Clover vs. Square Retail

Looking for Point of Sale software? Here's how Clover and Square Retail stack up.

Mark Hammersley

Mark Hammersley

Last updated 24o September 2020


Clover

4.1  Stackupp rating


Pricing from

$ 9.95 / month

Free Plan?

No


Best for

small and medium-sized retail and businesses, restaurants, and takeaways.

Square Retail

3.8  Stackupp rating


Pricing from

$ 60.00 / month

Free Plan?

Yes


Best for

small and medium-sized businesses that are looking for an intuitive interface and a straightforward pricing model.

Clover or Square Retail: Which is best?

Can't decide between Clover and Square Retail?

Find the best platform for you with our side by side comparison of Clover and Square Retail. See how each platform stacks up across ease of use, features, integrations, support and value for money.

Let the comparison begin. Don't worry, we'll guide you.

Is Clover right for you?

Clover POS is a comprehensive point-of-sale system that’s aimed largely at small and medium-sized retailers. That said, enterprise plans are available on a custom basis. Businesses can choose from four dedicated products: “Table Service”, “Counter Service”, “Retail”, and “Service”.

Clover operates a slightly unique pricing model when compared to competitors. It’s not an iPad POS. Instead, Clover offers a range of in-house hardware packages, its own payment processor, and a relatively inexpensive monthly subscription for its software.

Overall, we thought that Clover was an intuitive, well-designed, and feature-rich solution. There are a few downsides, however. These include additional costs for integrations, lack of compatibility with third-party payment processors, and the requirement to use only Clover hardware solutions.

Advantages

  • Intuitive, comprehensive POS package.
  • Well-priced with multiple hardware options.
  • Large library of integrations.

Drawbacks

  • No integrations with third-party payment processors.
  • No support for third-party hardware.
  • Additional costs for integrations.

you’re looking for a comprehensive POS solution with a relatively low monthly subscription charge. Keep in mind that Clover isn’t an iPad system, so you’ll have to buy in-house hardware.

Is Square Retail right for you?

Square for Retail is Square’s dedicated point of sale system (POS) for brick-and-mortar retailers. It is offered alongside several other solutions, including Square for Restaurants and Square Appointments (for appointment-based service businesses). This review will focus on the retail option.

Square for Retail has everything you would expect from a point of sale system, including built-in payment processing, integrations with ecommerce platforms, inventory management, a good (if slightly expensive) selection of hardware options, and a fairly comprehensive analytics dashboard.

Notably, Square offers what is perhaps one of the best free plans on the market, although users will have to pay for hardware and the ability to add additional team members at $35 per location.

Square’s fee structure is also relatively straightforward. If you’re not on the free plan, you will pay $60 for each location (with unlimited staff numbers and permissions) and a transaction fee of 2.5% plus ten cents. This is very competitive when compared to other processors, although you will pay slightly more on the free plan. If you run a larger store, with sales above $250,000 annually, you qualify for a custom pricing package.

On the negative side, we would have liked to have seen more third-party integrations, cheaper hardware (many competitor plans include a free card reader), and deeper levels of functionality in some areas.

All in all, however, Square offers an inexpensive and easy-to-use system for small and medium retailers that don’t want the hassle of having to navigate a more complex app. There is also the option to integrate with Square’s ecommerce platform if you don’t already have an online store.

Advantages

  • Easy and straightforward to use.
  • Transparent pricing structure.
  • Excellent free plan.

Drawbacks

  • Lack of integrations.
  • Expensive hardware.
  • Limited functionality in some areas.

you’re a small or medium-sized retailer looking for a solution that won’t require large amounts of time and resources to set up. You just need to be wary of purchasing Square’s complete hardware package, which costs $799.

Ease of Use

Our first comparison criteria, ease of use. Why? Because it’s the most important.

Think about it. You don’t want to invest a lot of your precious time setting up an online store and tweaking the design only to find out that it’s a pain in the butt to manage day to day.

We take a look at how simple the Clover and Square Retail platforms are to run.

How easy is Clover to use?

Rated 4/5 for Ease of Use

Both the Clover POS interface and the back-office are intuitive and easy to use. The register dashboard follows a relatively typical design, with a homepage menu with tabs for the register, orders, tables, refunds, etc. Product options can then be selected from a range of “block” options (or by using the barcode scanner).

