Stripe leads in online and developer-first payments with the best APIs, recurring billing, and global coverage. Square leads in in-person retail and food service with mature point-of-sale hardware, integrated inventory, and built-in employee management.
Online-first businesses
In-person retail and food service
| Feature | Stripe | Square |
|---|---|---|
| Online rate | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| In-person rate | 2.7% + $0.05 | 2.6% + $0.10 |
| POS hardware | Stripe Terminal | Best-in-class |
| Developer experience | Best-in-class | Good |
| Best for | Online / dev | Retail / restaurants |
Yes, many omnichannel businesses use Square for in-person and Stripe for online, syncing both to the same accounting platform.
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