Paddle vs Square
Paddle and Square are both payments & billing tools. Paddle is aimed at small businesses and developers, while Square is aimed at small businesses. Only Square has a free plan.
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium · $49 |
| Starting price | Not published | $49/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | Small businesses, Developers | Small businesses |
| Platforms | web | web, ios, android |
| Country | GB · 2012 | US · 2009 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Paddle if
SaaS and software companies that sell internationally and want to outsource tax and billing entirely.
- Eliminates global tax compliance burden
- Available to sellers worldwide including Turkey
- Subscription billing and dunning included
Look elsewhere if: Marketplaces, physical goods or businesses that need Stripe-level API customization.
Choose Square if
Small brick-and-mortar businesses in supported countries.
- Free POS software
- Simple flat-rate pricing
- All-in-one for small businesses
Look elsewhere if: Online-only SaaS (Stripe).
Paddle vs Square pricing
Paddle
- Pay as you go5% + 50¢/per transactionMerchant of record: tax, fraud, chargebacks included
- CustomCustomVolume pricing for larger businesses
Square
- Square Free$0In-person 2.6% + 15¢, online 3.3% + 30¢
- Square Plus$49/location/moIn-person 2.5% + 15¢, online 2.9% + 30¢
- Square Premium$149/location/moLowest fees: in-person 2.4% + 15¢, online 2.9% + 30¢
- Square ProCustomFor businesses processing over $250K/year
Paddle · Key features
- Merchant of record: global tax calculation, collection and remittance
- Checkout overlay and inline with localized pricing
- Subscriptions, trials, upgrades, proration and dunning
- Payment methods: cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, local methods
- Retain for failed payment recovery and ProfitWell Metrics
- Invoicing for B2B, API and webhooks
Cons
- Higher fees than direct Stripe
- Less customization than Stripe APIs
- Onboarding review can take time
Square · Key features
- POS software and hardware
- Online store and invoices
- Appointments and loyalty
- Payroll and team management
- Banking and loans
- Restaurant and retail features
Cons
- Limited country availability
- Fees higher than interchange-plus at scale
- Account holds possible
Paddle vs Square: FAQ
Do Paddle and Square have a free plan?
Paddle has no free plan. Square has a free plan.