Comparison · Software & systems
Square vs Stripe: what card payments cost a small business now
Published Australian card fees, hardware, monthly costs and payouts for Square and Stripe, what changes on 1 October, and what we couldn't check for Tyro.
From Thursday 1 October 2026, Australian businesses can no longer add a surcharge when a customer pays by eftpos, Mastercard, Visa, American Express or UnionPay. Our news story on the card surcharge ban covers the decision and what it means for your prices.
The practical effect for most small businesses is simple: whatever your payment provider charges now comes out of your margin, or goes into your prices. That makes the headline rate matter more than it did.
This comparison looks at what Square and Stripe publish as their standard Australian fees. We planned to include Tyro too, but couldn’t read its current rates, and we explain why further down.
How we compared
On Saturday 26 September 2026 we read each provider’s own Australian pricing pages and help articles, and the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) conclusions on card payment costs. We used no reseller pages, comparison sites or sales quotes.
What we compared:
- the standard rate for a domestic card payment in person
- the standard rate for online payments and invoices paid by card
- hardware prices
- monthly or plan fees
- when money reaches your bank account (settlement)
- whether the provider has announced a price change for 1 October.
What we didn’t compare:
- custom or negotiated pricing, which both offer to some businesses
- point-of-sale software features beyond whether a plan has a monthly fee
- international cards in detail, buy now pay later, or bank transfer methods
- reliability, support quality or contract terms. We did not open accounts or run test transactions.
Every figure is the provider’s published standard rate as at 26 September 2026. Your own agreement may differ, especially if you signed up some time ago. There are no affiliate links in this story.
Square
Square publishes a single rate for in-person card payments on its Australian pricing page: 1.6% per transaction. Square says Visa, Mastercard, eftpos and American Express “all cost the same rate”.
Online payments cost 2.2%. That covers Square’s online store, online checkout and payments made when a customer “pays an invoice online”. Keyed-in card payments, Virtual Terminal and cards on file also cost 2.2%. There is no fixed per-transaction fee on top of these percentages.
Older accounts may pay more. Square’s Australian fee schedule says the 1.6% in-person rate applies to sellers who signed up on or after 30 May 2024. Sellers who signed up before that date pay 1.9% on Square Reader, Square Stand and Tap to Pay, unless they’re on a paid software plan that offers 1.6%. It’s worth checking which rate your account is on.
Monthly fees: Square’s Free plan is $0 a month plus processing fees. Its Plus plans start from $40 a month. A Premium plan with custom pricing is aimed at businesses processing over $250,000 a year. Square’s fee schedule says businesses with annual sales over $250,000 and an average sale over $15 can ask its sales team about custom rates.
Hardware: Square lists Square Reader at $65, Square Terminal at $329, Square Handheld at $349 and Square Register at $1,099. Tap to Pay on iPhone or Android is free with a compatible phone. Interest-free instalment plans are offered, subject to credit approval.
Other fees: Square’s fee schedule lists no charge for chargebacks and dispute management, activation, next-day transfers or early termination. Processing fees are deducted before funds are transferred to your bank account.
Settlement: Square says transfers arrive “as soon as the next day”, including weekends, at no charge. Instant transfers cost 1.5%, up to $5,000 a day, with a $5 minimum transfer.
1 October: Square’s help article on the end of card surcharging says: “Nothing about Square’s payment processing pricing changes on 1 October.” Square will automatically switch off its card surcharge setting on 1 October. It can’t switch off a surcharge you built another way, such as a service charge, a sales tax or automatic tipping. You need to remove those yourself before taking a payment on 1 October.
Stripe
Stripe’s Australian pricing page says its standard plan has “No setup fees, monthly fees, or hidden fees”. Stripe’s rates combine a percentage with a fixed fee per transaction.
Online card payments are currently 1.7% + A$0.30 for domestic cards. Stripe says its online card fees include GST.
