Praghas.ie
StripevsSquare·Ireland

Stripe vs Square fees in Ireland

A side-by-side look at Stripe and Square public card-processing rates for Irish businesses, with a sample €10,000/month scenario.

Saving at €10,000/mo
€5/mo

Square is lower in this example · ≈ €54 a year

Stripe
€217/mo

2.17% effective rate

Square
€213/mo

2.13% effective rate

Run your own numbersBrowse all 7 comparisons

Stripe and Square solve slightly different problems. Stripe is built for online payments and custom checkout. Square is built around simple, predictable point-of-sale pricing for businesses that sell in person.

If you mostly sell online, Stripe's per-transaction rates and integrations usually lead the decision. If you mostly sell face to face, Square's blended in-person rate and hardware are often the bigger draw.

Quick answer

Use this as a starting point before checking the fee table.

Start with your channel mix. Stripe is usually the better shortlist option for online-first or custom checkout businesses. Square is usually the more natural fit for counter sales, card readers and POS workflows.

Choose Stripe if

your checkout is mainly online, you need API control, or you expect to add subscriptions, marketplace payments or a custom payment flow.

Choose Square if

you sell face to face and want POS software, card readers and straightforward in-person payment operations.

What this guide compares

Use this to rule providers in or out before checking the details that matter to your business.

Included
Public card-processing fees, supported features and common Irish small-business use cases.
Not included
Negotiated rates, hardware purchases, chargebacks, refunds, currency conversion, optional software plans and provider-specific add-ons unless explicitly stated.

Main fee differences

These are the assumptions most likely to move the estimate.

What changes the fee gap

  • Online and In-Person rates are different, so the online/in-person split is the biggest lever.
  • Square adds VAT to processing rates; this matters most when your business is not VAT registered.
  • Stripe's fixed fee is more visible on low average transaction values, especially online.

Watch out for

  • Hardware costs are excluded from the fee estimate for both providers.
  • Square optional software plans and POS add-ons can change the real monthly cost.
  • Stripe Terminal can support in-person payments, but it is not the same style of off-the-shelf POS setup as Square.

Feature comparison

Capability coverage from the Praghas provider directory.

Online checkout
StripeYes
SquareYes
Payment links
StripePartial
SquareYes
In-person terminals
StripeYes
SquareYes
POS / commerce tools
StripePartial
SquareYes
Subscriptions
StripeYes
SquarePartial
Developer APIs
StripeYes
SquarePartial
Business account
StripeNo
SquareNo

Example fee comparison

Based on €10,000.00/month, €50.00 average sale, default online payment mix. Run your own numbers for an accurate comparison.

Square
Lowest estimate

€212.50/mo

2.13% effective rate

Baseline

vs lowest

Annual €2,550.00

Visit provider
Stripe

€217.00/mo

2.17% effective rate

+€4.50/mo

vs lowest

Annual €2,604.00

Visit provider

The table sorts the two providers by estimated monthly fee for this sample scenario only. It is not a quality ranking or recommendation.

When each is a fit

Use these notes as decision prompts before running your own numbers.

Consider Stripe if

  • You sell mainly online and want a flexible API
  • You run subscriptions or a marketplace
  • You want granular control over the checkout

Consider Square if

  • You sell mostly in person - cafe, salon, market stall
  • You want predictable blended in-person pricing
  • You want an all-in-one POS app and hardware

The verdict

Channel mix is the deciding factor. For online-heavy businesses Stripe usually wins on flexibility; for in-person retail Square's POS simplicity can matter more. Adjust the Online and In-Person percentages in the calculator to see how the comparison moves.

Read the provider notes

Each provider page lists the rates, assumptions and exclusions used by Praghas.

StripeUses Stripe's public standard Irish card pricing. Extra product, currency conversion and dispute fees are not included.SquareUses Square's public standard Irish pricing. Hardware and optional software costs are separate.

Frequently asked questions

Square uses a single blended in-person rate, which is simple for face-to-face sales. Set the in-person channel mix to 100% in the calculator to compare directly.

No. Card readers and terminals are one-off costs that are not part of the processing-fee estimate.

Sources

Figures are estimates based on public standard pricing and may be out of date. Confirm current rates with each provider before deciding.