Square payment processing fees for a US business are a percentage of each payment plus a fixed amount, and the rate depends on how the card is taken, not on which card it is. On the Square Free plan a tapped, dipped or swiped card costs 2.6% + $0.15, an online payment costs 3.3% + $0.30 and a manually entered card costs 3.5% + $0.15 (checked October 2026).
Every figure below comes from Square's own pages for the United States. Fees differ by country, so if your account is registered elsewhere, read the fee page for your own country. Billing Model is not affiliated with Square, and this is a description of its price list, not a recommendation.
Quick answer: On Square's US fee pages (checked October 2026), the Free plan charges 2.6% + $0.15 in person, 3.3% + $0.30 online and 3.5% + $0.15 for a manually entered card or a card on file. On a $50 sale those work out to $1.45, $1.95 and $1.90.
Square payment processing fees by plan
Square prices card payments by plan and by channel. The rates below are from Square's US fees page and its help article on processing fees, both checked in October 2026.
| How the payment is taken | Square Free | Square Plus | Square Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tap, dip or swipe (in person) | 2.6% + $0.15 | 2.5% + $0.15 | 2.4% + $0.15 |
| Online, or an invoice paid online | 3.3% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Online through Square's API | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Manual entry or card on file | 3.5% + $0.15 | 3.5% + $0.15 | 3.5% + $0.15 |
| ACH bank transfer through an invoice | 1%, $1 minimum | 1%, $1 minimum, $10 cap | 1%, $1 minimum, $10 cap |
| Afterpay | 6% + $0.30 | 6% + $0.30 | 6% + $0.30 |
| Cash or check | Free | Free | Free |
Four details from the help article shape how those rates land:
- The fee is taken from the whole transaction, including tax and tip, and deducted before the money reaches your bank account.
- Card brand doesn't change the rate. Square's fees page says Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover are all accepted for the same processing fees.
- Cards issued abroad cost more. A card issued in a different country from your Square account adds 1.5% to the base rate.
- Invoices follow the method used. An invoice paid online is charged the online rate, and one settled in person, by manual entry or with a card on file is charged that method's rate.
Sellers on older product plans, such as Square for Restaurants, Retail or Appointments, are listed separately in the help article, with a note that rates may vary by plan. Your own rates are in the Pricing and subscriptions section of the Square Dashboard.
Worked examples: a $5, a $50 and a $500 sale
The formula is sale amount × percentage, plus the fixed amount. These examples use the Free plan.
A $50 sale, three ways
- In person: 2.6% × $50 = $1.30, plus $0.15 = $1.45
- Online: 3.3% × $50 = $1.65, plus $0.30 = $1.95
- Manually keyed: 3.5% × $50 = $1.75, plus $0.15 = $1.90
The same $50 costs between 2.9% and 3.9% of the sale depending on the channel.
| Sale | In person (2.6% + $0.15) | Online (3.3% + $0.30) | Keyed (3.5% + $0.15) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5 | $0.28 (5.6%) | $0.47 (9.3%) | $0.33 (6.5%) |
| $50 | $1.45 (2.9%) | $1.95 (3.9%) | $1.90 (3.8%) |
| $500 | $13.15 (2.63%) | $16.80 (3.36%) | $17.65 (3.53%) |
Two of the $5 results land on half a cent, $0.465 online and $0.325 keyed. They are shown rounded up, the percentages use the unrounded figures, and Square's own rounding could differ by a cent.
Fee and share of the sale at three published rates. The fixed amount dominates the $5 row.
The grid shows two patterns. On the $500 sale, taking the card in person costs $3.65 less than online and $4.50 less than keying it in. And a keyed payment is cheaper than an online one on the two smaller sales, because its fixed amount is $0.15 against $0.30. The lines cross where the extra 0.2% equals the $0.15 difference: $0.15 ÷ 0.002 = $75. Above $75, keying costs more than online on the Free plan. That crossover is our arithmetic, not a figure Square publishes.
The effective percentage on small tickets
Square payment processing fees take a larger share of small tickets, because the fixed amount doesn't shrink with the sale. In person on the Free plan:
| Sale amount | Fee at 2.6% + $0.15 | Fee as a share of the sale |
|---|---|---|
| $5 | $0.28 | 5.6% |
| $10 | $0.41 | 4.1% |
| $20 | $0.67 | 3.35% |
| $50 | $1.45 | 2.9% |
| $100 | $2.75 | 2.75% |
On a $5 sale the $0.15 alone is 3% of the price, more than the 2.6% percentage part. Online, the $0.30 is 6% of a $5 sale before any percentage is added.
The number of payments matters as much as the amount. Two separate $5 sales in person cost 2 × $0.28 = $0.56. One $10 sale costs $0.41.