In-person payments through Stripe Terminal are currently 1.7% + A$0.10 for domestic cards. Tap to Pay on a compatible iPhone or Android phone adds A$0.15 per authorisation. Stripe Terminal is built for businesses that set up their own checkout or use one of the third-party point-of-sale systems it integrates with. On our reading, that makes it a better fit for businesses with a developer or a compatible point-of-sale system than for one wanting an app out of the box.
1 October: Stripe has announced lower standard rates for domestic cards. Its support article on the October 2026 card pricing update says that from 1 October 2026:
- online domestic card fees go from 1.70% + A$0.30 to 1.65% + A$0.30
- Terminal domestic card fees go from 1.70% + A$0.10 to 1.65% + A$0.10.
International card fees are due to fall from 1 April 2027, from 3.50% to 2.80% plus the same fixed fees. Stripe says the changes apply to “all businesses on Stripe’s standard payments pricing” and across networks including Visa, Mastercard, American Express and eftpos. It gives the reason directly: “The Reserve Bank of Australia is reducing the caps on interchange fees and Stripe is passing these savings on to you.” The changes cover standard pricing; for businesses on custom pricing, Stripe says pricing is determined by their agreement with Stripe.
Invoices: Stripe Invoicing’s Starter plan lists 0.4% per paid invoice. Stripe lists this as a separate charge; on our reading, a customer paying an invoice by card incurs both the invoicing fee and the card fee.
Hardware: Stripe lists the BBPOS WisePad 3 reader at A$89, and the Stripe Reader S700 and S710 at A$449 each, all excluding GST. Cellular data on enabled readers costs A$15 per reader per month.
Other fees: Stripe charges A$25 for each dispute received, and another A$25 if you respond to one manually. You get the second fee back if you win.
Settlement: Stripe says you can take payouts on a rolling basis, weekly or monthly, and its standard payout schedule is free. Instant Payouts cost 1.5% of the amount, with a minimum fee of A$0.50.
Custom pricing: Stripe offers custom packages, including interchange-plus (IC+) pricing, for businesses with large payment volumes or unusual business models.
Side by side
Standard published pricing for domestic cards, as checked on 26 September 2026.
| Cost | Square | Stripe |
|---|---|---|
| In person, domestic card | 1.6% (1.9% on some devices for pre-30 May 2024 sign-ups) | 1.7% + A$0.10; 1.65% + A$0.10 from 1 October |
| Online, domestic card | 2.2% | 1.7% + A$0.30; 1.65% + A$0.30 from 1 October |
| Invoice paid by card | 2.2% | Card fee plus 0.4% per paid invoice (Invoicing Starter) |
| Monthly fee | $0 (Free plan); Plus from $40 | None on standard plan |
| Cheapest card reader | $65 (Square Reader, GST basis not stated); Tap to Pay free | A$89 excl. GST (BBPOS WisePad 3); Tap to Pay needs no reader, A$0.15 per authorisation |
| Dispute fees | None | A$25 per dispute, plus A$25 if you respond manually (refunded if you win) |
| Payout | Next day, including weekends, free | Rolling, weekly or monthly, free (timing not stated on pricing page) |
| Change on 1 October | None, Square says | Domestic rates cut, Stripe says |
What the numbers mean for small sales
Illustrative example, using only the published standard rates in the table and Stripe’s rates from 1 October:
| Sale | Square in person (1.6%) | Stripe Terminal (1.65% + A$0.10) | Square online (2.2%) | Stripe online (1.65% + A$0.30) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $20 | $0.32 | $0.43 | $0.44 | $0.63 |
| $100 | $1.60 | $1.75 | $2.20 | $1.95 |
In person, Square’s standard 1.6% is lower than Stripe’s 1.65% + A$0.10 at every sale size; on a $20 coffee-and-cake sale, Stripe’s 10 cents adds about half a percentage point. Older Square accounts paying 1.9% on some devices are a different case: on our arithmetic, Stripe’s in-person rate comes in lower for sales over $40. Online, the fixed fee is what separates them. On our arithmetic, Stripe’s 1.65% + A$0.30 costs less than Square’s 2.2% on sales over about $55, and more below that. Your own mix of sale sizes, and whether you sell mostly in person or online, decides which structure costs less. Using Stripe’s Tap to Pay adds A$0.15 to each in-person example.
