 2026
Bill Belcamino
Bottom line up frontby Bill Belcamino, founder of HelpCompare
Editorial assessment

Bottom line up front: When does it make sense to move from Stripe to Square?

When you sell in person and want one account for online, counter and phone payments, not to save money: Square's no-subscription online rate is 3.3% + 30¢ against Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢.

Matching Stripe's online rate means an undisclosed-price Plus or Premium plan, while Square's in-person rate of 2.4 to 2.6% + 15¢ is lower than its own online rate. You don't have to move everything at once. Put the counter on Square first and leave online checkout on Stripe until you've watched a few weeks of Square settlements, because saved cards don't transfer between processors, and every subscriber you force to re-enter a card is one you might lose. Consolidate online later, and only if one dashboard is worth that churn to you.

My read of the verified data on this page, checked against vendor sources on September 23, 2026. Disagree or spot an error? Tell Bill

Estimate · your inputs

Switching Cost & Friction Estimator

Most buyers only budget for the new subscription. This estimates the hidden labor, data-cleanup, and retraining cost of actually making the switch.

25,000
10

Estimate assumes: 1 hour of data-mapping/cleaning labor per 2,000 records, a blended $75/hr ops rate, tiered migration & cleaning tooling fees, and 4 hours of retraining per seat at a $45/hr fully-loaded rate.

Estimated Migration Time —
Data Friction Rating —
Total Hidden Switching Cost $0

    Why teams move from Stripe to Square

    Unified POS hardware

    Terminals, registers and card readers sold natively.

    One account for all channels

    Online, in-person and phone payments together.

    Cheaper in-person rate

    2.4–2.6% + 15¢, below its own online rate.

    How the migration actually works

    Square’s no-subscription online rate (3.3% + 30¢) is higher than Stripe’s standard rate; matching Stripe’s rate requires an undisclosed-price Plus/Premium plan.

    StepWhat you do
    1Sign up for a Square accountCreate your Square account and, if you sell in person, order card readers or a terminal.
    2Add the Square button or SDKAdd Square’s checkout button or SDK to your site, or set up its POS app/hardware for in-person sales.
    3Test with a small real transactionRun a small live transaction end to end to confirm the checkout, receipt and settlement all work correctly.
    4Run both processors in parallel brieflyKeep the old processor active for a short overlap window in case of a rollback, while directing new transactions to the new one.
    5Update any recurring billingRecreate subscriptions or saved payment methods in the new processor; card-on-file tokens do not transfer between processors.
    6Close the old accountOnce settlement is confirmed clean in the new processor, close or downgrade the old merchant account.

    What this path doesn’t do for you:

    Stripe’s developer-first API and extensive documentation have no exact Square equivalent for deep custom integrations.

    Pricing side by side

    PlanStripeSquare
    Online rate2.9% + 30¢3.3% + 30¢ (no subscription)
    In-person rateVia Stripe Terminal, varies2.4–2.6% + 15¢
    Monthly feeNone requiredNone required
    POS hardwarePartner devices onlySold natively
    Built forOnline/API-firstUnified online + in-person + POS

    Rates checked on each vendor’s pricing page on September 23, 2026.

    Feature parity check

    CapabilityStripeSquare
    Online rate2.9% + 30¢3.3% + 30¢
    POS hardwarePartner devices onlySold natively
    Built forOnline/API-firstUnified retail + online

    Going the other direction, or want the full comparison first?

    Read the Square vs Stripe comparison Switching from Square to Stripe instead?
    Verified data

    Security & access: what changes when you switch

    Security, offline and access rules that differ between Stripe and Square. Rows where both tools are the same (2) are left out; the full side-by-side is on each tool’s page: Stripe, Square.

