Square fee calculator
Enter a price to see what Square takes from an online, in-person, invoice or ACH payment — and what you keep on the Free, Plus or Premium plan.
Mode
Where you sell from
United States only
This platform is US-only. The calculator shows US dollars.
Square plan
No monthly fee. Online card or invoice: 3.3% + 30¢.
3.3% + 30¢ on Free; 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus/Premium
You keep
$23.87
- Online card processing (Free plan)
- 3.3% + $0.30 for an online card payment or invoice on the Free plan.
- $1.13
Buyer pays
$25.00
All fees as % of price
4.5%
Unlockable at $25.00 — a direct link, not a marketplace
Buyer pays $27.50 · you keep $22.50
Fees checked on 19 October 2026. Sources: Square pricing, Square pricing, Square pricing.
Fees change. Check the platform’s own pricing page before you rely on this.
How Square fees work
Square is one processor with several rates. The rate depends on the plan, the way the payment is taken and whether the card is domestic. That is why two pages can both quote “Square’s online rate” and mean different numbers.
On the US pricing page read on 19 October 2026, the Free plan charges 3.3% + 30¢ for an online card payment or invoice. Plus and Premium charge 2.9% + 30¢. The API rate is 2.9% + 30¢ on every plan. In person, Free is 2.6% + 15¢, Plus is 2.5% + 15¢ and Premium is 2.4% + 15¢. The calculator defaults to the Free plan because that is what a new account gets.
The fixed fee matters more than the percentage on small sales. On a $10 Free online payment, 30¢ is 3% before the 3.3% percentage; on a $100 payment it is 0.3%. That is why the “you keep” figure falls faster at low prices than the headline rate suggests.
Every Square fee, in one table
Plan fees are monthly; per-sale fees are deducted from each payment. The calculator models the per-sale lines; the monthly plan fee is shown for context.
| Product | Free | Plus | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online card or invoiceThe rate most pages call “the Square online rate” is the Plus/Premium rate, not the Free plan. | 3.3% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Online APICard payments through Square’s payments API. | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| In person | 2.6% + 15¢ | 2.5% + 15¢ | 2.4% + 15¢ |
| Manual entry or card on file | 3.5% + 15¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ |
| ACH via invoice | 1%, $1 minimum | 1%, $1 minimum, $10 cap | 1%, $1 minimum, $10 cap |
| ACH via API | 1%, $1 minimum, $5 cap | 1%, $1 minimum, $5 cap | 1%, $1 minimum, $5 cap |
| Afterpay | 6% + 30¢ | 6% + 30¢ | 6% + 30¢ |
| International card surchargeNot modelled in the calculator because it depends on the card issuer. | +1.5% | +1.5% | +1.5% |
| Monthly plan, per locationPlan fees are not part of the per-sale result. | $0 | $49 | $149 |
Rates read from Square’s US pricing page on 19 October 2026. Fees change; check Square’s page before you rely on a figure.
Square fees at common prices
The same sale on the Free and Plus online rates. The gap is 0.4 percentage points, so it grows with the price: 16¢ at $40, 40¢ at $100, $4 at $1,000. The fixed 30¢ is identical on both plans.
| Price | Free fee | Free net | Plus fee | Plus net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | $0.47 | $4.53 | $0.45 | $4.55 |
| $10.00 | $0.63 | $9.37 | $0.59 | $9.41 |
| $25.00 | $1.13 | $23.87 | $1.03 | $23.97 |
| $50.00 | $1.95 | $48.05 | $1.75 | $48.25 |
| $100.00 | $3.60 | $96.40 | $3.20 | $96.80 |
To receive $100 after the Free online fee, charge $103.73. On Plus, charge $103.30. The calculator rounds up to the cent, so the net is never a penny short.
Is Square Plus worth it?
Plus costs $49/month per location and lowers the online rate from 3.3% to 2.9%. That 0.4-point difference pays for the subscription at $12,250/month of online card volume, or about 490 sales at $25.
Below that, Plus has to earn its fee through the rest of the product — the online store, the item library, the reporting and the other features. If you only need a payment link for a file, the subscription is a cost the calculator does not show. Premium at $149/month mainly lowers the in-person rate to 2.4% and adds features that matter to retail and hospitality; for a digital product sold online, it is hard to justify on processing alone.
