13 min read

Square vs Clover POS Fees in 2026: What Restaurants Are Actually Paying (And What Nobody Tells You)

Most of the Square vs Clover comparisons you’ll find right now are running outdated numbers.

Square quietly overhauled its pricing in late 2025 — raising the per-transaction fixed fee from $0.10 to $0.15 and bumping the online rate on its Free plan from 2.9% to 3.3%. That’s not a small change if you’re doing any meaningful online order volume. And yet most guides still show the old rates.

Clover has a different problem: its real price depends entirely on who sold you the hardware. The same Clover Station Duo can cost two restaurant operators completely different amounts per month — not because their businesses are different, but because one bought from a bank and one bought from a reseller.

If you’re a restaurant owner trying to figure out which Restaurant POS System is cheaper — or whether the one you’re already on is costing you more than it should — this is the breakdown with the actual 2026 numbers.

1. Square POS Fees in 2026 — Updated After the October 2025 Overhaul

Square simplified its plan structure in 2025, folding industry-specific tiers (restaurants, retail, appointments) into three universal plans. The fee structure changed significantly at the same time.

PLAN	MONTHLY	IN-PERSON	ONLINE	KEYED-IN (phone orders)
Free	$0	2.6% + $0.15	3.3% + $0.30	3.5% + $0.15
Plus	$49 / location	2.5% + $0.15	2.9% + $0.30	3.5% + $0.15
Premium	$149 / location	2.4% + $0.15	2.9% + $0.30	3.5% + $0.15
Custom (Pro)	Negotiated for $250K+ annual volume	Lower	Lower	Lower

Source: Square published pricing, verified July 2026.

A few things worth flagging about Square before moving on:

• No contracts, no early termination fees. Square is month-to-month across all plans. Cancel any time, no penalty. For restaurants that have been burned by Clover contracts, this matters.

• No chargeback fees. Square absorbs chargeback processing costs — most processors charge $15–$25 per dispute. For restaurants that deal with any delivery disputes or card-not-present fraud, this is a meaningful differentiator.

• The 3.3% online rate on the Free plan is high. If your restaurant does significant online ordering volume and you’re on Square Free, run the numbers on Plus. The $49/month fee pays for itself at around $12,250 in monthly online card sales. Below that, stay on Free.

• Keyed-in is 3.5% across all plans. This is how phone orders get processed when your staff manually type in the card number. More on why this matters below.

What Square actually costs a restaurant — a real example

Restaurant doing $20,000/month in card sales, split 80% in-person and 20% online, ~500 transactions/month:

Square Free: $16,000 × 2.6% + (400 transactions × $0.15) + $4,000 × 3.3% + (100 × $0.30) = approximately $627/month in processing fees

Square Plus: Same volume + $49/month subscription = approximately $611/month total — slightly cheaper, with better features

The online rate difference between Free (3.3%) and Plus (2.9%) is the lever. If online ordering is a growing part of your revenue, Plus pays for itself faster than you’d expect.

2. Clover POS Fees in 2026 — The Reseller Problem Nobody Talks About

Here’s the thing that makes comparing Clover fees genuinely complicated: your Clover rate depends entirely on who sold you the hardware.

Clover hardware is manufactured by Fiserv but sold through three different channels — Clover.com directly, banks, and independent resellers. Each channel offers different processing rates, different monthly software fees, and different contract terms for the exact same physical device. Two restaurant owners with identical Clover Station Duos sitting on their counters can be paying rates that differ by more than 1% per transaction.

Clover fees if bought directly from Clover.com:

PLAN	MONTHLY FEE	IN-PERSON RATE	KEYED-IN RATE
Quick Service — Starter	$89.95/mo + hardware	2.3% + $0.10	3.5% + $0.10
Quick Service — Standard	Higher	2.3% + $0.10	3.5% + $0.10
Full Service — Starter	$89.95/mo + hardware	2.3% + $0.10	3.5% + $0.10
Full Service — Standard	Higher	2.3% + $0.10	3.5% + $0.10
Basic (Retail/Other)	$14.95–$16/mo	2.6% + $0.10	3.5% + $0.10

Source: Clover.com direct pricing and third-party reseller analysis, verified July 2026.

