Software Alternatives & Startups

MainWP VS Square

Compare MainWP VS Square and see what are their differences

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MainWP logo MainWP

A Free, Open-source, & Self-hosted one-stop solution to manage Unlimited WordPress websites from a single dashboard. MainWP is the only management plugin with 2000+ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews on WP.org

Square logo Square

Square helps millions of sellers run their business-from secure credit card processing to point of sale solutions. Get paid faster with Square. Sign up today!
  • MainWP Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-02

MainWP is a suite of open-source self-hosted plugins & extensions for users that have multiple WordPress sites and want to control them from one central location. This includes sites on different hosts or servers.

Once you have connected your sites (called Child Sites) to your Dashboard, you can do almost anything from your MainWP Dashboard that you would be able to do from your Child sites wp-admin.

Combined with the MainWP extensions, here's a glimpse of what you can do to manage hundreds of WordPress websites effortlessly:

💰 Free Forever

🏷 White Label

♾️ Connect Unlimited Websites

👥 Organize Sites in Groups

🕒 Uptime & Site Health Monitoring

🚩 Lighthouse

🔄 Effortless Bulk Updates

🚧 Staging, Clone

📝 Client Reports

🔒 Full Privacy, Self-hosted

🔗 Security & Backup Integrations

😌 Bulk Content Management (Draft, Publish, Edit, Trash)

💬 Comments

🛠 Maintenance

🛡 Security

📈 SEO, Traffic, etc. Analytics

🚀 Rocket

And a lot more 👉 https://mainwp.com/mainwp-extensions/

The MainWP plugin is 100% FREE, forever! However, MainWP Pro offers a wide range of 30+ premium Extensions at a single price. The extensions aren't required, but they extend the functionality to improve your workflows.

During the subscription, you'll get Priority Support, Important security & performance updates, and access to all new extensions.

  • Monthly: $29/mon

  • Yearly: $199/year

  • Lifetime: $499 (One-time)

  • Square Homepage
    Homepage //
    2024-05-06

MainWP

Website
mainwp.com
$ Details
freemium $29 / Monthly (32+ Premium Extensions & Priority Support)
Platforms
Browser Web Wordpress WooCommerce
Release Date
2014 January

Square

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
-
Platforms
-
Release Date
-
Startup details
Country
United States

MainWP features and specs

  • Monitoring
  • Backups
  • Staging
  • Google Analytics
  • Core Web Vitals
  • Client Reporting
  • SEO
  • White label
  • WordPress plugin

Square features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Square's platform is known for being user-friendly and easy to set up, making it accessible for small business owners with little technical expertise.
  • Transparent Pricing
    Square offers straightforward, flat-rate pricing with no hidden fees, which helps businesses understand their costs upfront.
  • Integrated Solutions
    Square provides a comprehensive suite of tools including POS systems, online store, invoicing, payroll, and more, enabling seamless business operations.
  • No Long-Term Contracts
    Square does not require long-term contracts or commitments, allowing businesses flexibility in choosing their service provider.
  • Omnichannel Capabilities
    Square supports sales across various channels, including in-person, online, and mobile, offering versatility for different business models.
  • Next-Day Deposits
    Square offers next-day deposits, ensuring that businesses have quick access to their funds, which is critical for cash flow management.

Possible disadvantages of Square

  • Processing Fees
    While the pricing is transparent, the fees per transaction can add up, especially for businesses with high sales volumes or low margins.
  • Account Stability
    Some users have reported sudden holds or terminations of their Square accounts, which can disrupt business operations.
  • Limited Customer Support
    Square's customer support can be limited, particularly for smaller businesses or during high-demand periods, which can affect issue resolution time.
  • Additional Costs for Advanced Features
    Some advanced features and integrations may incur additional costs, making it more expensive for businesses that need these functionalities.
  • Geographic Limitations
    Square is primarily available in certain countries, which may be restrictive for businesses with international operations or customers.

Analysis of Square

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Square is generally considered a good choice for businesses looking for an all-in-one payment and business management solution. It is particularly praised for its user-friendly interface, competitive pricing, and reliable customer support.

Why this product is good

  • Square, known for its point of sale solutions, has built a strong reputation for its ease of use, transparent pricing, and comprehensive features suited for small to medium-sized businesses. It offers seamless integration with various hardware, software, and payment processing services, which are particularly appreciated by users who want a straightforward setup. The platform also provides useful analytics, invoicing, and inventory management features that help businesses efficiently manage their operations.

Recommended for

    Square is recommended for small to medium-sized businesses, especially in the retail, food and beverage, and service industries, who need a versatile and scalable payment processing and business management solution. It is particularly beneficial for those who prefer a cloud-based service with seamless integration across multiple devices.

MainWP videos

How to Manage Multiple Websites with ManageWP on Wordpress (MainWP Alternative)

More videos:

  • Review - Manage and control all your WordPress sites with MainWP
  • Review - Using MainWP for Client Website Maintenance (a biased review)

Square videos

Square vs PayPal 2020: A Side by Side Comparison

More videos:

  • Demo - Square Mobile Credit Card Reader Review | Squareup Demo | Pros & Cons
  • Review - I switched from Square to Paymentech. IMO, Squareup merchant services is garbage.
  • Review - What is Square - Square Review - Square Pricing Plans Explained
  • Review - 6 days left to dump Square merchant services before they begin screwing small businesses
  • Review - Square Eftpos Terminal Review 2023
  • Review - Square Review | Is It the BEST POS System for Online Payments & Invoicing?
  • Review - Square For Small Business: Is Square Right For You? [Square Explained]

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to MainWP and Square)
WordPress
100 100%
0% 0
Payments Processing
0 0%
100% 100
Tool
100 100%
0% 0
Payment Platform
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing MainWP and Square.

