SumUp vs Square: which is best for face-to-face and online merchants?

Square and SumUp offer similar products to small businesses, but as I’ve tested and reviewed them in the UK, I’ve seen crucial distinctions.

American Square was the first to introduce an app-paired card reader in 2009; then German SumUp launched their own in 2012.

SumUp targeted European merchants who wanted to get paid simply, while Square pioneered easy access to payment tools – two sides of the same coin, but it shapes their products differently.

Their products have evolved fast for in-person and online payments, business software as well as money management. But there may be potential deal-breakers, so let’s compare the two.

Similar types of card machines, but still very different

The payment platforms sell different card machines: some that work with an app and others that work on their own.

I like them all, but they’re not one-size fits all, so you should look at how they’d fit in with your setup.

Standalone card machines

The standalone card terminals connect directly to the internet to process payments, making them truly independent and ‘all-in-one’.

SumUp sells two types:

• SumUp Solo – pocket-sized terminal with a small, square screen that just takes card payments and tips
• SumUp Terminal – mobile, touchscreen smart POS terminal with a receipt printer, scanner and simple POS software

Both come with a built-in SIM card with unlimited data for 4G connectivity, and they connect with WiFi too. This means you can potentially take card payments anywhere, which would for example suit tradespeople, market stalls and taxi drivers.

Although Solo has a pretty touchscreen instead of physical buttons, its functions are quite basic: you simply enter the transaction amount on the screen, tap or insert a card and send a digital receipt following a transaction.

I recommend getting Solo with the specially-designed receipt printer doubling as a power bank, since the card reader’s battery was not that long-lasting in our tests. It attaches to the terminal, but looks pretty with its rounded edges and keeps Solo’s power topped up on the go.

SumUp Terminal is a step up with its receipt printer and scanner built in, plus POS, online payment and business account functions on the touchscreen. It’s therefore not just for in-person payments, but also invoicing clients, transfer funds from your SumUp Business Account and check sales.

Though we think the touchscreen is good quality, its plastic casing feels a bit cheaper than Square’s devices. But it works with mobile networks, unlike Square’s terminals below.

Square has two standalone card machines:

• Square Terminal – portable touchscreen terminal with POS software and a receipt printer built in
• Square Handheld – flat, compact touchscreen terminal with POS software and a built-in scanner, but no printer

They only work with a closed WiFi network – or in the case of Terminal, broadband through an additional adaptor and cable.

Neither Square Terminal nor Handheld has a SIM card, so they won’t work with mobile networks out and about. In other words, they’re made for portability around your business premises, such as table-side ordering in a restaurant, not at random locations at, for example, a client’s house.

Square Terminal is a smart POS terminal with a large touchscreen and Square Point of Sale software, so you can use it as a portable checkout or small POS-and-payments terminal on a countertop. It also works with Square’s POS systems for retail, restaurants and appointments.

The latest model, Square Handheld, is a flatter, smaller card machine with a large touchscreen similar to a smartphone. It caters better to table-side payments at a fixed location (it doesn’t connect with 4G), as the lack of a printer makes it easier to carry and put in your pocket than Terminal. Retailers will appreciate its built-in barcode scanner too.

Despite the lack of mobile connectivity, Square’s card machines can accept cards offline as long as the terminals reconnect with WiFi within 24 hours.

Card readers paired with a phone or tablet

If you’re unfamiliar with an app-based terminal, it’s basically a card reader that connects with your phone or tablet over Bluetooth. It doesn’t accept any cards without the app and phone’s 4G or WiFi, which can feel slightly awkward initially, but not for long.

I’ve personally seen merchants frustrated with a poor Bluetooth connection, but the widespread popularity of SumUp’s and Square’s card readers prove to me that they work for most people.

So what are the card reader options here?

SumUp’s Solo Lite reader connects with an iPhone, iPad or Android tablet or smartphone with SumUp’s free or paid POS app. It uses the mobile device’s internet connection to process payments, syncing transactions in the cloud. Solo Lite has a flat glass keypad for PIN entry and accepts chip and contactless card payments.

