Square vs. Clover: Quick Facts, Detailed Features, Pricing, and Our Verdict

In this comprehensive comparison, we’ll explore the nuances of Square POS and Clover POS, examining their key features, advantages, and potential drawbacks for various business needs.

We’ll scrutinize everything from cost structures and hardware options to software capabilities and user-friendliness, offering a thorough analysis to guide your decision-making process.

Whether you’re a small retailer seeking powerful sales tracking tools, a café owner needing efficient table management, or a mobile business requiring a versatile POS solution, this guide will highlight the crucial aspects that should shape your choice between Square and Clover.

By the conclusion, you’ll have a clear picture of which POS system best suits your unique business requirements, enabling you to streamline operations, elevate customer satisfaction, and fuel your company’s expansion.

Square vs. Clover: Product Roundup Table

The table below offers an overview of Square and Clover’s comparison. This comparison will help you understand how these systems compare regarding the industries they serve, key features, pros and cons, user ratings, and the availability of free trials.

Square vs. Clover POS: Quick Facts

Square and Clover are both prominent players in the mobile point of sale industry, offering solutions for small businesses to accept payments.

Square, founded in 2009, is known for its iconic square-shaped card reader and comprehensive ecosystem of business tools.

It offers a wider range of services, including payroll, inventory management, and eCommerce solutions.

Clover, launched in 2012 and now owned by Fiserv, focuses more on providing integrated POS hardware and software systems tailored for specific business types.

While Square generally appeals to micro-merchants and mobile businesses with its simplicity and low entry costs, Clover targets slightly larger small businesses with more complex needs. Both offer competitive credit card transaction fees, but their pricing structures differ, with Clover often requiring more upfront investment in hardware.

Square is typically praised for its user-friendly interface and seamless integration across its services, while Clover is noted for its customizable apps and robust features for restaurant and retail environments.

Square POS vs. Clover: A More Detailed Comparison

We will examine Square POS and Clover POS’s fundamental features, pricing schemes, integrations, and user feedback, offering a thorough analysis to assist in your decision-making process.

Square POS: Our Assessment

In this section, let’s take a brief look at Square POS. We’ll look at some of the software’s features, its advantages and disadvantages, and other important aspects to know before you consider using it. If you’d like to learn more about Square POS, visit our Square POS Review.

• Versatility: Square POS is highly adaptable and suitable for a wide range of businesses, including retail stores, restaurants, cafes, salons, and service-based businesses. Its flexibility makes it particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized enterprises.

• User-friendly interface: The system boasts an intuitive, easy-to-use interface that requires minimal training, making it ideal for businesses with high staff turnover or those new to POS systems.

• Integrated payment processing: Square offers seamless payment processing with competitive rates, eliminating the need for separate merchant accounts and simplifying financial management.

• Robust feature set: Square POS includes inventory management, employee management, customer relationship management, and detailed analytics, providing a comprehensive solution for business operations.

• Mobile compatibility: Square’s mobile apps for iOS and Android allow businesses to process transactions and access data on the go, making it excellent for businesses with mobile operations or multiple locations.

• Affordable pricing: Square’s transparent pricing model, with no long-term contracts and a free basic plan, makes it an attractive option for startups and small businesses with tight budgets.

• Limitations for large enterprises: While beneficial for small to medium businesses, Square may not be the best fit for large enterprises with complex operations requiring highly customized solutions or extensive integrations.

• Industry-specific drawbacks: Businesses in high-risk industries or those with very high transaction volumes may face account stability issues or find Square’s payment processing fees less competitive.

• Hardware flexibility: Square is compatible with various hardware options, from basic card readers to full POS kits, allowing businesses to scale their setups as they grow.

• Continuous updates and support: Square regularly updates its software with new features and provides reliable customer support, ensuring businesses can stay current with technology and receive assistance when needed.

• Online and offline capabilities: The system can operate offline, storing transactions until an internet connection is restored, which is crucial for businesses in areas with unreliable internet.

• eCommerce integration: Square offers robust POS eCommerce tools and integrations, making it an excellent choice for businesses looking to maintain a cohesive online and offline presence.

Clover POS: Our Assessment

Now, let’s briefly review Clover POS, including its key features, advantages and disadvantages, and other important aspects to know before you consider using it.

For another angle, you can also learn how Clover compares to Revel.

• Ideal for small to medium businesses: Clover excels for businesses like restaurants, retail stores, and service-based companies that need a flexible, all-in-one solution.

• Strong point of sale features: It offers robust features, including payment processing, inventory management, employee management, customer relationship management (CRM), and reporting.

• Hardware flexibility: Clover POS provides various hardware options (Clover Station, Flex, Go) to suit different business needs and sizes.

• App market: Merchants can expand functionality with various third-party apps for accounting, loyalty programs, and more.

• Cloud-based system: The software enables remote access to sales data and management, providing flexibility and convenience.

• Potential high fees: Be aware of Clover’s transaction fees and monthly subscription costs, which can add up over time.

• Limited customization: While offering customization options, Clover may not be as flexible as some other POS systems for businesses with highly specific needs.

• Avoid certain types of businesses: Clover might not be suitable for mid-market or enterprise businesses with complex operations due to potential limitations in scalability and customization. Very small businesses or startups with tight budgets may find Clover’s costs prohibitive.
  
  Additionally, businesses that require highly specialized or custom POS features might find Clover’s customization options limiting. High-risk retail businesses (vape, smoke, CBDs, etc.) should also avoid Clover as it’s not a secondary payment processor.

Square vs Clover: Pricing, Costs, Fees, and Contracts

Let’s examine how Square POS and Clover POS compare regarding pricing offerings.

Square POS Pricing

Square offers three distinct pricing plans tailored to specific business types: one for restaurants, another for retail establishments, and a third for appointment-based services.

Let’s explore these options, along with details on equipment costs and other potential expenses.

Clover POS Pricing

Clover POS offers different pricing for various industries. They have plans for full-service dining, quick-service restaurants, retail, professional services, personal services, and home & field services. You can choose to pay monthly for at least 3 years or pay more upfront with a lower monthly rate. Here’s a breakdown of the costs for each Clover solution:

All plans have processing fees between 2.3% and 3.5%, plus $0.10 per transaction.

Remember: You can’t cancel subscriptions or get refunds once you start. You can only end a subscription by buying out or upgrading. You can upgrade to a different device or a newer version of your current device. For more information on how Clover compares to Revel POS, check out our detailed guide.

Square vs Clover: Strengths and Weaknesses

Both platforms offer a suite of features to streamline operations, but they cater to different business needs and preferences. Let’s dive into their strengths and weaknesses.

Square vs. Clover: Conclusion

Square POS stands out with its intuitive interface, transparent pricing model, and versatile features that cater to a wide range of business types. These features make it an attractive option for small—to medium-sized enterprises seeking flexibility and ease of use.

However, its simplicity may come at the cost of more advanced functionalities required by larger operations.

Conversely, Clover POS offers a robust app marketplace, sleek hardware designs, and customizable solutions that appeal to businesses looking for a more tailored approach to their point of sale needs.

While Clover may have higher upfront costs and a steeper learning curve for some of its advanced features, its scalability and integration options make it well-suited for growing businesses with specific requirements.

Ultimately, your choice between Square POS and Clover POS should depend on your business’s unique needs, prioritizing either Square’s straightforward approach and broad applicability or Clover’s customization potential and complete hardware setups.

If you’re looking for alternatives to Clover and Square POS, click below to learn more about how KORONA POS can help your business.