What makes your product unique?

MainWP's answer

It's Open Source, Self-hosted, and privacy-focused WordPress plugin.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

MainWP's answer

Digital Agencies, Freelancers, Developers, in fact, everyone who has multiple WordPress websites.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

MainWP's answer

It's Privacy-Focused and affordable—single pricing to get everything.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

MainWP's answer

Can't disclose that, however, as per our public stats on wp .org, 10k+ users are managing over 600,000 WordPress sites which makes 60 sites on average.

User comments

Share your experience with using MainWP and Square. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare MainWP and Square

MainWP Reviews

We have no reviews of MainWP yet.
Be the first one to post

Square Reviews

The 8 Best Payment Processing Systems
If your business needs to process payments in person, Square has handy point-of-sale features like a contactless chip reader, magstripe reader, and convertible stand. All these components let you take payments directly from your smartphone. The system connects with your online business presence as well for seamless transactions. Card payments will always be more expensive,...
Source: gocardless.com
11 Alternatives to QuickBooks in 2024
If your business mainly processes card payments in-person in a retail setting, needs a few basic business tools like inventory tracking and sales reports, and is looking for something that seamlessly integrates with an ecommerce presence, Square is for you. It’s built for small retail and ecommerce businesses that are just starting out and looking for a lost-cost, low-risk,...
Source: www.bench.co
What to Use Instead of PayPal? 10 Best PayPal Alternatives
Square is another big name in retail payments and for a good reason. The easy-to-use platform lets you accept payments online or in-store. There are also useful available features such as invoices, contactless payments, point of sale, and eCommerce. Any extra features you add will be accessed via the same dashboard, letting you stay organised. Additionally, Square is...
The 6 best online payment processing services in 2024
Most of Square's features are free to use, but if you want to unlock more for your store and checkout experience, there are two subscription plans available. The highest one, Premium ($79/month), even lowers the transaction fee to 2.6% + $0.30 (from 2.9% + $0.30), so if you end up setting up shop with Square and start selling a lot, it may make sense to upgrade.
Source: zapier.com
POS: Best Point of Sale System Software for Small businesses
It may be used on tablets, smartphones, and Apple and Android devices. It is applicable to all business types, including bakeries. The business offers Square POS support around-the-clock.
Source: qpe.co.in

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Square should be more popular than MainWP. It has been mentiond 41 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

MainWP mentions (8)

  • Managing Performance Across 50+ WordPress Sites Without Burning Out
    MainWP offers another centralized management option that's self-hosted on your infrastructure, which works well if you want full control over the management layer without relying on external services. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Flat Rate Website Acceleration Tools for Agencies
    MainWP is a management dashboard making plugin deployment and monitoring simpler. Pairs well with free optimization plugins if you control hosting. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Does WP-CLI have a command to detect out-of-date plugins?
    I've inherited about 40+ of wordpress sites and I need to produce a report on any plugins that are no longer maintained. I know that MainWP can do this but I would like to be able to run a search through the command line so that I can export into a spreadsheet. I need a centralized report that I can pass around other people in order to make larger decisions. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Website Developer Mentor - side job
    Each site is connected to MainWP. This allows us to monitor and patch all sites from a central place. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Nextcloud checking wordpress sites for updates?
    Currently I use mainwp.com from one WP site, but I thought it would be kinda neat to just see it on my daily Nextcloud homepage. Source: over 4 years ago
View more

Square mentions (41)

  • Advertisement - Help Finding a Global Entry Appointment
    This is an advertisement and I want to provide all the details.. I am a software developer and avid traveler. I own this website and am the sole developer who wrote the entire software! This idea came about when I signed up for Global Entry and then couldn't get an enrollment interview. I offer a 100% Money Back Guarantee (https://globalentrytextalerts.com/moneyBack) if someone doesn't feel satisfied. The website... Source: about 3 years ago
  • How common is card/contactless payment?
    And now with Square it's dirt simple to accept credit card transactions, and the software even integrates into the NFC transceiver in modern iPhones--so even street vendors and local artists accept contactless payment cards. Source: over 3 years ago
  • FREE GAME 💳💰💰
    Https://squareup.com/us/en - Better with aged account and/or verified business. Do custom amount charges on phone and type in card info manually. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Art Market Question: $$$
    I've seen this one quite a bit here: https://squareup.com/us/en. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Squarespace Tutorial: Learn How to Build a Squarespace Website in 2022
    Squarespace supports several payment gateways, including Stripe, PayPal Business, and Square (for US point of sale transactions). - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing MainWP and Square, you can also consider the following products

ManageWP - ManageWP is a service for bloggers, site owners and web based companies helping them manage multiple WordPress sites from one dashboard.

Lightspeed - Retail point-of-sale, inventory management, and omnichannel payment processing systems.

InfiniteWP - Manage unlimited https://alternativeto.net/software/wordpress/ sites from a central admin panel.

Toast - Built to make restaurants better. Toast gives your restaurant the technology you need to succeed in today's fast-paced environment.

WP Umbrella - The easiest way to manage multiple WordPress websites effortlessly.

Odoo - An all-integrated business app suite to unleash your growth potential.