The back office dashboard is designed in a similar way, with a left-hand menu providing access to dedicated areas for reporting, inventory management, customer details, employee permissions, and so on.

All in all, we found that Clover was a nicely-designed and straightforward platform. It’s also possible to carry out many advanced functions directly on the POS stations.

What Clover customers are saying...

“Clover has been an excellent option for taking payments in my stores.”
“I love how easy it is to use clover for grab and go, sit down service, or retail services.”
“Clover is so easy to set up.”

How easy is Square Retail to use?

Rated 5/5 for Ease of Use

Square for Retail is very easy to use. Everything from the back-office dashboard to the “smart” store builder is designed to streamline the process of taking and managing payments.

The POS register, which is usually accessed via an iOS tablet or Square’s in-house register, follows a typical block format, with an area that displays individual products and categories, a checkout box, and additional options like discounts, gift cards, popular items, and so on. It’s also possible to use your tablet to receive tips, send email receipts, check inventory at different locations, and so on.

The back-office is also designed in a traditional way, with a left-hand sidebar providing access to dedicated areas for managing sales, analytics and tracking, employee permissions, and more.

What Square Retail customers are saying...

“Square is a great product that is a wonderful tool for small businesses and nonprofits like ours.
“It operates just like your mind works. It is so logical.”
“I liked that it was a convenient way to accept payments anywhere via my mobile cell phone through the Square App.”
Square Retail is our winner for ease of use

Clover Features

Rated 4/5 for Features

Clover has everything you would expect in a point-of-sale system, along with a number of additional benefits that you find with competitors. Clover is also suitable for a range of business types, including retailers, takeaways, and restaurants. Main features include inventory management, barcode scanning, payment processing, employee management, analytics, customer profiles, and a large library of integrations. For businesses that are eager to build an integrated, automated tech stack, Clover is an option that’s well worth considering because of its large app library, it’s just important to remember to account for costs from third-party providers.

Five main hardware packages are available: “Go”, “Mini”, “Flex”, “Station”, and “Station Pro”. “Go” is a slimmed-down package which is made up of a card reader and a mobile app which is compatible with Android and iOS. “Mini”, which costs $749, is the lowest-level full POS system and has extra functionality including a full-feature interface and barcode scanning. The “Station Pro” package is the premium package and includes a printer, customer terminal, and cash register.

Square Retail Features

Rated 4/5 for Features

Square for Retail has a fairly comprehensive feature-set and comes with everything you would expect from a point-of-sale system. Keep in mind that you will only have access to all features on the $60/month “Plus” package. The free plan provides only limited functionality.

Square back-office is a browser-based app. The register interface is accessed via an iPad or the Square register. Support for Android tablets is not provided, but you can download a feature-limited Android app to take mobile payments.

Checkout features include saved carts, barcode scanning via the iPad camera or Square register, discounts, item searches, and exchanges. Payment functionality, which works on a straightforward, transparent fee structure, comprises next-day transfers, invoices, and both physical and digital gift cards.

You won’t find anything lacking on the inventory management front, either. Tools include unlimited products, low stock alerts, bulk inventory uploads, barcode printing, and more.

If you decide to use Square’s in-house ecommerce solution, you will also have access to a user-friendly store builder, automated inventory syncing, and integration with Instagram.

Finally, analytics reports cover sales, profit margins, vendor sales, and total costs.

It's a draw!

Clover Integrations

Rated 4.5/5 for Integrations

When it comes to integrations, Clover really shines. It has one of the most extensive app libraries of any solution that we’ve reviewed. Users have access to an array of third-party connectors in categories such as accounting, customer management, ecommerce, payroll, and more. There are also many niche apps that can be leveraged to help with tasks like fundraising, hiring, and time-management.

Despite the variety of apps on offer, however, there are a few downsides. The big one is that Clover doesn’t integrate with any third-party payment processors. If you opt to use Clover, you will have to use their in-house solution. This is likely part of the reason that Clover can offer such a low monthly subscription for its software. Also keep in mind that using apps from external providers will carry extra costs.

Direct integrations for ecommerce include Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, and Ecwid. It’s also possible to connect with most well-known ecommerce platforms that aren’t directly supported through intermediary integrations like Kosmos. On the accounting front, both Quickbooks and Xero are supported.

If you’re eager to build an integrated, fully-synced tach stack, Clover is definitely a solution worth considering. Just remember to allow for additional costs from third-party providers.

