Sellers look past Square when they sell mostly online, when card rates on the free plan feel high next to interchange-based pricing, or when they want a processor that is not tied to one software stack. Most move to Stripe or PayPal for a similar pay-as-you-go model, to Adyen, Braintree or Checkout.com for scale, and to Mollie in Europe.
Visibility in our rankings can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within
the shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review or of this page. The first three alternatives
go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the
established names follow in their ranked order. How it works:
placement disclosure · editorial process.
What each alternative does differently
1. Stripe
Developer-first payments, instant self-serve signup · United States
The developer-first option for sellers who are mostly online. It offers a payment-methods catalog of 125+ methods, hosted checkout and Terminal readers for in-person sales, plus an optional Managed Payments merchant-of-record service. The cost is that the in-person side is assembled from parts, not a ready register app.
Switch from Square if you sell mostly online and want a developer API with in-person readers as an add-on.
Pricing: 1.5% + EUR0.25 for standard EEA cards, higher for UK and international cards, per Stripe's published Netherlands rate card; no monthly fee for core payments; add-ons such as Billing, Tax, Sigma and the Managed Payments merchant-of-record service are charged separately. (none)
Full review: #4 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Stripe →
2. PayPal Business
The most recognized checkout button for buyers · United States
Aimed at sellers whose customers already hold PayPal wallets. The fee page prices PayPal Checkout and Venmo at one rate and QR-code payments at a lower one. PayPal Point of Sale, formerly Zettle, supplies hardware and a free POS app, but its retail and restaurant tooling is thinner than Square's.
Switch from Square if your buyers prefer paying with a PayPal or Venmo wallet and you take few card-present sales.
Pricing: 3.49% + $0.49 standard PayPal Checkout rate in the US, per PayPal's published fee page; no monthly fee to start; optional Invoicing subscription at $14.99/month. (none)
Full review: #6 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit PayPal Business →
3. Adyen
Enterprise-grade single platform, negotiated pricing · Netherlands
A single platform for online, in-store and mobile payments that suits mid-market and enterprise merchants. It prices on an interchange-plus model with method-specific fees, supports tokenization across channels and Pay by Link, and is built for integration teams. A one-register shop gets little from it.
Switch from Square if you have outgrown self-serve processing and have developers to integrate a unified platform.
Pricing: Interchange++ model, a $0.13 fixed processing fee plus a method-specific variable fee, per Adyen's published pricing page; no monthly, setup, integration or closure fees, but a minimum invoice applies and the listed fees are indicative. (none)
Full review: #5 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Adyen →
4. PayPal Enterprise Payments (Braintree)
Braintree, rebranded and folded into PayPal · United States
The Braintree platform, sold as PayPal Enterprise Payments, is for businesses with an online or in-app checkout and engineering capacity. Its site stresses PayPal, Pay Later and Venmo as payment methods plus payment orchestration and fraud tools. It has no counter hardware or register software, which Square bundles.
Switch from Square if you run an app or web checkout and want PayPal and Venmo wallets under one gateway contract.
Pricing: 2.89% + $0.29 per transaction standard; +1% surcharge for non-USD currency; +1% for non-US-issued cards; $15 flat chargeback fee; a reduced 2.19% + $0.29 rate is available for verified 501(c)(3) nonprofits. (none)
Full review: #7 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit PayPal Enterprise Payments (Braintree) →
5. Authorize.net
Long-established gateway, owned by Visa · United States
A long-standing gateway that pairs with a bundled merchant account. Its page describes a virtual terminal with no point-of-sale hardware required, plus recurring billing, a customer information vault and digital invoicing. It fits phone and web orders; there is no register app, inventory tool or Square-style hardware range.
Switch from Square if you mostly take phone, web and recurring orders and want a flat monthly gateway fee.
Pricing: $25/month gateway fee on all plans, plus per-transaction fees: All-in-one 2.9% + 30 cents; Gateway-only 10 cents + a 10-cent daily batch fee; Gateway+eCheck adds 0.75% per eCheck with a $10 monthly eCheck minimum; no setup fee, no early termination fee. (none)
Full review: #12 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Authorize.net →
6. Mollie
Transparent European payments, no lock-in contract · Netherlands
A European acquirer that supports local methods such as iDEAL and SEPA direct debit, with a business account for payouts. In person it sells terminals under two tiers, a free pay-as-you-go tier and a monthly Pro tier with lower rates. It has no integrated retail or restaurant POS software of Square's depth.
Switch from Square if you trade in euros and want local European payment methods and a terminal from one provider.
Pricing: Pay-as-you-go per-method transaction fees, for example 1.80% + EUR0.25 for EEA Visa consumer cards; no minimum costs, no lock-in contract; in-person card payments EUR0/month pay-as-you-go or EUR20/month Pro tier with lower rates. (none)
Full review: #1 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Mollie →
7. Worldpay
Legacy global acquirer, now part of Global Payments · United States
A large acquirer that lists online, in-store and omnichannel products, fraud, authentication and a card vault on its site. We could not read a rate card, so expect a negotiated contract with a sales process. That suits a merchant with volume and a finance team, and not a seller who wants to start today.
Switch from Square if your volume is high enough to negotiate rates and you want one acquirer across stores and web.