Hardware costs:

• Clover Go (mobile reader): $49–$99

• Clover Flex (handheld with printer): $599–$749

• Clover Mini (compact countertop): $799–$899

• Clover Station Solo (full countertop): $1,699–$1,799

• Clover Station Duo (merchant + customer screen): $1,899–$2,099

The three things that catch restaurants out with Clover:

• 36-month contracts. Clover typically requires a 3-year commitment, with early termination fees of $500+. Square is month-to-month. If you’re not certain Clover is right for your operation long-term, the contract is the risk.

• Hardware lock-in. Clover hardware is locked to the processor you purchased it through. If you want to switch payment processors, you generally cannot bring your Clover hardware with you. You’re buying new equipment. This effectively creates a lock-in even if the contract doesn’t.

• Hidden fees compound. PCI compliance ($9.95–$10/month), chargeback fees ($20–$50 per dispute), app marketplace subscriptions ($0–$99+/month each), and reseller markups that can push your effective rate to 4–5% if you’re not careful. Restaurants consistently report that real monthly bills run $100–$300 higher than what they were quoted after factoring in add-ons.

A real Clover cost example — full-service restaurant:

Hardware: Clover Station Duo ($1,899 bought outright) · Software: $89.95/month · Processing at 2.3%: on $20,000/month card volume = $460/month · PCI compliance: $10/month · Total: approximately $560/month + hardware amortised

On a 36-month lease instead of buying outright? A Station Duo that costs $1,899 to purchase outright can cost $4,000–$6,000 over the lease term. Always buy hardware outright if you can.

3. Square vs Clover — Which Is Actually Cheaper for Your Restaurant?

The honest answer: it depends on your monthly card volume, how much you sell online, and whether you’re buying Clover hardware outright or through a contract.

RESTAURANT TYPE	BETTER CHOICE	REASON
Independent, under $10K/month card volume	Square Free	No monthly fee. No contract. Lower barrier to entry. Clover’s monthly software fees make it more expensive at this volume.
Single-location, $10K–$30K/month	Square Plus ($49/mo)	Cheaper total cost than comparable Clover plan once hardware and software are factored in. No contract risk.
Established restaurant, $30K–$80K/month	Compare both	Clover’s 2.3% in-person rate beats Square’s 2.5%–2.6% at this volume. But factor in Clover’s contract, hardware lock-in, and hidden fees before signing.
Multi-location chain, $80K+/month	Clover with negotiated interchange-plus	At scale, interchange-plus pricing through a reputable Clover reseller can beat Square’s flat rate significantly.
Restaurant with high online order volume	Square Plus or Premium	Clover’s 3.5% keyed-in rate applies to phone/online orders not processed in-person. Square’s online rate on Plus (2.9% + $0.30) is competitive.

4. The One Thing Both Square and Clover Don’t Cover — Your Phone Channel

This is the part that’s relevant to how restaurants actually run during a dinner service, and it’s something neither POS comparison usually addresses.

Both Square and Clover handle in-person card payments well. Both have online ordering integrations. But neither helps with what happens when a customer calls your restaurant to place an order over the phone.

The gap shows up in two ways. First, if your staff manually key a phone order into the POS — which is how most restaurants handle it — you’re being charged the highest rate available: 3.5% on both Square and Clover. That’s 0.9–1.2% higher than a card-present transaction.

Second, if nobody answers the phone during the rush, the order never makes it to the POS at all. There’s no record of a missed call. No data. Just a customer who tried to give you money and couldn’t.

VOICEplug Phone AI integrates with both Square and Clover. When a customer calls, the AI takes the full order and sends it to your POS as a standard order — same workflow as an in-person or online order. You get the benefit of AI phone answering without changing your POS setup. The phone channel becomes part of your operation rather than the gap in it.

If you want to understand how that works alongside your existing POS, our voice AI buyer’s guide for restaurants breaks down what to look for and how to evaluate whether it makes sense for your volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are Square’s current processing fees for restaurants in 2026?

