Square vs Lightspeed: Cost and Fees Calculator
Enter your volumes to compare estimated monthly costs and fees for Square and Lightspeed across the selling types both offer, using published US pricing.
Full POS system
Selling online (eCommerce)
Estimates combine processing fees and monthly subscriptions on the plans noted above. One-time hardware, setup, and add-ons are excluded. Rates are published or typical US pricing as of mid-2026 and may have changed.
How the Square vs Lightspeed calculator works, and how the two compare
Square is an all-in-one flat-rate payments company covering card readers, full POS systems, and online stores. Square charges 2.6% + $0.15 in person on its free plan (readers from $59, Square Terminal $299), and 3.3% + $0.30 online on the free plan; paid plans at $49 and $149 per month lower those rates. Lightspeed is a retail and restaurant POS company with the deepest inventory and reporting tools in its class, plus a built-in eCommerce option. Lightspeed plans start around $69 per month (rising to $399 on premium restaurant tiers) with Lightspeed Payments at 2.6% + $0.10 in person and 2.9% + $0.30 online, running on standard iPads.
How they are similar: Where they overlap: both Square and Lightspeed cover running a full point-of-sale system and selling online, which is what this calculator compares. In both cases the bill is driven by a percentage of each sale plus any fixed per-transaction fee, which is why your average transaction size changes the effective rate as much as the headline percentage does.
How they differ: Only Square offers in-person card readers, so that side of the business is not part of this comparison. Square operates as flat-rate card processing with published per-transaction fees, while Lightspeed operates as a point-of-sale platform where software subscriptions and card processing come as a package. Square is the strongest all-rounder: one account covers in-person, POS, invoices, and a free online store, with no monthly fee required to start. Lightspeed is the numbers-person's POS: item-level profitability, multi-location reporting, and serious inventory depth, at the cost of higher software tiers as you add capability.
Assumptions used in this calculator
- Square is modeled on: 2.6% + $0.15, free POS software, Square Terminal $299; 3.3% + $0.30 online on the free plan (2.9% + $0.30 on paid plans).
- Lightspeed is modeled on: From $69 per month, 2.6% + $0.10 with Lightspeed Payments, iPad hardware; eCommerce included with plans from $69 per month, 2.9% + $0.30 online.
- Rates are published or typical US pricing as of mid-2026 and change often; quote-based providers are modeled at representative rates. Always confirm current pricing with the provider.
- One-time hardware, setup, add-on apps, keyed-in transactions, international cards, and chargeback fees are excluded from the monthly figures.