Square for digital products
Square processes the payment. It does not deliver the file, cap the number of downloads, expire the link, or handle sales tax. That is not a criticism: Square is a payment processor and a point-of-sale product, and it does its job. It is just a different job from selling one file to one buyer.
If you already have a Square account and a site, the payment side is solved. The part still to solve is delivery and access: a link that stops working when it should, and a buyer experience that does not depend on a public file URL. Unlockable is one option for that narrower job; it is not a replacement for Square if you need in-person payments, hardware or a full store. See Unlockable’s pricing for the fee model.
What the calculator leaves out
The per-sale result does not include the monthly plan fee, hardware, chargebacks, disputes, refunds, currency conversion, sales tax, paid add-ons, custom pricing above $250,000/year, or the 1.5% international card surcharge. Those are real costs; they are left out because they depend on the account and the buyer, not on the price alone. The table above lists the rates; the calculator shows the sale.
Square in the UK
Square operates in the UK, but its UK plan rates are different and have not been confirmed for this calculator. The page shows US rates only, and the calculator does not convert them. If you sell from the UK, check Square’s UK pricing page before using a number here.
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Frequently asked questions
- How much does Square charge per transaction?
- On the US Free plan, an online card payment or invoice is 3.3% + 30¢ and an in-person payment is 2.6% + 15¢. On Plus or Premium, the online rate is 2.9% + 30¢; in person it is 2.5% + 15¢ on Plus and 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium. The calculator lets you switch plan and payment method so the result matches the account you actually have.
- Why does Square say 2.9% + 30¢ when my Free account charges 3.3%?
- The 2.9% + 30¢ online rate is the Plus/Premium rate, and it is also the rate for Square’s payments API. The Free plan’s online card and invoice rate on Square’s US pricing page is 3.3% + 30¢. The calculator defaults to Free for that reason.
- Is Square Plus worth it?
- Plus costs $49/month per location and lowers the online rate by 0.4 percentage points against Free. The fee difference covers the subscription at about $12,250/month of online card volume, or roughly 490 sales at $25. Below that, the features have to be worth the fee on their own. Premium is $149/month and mainly adds a lower in-person rate and other features; it is rarely the right plan for a digital-product seller.
- Does Square charge a monthly fee?
- Square Free has no monthly subscription; you pay per transaction. Plus is $49/month per location and Premium is $149/month per location on the US pricing page. Hardware, paid add-ons and custom pricing above $250,000/year are separate.
- What is the Square ACH fee?
- ACH via invoice is 1% with a $1 minimum. The Free plan has no fee cap on invoice ACH; Plus and Premium cap the fee at $10. ACH through the API is 1% with a $1 minimum and a $5 cap on every plan. ACH is cheaper than a card but slower, and it is not available for every business.
- Does Square refund its fee when I refund a customer?
- Square does not return the original processing fee when you refund a sale. The refund is free to issue, but the fee from the original payment stays with Square. A refunded $25 online sale on Free still cost $1.13.
- What about international cards?
- Square adds 1.5% for cards issued outside the US. The calculator does not model it because the surcharge depends on the card issuer, not the price. Add 1.5 percentage points to the rate if you expect a lot of international buyers.
- Can I use Square to sell digital products?
- Square can process the payment, but it does not deliver the file, cap the number of downloads, expire the link or handle sales tax. If the product is one file and the buyer already knows you, those are separate jobs. Unlockable is one option for the delivery and access-control part; Square remains the processor if you already use it.
- What does the “I want to receive” mode do?
- It solves for the price that leaves a target after fees. On the Free online rate, to receive $100 you charge $103.73. On Plus, the same target needs $103.30. The result is rounded up to the cent so the net is never a penny short.
- Are these UK rates?
- No. Square operates in the UK, but its UK plan rates are different and have not been confirmed for this calculator. The page shows US rates only. Do not convert them into sterling; use Square’s UK pricing page for a UK account.
Sources
Square is a trademark of Block, Inc. Unlockable is not affiliated with Square.