Plan differences and custom pricing
The plans differ on two lines of the table. In person, Plus is 0.1 of a percentage point below Free and Premium is 0.2 below. Online, both paid plans are 0.4 of a point below Free. The fixed amounts are the same on every plan.
In money terms, 0.1 of a point is $1 for every $1,000 processed. A business taking $10,000 a month online would pay 0.4% × $10,000 = $40 less in percentage fees on Plus than on Free. Square's fees page says the Free plan has no monthly subscription cost and that Plus and Premium each come with a free 30-day trial. Square's pricing page lists the monthly fee as $49 per location for Plus and $149 per location for Premium (checked October 2026). The comparison to make is that price against the fee difference at your own volume. By our arithmetic, the 0.4-point online difference equals $49 at $49 ÷ 0.004 = $12,250 of online sales a month. The plans also differ in software features, which this article doesn't cover.
Square's fees page also lists a fourth plan, Square Pro, with custom pricing, and says that a business processing over $250,000 per year can talk to its team to see whether it is eligible for custom pricing and processing fees. The help article notes that Afterpay rates are fixed and don't vary by plan or custom pricing.
Chargebacks, refunds and transfer fees
Chargebacks
Square charges no chargeback fee. Its help article on managing payment disputes says there are no fees for dispute management services for chargebacks (checked October 2026), which matches the figure in our guide to the chargeback fee.
The sale amount is still at stake. The same article says Square places an immediate hold on the disputed funds, gives the seller seven days from the notification email to submit information, and that the bank can take up to 90 days from the start of the dispute. If the dispute is resolved in the customer's favor, the processing fees for the payment aren't refunded. If it is resolved in the seller's favor, Square releases the disputed funds including the processing fees.
Refunds
Square's help article on customer refunds says the processing fees for a payment aren't refunded when you refund it, and that a payment can be refunded within one year of the original transaction date. Refund the $50 in-person sale above and the customer gets $50 while you remain out the $1.45. For a partial refund, the article says the amount debited is proportional to the amount refunded.
Transfers to your bank
Next-business-day transfers appear on Square's list of things it doesn't charge for. Faster transfers cost extra. Square's help article on transfer options lists a 1.95% fee per transfer for both instant and same-day transfers, in addition to the processing fees, and its instant transfers page shows the same 1.95% (both checked October 2026). The help article also says new sellers start with a limit of one instant transfer per day of up to $2,000.
Take the $500 in-person sale. After the $13.15 processing fee, $486.85 is left. Sending that instantly costs 1.95% × $486.85 = $9.49, so the two fees together are $22.64, or 4.53% of the sale.
Watch out: The instant transfer fee is charged on top of Square payment processing fees, not instead of them. On the Free plan's in-person rate it adds more than two thirds again to the cost of the $500 sale.
How Square's flat rates relate to interchange
Square's prices are flat rates: one percentage for every card on a given channel. The US Government Accountability Office's report on payment card costs describes this model as a uniform rate for all transactions that blends credit and debit card rates, and says smaller merchants may choose it to simplify how they manage card payments.
Behind the flat rate, the cost of each card varies. Interchange, the part that goes to the bank that issued the card, is explained in the guide to payment processing fees. For debit cards from large US issuers, Regulation II caps it at 21 cents plus 5 basis points of the transaction. In the Federal Reserve's data for 2024, covered transactions on dual-message networks averaged $0.22 of interchange on an average ticket of $49.68. Square's Free-plan fee on a $50 in-person sale is $1.45 whichever card is used.
The published rate doesn't say how the rest divides between network fees, Square's costs and its margin. A business that wants to see those parts needs a pass-through model such as interchange plus plus pricing, and the trade-offs of the blended approach are in the guide to flat rate payment processing.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Square charge per transaction?
On the Free plan in the US, 2.6% + $0.15 for a card tapped, dipped or swiped, 3.3% + $0.30 online and 3.5% + $0.15 for a manually entered card or card on file, as checked in October 2026. Plus and Premium have lower in-person and online percentages.
Does Square charge a chargeback fee?
No. Square's help article says there are no fees for dispute management services for chargebacks. If you lose the dispute you lose the sale amount, and the original processing fee isn't refunded.
Does Square charge more for American Express?
Not on its published US rates. Square's fees page says Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover are accepted for the same processing fees. A card issued in another country adds 1.5%.
Are Square payment processing fees returned when I refund a customer?
No. Square's help article says the processing fees aren't refunded back to you when you refund a payment.
Is ACH cheaper than a card on a Square invoice?
On large invoices, yes by a wide margin. An ACH payment through an invoice costs 1% with a $1 minimum, and on Plus and Premium the fee is capped at $10. A $2,000 invoice costs $10 by ACH on those plans, against 2.9% × $2,000 + $0.30 = $58.30 by card. The guide to ACH processing fees explains how bank payments are priced.
