Square vs Stripe: Which Payment Gateway is Best for Your Business

What is a Payment Gateway

A payment gateway is a vital part of any online business, allowing you to take payments online. For WooCommerce, a payment gateway is a plugin that integrates with the platform to enable online transactions. One of the most popular choices for WooCommerce store owners is the Stripe payment gateway, with all its features and benefits. With Stripe you can take payments online and give your customers a smooth and secure transaction experience.

Choosing a Payment Gateway? This Post Compares Square vs Stripe on Features, Pricing and Ease of Use

Summary

Square is for point of sale systems and full business management tools for retail and restaurant businesses. Stripe is for online payment processing and developers for the API and customization. Both Square and Stripe have multiple payment methods, integrations with various platforms and advanced security to protect customer data.

Square vs Stripe

Square and Stripe are two of the largest payment gateways that cater to different business needs with full payment processing capabilities. They have tools to make transactions easier, you can upgrade your Stripe account and configure your Stripe payment gateway settings.

What is Square?

Square has full service including point of sale systems, online payment processing and business management tools. It’s best for retail and restaurant businesses so they can take payments in person and online and make payments simpler. Square has inventory management, employee management and sales reporting.

What is Stripe?

Stripe is for online and mobile payment processing, simplifying transactions on web and mobile. Its API can be customized and integrated to various applications, it’s a favorite among developers. Stripe supports multiple payment methods and currencies, perfect for businesses with global presence.

Payment Methods: Multiple Payment Methods

Square and Stripe have multiple payment methods for your customers. They accept credit and debit cards, local payment methods and mobile payments.

Credit and Debit Cards: Both platforms support all major credit and debit cards, Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
Local Payment Methods: Stripe is available in over 40 countries and supports local payment methods like iDEAL, SEPA Direct Debit and Bancontact. Square has multiple local payment options for different markets.
Mobile Payments: Both Stripe and Square support mobile payment methods like Apple Pay, Google Pay and Microsoft Pay for fast and smooth checkout.

Multiple Payment Methods with Stripe

Stripe has multiple payment methods, making it a great choice for WooCommerce store owners. With Stripe you can accept credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and various local payment methods. This means your customers can pay using their preferred method and have a better shopping experience. Stripe also supports recurring payments so you can manage subscription based services. Whether it’s credit and debit cards, bank account payments or mobile wallets, Stripe has multiple payment methods to cater to different customer preferences.

Ease of Integration: WooCommerce Stripe Integration

Integrating payment gateways with your business systems should be easy. Both Square and Stripe have easy integration and extensive documentation for technical and non-technical users, woocommerce stripe integration is especially simple.

The woocommerce stripe plugin enhances the checkout experience with features like Apple Pay, Google Pay and Payment Request API, making the payment process smooth on both desktop and mobile.

WooCommerce Integration: To integrate Stripe with WooCommerce, log in to your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins, search for ‘WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway’, install and activate it.
For Square, search for ‘SquareSync for Woo’, install the plugin and activate it. You can also try the pro verion from SquareSync for Woo for advanced data syncing features such as real-time product sync.

Install and Set up with Stripe

Setting up Stripe with WooCommerce is a breeze. To get started, install the Stripe plugin from your WordPress dashboard. Once installed, your Stripe account settings is just a few clicks away. The plugin also creates automatic webhooks for you, so setting up and managing payment notifications is a piece of cake. You can start accepting payments online in no time, easy and hassle free.

API and Dev Tools

Stripe is a developer friendly environment, has a full API for high customization. The Stripe WooCommerce plugin has PCI compliant checkout, quick install and seamless integration with WooCommerce so developers can accept multiple payment methods. It has PCI validation forms based on your integration method so you’re compliant and secure. Stripe also scans for compromised API keys and takes action to protect your data. Square has a robust API but more focused on its point of sale features and business management tools.

Security

Security is top priority in payment processing. Both Square and Stripe have advanced security to protect sensitive data and industry standards.

PCI Compliance: Stripe is a PCI Service Provider Level 1, audited regularly. Square is PCI DSS compliant so your data is secure.
Fraud Protection: Stripe uses real time machine learning to detect and prevent fraud, and tools like CVV and AVS verification. Square has similar fraud detection tools to protect transactions.
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA): Both platforms support SCA, adds extra layer of security to online transactions by requiring extra verification steps to protect customer data.

