Shopify vs Square Online
Two store pricing models, head-to-head. $29 a month for the best commerce platform against free-plus-fees from the payments company.
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ShopifyShopify
The e-commerce platform everything else gets compared to.
Square Online
A real online store for the price of the card fees.
Prices last checked on
| Feature | Shopify | Square Online |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 4.5 / 5 | 4.0 / 5 |
| Price | From $5/mo | From $29/mo |
| Free plan | No | |
| Best for | Serious online stores | Local businesses starting online |
| Category | Online stores | Online stores |
| Provider | Shopify Inc. | Block Inc. |
| Visit Shopify | Visit Square Online |
Our verdict
Square Online wins the start, with zero subscription, a real working store, and sync that just works if you already ring up sales on Square’s registers, the natural first online store for cafés, local shops, and market sellers.
Shopify wins everything after the start, with a meaningfully better checkout, vastly more apps and themes, and room to grow that Square’s ceilings cut off. The math flips as volume grows. At low sales, free-plus-fees beats $29 plus fees. At serious volume, Shopify’s conversion advantage pays its own subscription.
Start free on Square if risk is the concern. Start on Shopify if growth is the plan.
“If the site exists to sell, this is the platform. The best checkout in the business, an app for every commerce problem, and infrastructure that survives Black Friday. You pay for it in subscription plus fees, and for pure content sites it is the wrong tool.”Editorial team, on Shopify
“The free store that means it. Sell online without a subscription, paying only Square’s processing fees. For local businesses already on Square’s registers it is a no-brainer, and the upgrade tiers add polish when sales justify it.”Editorial team, on Square Online
Frequently asked questions
Shopify or Square Online: which should I start with?
Start on Square Online if risk is the concern: no subscription, a real working store, and inventory that syncs with Square's registers. Start on Shopify if growth is the plan, because the checkout, apps and themes are meaningfully better and Square's ceilings arrive early. Cafés and market sellers lean Square, stores that intend to scale lean Shopify.
Is Square Online really free?
The store is free, the selling is not. There is no subscription, and Square earns through payment processing at around 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. Paid tiers start around $29 a month and remove Square branding, include a custom domain and add abandoned cart tools. Prices in US dollars, last checked August 2026.
At what point does Shopify become the better deal?
Not on subscription, but on conversion. Shopify Basic is $29 a month on annual billing plus processing fees, so at low sales free-plus-fees on Square wins on pure cash out. As volume grows, Shopify's better checkout is what pays its own subscription back. The switch point is about your order volume, not about one missing feature.
What do I give up by staying on Square Online?
Room to grow, mostly. The builder is functional rather than beautiful, the app and theme choice is a fraction of Shopify's, and ambitious stores feel the ceilings. For a café menu, a local shop or a market stall catalogue that is not a problem. For a brand that wants custom pages and a deep app stack, it becomes one quickly.