See exactly what Square keeps from a payment — in person, online, on an invoice, or manually keyed — then flip it around to find what to charge so the fee comes out of the client's pocket, not yours.
Built & maintained by Marcus, freelancer·Figures from Square·Last updated July 2026
Verified July 2026: Square's in-person rate is 2.6% + 15¢ (raised from + 10¢ on Feb 25, 2025). After the October 2025 pricing overhaul Square has three plans — on the Free plan online payments are 3.3% + 30¢ and keyed cards 3.5% + 15¢; Plus ($49/mo) and Premium ($149/mo) drop online to 2.9% + 30¢.
2.6%
+ 15¢ in-person tap/dip/swipe
3.3%
+ 30¢ online & invoices (Free plan)
3.5%
+ 15¢ keyed / Virtual Terminal
$0
monthly fee on the Free plan
$USD
In-person rate (2.6%)Tap, dip, swipe or QR · card present−$26.00
Fixed feePer-transaction fixed component−$0.15
Total Square fee−$26.15
Square fee
$26.15
Eff. rate 2.62%
You receive
$973.85
After Square's fee
Client pays
$1,000.00
Charged amount
Standard next-day payout is free. An Instant Transfer to your bank or debit card costs about 1.75%–1.95% (min $0.25) — verify the current rate in your Square Dashboard. Cash and check payments logged in Square are free.
Enter the amount you want to keep after Square's fee, and we'll calculate what to charge your client so you net exactly that.
$USD
Charge this amount
$1,026.85
Client pays this · Square deducts its fee · you keep your target
Passing fees to clients: in most US states you can add a card surcharge, but a few restrict it and consumer-card surcharging is banned in the EU/UK. Most freelancers simply build the fee into the price using the amount above, rather than adding a separate line.
$USD
Processor
Rate
You receive
How Square's fees work in 2026
Square charges a percentage plus a small fixed fee on every card payment, and the rate depends on how the card is presented — not on the card brand. The safer the transaction, the lower the rate.
In person · 2.6% + 15¢
Tap, dip, swipe or QR on a Square reader. Lowest rate — the card is physically present, so fraud risk is low.
Online · 3.3% + 30¢
Square Online, invoices and payment links on the Free plan. Higher rate for card-not-present risk.
⌨
Keyed · 3.5% + 15¢
Manual entry, card on file or Virtual Terminal — you type the number. Highest rate, same on every plan.
ACH invoice · 1%
Client pays a Square invoice by bank transfer instead of card. Just 1% (min $1) — cheapest for large invoices.
The gap between the in-person rate (2.6% + 15¢) and the online rate (3.3% + 30¢) is the single most important thing for a freelancer to understand. If you can take payment in person — at a market, a shoot, a client's office — you keep noticeably more. On a $1,000 payment, in person costs $26.15 while an online invoice costs $33.30: a $7.15 difference that grows with every job.
Square's three plans: Free vs Plus vs Premium
Square's October 2025 pricing overhaul consolidated everything into three plans. The Free plan has no monthly fee and is what most freelancers should use. Plus and Premium charge a subscription in exchange for a lower online rate:
Plan
Monthly
In person
Online
Keyed
Free
$0
2.6% + 15¢
3.3% + 30¢
3.5% + 15¢
Plus
$49
2.5% + 15¢
2.9% + 30¢
3.5% + 15¢
Premium
$149
2.4% + 15¢
2.9% + 30¢
3.5% + 15¢
When does paying for Plus pay off? Plus lowers the online rate by 0.4% (3.3% → 2.9%). The $49 monthly fee is covered once that saving reaches $49 — at about $12,250 of online payments per month. Below that, the Free plan is cheaper. Most freelancers never cross that line, so the Free plan wins.
Square fee reference — every rate
All rates for US-based Square accounts on the Free plan as of July 2026. Verify your own rates on your Square Dashboard, since they vary by plan and can change.