Security and Fraud Protection

Security is key when it comes to online transactions and Stripe is great at it. Stripe is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified, meets the highest standards of security and compliance. Stripe also uses advanced machine learning fraud protection tools to detect and prevent fraudulent transactions. So your online transactions are secure and protected, merchants and customers can have peace of mind.

Pricing and Fees

Knowing the pricing of Square and Stripe is important for budgeting and financial planning. Both have transaction fees but the structure is different so the cost is different.

Transaction Fees: Stripe’s standard transaction fee is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, different fees for different card types and extra charges for international transactions. Square charges 2.6% + $0.10 per in-person transaction and 2.9% + $0.30 for online transactions.
Monthly Fees and Hidden Costs: Stripe has no monthly or annual fees and no setup fees, simple and transparent pricing. Square also has transparent pricing with no hidden costs but charges for some advanced features and hardware.
Instant Payouts and Settlement Times: Stripe has instant payouts for 1% of the total payout volume, standard payout schedule of 7 days rolling. Square has next day deposit for standard transactions and instant transfer for a fee.

Features and Tools: Credit Card Payments

Both Square and Stripe have features and tools for payment processing including online sales tools, multi-currency support and mobile device compatibility.

Reporting and Analytics: Stripe’s dashboard has transaction tracking and financial insights, Square has sales trends, inventory levels and employee performance reporting.
Recurring Payments and Subscriptions: Stripe is good for recurring payments and subscriptions with its automated billing features. Square supports recurring payments but more focused on point of sale transactions.
Point of Sale Systems: Square has point of sale systems for different business needs. Stripe has Stripe Terminal for in-person payments, integrates with its online platform.

Stripe Features and Benefits

Stripe has many features and benefits that makes it perfect for WooCommerce merchants. Some of the key features:

Accept payments online: Stripe allows merchants to accept payments online, smooth transaction experience for customers.
Multiple payment methods: Stripe supports multiple payment methods, credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, local payment methods.
Recurring payments: Stripe makes it easy to manage subscription-based services with recurring payments.
Security and fraud protection: Stripe has robust security features and fraud protection tools to protect transactions.
Easy installation and setup: Installing and setting up Stripe with WooCommerce is quick and simple.
Automatic webhook creation: Stripe plugin has automatic webhook creation, makes payment notifications management easy.

In summary, Stripe is a payment gateway with many features and benefits for WooCommerce merchants. You can accept payments online, offer multiple payment methods and have robust security and fraud protection features for smooth and secure transactions for your customers.

User Experience

User experience, including payment details integration is important for both merchants and customers, affects satisfaction and retention. Customizable checkout pages and seamless integrations are key.

Checkout Page Customization: Both have customizable checkout pages to improve the shopping experience and build trust.
Customer Support: Square has live chat, email and phone support, Stripe has email support and an online Help Center. Response times vary, Square responds within 24 hours.

User Reviews and Feedback

Users like the interface and features of both Square and Stripe. Retail businesses prefer Square for its simple POS systems and great customer support, online businesses prefer Stripe for its developer tools and integrations. But some users find Stripe’s pricing confusing and sometimes the platform is down.

Conclusion, Square vs Stripe

Choose between Square and Stripe based on your business needs. Square is good for businesses that need point of sale systems and business management tools, Stripe is good for online payment processing and developer features. Both have competitive pricing, advanced security and many features for payment processing. Consider your business and transaction volume when deciding.

FAQs

What kind of businesses is Square good for? Square is good for retail and restaurant businesses since it has point of sale systems and in-person payment solutions.
How does Stripe handle international payments? Stripe supports international payments but charges extra fees for them.
Are there any hidden costs with Stripe? Stripe has simple and transparent pricing with no hidden costs.
Can I use Stripe for recurring payments? Yes, Stripe has automated billing for subscriptions, easy to manage recurring payments.
What security does Stripe have for transactions? Stripe has encryption, PCI compliance, real-time fraud detection and Strong Customer Authentication to secure transactions and protect financial data.

Square vs Stripe: Which Payment Gateway is Right for You?