Clover POS vs. Square: Which One Is Better?

So you’re a small business.

You’ve heard about all the payment processing solutions that are made for businesses of your size–in fact, you’ve probably received targeted advertisements for them.

You’ve done your research and you’ve boiled it down to two.

Clover POS vs. Square.

But they are so similar…which one is right for you?

We’ve been doing some research of our own and we have scored these top two payment processing solutions from 1-5 stars in four categories: hardware, software, rates, and customer service.

We hope that our rating system helps you home in on the right solution for your business!

Take a look.

Clover POS

Overall Rating: 4.75

Clover POS Hardware

Rating: ★★★★★

Clover POS offers four hardware devices that can be mixed and matched to create the perfect solution for your business: Clover Station, Clover Mini, Clover Flex, and Clover Go. No matter what you need to do–scan barcodes, swipe or dip cards, accept mobile payments, take cash, print receipts, etc.–you can make it happen through Clover POS hardware.

Clover POS Software

Rating: ★★★★★

Clover POS is very easy to set up with the help of your merchant services provider and is incredibly user-friendly and intuitive. Because it runs on Android OS, Clover POS operates as an app-based smart device. You can create the custom software solution you need through Clover POS’s extensive selection of apps and integrations, such as MailChimp, QuickBooks, and Shopify.

Clover POS Rates

Rating: ★★★★☆

We would give Clover POS a 5-star rating in this category except for the fact that their hardware is slightly more expensive than Square and their software comes at a monthly cost, whereas Square software is free. That said, Clover POS transaction fees tend to come out lower than Square, saving money for the long term that covers the initial investment in a better solution.

For more information on this topic, read our blog, How Much Does a Clover POS System Cost?

Clover POS Customer Service

Rating: ★★★★★

If you purchase your Clover POS system through the right merchant services provider, they will provide all support for your Clover POS hardware and software and go to bat for you with the bank when your money is on hold. This is an incredible service that means you do not have to put your business on pause whenever you have a payment processing issue.

Square

Overall Rating: 2.5

Square Hardware

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Just like Clover POS, Square offers four types of hardware devices: Square Register, Square Terminal, Square Stand, and the Square Card Readers. These devices offer *just about* everything you need, however, you may need to purchase additional hardware to create the perfect POS solution for your business, hence the 3-star rating.

Square Software

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Square software provides many of the features you can get through Clover POS apps, such as inventory management, employee tracking, and more–however–there are many business management features that Square software simply does not have and does not offer an alternative for, which is why we give it a 3-star ranking. Square is best for simple applications.

Square Rates

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Square hardware is cheaper than Clover POS (their card readers are free) and their software is a free app, however, Square transaction fees tend to be higher than Clover POS, costing more over the long term. You might think that Square rates are 5-star to start, then come to realize that you are ultimately paying more money for fewer features.

Square Customer Service

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

When you sign-up with Square, you sign-up for their customer service, which is seriously lacking. Customers complain about money on hold “for months at a time” and canceled transactions for no reason. The reality is that Square can offer their services so cheaply because they are not paying the overhead for a large enough support team for their customer base.

For more information on this topic, read our blog, Square: Is There a Better Alternative for Alaskans?