You ring up a $10 coffee during the morning rush and barely think about what the card swipe costs you. With Square's 2.6% plus 15 cents, you keep $9.59 and pay 41 cents in fees. With Clover's lowest in-person rate of 2.3% plus 10 cents, only on Clover.com, you keep $9.67 and pay 33 cents, before any monthly software fee. Multiply that gap across hundreds of transactions and the math starts to matter. This guide compares Square and Clover on processing fees, hardware, and monthly software costs.
TLDR:
Square built its business on a card reader that turns any smartphone into a payment terminal, later adding payroll and marketing tools. Its strength is simplicity and transparent pricing, and it operates month-to-month with no long-term contracts, giving businesses flexibility to switch providers.
Clover, now owned by Fiserv, focuses on customizable hardware and industry-specific features through a large app marketplace and varied hardware options. That flexibility costs more, as Clover typically requires higher upfront investment and a more complex setup, shaping everything from fees to support.
Square's Free plan charges a flat 2.6% plus 15 cents on every in-person card swipe, tap, or dip, no matter the card type. Paid plans lower that rate and add online and keyed-in pricing. See Square's current fee schedule for the full breakdown.
Square’s processing fees vary by plan, transaction type, and payment method:
Clover works through a network of resellers, banks, and merchant service providers instead of one centralized rate sheet. According to Clover's pricing page, rates start as little as 2.3% plus 10 cents per in-person transaction, but only when you buy directly from Clover.com. Typed-in transactions, such as phone or online orders, carry higher rates. On top of processing costs, every plan carries a monthly software fee: Clover.com sorts plans into Starter, Standard, and Advanced by business type, resellers quote $4.95 for Payments Plus, $9.95 for Register Lite, $39.95 for Register, and $69.95 for Table Service Restaurant, and restaurant Growth plans are quoted at $84.95 to $89.95 a month in this Clover POS pricing breakdown, so confirm the plan fee for your business type.
Pricing and contract terms vary depending on whether you buy direct from Clover or through a bank or reseller, so quotes can differ from one provider to the next. Clover subscriptions are non-cancelable and ineligible for refunds, though they can be paid off early or upgraded. When checked on October 14, 2026, Clover.com was running an online-only offer of a $450 statement credit on Station, Mini, or Flex purchases. Rates and offers move, so get a written fee schedule from Square and Clover the day you sign.
POS systems like Square and Clover process payments well, but neither one can pick up a ringing phone during the dinner rush. This is where a dedicated voice AI phone agent for restaurants like Loman comes in, answering every call around the clock. Loman supplements your existing POS, never replacing it, and pushes phone orders straight into Square, Toast, or Clover so staff can stay with customers in front of them.
Midland Pizza Co. estimates it would lose over $200,000 a year without Loman (an operator-reported figure). Most restaurants go live in under 24 hours with no coding or IT needed. See this breakdown of Loman's revenue impact for Square restaurants.
Hardware is often your biggest upfront cost. Square's first magstripe reader is free with a new account, the contactless and chip reader costs $59, the Terminal $299, the Stand $149, the Handheld $399, and the Register (2nd generation) $899. Most devices come with payment plans (12 months, or 24 on the Register) and no long-term contract. See Square's hardware prices for current figures.
These are the prices shown on Clover's hardware prices, checked October 14, 2026: the Clover Go reader costs $199, the Flex handheld $749 (or $40 a month for 36 months), the Mini $849, the Station Solo $1,799 (or $174 a month for 36 months), and the Station Duo $1,899 (or $180 a month for 36 months). Banks and resellers quote their own prices, so confirm before buying.
At the full-system tier, Square's $899 Register costs about 47% of Clover's $1,899 Station Duo, about half of the $1,799 Station Solo. Clover's hardware offers more customization, but you pay for it upfront.
Square's Free plan costs $0 a month. Plus runs $49 per location (about $588 a year) and adds lower rates, loyalty rewards, email and text marketing, and staff tools. Premium runs $149 per location (about $1,788 a year) and adds 24/7 priority support plus advanced reporting. Clover charges a monthly fee on every plan, commonly quoted from $4.95 to $69.95, so a restaurant on the $69.95 plan pays about $839 a year in software fees alone. Here is how the two compare on the numbers covered above.
| Cost item | Square | Clover |
|---|---|---|
| In-person rate | Free 2.6% + 15 cents; Plus 2.5% + 15 cents; Premium 2.4% + 15 cents | as low as 2.3% + 10 cents on Clover.com |
| Online or keyed rate | 3.3% + 30 cents Free, 2.9% + 30 cents Plus and Premium, keyed 3.5% + 15 cents | typed-in rates run higher than in person and vary by plan |
| Monthly software fee | $0 Free, $49 Plus, $149 Premium | commonly quoted $4.95 to $69.95, varies by business type |
| Entry card reader | free magstripe or $59 contactless | $199 Clover Go |
| Full counter system | Register $899 | Station Solo $1,799 to Duo $1,899 |
| Contracts | no long-term contracts | terms and termination fees vary by provider |
Square has no long-term contracts, no PCI compliance fees, no statement fees, and no account maintenance charges, running month-to-month so you can change providers anytime. Add-on apps cost extra: the Square KDS app runs $30 a month per device on Plus and $20 on Premium, and the Square Kiosk app runs $50 a month per device on Plus and $30 on Premium.