Square Retail Integrations

Rated 2.5/5 for Integrations

Integrations represent one area where Square could have performed better. If you’re looking for a POS system that syncs up seamlessly with your existing tech stack, you may be forced to look elsewhere. That said, Square does provide a small package of integrations, so you may find what you’re looking for. A Zapier integration is also available, so you can sync up with most apps, albeit with limited functionality.

Square performs best in the area of accounting and tax, where a large selection of integrations is offered, including Quickbooks, Xero, Shogo, Kahoo, OneUp, ZohoBooks, and more. A small number of connectors with analytics, team management, and restaurant apps are provided.

Square’s online payment processing tool also integrates with most well-known ecommerce platforms like WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, and so on.

Clover is our winner for integrations

How much do they cost?

Everyone’s favourite topic - pricing. Let's dive in to see if Clover or Square Retail offers better value for money.

How much does Clover cost?

Rated 4/5 for Pricing

Judging value for money is a little tricky when it comes to Clover. Rather than provide tiered packages for its software based on sales or the number of registers, Clover offers a flat-rate subscription which costs $9.95 per month. Users then have the option to purchase one of a selection of branded hardware packages. All payments are processed with Clover’s in-house solution at 3.5% + 10 cents per keyed-in transaction. This drops to 2.7% + 10 cents if you decide to use a Clover device.

Numerous hardware options are available, across a variety of price-points, from a simple card reader that syncs with a mobile phone to a comprehensive cash register, printer, and user dashboard.

How much does Square Retail cost?

Rated 4/5 for Pricing

Square has a straightforward, competitive pricing structure. We consider the free plan to be one of the best available to small and medium retailers. Three plans are offered: “Free”, “Plus”, and “Premium”.

The free plan is ideal for small shops and comes with a limited number of features. If you want to add extra team members, you will have to pay $35/month per store. The “Plus” plan, which most users will opt for, costs $60/month per location and includes the full feature-set and discounted payment processing fees.

Finally, the “Premium” plan, which is geared towards larger enterprises, operates on a custom pricing model and is available to sellers turning over in excess of $250,000 a month.

It's a draw!

Help and Support

If things go wrong (and they often do) you need to know someone’s there to help get you back on track. So, how does Clover 's and Square Retail's support measure up?

How good is Clover support?

Rated 4/5 for Help and Support

Clover provides 24/7 support via phone and email. Users can access country-specific numbers for helplines from their device or back-office dashboards. User reviews of Clover’s customer service are generally very good, although some issues with slow response times were cited. Help with installation and onboarding training is available through third-party provider CompuCom.

How good is Square Retail support?

Rated 3.5/5 for Help and Support

Square customer support is available via phone, email, live chat, and social media. Users also have access to extensive documentation and an active seller community.

User reviews of the quality and speed of support are mixed, with many users talking positively about helpful staff and fast response times but complaining about receiving generic answers.

There are no custom onboarding packages, although the ease of setting up largely removes the need for them.

Clover is our winner for support

The Bottom Line

The final say. Let's wrap up our thoughts on each platform.

Clover : Our Verdict

We were very impressed with Clover. It operates a unique pricing model, with a low-priced monthly subscription for software but the requirement to purchase a branded Clover hardware package to gain full access to all features. Users also have to process payments with Clover’s in-house solution.

Small and medium-sized restaurants, takeaways, and retailers will find a lot to like from the intuitive, streamlined solution. In many cases, it will be the most cost-effective option available. The large app library is also one of the best we’ve come across, and will appeal to businesses that want to build an integrated tech stack.

If you’re thinking about giving Clover a test-run, you can take advantage of a free one-month trial.

Square Retail: Our Verdict

Overall, we were very impressed with Square. It’s one of the easiest-to-use platforms we reviewed, and the “forever free” plan is arguably the best on the market. Small and medium-sized retailers that are looking for a streamlined, straightforward solution with transparent pricing will find a lot to like. The only real downsides are the limited integrations library and the expensive hardware, although this won’t be a problem if you’re using an iPad.

Larger store-owners will likely require more extensive functionality, especially when it comes to analytics and integrations. Nonetheless, it is still worth getting in touch to discuss options if you’re generating sales of over $250,000 per month.

Overall, we found Clover to be the better Point of Sale platform.

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