Why interchange matters here
Interchange is the wholesale fee a card issuer receives on each transaction, and it’s one part of what a provider pays to process your card payment. In its media release on the conclusions paper on 31 March 2026, the RBA said the reductions in interchange caps for domestic cards take effect on 1 October 2026. A cap on foreign-card interchange follows on 1 April 2027.
The RBA’s conclusions on interchange fees set the new caps:
- Domestic consumer credit cards: down from 0.8% to 0.3%.
- Domestic debit and prepaid cards: down from 10 cents (or 0.2%) to 8 cents (or 0.16%).
- Domestic commercial credit cards: unchanged at 0.8%.
- Foreign-issued cards: a new 1.0% cap.
The RBA says small businesses “should benefit the most because they tend to pay fees closer to the existing caps”. Whether you do depends on your provider. Stripe has cut its standard domestic rate. Square has kept its flat rates unchanged, and its 1.6% in-person rate remains lower than Stripe’s reduced in-person rate. Anyone on a custom or negotiated plan should ask their provider directly what happens to their rate.
What about Tyro?
Tyro’s pricing pages, including its EFTPOS machine cost and fees page, could not be accessed when we checked on 26 September 2026. The site returned a bot-protection page instead of its content. We are not quoting Tyro’s rates, terminal rental or plan fees because we couldn’t read them from Tyro directly. Check that page, or ask Tyro for a quote, before you compare.
What Tyro has said publicly: in its ASX announcement welcoming the RBA’s conclusions on 31 March 2026, CEO Nigel Lee said Tyro “already operates cost-plus and card-based pricing models aligned with the transparency objectives”. He said Tyro’s systems were “ready to support the implementation of the reforms”. The announcement doesn’t set out any change to Tyro’s merchant prices on 1 October. We couldn’t check Tyro’s help or news pages for a later announcement.
Checklist
- Find your actual rate. Check your Square, Stripe or Tyro statement or dashboard, not the website, because older Square accounts can pay 1.9% on Square Reader, Stand and Tap to Pay, and custom plans differ.
- Remove any manual surcharge before 1 October. In Square, delete any card surcharge set up as a service charge, sales tax or automatic tipping, because Square only switches off its own card surcharge setting.
- Check your Stripe rate after 1 October. Standard-plan domestic card fees should show 1.65% plus A$0.30 online or A$0.10 in person; the announced cut covers standard pricing only, so if you’re on a custom plan, ask Stripe.
- Work out your average sale. Compare a flat 1.6% or 2.2% with Stripe’s 1.65% plus a fixed fee at your typical sale size, in person and online separately.
- Ask Tyro for a written quote. Get the per-transaction rate, terminal rental, any monthly fee and whether any rate changes from 1 October 2026.
- Count invoice costs. If customers pay invoices by card, include Square’s 2.2% online rate or Stripe’s card fee plus 0.4% per paid invoice.
- Ask about custom pricing if you’re large enough. Square offers custom rates for annual sales over $250,000 with an average sale over $15, and Stripe offers custom and interchange-plus pricing for larger volumes.
Tick items as you go. Your ticks stay in this browser.
Sources 10 sources
- Square: Processing fees, plans and software pricing (Australia)
- Square Support Centre: What are Square's fees? (Australian fee schedule)
- Square Support Centre: Preparing your business for end of card surcharging
- Stripe: Pricing (Australia)
- Stripe Support: Updates to card pricing in Australia from October 2026
- Tyro: Tyro welcomes RBA's conclusions on card payment costs and surcharging (ASX announcement, 31 March 2026)
- Tyro: EFTPOS machine cost and fees
- RBA: Frequently asked questions – removal of card payment surcharges from 1 October 2026
- RBA media release: Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs and Surcharging – Conclusions Paper (31 March 2026)
- RBA Conclusions Paper: Interchange fees