The Square alternative for businesses that want their own Stripe account
NectarPay vs. Square
Square's point of sale and its hardware process only through Square. NectarPay runs on Stripe Terminal, so the payments account, the readers and the payment history belong to you.
How NectarPay compares to Square
|
Square | |
|---|---|---|
| Payments | ||
| Payments into your own Stripe account | ||
| Payments into your own Stripe account | Yes | No Payments go through Square |
| Card readers that aren't locked to the software | ||
| Card readers that aren't locked to the software | Yes | No Square hardware processes only through Square |
| Tap to Pay on Android | ||
| Tap to Pay on Android | Yes | Yes |
| Hold a card now, capture it later | ||
| Hold a card now, capture it later | Yes | Yes Bar tabs on Square for Restaurants |
| Phone and mail orders keyed on the reader | ||
| Phone and mail orders keyed on the reader | Yes | Yes Keyed in at 3.5% + 15¢ |
| A cut of each vendor's sale, paid out to the venue | ||
| A cut of each vendor's sale, paid out to the venue | Yes | Not in their documentation Only as app fees through its developer API |
| Selling | ||
| Self-checkout kiosks | ||
| Self-checkout kiosks | Yes | Partly, as an add-on or on some plans Paid add-on per kiosk, on Plus or Premium |
| Payment links and QR codes | ||
| Payment links and QR codes | Yes | Yes |
| Checkout on your own website | ||
| Checkout on your own website | Yes | Yes |
| Questions and forms at checkout | ||
| Questions and forms at checkout | Yes | Partly, as an add-on or on some plans Up to two fields, on payment links only |
| Variants and modifiers | ||
| Variants and modifiers | Yes | Yes |
| Fulfilment | ||
| Pickup, local delivery and shipping | ||
| Pickup, local delivery and shipping | Yes | Yes |
| Orders split across locations with the stock | ||
| Orders split across locations with the stock | Yes | No One location per order |
| Inventory | ||
| Stock per location, with low-stock alerts | ||
| Stock per location, with low-stock alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Transfers between locations | ||
| Transfers between locations | Yes | Partly, as an add-on or on some plans Square for Retail Plus or Premium |
| Stock changes with reasons, and their history | ||
| Stock changes with reasons, and their history | Yes | Yes Custom reasons on Plus or Premium |
| Stock held during checkout | ||
| Stock held during checkout | Yes | Not in their documentation |
| Locations and team | ||
| Prices per location | ||
| Prices per location | Yes | Yes |
| Several businesses, each with its own payouts | ||
| Several businesses, each with its own payouts | Yes | Not in their documentation A separate business is a separate login |
| Roles limited to the accounts people work in | ||
| Roles limited to the accounts people work in | Yes | Yes |
| Company sign-in and required two-factor | ||
| Company sign-in and required two-factor | Yes | Partly, as an add-on or on some plans Required two-step verification; no company sign-in found |
| A log of who changed what | ||
| A log of who changed what | Yes | Yes |
| Your own logo and colours | ||
| Your own logo and colours | Yes | Partly, as an add-on or on some plans Logo and colour on the kiosk |
| ERP and API | ||
| A REST API for products, stock, orders and reports | ||
| A REST API for products, stock, orders and reports | Yes | Yes |
| Webhooks for orders and stock | ||
| Webhooks for orders and stock | Yes | Yes No low-stock event |
| Reports made on a schedule, delivered as files | ||
| Reports made on a schedule, delivered as files | Yes | Not in their documentation |
| Products, stock and customers in and out by spreadsheet | ||
| Products, stock and customers in and out by spreadsheet | Yes | Yes |
Yes Partly, as an add-on or on some plans No Not in their documentation
Why counters switch from Square
Payments on your own account
Readers that keep working
Your item library, as it is
Bring everything over from Square
Your items
In Square Dashboard, open Items & services, Items, Item library. Choose Actions, Export library, and download it as Excel.
In NectarPay, open Products, Import, and choose the file. Item name, variation, SKU, GTIN, category and price are matched for you.
Your stock
The same export has a Current quantity column for each location.
Import the file once per location, picking the location and its quantity column each time.
Your customers
In Square Dashboard, open Customers, Customer directory. Choose Import / Export, Export customers, and download the CSV.
Open Customers, Import, and choose it. First and last names are joined, and anyone already here isn't added twice.
Before you cancel Square
Export your payment history
Cancel your subscriptions
Check your hardware's return window
Moving several locations? We'll do it with you.
Send us your Square exports and we'll set up your catalog, locations and readers alongside you.
Switching from Square: questions people ask
Can I use my Square reader with NectarPay?
No. Square's hardware processes only through Square. NectarPay runs on Stripe Terminal readers, such as the Stripe Reader S700, the BBPOS WisePOS E and the Stripe Reader M2, and on Android tablets with Tap to Pay.
Can I bring my Square item library over?
Yes. Export it from Square Dashboard as Excel and import it under Products. NectarPay matches the item name, variation, SKU, GTIN, category, price and stock columns and shows a preview before it saves anything.
Can I bring my Square customers over?
Yes. Export your customer directory as a CSV and import it under Customers. First and last names are joined, and customers already in NectarPay aren't added twice.
Do I need my own Stripe account?
Yes, and it's yours. Connect the Stripe account you have, or open one from inside NectarPay; Stripe pays your sales out to your bank.
Does NectarPay run several locations, like Square?
Yes. Each location keeps its own prices, stock and devices, and you see every location's sales from one back office.
Open your first location today
Connect Stripe, add a location and take a payment. Moving several accounts over? We'll help.
What this page says about Square comes from its own documentation and public records, as of October 2026:
- Square: export your item library
- Square: pricing
- Square Community: Square hardware and other processors
- Square: deactivate your account
- Square: hardware returns
Square is a trademark of its owner, used here only to identify it.