Square Reader also connects to an app on a compatible mobile device with any of the Square POS apps downloaded: the free Point of Sale (iPad, iPhone or Android), Restaurants (iPad or Android), Retail (iOS or Android) or Appointments (iOS or Android).

Unlike SumUp Solo Lite, Square Reader does not have a physical keypad, so customers have to enter their PIN in the app on your phone or tablet, which might feel awkward for some.

Other hardware

Apart from these card payment devices, Square has an iPad stand (Square Stand) with card readers built in, a grey Square Register with a large touchscreen so you don’t need a tablet for the POS software, and the self-service Square Kiosk for iPad.

SumUp Register is a cheaper, surprisingly more versatile alternative. Like Square Register, it has a big tablet touchscreen for the cashier and smaller, customer-facing screen to show the bill and accept contactless and chip card payments. But SumUp’s customer screen also shows loyalty programmes like current offers, whereas Square just shows the itemised bill.

You can connect cash drawers and receipt printers to all of the card machines and registers, but Square tends to work with more hardware like barcode scanners and also kitchen printers, allowing restaurants and quick-services to run smoothly.

Accepted cards

But we should note: SumUp’s card machines accept more card brands – UnionPay and JCB on top of the other major card brands accepted by both. Square accepts Clearpay instead, a popular Buy Now, Pay Later credit option that can help you close more sales.

Fees: pay as you go, with differences

Neither SumUp nor Square requires contractual commitment or monthly fees. Instead, you create a free account, purchase a card machine upfront and pay only a fixed transaction rate for successful payments.

There is no minimum monthly sales volume required or fixed monthly fees for the basic point of sale (POS) apps.

SumUp and Square pricing:

More POS features through Square

There are enough POS features in the free apps to run a micro-business, but the most advanced of the two is Square Point of Sale.

Both have an inventory library with product variants, images and VAT rates. There are options for tipping, discounts, refunds, accepting cash, marking transactions for eat-in, gift cards, reporting and payout statuses. Staff members can have their own logins with restricted access to certain features.

On top of that, Square has more features for inventory, employee management (with timesheets), splitting the tender, attaching customers to bills, and more.

SumUp offers more advanced POS system plans to accommodate growing retail shops and small-scale restaurants, a free booking system for professionals, and a Loyverse POS integration if you prefer that.

Square has three upgrade options: for Restaurants, Retail and Appointments. They’re all cleverly designed with a user-centric interface, custom checkout screens and adaptable features. You can also connect the card reader with TouchBistro and Shopwave POS systems.

The Square platform can be extended with many third-party apps for advanced functions like inventory management, online ordering, ecommerce, accounting and marketing. But you may not need it since tools are continually added to the platform, such as Square Marketing and Loyalty.

SumUp only connects with a few ecommerce platforms (Wix, WooCommerce and PrestaShop) and accounting systems (Xero, Sage and QuickBooks). This is a step up from a few years ago when no integrations were available.

You may not need to integrate with accounting as a sole trader, though, since the SumUp Business Account includes invaluable Making Tax Digital features.

Remote payments included, but more with Square

Merchants benefit from multiple ways to get paid remotely through SumUp and Square, but they have slightly different features.

The overall payment methods overlap (see table below), but Square tends to have more advanced features within each method.

Square grows with you, SumUp is more low-budget

SumUp and Square excel at making payments extremely accessible for small businesses. It’s quick to sign up online, affordable to get a card machine, and their software is some of the most user-friendly for even non-techy merchants.

You get no long-term contract, fixed monthly fee (unless subscribing to Square’s or SumUp’s paid upgrades) or complicated fees, just a few predictable card rates.

Square has more till features and payment tools than SumUp, particularly for food and drink. Growing businesses can even connect Square with industry-specific POS systems and myriads of other software.

SumUp has fewer integration options, so the POS system and online features are more limited, but it’s getting more extensive with features, such as the free booking system and bookkeeping tools in the business account.

But SumUp merchants can access the virtual terminal and business account and create a basic online store from its app, none of which you can do in Square’s mobile app.

Then again, Square has its own app for invoicing and staff management and lots more tools in the dashboard for business owners to expand online and analyse sales from afar.

Your choice of platform depends on how you plan to use a card machine, till requirements and whether you want to use the payment system long-term.