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AlfaPOS vs Square

Q: Can I use AlfaPOS with my existing Stripe account?

Yes. AlfaPOS connects to the Stripe account you already have, or you can create a new one. Your in-person sales, customers and payouts appear in the same Stripe Dashboard as your online sales.

Q: Can I use my Square card reader with AlfaPOS?

No. Square’s readers only work with Square. With AlfaPOS you can take contactless payments with Tap to Pay on a supported iPhone or Android phone, or pair any Stripe-supported card reader.

Q: Can AlfaPOS take cash?

Yes. Choose cash at checkout, enter the amount the customer hands over and AlfaPOS shows the change due. You can email a receipt, and cash sales appear in your sales report next to card sales.

Q: Can I add a service fee to help cover card processing costs?

Yes, with Fee Saver. Set a percentage or flat service fee and AlfaPOS adds it to product sales, leaving tips and subscriptions out. You can waive it on any sale. Check your local rules on service fees and how they must be shown before you turn it on.

Q: Can I give staff different permissions in AlfaPOS?

Yes, at no extra cost. Build roles from individual permissions, such as taking payments, issuing refunds or seeing everyone’s sales, and assign them to each person. Put staff into groups to manage their access together. There are no per-user fees.

Q: Does AlfaPOS have a kiosk mode?

Yes, included at no extra cost. Kiosk mode locks a phone or tablet to the checkout screen with a PIN, so customers can browse and pay on their own.

Both let you take in-person payments. AlfaPOS works with your existing Stripe account, so your sales, customers and payouts stay in one Stripe Dashboard.

Works with your Stripe account
Kiosk mode and staff permissions included
No monthly fee

The short answer

AlfaPOS and Square both let you take card payments on a phone or card reader, along with cash, discounts, service fees, subscriptions and sales reports. The difference is where your payments live: AlfaPOS runs on your own Stripe account, while Square uses its own payment processing, dashboard and hardware.

If you already sell online with Stripe, AlfaPOS keeps everything in one place: your products, customers and payouts stay in your Stripe Dashboard. You can also use Fee Saver, create staff roles with granular permissions, use kiosk mode, organize sales by event and let customers choose a price, with no monthly plan.

Already on Stripe? Keep your Stripe account and get a full point of sale with AlfaPOS, with no second processor and no monthly plan.

Side by side

Swipe sideways to see both apps →

Feature	AlfaPOS	Square
Payments
Where your payments go	Your own Stripe account and Stripe Dashboard	A Square account and Square Dashboard
Cash sales	Yes	Yes
Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android	Yes	Yes
Card readers	All Stripe-supported readers; runs on Stripe S700/S710	Square’s own readers and terminals
Offline payments	Yes	Yes
Selling
Service fee to cover card costs	Fee Saver: a percentage or flat fee, waivable on any sale	Service charges: a percentage or fixed amount
Products sold by weight	Yes	Yes
Customer chooses the price	Yes, with optional minimum, maximum and suggested amount	Not advertised
Subscriptions at checkout	Yes, using your Stripe subscriptions	Yes, with the Subscriptions add-on
Coupons and discounts	Percentage or fixed-amount coupons	Percentage or dollar discounts
Sales events	Separate catalog, staff and sales report for each market, festival or fundraiser	Not advertised
Running the counter
Checkout layout	Reorder products and subscriptions; list or grid	Customizable item grid
Kiosk mode	Included	Needs Square Plus ($49/month per location), from $50/month per device
Sales reports	Yes, with CSV export	Yes; advanced reporting on Premium
Staff with custom permissions	Custom roles built from granular permissions, with staff groups; no per-user fee	Custom permission sets on Square Plus ($49/month per location) or Premium
Price
Monthly fee	None	Free plan $0; Plus $49/month per location

Square figures are its US pricing as of October 18, 2026; Square’s plans and rates vary by country and may change. "Not advertised" means the feature isn’t described on Square’s own pricing, product or help pages.

Sources: Square pricing, plus Square’s Help Center and product pages.

And there’s more

AlfaPOS also includes tips, tax rates, refunds and payout tracking at no extra cost.

See every AlfaPOS feature

Smart tips Included
Tax rates Included
Card pre-authorization Included
Invoices Included
Refunds Included
Customer profiles Included
Payout tracking Included
Keypad sales Included

Extra cost $0.00

Which fits your business

AlfaPOS fits if

You already sell online with Stripe, or plan to
You run a café, food truck, market stall or pop-up
You run a small shop, studio or service business
You sell at fundraisers and events that need their own catalog and staff

Square fits if

You run a multi-location, full-service restaurant
You don’t use Stripe and don’t plan to

Moving from Square

AlfaPOS runs on Stripe, so you’ll need a Stripe account. You can create one when you sign in, and keep Square running until you’re ready to switch.

1
Download AlfaPOS

Free on the App Store and Google Play. No setup fee and no contract.
2
Sign in with Stripe

Connect your Stripe account, or create a free one from the app.
3
Add your products

Add items in AlfaPOS or in your Stripe Dashboard. They live in Stripe, so your online store can sell them too.
4
Take a payment

Cash, Tap to Pay on your phone, or a Stripe card reader. Square readers don’t work with other apps.

A Square alternative for Stripe merchants

If you take payments online with Stripe and in person with Square, AlfaPOS moves your in-person sales onto the same Stripe account: one dashboard, one payout schedule, and one set of products and customers.

FAQ

Questions about AlfaPOS and Square

Can I use AlfaPOS with my existing Stripe account?

Can I use my Square card reader with AlfaPOS?

Can AlfaPOS take cash?

Can I add a service fee to help cover card processing costs?

Can I give staff different permissions in AlfaPOS?

Does AlfaPOS have a kiosk mode?

Keep your Stripe account. Get more from checkout.

Cash and card payments, Fee Saver, subscriptions, kiosk mode, sales reports and staff permissions are all in AlfaPOS. Download the app, connect your Stripe account and take your first payment.