Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Stripe VS Square Contactless Reader

Compare Stripe VS Square Contactless Reader and see what are their differences

Stripe logo Stripe

Online payment processing for internet businesses. Stripe is a suite of payment APIs that powers commerce for online businesses of all sizes. Use Stripe’s payment platform to accept and process payments online for easy-to-use commerce solutions.

Square Contactless Reader logo Square Contactless Reader

Accept Apple Pay + Chip cards, anywhere
  • Stripe Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-04-30
  • Square Contactless Reader Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-24

Stripe features and specs

  • Comprehensive API
    Stripe offers a robust and well-documented API that allows businesses to customize their payment processing to suit their specific needs.
  • Global Reach
    Stripe supports payment processing in multiple countries and currencies, making it ideal for businesses with international clientele.
  • Advanced Security
    Stripe provides advanced security features, such as PCI DSS compliance and fraud prevention tools, ensuring that both businesses and customers are protected.
  • Scalability
    Stripe is suitable for businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises, offering solutions that scale with the business's growth.
  • Rich Feature Set
    In addition to payment processing, Stripe offers a wide range of features including subscription billing, invoicing, and marketplace payments.
  • Integration with Popular Platforms
    Stripe easily integrates with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento, simplifying the setup process.

Possible disadvantages of Stripe

  • Costly for High-Volume Businesses
    Stripe's transaction fees can become expensive for high-volume businesses, especially when compared to other payment processors that offer volume-based discounts.
  • Complex Setup
    For businesses without a dedicated developer or technical team, setting up Stripe’s API and customizing it can be complex and time-consuming.
  • Limited Customer Support
    Some users have reported that Stripe's customer support can be slow to respond and may not always provide satisfactory solutions to issues.
  • Account Stability
    There have been instances where Stripe has abruptly terminated accounts or held funds, causing disruptions to businesses.
  • Subject to Chargebacks
    Like other payment processors, Stripe is not immune to chargebacks, which can be a significant issue for certain types of businesses.

Square Contactless Reader features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    The Square Contactless Reader is simple to set up and use, making it accessible for small business owners without extensive technical knowledge.
  • Versatility
    The device accepts a wide range of payment methods including contactless (NFC) payments, chip card payments, and mobile payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
  • Portability
    Its compact and lightweight design allows business owners to easily carry it and accept payments on-the-go.
  • Security
    The Square Reader is designed with security in mind, featuring encryption to protect payment data and ensure safe transactions.
  • Affordable
    The price point of the Square Contactless Reader is relatively low, making it an economical option for small businesses looking to accept modern payment methods.

Possible disadvantages of Square Contactless Reader

  • Requires Internet Connection
    The device requires a stable internet connection to process payments, which might be a limitation in areas with poor connectivity.
  • Limited to Square Ecosystem
    The reader is integrated into the Square ecosystem, which might limit functionality for businesses that use multiple or different payment systems.
  • Transaction Fees
    As with many payment processors, Square charges a transaction fee on payments processed, which can add up for businesses with large sales volumes.
  • Battery Life
    While portable, the device relies on a battery which needs to be charged regularly, potentially causing interruptions if not managed properly.
  • Limited Offline Functionality
    Without internet, the Square Contactless Reader has limited functionality, potentially leading to service disruptions during power or connectivity outages.

Analysis of Stripe

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Stripe is generally considered a good choice for businesses looking for reliable and flexible payment processing solutions. It is praised for its developer-friendly design and its capability to support complex billing models.

Why this product is good

  • Stripe is widely regarded as a good payment processing platform due to its ease of use, robust API, comprehensive documentation, and the ability to handle various payment methods across multiple countries. It also offers advanced security features, fraud prevention tools, and a scalable infrastructure suitable for businesses of all sizes.

Recommended for

  • E-commerce businesses seeking a reliable payment gateway
  • Developers looking for a customizable and programmer-friendly API
  • Startups and SMEs for scalability and ease of integration
  • Global businesses that need multi-currency support and international payment options

Stripe videos

PayPal VS Stripe 2020: Which Online Payment Processor Is Best For Your Business?

More videos:

  • Review - Stripe Review Video
  • Review - BEWARE: CLOSE YOUR STRIPE ACCOUNT!!! *BEFORE THEY DO*

Square Contactless Reader videos

No Square Contactless Reader videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Stripe and Square Contactless Reader)
Online Payments
98 98%
2% 2
Recurring Billing
100 100%
0% 0
Fintech
0 0%
100% 100
Payment Platform
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

