Square advertises one simple rate, but in 2026 there are really a dozen. The percentage depends on how the customer pays, which plan you’re on and where the card was issued, and it is taken from everything the card is charged, sales tax and tip included. An instant transfer then takes another 1.95% when you move the money out. The calculator above applies each rate to exactly the amount Square names, rounds each line to the cent and shows the arithmetic, so you can price a sale or check a payment against your Square Dashboard.
Every Square fee at a glance
These are the US rates on the three plans Square launched on October 6, 2025. Pick the UK, Canada or Australia in the calculator to see theirs.
| Fee | Amount | Charged on | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tap, dip or swipe (incl. Tap to Pay) | 2.6% + 15¢ · Plus 2.5% + 15¢ · Premium 2.4% + 15¢ | Whole amount, incl. tax and tip | Card present in personsource |
| Online & invoices paid by card | 3.3% + 30¢ · Plus & Premium 2.9% + 30¢ | Whole amount, incl. shipping, tax and tip | Square Online, payment links, invoices, subscriptionssource |
| Online API | 2.9% + 30¢ | Whole amount charged | Your own site or app via Square’s APIs (every plan)source |
| Manual entry or card on file | 3.5% + 15¢ | Whole amount charged | Card typed in or saved card charged (every plan)source |
| ACH bank transfer (invoice) | 1%, $1 min · $10 cap on Plus & Premium | Invoice payment | No cap listed on Free; $0 into Square Checkingsource |
| ACH bank transfer (API) | 1%, $1 min, $5 cap | Payment amount | Web Payments SDK + Payments APIsource |
| Afterpay | 6% + 30¢ | Whole order | Every plansource |
| EBT (SNAP) | 1.8% + 5¢ | Payment amount | In person, SNAP-eligible itemssource |
| Bitcoin payments | 0% (1% from Jan 1, 2027) | Payment amount | Customer scans a QR code in personsource |
| International cards | +1.5% | Payment total | Card issued outside the US (not ACH, Afterpay, Cash App Pay, EBT, bitcoin)source |
| Instant or same-day transfer | 1.95% | Amount transferred | Only if you choose it; next-business-day is freesource |
| Gift card load | 2.5% · Premium 0% | Amount loaded | Plus normal processing on the salesource |
| Plan | Free $0 · Plus $49 · Premium $149 | Per location, per month | Plus & Premium lower the rates abovesource |
| Chargebacks | $0 | — | No chargeback or dispute feesource |
| Refunds | Fee not returned | The original processing fee | Full or partial refundsource |
Four things catch most sellers out:
- The fee is charged on tax and tips. Square takes its percentage from the total of each payment, so a $40 sale with 10% sales tax and a $6 tip is charged on $50: $1.45 in fees instead of $1.19 on the $40 alone.
- Online got more expensive. On Square Free, online payments, payment links and invoices paid by card cost 3.3% + 30¢. Legacy plans moved from 2.9% to 3.3% on January 13, 2026, and many calculators still show 2.9%.
- Foreign cards cost 1.5% more. Since early 2026 Square adds 1.5% when a card was issued outside the US, on top of the normal rate and as a separate line.
- Refunds don’t return the fee. Refund a sale, fully or partly, and Square keeps the processing fee it charged.
What you keep at common prices
Each row is an in-person card payment on Square Free, with no tax or tip and a free next-business-day transfer.
| Sale amount | Total fees | Fee rate | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | $0.28 | 5.60% | $4.72 |
| $10.00 | $0.41 | 4.10% | $9.59 |
| $20.00 | $0.67 | 3.35% | $19.33 |
| $50.00 | $1.45 | 2.90% | $48.55 |
| $100.00 | $2.75 | 2.75% | $97.25 |
| $250.00 | $6.65 | 2.66% | $243.35 |
| $500.00 | $13.15 | 2.63% | $486.85 |
| $1,000.00 | $26.15 | 2.61% | $973.85 |
The 15¢ fixed fee is what makes small payments expensive: a $5 coffee gives up 5.6% to fees, while a $1,000 sale gives up 2.6%.
How the fees add up on one order
A $44 in-person sale with a $6 tip, moved to your bank with an instant transfer:
- Payer pays$50.00
- Card processing: in person2.6% × $50.00 + $0.15−$1.45
- Instant / same-day transfer fee1.95% × $48.55−$0.95
- You keep$47.60
The card is charged $50.00, so the processing fee is 2.6% of $50.00 plus 15¢: $1.45, of which 16¢ is the fee on the tip. The instant transfer then takes 1.95% of the $48.55 left in your balance, another 95¢, and $47.60 reaches your bank within minutes. Wait for the standard transfer and you would have $48.55 the next business day.
Instant transfers, and same-day transfers in the US, cost 1.95% of the amount sent, up from 1.75% in February 2026: $19.50 on a $1,000 balance. You need at least $25 left after fees, and a single payment over $10,000 always goes on the free standard schedule.
Square Free, Plus or Premium?
Square Plus ($49 a month per location) and Square Premium ($149) lower three of the rates, and Premium also drops the 2.5% gift card load fee:
| Payment | Free | Plus | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tap, dip or swipe | 2.6% + 15¢ | 2.5% + 15¢ | 2.4% + 15¢ |
| Online and invoices paid by card | 3.3% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Invoices paid by ACH | 1%, $1 min | 1%, $1 min, $10 cap | 1%, $1 min, $10 cap |
Keyed-in and card-on-file payments (3.5% + 15¢), the Online API (2.9% + 30¢), Afterpay (6% + 30¢) and the 1.5% foreign card fee are the same on every plan. Square lists the same standard rates for older (legacy) plans as for Square Free, except that ACH payments are capped at $10.