Clover's contract terms and termination fees vary depending on whether you buy from Clover or through a bank or reseller partner. Some providers add a PCI or data-security fee (one reseller lists Clover's TransArmor at $5 a month) or a monthly statement fee, so get these in writing before you sign. Clover apps often run $9.95 to $29.95 each, and Clover subscriptions are non-cancelable and ineligible for refunds, though they can be paid off early or upgraded.
The following figures are sample math, not guarantees, since rates depend on your plan and provider. In person, Square Free runs 2.6% plus 15 cents and Clover's lowest advertised rate is 2.3% plus 10 cents. On a $100 sale that's $2.75 with Square versus $2.40 with Clover, a 35 cent gap. On a $10 coffee order it's 41 cents versus 33 cents. That 2.3% plus 10 cent rate is only on Clover.com, and at a typical reseller rate of 2.6% plus 10 cents, the gap narrows to about 5 cents per sale.
Online sales use separate rates. A $75 order costs $2.78 on Square Free and $2.48 on Square Plus. Clover does not publish one flat online rate; typed-in rates run higher than in person and vary by plan, so get the exact rate in writing before comparing totals.
Square's App Marketplace has hundreds of integrations across accounting, e-commerce and inventory, including QuickBooks Online, Shopify and WooCommerce, though third-party services carry their own costs. Restaurants weighing options can read about AI phone agents for Square restaurants or compare phone systems for Toast and Square.
Clover's App Market also has hundreds of apps, but many add $9.95 to $29.95 a month each, so a restaurant can easily spend an extra $50 to $100 monthly. Those apps are built for Clover's hardware, which means a tighter fit but also vendor lock-in. See this restaurant AI POS integration guide.
These sample estimates assume a $25 average ticket and no extra Clover apps (as of October 2026), so confirm current rates with Square and Clover before deciding. A restaurant processing $10,000 a month runs about 400 transactions. Square Free at 2.6% + $0.15 comes to about $320 in fees with no software fee. A Clover reseller rate of 2.6% + $0.10 comes to about $300 plus the $9.95 Register Lite fee, roughly $310 total. Clover's lowest rate of 2.3% + $0.10 comes to about $270 plus $9.95, or about $280 total. If you buy direct at 2.3% + $0.10 and land on a restaurant plan near $89.95 a month, Clover comes to about $360, roughly $40 more than Square Free.
At $50,000 a month, about 2,000 transactions, Square Free runs about $1,600 and Square Plus runs about $1,599, so Plus roughly breaks even with Free near $49,000 a month. Square Premium runs about $1,649. A Clover Register plan at 2.3% + $0.10 plus the $39.95 monthly fee comes to about $1,390, roughly $210 a month less than Square Plus before hardware and app costs. Hardware and app costs still factor into the true total cost on either side. On that same $89.95 plan, Clover runs about $1,440, still about $160 below Square Plus.
Square suits businesses that want an intuitive interface with minimal training, which helps when staff turnover is high. Clover suits those that want customization, industry-specific setups and more hardware variety.
Support differs too. Square offers phone support from 6am to 6pm PT, Monday through Friday, on Free (for the first 90 days) and Plus, with 24/7 phone support on Premium, while Clover.com advertises 24/7 support, though support through banks and resellers varies by provider.
Square and Clover settle the payment once a guest is in front of you. When the line rings during the dinner rush, the call goes unanswered or someone leaves the floor, and industry research suggests roughly 85% of callers do not call back.
Loman is a voice AI phone agent for restaurants. It answers every call, takes full pickup and delivery orders, and pushes the ticket and payment into Square or Clover with no re-keying. Pricing starts at $199 a month with unlimited calls. Little Italy reports cutting labor costs by more than 24% (an operator-reported figure), and most restaurants go live in under 24 hours.
Yes. Loman answers every call around the clock, takes full pickup and delivery orders, and pushes them into your POS. Confirm during setup how you want after-hours orders handled.
A voice AI phone agent that takes complete orders instead of messages. Crust Pizza owner Nick Haselidis reports Loman paid for itself in 10 days, and Tony Boloney's reports 75 to 100 extra orders per month per store (both operator-reported).
Loman reads your live menu, including 86'd items and modifiers, and pushes the ticket and payment to the POS and KDS with no re-keying. See this AI phone agent for Toast restaurants.
On a sample $10,000 month at a $25 ticket, Square Free comes to about $320 in fees. Clover comes to about $280 to $310 on the low-cost plans, or about $360 on a restaurant plan near $89.95 a month, depending on the rate and plan you actually get.
Square Free charges 2.6% + 15 cents in person with no monthly software fee. Clover lists rates as low as 2.3% + 10 cents on Clover.com plus a monthly software fee, so on a sample $10,000 month Clover can land about $40 cheaper or about $40 more expensive than Square Free, depending on your rate and plan. Neither POS picks up a ringing phone during the dinner rush. Loman answers every call and pushes full orders into Square or Clover, and Crust Pizza owner Nick Haselidis reports it paid for itself in 10 days (an operator-reported figure). Get fee schedules in writing, run the math on your own average ticket, then book a Loman demo before your next dinner rush.
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