Payment method
Fee (Free plan)
Notes
In person (tap, dip, swipe, QR)
2.6% + 15¢
Card present · lowest rate · Plus 2.5%, Premium 2.4%
Online / eCommerce / invoice / payment link
3.3% + 30¢
Customer enters card · Plus & Premium lower this to 2.9% + 30¢
Online API (developer checkout)
2.9% + 30¢
Integrated eCommerce API · same on every plan
Manually keyed / card on file / Virtual Terminal
3.5% + 15¢
You type the card number · highest rate · same on every plan
Invoice paid by ACH bank transfer
1% (min $1)
No card · cheapest for large invoices · Plus/Premium cap the fee at $10
Afterpay (Buy Now, Pay Later)
6% + 30¢
You are paid upfront; Afterpay carries the repayment risk
Instant Transfer to bank / debit card
~1.75%–1.95% (min $0.25)
Optional speed fee · standard next-day transfer is free · verify current rate
Standard next-day payout
Free
Default deposit timing · 1–2 business days
Monthly / setup / PCI fee
$0 (Free plan)
No monthly fee, no setup fee, no PCI-compliance fee on Free
Chargeback / dispute
No fee
Square does not charge a dispute fee; the disputed amount is held pending review
For invoices, the ACH bank-transfer option (1%, min $1) beats card almost immediately — at $1,000 it costs $10 versus $33.30 by card. Ask larger clients to pay a Square invoice by bank transfer and you keep the difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Square's fees in 2026?
On Square's Free plan (no monthly subscription) the standard US rates are: in-person tap, dip, swipe or QR at 2.6% + 15¢; online, invoices and payment links at 3.3% + 30¢; and manually keyed cards, card on file or Virtual Terminal at 3.5% + 15¢. The in-person rate rose from 2.6% + 10¢ to 2.6% + 15¢ on February 25, 2025. There is no monthly fee, setup fee or PCI-compliance fee on the Free plan — you only pay when you take a payment.
Why is Square's online rate (3.3%) higher than its in-person rate (2.6%)?
Card-not-present payments — online checkout, invoices and payment links — carry more fraud and chargeback risk than a card physically tapped or dipped on a reader, so Square charges more: 3.3% + 30¢ online versus 2.6% + 15¢ in person on the Free plan. If you take a lot of online payments, the Plus plan ($49/month) lowers the online rate to 2.9% + 30¢, and a developer-integrated Online API checkout is 2.9% + 30¢ on every plan.
Does Square charge a monthly fee?
No — Square's Free plan has no monthly fee, and it is what most freelancers use. Square also offers Plus at $49/month and Premium at $149/month, which lower the processing rates (for example online drops from 3.3% to 2.9%). Paying for Plus only makes sense once the rate saving beats the subscription: the 0.4% online saving covers $49/month at roughly $12,250 of online payments per month. Below that, the Free plan is cheaper.
How do I calculate what to charge to cover Square's fee?
Use the formula Charge = (Target net + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − rate). For an in-person payment at 2.6% + 15¢, to net $1,000 you charge $1,026.85 — Square deducts $26.85 and you keep exactly $1,000. For an online payment at 3.3% + 30¢ you would charge $1,034.44. The Add the Fee tab above does this for any amount and payment type.
Is Square cheaper than Stripe or PayPal?
It depends on how you get paid. In person, Square (2.6% + 15¢) is competitive, but PayPal's QR / Zettle rate (2.29% + 9¢) is slightly cheaper and Stripe Terminal is 2.7% + 5¢. Online, Stripe (2.9% + 30¢) beats Square's Free-plan online rate (3.3% + 30¢), and PayPal invoices are 3.49% + 49¢. Square's advantage isn't the headline rate — it's the free point-of-sale software, free invoicing and no monthly fee, which makes it strong for freelancers who take payment in person.
What is Square's instant transfer fee?
Standard next-business-day transfers to your bank are free. An Instant Transfer to a linked bank account or debit card carries a fee of roughly 1.75%–1.95% (minimum $0.25) — sources vary since Square's October 2025 pricing overhaul, so confirm the current rate in your Square Dashboard. Because the fee only buys speed, most freelancers use the free next-day payout unless cash flow is urgent.
Are Square processing fees tax deductible for freelancers?
Yes — Square processing fees are 100% deductible as an ordinary business expense for self-employed freelancers. In the US, deduct them on Schedule C under "Commissions and fees." Square provides an annual fee summary and monthly statements as documentation. Use our freelance tax calculator to see how deductible expenses lower your self-employment and income tax.
Sources & how we calculate
This calculator applies Square's published US Free-plan fee percentages to the amount you enter — the rate for your payment type plus the 15¢ / 30¢ fixed fee, or the 1% (min $1) ACH rate — then shows your net, or in reverse the amount to charge to cover the fee. Rates for the Plus and Premium plans are shown in the plan table above. Everything is computed in your browser from the numbers you enter; no data is sent anywhere.
Estimate only, not financial advice. Square's fees vary by plan, region and account type, and rates change over time — the Instant Transfer rate in particular is reported differently across sources. Confirm your exact fees on your Square Dashboard or squareup.com/us/en/payments/our-fees before making business decisions.