Pricing: Quote-only enterprise acquiring model; no published self-serve rate card. (none)
Full review: #9 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Worldpay →
8. Checkout.com
Enterprise-grade processing on owned infrastructure · United Kingdom
An enterprise processor with a unified API, interchange++ billing, transaction-level data and fraud tools. Its page lists no setup or account maintenance fees and data migration assistance, and it processes free for registered charities. It targets platforms, marketplaces and larger ecommerce, and does not sell counter hardware like Square.
Switch from Square if you are an online business with enough volume to want interchange++ and a dedicated account manager.
Pricing: Offers either a flat-rate or an Interchange++ option depending on business profile and risk category, explicitly quote-only; free processing available for registered charities. (none)
Full review: #10 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Checkout.com →
9. GoCardless
Bank-to-bank Direct Debit for recurring payments · United Kingdom
Collects from bank accounts, not cards, so it replaces the invoice and subscription side of Square only. The pricing page offers Standard, Advanced and Pro plans, with a fixed fee per transaction added to a small percentage. It cannot take a card at a counter or an online card checkout.
Switch from Square if your income is recurring invoices or subscriptions that can be collected by bank debit.
Pricing: Tiered percentage plus fixed fee per transaction: Standard 1% + 20p capped at GBP4, Advanced 1.25% + 20p capped at GBP5, Pro 1.4% + 20p capped at GBP5.60; international rates 2-2.4% + 20p; Custom enterprise plan for GBP1m+ annual revenue. (none)
Full review: #11 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit GoCardless →
10. Paddle
Merchant of record for SaaS and software sellers · United Kingdom
Acts as the seller of record, so Paddle handles global sales tax and VAT, fraud and buyer support for you. Its page positions the product for SaaS and apps, with checkout, subscriptions and invoicing. That also means it is wrong for physical retail, services or anything billed in person.
Switch from Square if you sell software or digital products internationally and want tax handled by the seller of record.
Pricing: 5% + $0.50 per checkout transaction, all-inclusive: covers payment processing, global sales-tax and VAT compliance and remittance, fraud protection, and support; no monthly fee. (none)
Full review: #3 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Paddle →
11. Razorpay
Flat 2% domestic payments, built for India · India
An Indian payment platform covering online gateway, payment links and in-store POS machines, with UPI among its listed instruments. It is a fit for a business collecting in Indian rupees. A seller whose account and customers sit in the United States gets little from it and will not find Square's software layer.
Switch from Square if your customers and bank account are in India and you need UPI and domestic cards in one place.
Pricing: 2% per successful domestic transaction on most payment instruments, no setup fee, no annual maintenance charge, no refund-processing fee; corporate cards 2.15%, UPI QR 0.99%; international cards up to 3%; international bank transfers 1%; custom enterprise pricing above INR500,000/month volume. (none)
Full review: #2 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Razorpay →
12. Payoneer
Cross-border payouts for freelancers and sellers · United States
Built for cross-border receiving, not for taking cards at a till. It offers receiving accounts in 70+ currencies, payment requests, payment links, a checkout and mass payouts across 190+ countries and territories. Fees are charged per action, and a store or restaurant will not find a POS here.
Switch from Square if your revenue is cross-border B2B, marketplace or freelancer income and not walk-in sales.
Pricing: No monthly subscription for a standard account; fee-per-action: receiving from another Payoneer balance is free, marketplace payout fees vary by marketplace, credit-card receiving up to 3.99% + $0.49, US ACH and EU/UK bank receiving 1%; a $29.95 annual fee applies only if the account receives under $6,000 in any 12 consecutive months. (none)
Full review: #13 of 15 in our ranking ·
Visit Payoneer →
Questions and answers
Is there a fee to close a Square account?
No. Square's fee page lists early termination among the items with no fee, and the pricing page says there are no locked-in contracts and that you can cancel or switch at any time. Pending payouts and any reserve still settle under the payment terms.
Can I export customer and sales data from Square?
Partly, and the method depends on the data. Square's developer documentation describes a Customers API with a ListCustomers call. The pages we fetched do not describe a one-click export of everything, so ask Square support which reports and files you can download.
Can I move saved cards from Square to another processor?
Only through the new processor. Stripe's documentation describes a payments data import that it carries out with your current provider. Whether Square releases card data to a given processor is not stated on the Square pages we read, so ask both parties before closing the account.
How much notice does Square give of fee changes?
Reasonable advance notice, with no figure given. The payment terms say Square may change its fees upon reasonable advance notice. The general terms were updated on September 14, 2026, and apply to all sellers from October 10, 2026, so read them before relying on a rate.
Can Square close my account or hold my funds?
Yes. The general terms say Square may suspend or terminate an account at any time for any reason, and the payment terms say it may require a Reserve for any reason related to your use of the services, raised or reduced at its discretion.
Does Square have a free plan I would lose?
Yes. Square Free costs $0 per month per location and includes the POS app, an online site, an item library, invoicing and booking, paid for through processing fees. Plus is $49 and Premium is $149 per location per month, and a free trial is offered on the paid tier.
Do rates change if I process over $250,000 a year?
Possibly. The pricing page invites sellers processing over $250,000 a year to talk to Square about custom pricing, and the fee article notes that fees may vary for sellers on custom rates. Ask for a written quote before leaving, since it may close the gap.