    What changesStripe (today)Square (after)
    SOC 2 reportSOC 2 Type IIsourceNot published
    ISO/IEC 27001Not publishedCertifiedsource
    Other certificationsPCI DSS Level 1 (Service Provider), SOC 1 Type II, SOC 3, EMVCo Level 1 and 2 (Terminal)sourcePCI DSS Level 1source
    GDPR data processing agreementDPA offeredsourceNot published
    Single sign-on (SAML/OIDC)YessourceNot published
    SCIM user provisioningYessourceNot published
    Two-factor authenticationYesEnforcement: Any account (Administrator or Super Administrator setting)sourceYessource
    Admin audit logYessourceNot published
    EncryptionCard numbers AES-256 at rest; TLS 1.2+ required in transitsourceCard-present payments encrypted end to end; no unencrypted payment data touches the devicesource
    Offline limitsOffline mode works only with supported Terminal readers; Tap to Pay on Android doesn't support itsourceUpload within 24 hours, no later than 72 hours; not supported on Square Reader 1st gen v1/v2, Kiosk, Tap to Pay, manually entered cards, gift cards, Afterpay, Cash App Pay, Invoices app or services mode.source
    Device & session controlsNot publishedYesRemote device management: device profiles and codes, printer profiles, monitoring from off-site.source
    Office & room hardwareStripe Terminal supports pre-certified card readers (Stripe Reader S700/S710, BBPOS WisePOS E, Stripe Reader M2, BBPOS WisePad 3, Verifone) and Tap to Pay.sourceSquare sells its own POS hardware: Reader for contactless and chip ($59), Terminal ($299), Handheld ($399), Stand ($149), Kiosk ($149) and Register ($899).source
    Editorial assessment

    Before you cut over

    • You have single sign-on in Stripe but we found none documented for Square. Plan how people will sign in, and how you will remove leavers, before cut-over.

    Checked September 19, 2026 against each vendor’s own trust center, help docs and app pages. Hover or tap “source” to see the exact wording we relied on. “Not published” means we could not find the vendor saying it on its own site; it doesn’t mean the feature is missing. Plan names are the lowest plan the vendor says includes the feature. Security · Offline · Remote vs office · Download the data

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Does Square import Stripe transaction history?

    No. You open a new merchant account and set up fresh reporting.

    Will it cost more?

    On the online rate without a subscription, yes — 3.3% + 30¢ against Stripe’s 2.9% + 30¢.

    Do I get POS hardware?

    Yes, natively — this is Square’s main advantage if you also sell in person.

    Do I need a new merchant account?

    Yes. Payment processing is tied to underwriting with each provider, so you set up a new merchant account, re-embed the new checkout code or buttons, and run both providers in parallel briefly to confirm settlement before fully switching.

    Canonical data for the tools on this page

    Every pricing fact, rating, AI billing model and switching guide we hold on each tool, on one page, with the date each figure was last verified.

    StripePricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›SquarePricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›
    Square vs StripeHead-to-head comparisonPolar vs StripeHead-to-head comparisonSquare vs PayPalHead-to-head comparisonSquare vs CloverHead-to-head comparisonSquare vs Shopify POSHead-to-head comparisonStripe vs PayPalHead-to-head comparison
    Square to StripeSwitching guidePolar to StripeSwitching guideStripe to PolarSwitching guideClover to SquareSwitching guidePayPal to SquareSwitching guideShopify POS to SquareSwitching guide

    Sources

    Prices on this page were recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Vendors change pricing often — check the live source before you buy.

    Every figure is also in our open dataset (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0), with its source page and verification date. See how we research pricing.

    Cite this page: HelpCompare, “Switching from Stripe to Square”, helpcompare.com/stripe-to-square-migration/ (updated ).

    Source links on this site are checked every month; last check . How sources are checked.

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    Built for the leader who owns the selection, answers for the spend, drives the rollout, and lives with the results. HelpCompare covers the whole decision, not just the first step.

    01 · CompareWhich tool fits your team, side by side.133 comparisons 02 · Price & approveSourced, dated pricing and a one-page brief for sign-off.Decision brief 03 · SwitchWhat moves, what you rebuild, what it costs.264 guides 04 · ShareDownload and cite the data. CC BY 4.0.Open data
    Bill Belcamino, founder of HelpCompare
    About the author

    Bill Belcamino

    Founder and author, HelpCompare

    Engineer by training, operator by experience, marketer by choice. Bill spent eight and a half years as an engineer at HP, was COO of Auctiva (the number one third-party selling platform on eBay, past 200,000 users) and ran Google’s $70M/year search syndication partnership at Alot.com. Then he spent 13 years building his own web properties with his own money at stake. He has bought, trialled, integrated and cancelled more SaaS tools than he can count, and started HelpCompare because the real cost of switching tools is the part nobody covers.

    “I’ve sat on both sides of the table: the agency recommending the tool and the client paying for it.”

    Researched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team. Pricing on this page was last verified on September 23, 2026. No paid sponsorships, no affiliate commissions.

    Read Bill’s story How we verify pricingSpot an error? Tell Bill