Square is famous for one thing: you can be taking card payments within minutes, with no lock in contract and no monthly fee on the base plan. That simplicity is real and it is valuable. The catch is the flat percentage on every sale, which stays the same whether you are quiet or flat out. Here is our honest read for an Australian venue.
Square built its reputation on removing friction. You sign up online, a card reader arrives or you tap straight on a phone, and you are trading. There is no application process, no merchant account hoops, and on the base plan no monthly software fee. For a new venue, a weekend market stall or a coffee cart, that speed and simplicity is genuinely hard to beat.
The hardware is clean and the software is intuitive enough that staff need almost no training. Reporting, basic inventory, and online ordering are all available, and the ecosystem has grown a lot. The trade off for all that simplicity is the pricing model, which we get into below, because it is the single most important thing to understand before you commit.
The headline strength. You can be accepting cards the same day, with no contract and no monthly fee on the base plan. For new and seasonal venues that is exactly what you want.
The interface is genuinely simple. New staff pick it up in minutes, and the reporting, basic stock and team tools cover what most small venues need without a manual.
Payments are charged at a flat rate per tap. Simple to understand, but it never drops as you grow, so a busy venue can quietly pay tens of thousands a year in fees.
Square has expanded into invoices, online stores, loyalty, payroll and more. Useful if you want everything under one login, though you should weigh each add on against purpose built alternatives.
The maths is simple but it catches a lot of owners out. A flat percentage feels small on a single five dollar coffee. Across a full year of turnover it is one of the largest controllable costs a venue has, and unlike a flat fee it grows every time you have a good week. The busier and more successful you get, the more you hand over.
Indicative figures on Square's published 1.6% in person rate. From 1 October 2026 you can no longer add this as a surcharge, so it becomes a direct cost you carry. That is why reviewing it before the deadline matters.
We rate suppliers independently. We do not earn a referral fee from Square, and we still rate it highly for the right venue, because honest comparison is the whole point of this site. Here is the balanced picture.
Square is one of the few hospitality systems that publishes its full pricing, which is a real strength. You pay nothing for the base software on the Free plan, hardware is a one off purchase, and a flat percentage comes off every transaction. The figures below are Square's published Australian rates for Square for Restaurants and can change, so always confirm current pricing directly with Square before you commit.
| Plan | Monthly software | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 per month | Single venues and new operators who want core ordering, table management and reporting without a software fee. |
| Plus | $129 per month per location | Venues that need course management, seat management, close of day reports, live sales, unlimited KDS devices and 24/7 phone support. |
| Premium | Custom | Businesses processing $250,000 or more a year that may qualify for a tailored rate structure. Pricing is set by Square sales. |
| Payment type | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| In person | 1.6% per tap or insert | Applies to Visa, Mastercard, EFTPOS, JCB and American Express at the same rate for accounts opened from 30 May 2024. |
| Online | 2.2% | Card not present payments taken through Square Online and ordering. |
| Invoices | 2.2% | Payments collected against a Square invoice. |
| Manual entry and card on file | 2.2% | Keyed in payments and stored card charges. |
| Device | Price | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Square Reader | from $65 | Contactless and chip reader that pairs with a phone or tablet. |
| Square Stand | $149 | iPad stand with built in card reader. iPad not included. |
| Square Terminal | $329 | All in one handheld with a built in printer. |
| Square Handheld | $349 | Portable, water and dust resistant POS for table service. |
| Square Register | $1,099 | Dedicated two screen countertop register. |
| Kitchen display screen | $999 | 21.5 inch KDS. Free with the Plus plan, otherwise plus $25 a month per device. |
| Add on | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile POS | +$50/mo per location | Adds orders and payments on the go on the Plus and Premium plans. |
| Square Kiosk | $45/mo per device | Self serve ordering. Free for the first 30 days on Free and Plus. |
| Square Loyalty | from $49/mo per location | Built in points and rewards. |
| Square Marketing | from $20/mo per location | Email and campaign tools. |
| Restaurant Inventory by Marketman | +$149/mo per location | Advanced stock and recipe management on the Plus plan. |
Square's appeal is the transparency, but the flat percentage is the number to watch. It applies to every dollar you take, so the cost climbs as your turnover climbs. That is cheap when you are small and can become expensive when you are busy, which is the point at which a system with a fixed monthly fee and a lower processing rate may work out better. From 1 October 2026 the rules on card surcharging in Australia change, so factor that into your numbers. We can model Square against the alternatives on your actual volume, free.
Square is one option. Here is how it sits alongside the other POS systems we review, so you can weigh them side by side.
If you are doing real volume on Square, it is worth a five minute check to see whether a flat fee system would save you money. We will look at your numbers and tell you straight, even if the answer is to stay put. Free, no obligation, and we will be in touch within 48 hours.
