Business

Stripe vs Square: Which is Better for UK Businesses?

Paola Faben Oliveira

22.01.24 (updated more than 1 year ago)

Read time 5 minutes

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UK businesses have a lot of choice when it comes to payment service providers (PSPs) - but some of the major global providers such as Stripe¹ and Square² are a good place to start when you’re comparing your options.

If you’re considering whether Stripe vs Square would be the best fit for your business, this guide is for you. We’ll walk through each and compare features and fees.

Stripe vs Square - Comparison overview

This guide covers a full Square vs Stripe review, plus details about Stripe vs Square for online payments and when transacting in person. We’ll look at each option in a little more detail in a moment, and also have a head to head comparison looking at fees to help you spot the similarities and differences.

First, let’s kick off with a Stripe vs Square comparison overview to give a flavour of what each can offer you.

Service	Stripe	Square
Pricing	Pay as you go, or negotiated subscription	Pay as you go, or custom plans for businesses with a higher turnover
Trustpilot rating	2.7 out of 5 ⭐	4.3 out of 5 ⭐
Invoice payments	Available	Available
Recurring payments	Available	Available
International payments	Available	Available
API integrations	Available	Available
Checkout solution	Available	Available
Payment links	Available	Available
In-person payments	Available	Available

Square payments reviews

Square Payments UK offers a range of ways to take customer payments on and offline, supported by a range of POS hardware for in person payments, as well as industry specific solutions. Industry specific options include ways to track inventory for retail businesses, scheduling systems for businesses making customer appointments, and ordering tools for restaurants and take out businesses.

Some of the features you can get with Square payments include:

Online and in person payment solutions

Invoicing including recurrent billing

Checkout links, buttons and QR codes

Ways to take payment with nothing more than a phone or laptop

Broad range of POS hardware to suit different business types

No chargeback fee, with PCI compliance as part of the transaction cost

Ways to generate your own gift cards

Dashboard and analytics

Industry specific solutions for scheduling, inventory, ordering and more

It’s also a smart idea to take a look at one or more Square payments reviews before you decide if they’re right for you. The good news is that on Trustpilot, Square UK scores a good 4.3 out of 5 star rating³ - 80% of posted reviews are 5 stars. Scan some of the comments for a deeper insight into what existing customers say about Square.

Can Square accept international payments?

Square can accept payments from international cards where the Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Maestro, Visa Electron or Vpay logo is displayed. At the time of writing, customers with a card on the Discover, JCB or UnionPay International networks won’t be able to pay through Square⁴.

All card payments are subject to the card issuer’s approval, so there may be exceptions, but generally, international transactions should be hassle free with Square. It’s worth noting though that the fee for processing a Square payment with a foreign card is higher than a local payment at 2.5% + 0.25 GBP.

Square payments fees

The Square payments fees you’ll run into will depend on the type of payments you’re taking. Fees vary based on whether you’re physically processing an in person payment or taking money online - and whether the customer uses a local or international card. Here are the key Square fees you’ll want to know about.

Transaction type	Square fee⁵
In-person payments	1.75% for each contactless, chip and PIN or swiped card-present transaction 2.5% for payments manually keyed
Online payments	1.4% + £0.25
International	2.5% + £0.25⁶
Refund	Processing fees are not refunded⁷
Chargeback	No fee

Stripe payment reviews

Stripe is another major PSP in the UK and globally, which offers quite a lot of overlapping services compared to Square. There are some differences in their approach - and in the fees you’ll pay - so it’s well worth comparing both before you decide which is best for your business. We’ll run through a Stripe vs Square fees head to head comparison a little later so you can see the differences there, too.

Overall, because Stripe has a very comprehensive range of products and services, they’re pretty flexible in terms of the customers they may suit. Smaller businesses and startups can benefit from their no-code options, while enterprise level companies could prefer tailor made solutions covering more complex solutions.

Here’s a flavour for the features you’ll get with Stripe UK:

Ways to get paid from 47 countries, using 50+ payment methods and 135 currencies

Stripe payment terminals for in-person card payments

Tools to accept payments with a smartphone

Reusable payment links for customer transactions

Invoicing and billing tools

Different subscriptions and payment methods including pay per usage

Prebuilt and optimised checkout for online card payments

Platform payments and finance automation for enterprise customers

On Trustpilot Stripe scores a poor 2.7 star rating out of 5⁸. However it’s worth mentioning that this isn’t a fully representative score - in fact, 47% of the reviews are 5 stars. The low score comes because a further 42% of reviewers only give Stripe 1 star - so reading through some of the reviews and comments may help you form your own view of their suitability for you.

Stripe payment fees

We’ll look at Square and Stripe head to head on fees in a moment. Both providers have somewhat similar fees - but they’re not exactly the same, so which is best for you may depend on the types of payments you take regularly.

Here’s what you need to know.

Service	Stripe UK fee¹¹
Accept payments from local credit or debit cards	1.5% + £0.20 for standard UK cards 1.9% + £0.20 for premium UK cards
Accept payments from international credit or debit cards	2.5% + £0.20 for cards issued in the EEA 3.25% + £0.20 for cards issued anywhere else 2% fee applies if currency conversion is needed
Accept payments with link (Stripe one click checkout)	1.2% + £30.20 for UK cards International card fees apply for cards issued elsewhere
Settle and pay out in additional currencies	1%
Refund	Processing fees are not refunded - other charges may also apply depending on payment type¹²
Chargebacks (disputes)	£20 per dispute
Recurring billing	0.5% value of bill paid
Invoicing	0.4% value of paid invoice
Instant pay out from Stripe	1% (standard payout is free, but takes longer)

Stripe vs Square fees - Head to head comparison

Finding the right PSP for your business may simply come down to cost. Both Stripe and Square offer many common payment processing services including in person and online payments. The right one for you may just depend on the sort of transactions you make most commonly. Here’s a quick head to head comparison of Stripe vs Square fees to help you decide.

Transaction type	Stripe fee	Square fee
In-person payments	1.4% + £0.10 for cards issued in the EEA 2.9% + £0.10 for cards issued anywhere else	1.75% for each contactless, chip and PIN or swiped card-present transaction 2.5% for payments manually keyed
Online payments	1.5% + £0.20 for standard UK cards 1.9% + £0.20 for premium UK cards	1.4% + £0.25
International	Online: 2.5% + £0.20 for cards issued in the EEA 3.25% + £0.20 for cards issued anywhere else In person: 1.4% + £0.10 for cards issued in the EEA 2.9% + £0.10 for cards issued anywhere else 2% fee applies if currency conversion is needed	2.5% + £0.25
Refund	Variable - Processing fees are not refunded	Processing fees are not refunded
Chargeback	£20 per dispute	No fee

Both Stripe and Square are options for UK businesses looking for a payments platform to process online and in person payments. You’ll find the two providers have quite a lot of overlapping services, but their approach isn’t exactly the same - and neither is their pricing. Use this guide to compare the options based on convenience and cost.

*Disclaimer: The UK Wise Business pricing structure is changing with effect from 26/11/2025 date. Receiving money, direct debits and getting paid features are not available with the Essential Plan which you can open for free. Pay a one-time set up fee of £50 to unlock Advanced features including account details to receive payments in 22+ currencies or 8+ currencies for non-swift payments. You’ll also get access to our invoice generating tool, payment links, QuickPay QR codes and the ability to set up direct debits all within one account. Please check our website for the latest pricing information.

Sources used in this article:

Sources last checked January 16, 2024

*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.

We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.