On fees alone, Plus pays for itself once a location takes about $12,250 a month online, because it saves 0.4% of every online payment. In person it saves only 0.1%, so it needs about $49,000 a month of card sales. Premium beats Free on fees above about $37,250 a month online or $74,500 in person. Below those levels, a paid plan is worth it only for its software.
Invoices, keyed-in cards, foreign cards and Afterpay
A $2,500 invoice paid by card costs $82.80 on Square Free and $72.80 on Plus. Paid by ACH bank transfer it costs 1% with a $1 minimum: $25.00 on Free, or $10.00 on Plus and Premium, which cap the fee at $10. Square’s fee table lists no cap on Free, so a large ACH invoice there costs the full 1%. If the money goes into Square Checking, ACH is free on every plan.
Typed-in cards are the other expensive case. A $120 payment taken over the phone in Virtual Terminal, or charged to a card on file, costs 3.5% + 15¢: $4.35, against $3.27 if the customer taps the same card in person.
The international card fee applies to in-person, online, keyed and API card payments when the card was issued in another country. A $100 tap with a Canadian card costs $2.75 plus $1.50, $4.25 in all, which is Square’s own example. It doesn’t apply to ACH, Afterpay, Cash App Pay, EBT or bitcoin.
Afterpay costs 6% + 30¢ of the order on every plan: $18.30 on a $300 sale, against $7.95 for the same sale tapped on a card. In return you are paid in full up front, and the customer’s later installments cost you nothing.
Square fees in the UK, Canada and Australia
One in-person card payment of 50 in each country’s own currency (US$50, £50, C$50, A$50), on the standard plan:
| Market | Sale | Fees | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 United States | $50.00 | $1.45 2.90% | $48.55 |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | £50.00 | £0.88 1.76% | £49.12 |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | CA$50.00 | CA$1.25 2.50% | CA$48.75 |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | A$50.00 | A$0.80 1.60% | A$49.20 |
- United Kingdom: 1.75% in person, 1.4% + 25p online with UK cards (2.5% + 25p with non-UK cards), and 2.5% for invoices, Virtual Terminal and cards on file. Instant transfers went from 1.5% to 1.95% in October 2026.
- Canada: 2.5% for credit cards in person, 0.75% + 7¢ for debit, 2.8% + 30¢ online and 3.3% + 15¢ keyed in. A 1.5% fee on cards from outside Canada started on March 3, 2026 for sellers who already had an account.
- Australia: 1.6% in person (1.9% for some accounts opened before 30 May 2024 that use Reader, Stand or Tap to Pay), and 2.2% online and keyed in. Square’s Australian fee pages list no international card fee, and since 1 October 2026 Square sellers can’t add a surcharge to card payments.
Ways to keep more of each sale
- Ask for bank transfers on big invoices. ACH costs 1% instead of 3.3% + 30¢, and nothing into Square Checking.
- Take cards in person when you can. A tap costs 2.6% + 15¢; typing the same card in costs 3.5% + 15¢.
- Let transfers arrive the next business day. Instant and same-day transfers cost 1.95% of everything you move.
- Ring up small purchases together. The 15¢ fixed fee is charged once per payment, so one $10 payment keeps more than two $5 ones.
- Do the plan math per location. Plus only pays off on fees above about $12,250 a month online or $49,000 in person.
Recent Square fee changes
- January 1, 2027UpcomingUS bitcoin payments go from 0% to 1% (Square: “0% processing fees until December 31, 2026, after which it will be 1%”).source
- October 15, 2026UK instant transfers rise from 1.5% to 1.95% of the balance transferred (fee schedule dated 15 October 2026).source
- October 1, 2026Australia: instant transfers rise from 1.5% to 1.95%, and Square sellers may no longer add a surcharge to card payments.source
- March 3, 2026Canada: a 1.5% international transaction fee starts for sellers who had a Square account on February 2, 2026, on cards issued outside Canada (not Interac or Afterpay).source
- February 19, 2026US: a 1.5% international card fee on top of every card rate is listed on Square’s US pricing page by this date (it wasn’t on February 2). Square published no start date.source
- February 17, 2026US instant and same-day transfers go from 1.75% to 1.95% per transfer (Square’s help center showed 1.75% on February 7 and 1.95% by February 17; no announcement).source
- February 2, 2026UK: a 1.5% international transaction fee is added for non-UK cards (online payments keep their own 2.5% + 25p non-UK rate instead).source
- January 13, 2026US legacy plans: the standard online rate (Square Online Free/Personal, payment links, subscriptions, eGift cards) rises from 2.9% + 30¢ to 3.3% + 30¢, matching Square Free.source
- October 6, 2025US: new Square Free / Plus / Premium plans ($0 / $49 / $149 a month per location). In person 2.6% / 2.5% / 2.4% + 15¢; online and invoices 3.3% + 30¢ on Free, 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium.source
- March 27, 2025US in-person rate goes from 2.6% + 10¢ to 2.6% + 15¢ for existing sellers (new sellers from February 25, 2025).source
- May 30, 2024Australia: sellers signing up from this date pay 1.6% in person on every device; earlier sellers on Square Reader, Stand or Tap to Pay stay at 1.9%.source
We re-check Square’s fee pages every day and update this calculator when they change. Sellers on custom rates pay different fees, so the Pricing & subscriptions page in your Square Dashboard is the final word for your account.