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

Stripe Reviews

Subscription Billing Solutions Comparison: Stripe vs Recurly vs Chargebee vs Rainex
Stripe is one of the world’s largest payment processing platforms, trusted by their customers for many years. In addition to gateway features, for a fee, Stripe offers billing and subscription management tools for its users. Its intuitive interface and extensive documentation make it a favorite among developers and companies of different sizes.
Source: rainex.io
Top 5 Payoneer Alternatives for Seamless Online Transactions
Key Features: A powerful payment processing platform focused on online businesses, offering features like subscriptions and fraud prevention. Stripe boasts a unified suite of tools and APIs that simplify the entire online payment process for businesses.
Source: www.doola.com
What to Use Instead of PayPal? 10 Best PayPal Alternatives
Conveniently, Stripe automatically deposits your funds into your bank account. Another convenient feature of Stripe is that the checkout process takes place on your website. That reduces customer friction compared to platforms like PayPal, which sends customers to external sites. The platform is also highly customisable.
The 6 best online payment processing services in 2024
Part of the HubSpot Commerce Hub feature set, Payments adds payment processing on top of a mountain of possibilities. It's seamlessly connected to all other parts of this sales software, so you can manage your business relationships, marketing, website, content, and operations from the same place. The actual payment infrastructure belongs to Stripe, with HubSpot charging...
Source: zapier.com
Payment Platforms Comparison: Stripe vs Chargebee vs Paddle vs Recurly
Stripe is a payment processor. Its software and APIs enable businesses to accept payments, send payouts, and manage their businesses online. Stripe offers its customers a full-stack payment process – it serves as both a third-party payment processor and a payment gateway.
Source: rainex.io

Square Contactless Reader Reviews

We have no reviews of Square Contactless Reader yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Stripe seems to be a lot more popular than Square Contactless Reader. While we know about 276 links to Stripe, we've tracked only 10 mentions of Square Contactless Reader. 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.

Stripe mentions (276)

  • Integrating Stripe with SvelteKit: Dynamic Pricing and Payment Security
    Integrating Stripe into a SvelteKit application, especially when dealing with dynamic product pricing and robust webhook validation, can be challenging. While building a client's business application using SvelteKit and PostgreSQL (with Drizzle ORM), I encountered the need for a streamlined integration with Stripe. The goal was to use minimal dependencies while supporting features such as dynamic pricing, product... - Source: dev.to / 8 days ago
  • Under the Hood: How Tesla Powers its Android App with React Native
    Notably, Tesla employs Stripe as its payment service, ensuring exceptional stability and security. Stripe is a global payment system capable of reliably handling financial transactions across various countries. - Source: dev.to / 23 days ago
  • Four years of running a SaaS in a competitive market
    Same, from United States and not seeing dollars is a bit funky. I wonder if there are opportunities for more call to actions. e.g. I scrolled the page and the only links to sign up are at the top (I’m on mobile). Compare this to https://stripe.com/ and it’s super obvious how to “Start now” from anywhere on the page. - Source: Hacker News / 29 days ago
  • Is GitHub Sponsors Safe? A Comprehensive Guide
    Open-source development is a cornerstone of modern technology innovation, but sustaining projects financially remains a persistent challenge. GitHub Sponsors, an initiative introduced by GitHub, offers a way for individual developers and organizations to receive funding. Given the emphasis on financial and user security, developers often ask: Is GitHub Sponsors safe? In this post, we explore the safety protocols... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Dunning Emails – Definition, Examples, Best Practices, and Automation Tools
    Many subscription billing or payment platforms include dunning management out-of-the-box. For example, Stripe (a popular payment processor) can be configured to send automatic payment failure emails and retry charges on a schedule. However, Stripe’s native dunning features are somewhat basic and not highly customizable. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
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Square Contactless Reader mentions (10)

  • selling my book at summer festivals
    - if your phone lacks the capacity to process cards - Square's card reader - affordable, simple to use. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Best alternatives to Square?
    I have this Square contactless/chip reader so if a customer doesn't have tap-to-pay they just insert their card. I do keep my old magstripe reader handy just in case. There have been a few times my contactless/chip reader didn't work for a few minutes (maybe related to unstable con wifi?) and I used the magstripe reader instead. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Square mag stripe reader
    I have this one - https://squareup.com/us/en/hardware/contactless-chip-reader. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Hypothetically speaking, is there any way to use mobile wallets with online shopping with the USBAR?
    I thought you were “hypothetically” wanting to get something like a Square Reader/Terminal and use Google Pay, right? Source: about 3 years ago
  • What stops criminals from using Tap to Pay to just skim every passerby's card details?
    While this is a new feature for iPhones, it is not a new concept at all. Square has offered a pocket sized wireless reader since 2015. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Stripe and Square Contactless Reader, you can also consider the following products

PayPal - PayPal is the faster, safer way to pay online without sharing financial details, send and receive money or accept credit and debit cards as a seller

Stripe Terminal - The programmable point-of-sale solution 💳🛠️

PayPal Braintree - An all-in-one solution to accept, process, and split payments in your mobile app or online - from small business to large enterprise.

Square Register - A fully integrated point of sale (POS) system 💰

Payoneer - Whether making international payments, receiving funds, managing your digital business, or accessing capital, Payoneer opens your business up to the world.

Shopify Tap & Chip Reader - Mobile POS hardware that connects to the rest of Shopify