Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Virtual Terminal by Square VS Stripe Terminal

Compare Virtual Terminal by Square VS Stripe Terminal and see what are their differences

Virtual Terminal by Square logo Virtual Terminal by Square

Accept payments on your computer

Stripe Terminal logo Stripe Terminal

The programmable point-of-sale solution 💳🛠️
  • Virtual Terminal by Square Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-04
  • Stripe Terminal Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-17

Virtual Terminal by Square features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    The Square Virtual Terminal allows users to process payments directly from a web browser without additional hardware, making it user-friendly and accessible for businesses of all sizes.
  • No Monthly Fees
    Square doesn't charge any monthly fees for using their Virtual Terminal, making it a cost-effective solution for businesses concerned about budget.
  • Quick Setup
    The setup process for Square's Virtual Terminal is straightforward and can be completed quickly, enabling businesses to start accepting payments with minimal delay.
  • Comprehensive Dashboard
    The platform offers a robust backend dashboard that provides tools for reporting, sales tracking, and customer management, helping businesses stay organized and informed.
  • Secure Transactions
    Square provides secure payment processing, ensuring that both businesses and their customers are protected during transactions.

Possible disadvantages of Virtual Terminal by Square

  • Transaction Fees
    Square charges a per-transaction fee, which, though competitive, could accumulate to significant costs for businesses with a high volume of low-value transactions.
  • Limited Offline Capability
    The Virtual Terminal requires internet access to process payments, which might be a drawback for businesses that need to operate in environments with unreliable connectivity.
  • Basic Customization
    While effective, the Virtual Terminal offers limited options for customization, which might be a limitation for businesses looking for a more tailored payment solution.
  • Potential Account Holds
    Some users report issues with account holds, where funds may be temporarily inaccessible, which could impact cash flow for certain businesses.
  • Requires Manual Entry
    Payments must be manually entered into the Virtual Terminal, which could be time-consuming for businesses that handle a large number of transactions daily.

Stripe Terminal features and specs

  • Integration with Stripe Ecosystem
    Seamlessly integrates with other Stripe services, allowing businesses to unify online and offline payments into a single platform.
  • Customizability
    Offers a high level of customization to fit specific business needs, including tailored payment flows and branded receipts.
  • Hardware Options
    Provides a variety of hardware options that cater to different business needs, from mobile card readers to countertop smart terminals.
  • Developer-Friendly
    Includes extensive documentation and SDKs for iOS, Android, and JavaScript, making it easy for developers to build custom POS solutions.
  • Global Availability
    Available in multiple countries with support for numerous currencies, enabling businesses to operate globally with ease.

Possible disadvantages of Stripe Terminal

  • Cost
    Costs can add up with transaction fees, hardware purchases, and potential development expenditures for custom setups.
  • Setup Complexity
    Can be complex to set up and integrate without sufficient technical expertise, potentially requiring developer resources.
  • Limited Offline Capability
    Dependent on internet connectivity for transactions; limited offline capabilities may not suit all business environments.
  • Geographic Limitations
    Despite global reach, some specific features and hardware might not be available in all regions, which can hinder operations in certain countries.
  • Technical Support
    Users report that while support is available, response times can vary, potentially causing delays if issues arise during business hours.

Virtual Terminal by Square videos

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Stripe Terminal videos

Dev Chats: Stripe Terminal

More videos:

  • Demo - 🔥How to Setup POS Machine Card Reader Using Stripe Terminal | 🔥Working Demo of Successful Payment

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Virtual Terminal by Square and Stripe Terminal)
Payments
100 100%
0% 0
Online Payments
18 18%
82% 82
Fintech
26 26%
74% 74
Productivity
19 19%
81% 81

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Stripe Terminal seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 10 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.

Virtual Terminal by Square mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Virtual Terminal by Square yet. Tracking of Virtual Terminal by Square recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Stripe Terminal mentions (10)

  • Stripe Terminal iOS & Android SDK
    Hey, I'm creating a POS system and want to integrate Stripe Terminal for accepting in-person payments. I need to have offline capabilities so the server-driven integration is no option sadly. So I'll need to use their iOS & Android SDK's. Can anyone help me with this? Or tell me how to integrate two SDK's into a flutter app? (I'll probably be using the BBPOS WisePad 3). Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Gesture-based payments
    Finally, using gestures solely would only work if a customer is part of a program that already possesses their credit card details. If a gesture is not used as a confirmation input but as the payment method itself, we need some way to match payment details to this gesture and this user. For example, let’s imagine that a customer wants to pay with gestures that they trained on their smartwatch. We could imagine a... - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Making a point of sale app
    The short answer here is: there's companies which will provide you a cloud API to interact with a card reader they provide, and that's the least awful way to use one. These include Stripe (https://stripe.com/terminal), Square (https://squareup.com/us/en), SumUp (https://sumup.com/), and going towards the enterprise end, things like Adyen (https://www.adyen.com/pos-payments). Source: over 2 years ago
  • Can I integrate Stripe terminal with my POS system?
    We'd love to have you! Make your way to stripe.com/terminal and go through the docs. There's a nice sample that uses a simulator to show you how to get it done. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Apple unveils contactless payments via Tap to Pay on iPhone
    Stripe does have a physical terminal too (https://stripe.com/terminal) but I've never seen it at a merchant. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Virtual Terminal by Square and Stripe Terminal, you can also consider the following products

Stripe Elements - Beautiful, smart checkout flows 💳💸

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

Charge for Stripe - Accept payments directly on your phone, quickly and easily

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

The new Mollie - Clever payment products for great companies of all sizes.

Square Contactless Reader - Accept Apple Pay + Chip cards, anywhere