Square updated its pricing in late 2025. Current rates: Free plan — 2.6% + $0.15 in-person, 3.3% + $0.30 online, 3.5% + $0.15 keyed-in. Plus plan ($49/month) — 2.5% + $0.15 in-person, 2.9% + $0.30 online. Premium plan ($149/month) — 2.4% + $0.15 in-person, 2.9% + $0.30 online. No contracts, no chargeback fees on any plan.

2. What are Clover’s fees for restaurants in 2026?

Clover’s fees depend on where you buy. Buying directly from Clover.com, restaurant plans (quick service and full service) get 2.3% + $0.10 for card-present transactions and 3.5% + $0.10 for keyed-in. Monthly software fees for restaurant plans run $89.95/month on top of hardware costs. Contracts are typically 36 months. Buying through a bank or reseller, rates can range from competitive interchange-plus to significantly higher flat rates — always ask which pricing model applies before signing.

3. Is Square or Clover cheaper for a restaurant?

For most restaurants doing under $30,000/month in card volume, Square is cheaper in total cost because there are no mandatory software fees on the Free plan, no contracts, and no hardware lock-in. For higher-volume restaurants ($50K+/month), Clover’s lower in-person rate (2.3% vs Square’s 2.5%–2.6%) can produce meaningful savings if you negotiate interchange-plus pricing through a reputable reseller and avoid long-term hardware leases.

4. Does Square or Clover have lower transaction fees?

Clover’s restaurant plans get a 2.3% + $0.10 card-present rate, which beats Square’s best published rate of 2.4% + $0.15 (Premium plan at $149/month). At lower volumes, Square’s Free plan (2.6% + $0.15 with no monthly fee) is often cheaper in total cost than Clover’s software subscription plus processing combined.

5. Can I use Square or Clover with AI phone ordering?

Yes. VOICEplug AI Phone integrates natively with both Square and Clover. When a customer calls and the AI takes their order, it sends the order directly to your Square or Clover POS as a completed order — not a manually keyed entry. This means phone orders don’t have to be processed at the 3.5% keyed-in rate. You can book a demo to see how it works with your specific POS setup.

6. What’s the biggest hidden cost in Clover POS?

There are several. The most impactful ones for restaurants are: hardware lock-in (you can’t switch processors without buying new hardware), 36-month contract early termination fees ($500+), chargeback fees ($20–$50 per dispute), and app marketplace subscriptions that add $50–$300/month once you need inventory, loyalty, or reporting features beyond the basics. Get an itemised total cost projection over 36 months before signing.

7. Does Square charge for chargebacks?

No — this is one of Square’s strongest differentiators. Square does not charge a chargeback fee when a customer disputes a transaction. Most payment processors charge $15–$25 per dispute on top of the funds held during the review period. For restaurants dealing with delivery disputes or card-not-present orders, this adds up.

8. Which POS is better for a multi-location restaurant?

For chains with five or more locations processing $50K+/month combined, Clover’s lower in-person processing rate (2.3%) and restaurant-specific features (centralized reporting, table mapping, kitchen display integration) make it worth evaluating — provided you can negotiate interchange-plus pricing and buy hardware outright. For growing chains not yet at that volume, Square’s per-location Plus plan ($49/month, no contracts) gives more flexibility to scale without commitment risk. VOICEplug integrates with both for phone ordering across all locations. See our guide on scaling restaurant technology in 2026 for more on multi-location tech decisions.

The short version: Square is simpler, cheaper to start, and carries no contract risk. Clover has lower in-person rates for restaurants at volume, more restaurant-specific hardware, and greater customisation — but the contract, the hardware lock-in, and the reseller variability mean you need to read the fine print carefully.

Neither one solves the phone channel. If you’re running a restaurant that takes phone orders, that gap is worth addressing separately from your POS choice — and it doesn’t require switching anything in your existing setup.

If you’re already on Square or Clover and want to see how AI phone ordering fits alongside it, book a 15-minute walkthrough and we’ll show you what it looks like for your restaurant specifically.