Square vs PayPal Zettle
PayPal Zettle comes out ahead of Square on 3 of the 6 things that decide this, going by what each company publishes and what independent review sites report. The one that matters for you may be one the leader loses.
The verdict
PayPal Zettle takes it, 3–2 on rounds.
On the published figures and the independent review sites, PayPal Zettle takes 3 of 6 rounds. Treat that as a starting point and check the current figures on both pages, because prices and plans move.
Choose Square if…
- • You want Square's edge on what customers say on trustpilot and selling when the internet drops
Choose PayPal Zettle if…
- • You want PayPal Zettle's edge on what each card sale costs and who picks up when the till is down
Round by round
- Round 1What each card sale costsPayPal Zettle wins
PayPal Zettle wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 2Who picks up when the till is downPayPal Zettle winsSquare5/10
weekday hours on the free plan
Monday to Friday, 6am to 6pm PT on the free plan
- weekday hours on the free plan, against phone and chat 6am to 6pm PT daily
Source: posusa.com ↗
PayPal Zettle8/109:00 am - 5:00 pm on weekdays (no timezone)
Zettle help center contact page (PayPal brand); PayPal US/USD pages state no Zettle support hours at all
- every day, phone and online chat
Source: zettle.com ↗
PayPal Zettle wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 3What it costs to get a card readerPayPal Zettle winsSquare5/10
$59
contactless and chip reader; the first magstripe reader is free
- $59, against $29
Source: posusa.com ↗
PayPal Zettle wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 4What customers say on TrustpilotSquare winsPayPal Zettle5/10
1.4 out of 5
TrustScore from 41,713 reviews on Trustpilot
- 1.4 out of 5, against 3.7 out of 5
Source: trustpilot.com ↗
Square wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 5What the software costsTie
Nothing to separate them here.
- Round 6Selling when the internet dropsSquare winsSquare8/10
Offline payments on every plan
Square Free ($0/mo per location); trial = Square Plus
Source: squareup.com ↗
PayPal Zettle5/10Only via third-party SDK apps
PayPal Point of Sale (formerly Zettle), no monthly fee
- Only via third-party SDK apps, against Offline payments on every plan
Source: paypal.com ↗
Square wins this round on what the published sources say.
Side by side
- Square Free ($0/mo per location); trial = Square Plus
- in-person card sale
- every day, phone and online chat
- weekday hours on the free plan, against 24/7 support
- Reader from $59, against $0 upfront for first device
- Premium $149/mo, against Point of Sale from $69/mo
- weekday hours on the free plan, against 24/7 phone support
- 1.4 out of 5, against 3.7 out of 5
- Only via third-party SDK apps, against Offline payments on every plan
- phone and chat 6am to 6pm PT daily, against 24/7 support
- 1.4 out of 5, against 2.7 out of 5