Overview: Shopify vs Square Online
Shopify and Square Online are both popular choices for small businesses, but they approach ecommerce from different angles. Shopify was built as a dedicated ecommerce platform from day one and has evolved into the most comprehensive online selling solution available. Square Online evolved from Square's point-of-sale ecosystem (incorporating the former Weebly platform) to give Square merchants an online presence.
Shopify powers over 4.6 million active stores across 175 countries and processes $235+ billion in annual GMV. Its ecosystem includes 8,000+ apps, 180+ themes, Shopify Payments, Shopify Markets for international selling, and Shopify POS for omnichannel retail. Shopify serves businesses from solo entrepreneurs to enterprise brands through Shopify Plus.
Square Online is part of the Square ecosystem, which serves millions of small businesses primarily through its POS hardware and payment processing. Square Online allows merchants to create a website with ecommerce functionality that syncs with their Square POS system. The platform offers a free tier, making it attractive for businesses testing online selling alongside their in-person operations.
The choice often comes down to your primary selling channel. If you are primarily an online seller or plan to grow your ecommerce significantly, Shopify is the clear winner. If you are a brick-and-mortar business on Square wanting to add basic online selling, Square Online offers a convenient starting point.
Pricing Comparison
| Plan | Shopify | Square Online |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | None | $0/mo (with Square branding) |
| Basic / Plus | $39/mo | $29/mo |
| Mid-tier / Premium | $105/mo | $79/mo |
| Advanced | $399/mo | No equivalent |
| Enterprise | $2,300+/mo (Plus) | No equivalent |
| Processing (online) | 2.9%+30c | 2.9%+30c |
| Processing (in-person) | 2.6%+10c | 2.6%+10c |
Square Online's free plan includes basic ecommerce but displays Square branding, offers limited customization, and lacks features like abandoned cart emails and a custom domain. Shopify's Basic plan at $39/month includes everything you need for professional ecommerce from day one, including abandoned cart recovery, gift cards, and comprehensive analytics.
Feature Comparison Table
| Feature | Shopify | Square Online |
|---|---|---|
| Products | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Themes | 180+ (12 free) | ~15 templates |
| Apps | 8,000+ | ~50 integrations |
| Abandoned cart | All plans | Plus plan and above |
| Gift cards | All plans | Plus plan and above |
| Custom domain | All plans | Plus plan and above |
| Remove platform branding | Always | Plus plan and above |
| Multi-currency | 133 currencies | Limited |
| Payment gateways | 100+ | Square only |
| POS | Shopify POS | Square POS (native integration) |
| Shipping | Discounted carrier rates | Basic shipping |
| International selling | Shopify Markets | Limited |
| Blog | Built-in | Built-in (basic) |
| SEO tools | Comprehensive | Basic |
| Support | 24/7 chat, email, phone | Phone, email, chat |
Ease of Use
Square Online is extremely simple to set up, especially for existing Square users. It automatically imports your Square product catalog and syncs inventory between online and in-person sales. The website editor is straightforward, allowing basic customization with minimal effort. You can have a basic online store running in under an hour.
Shopify is also easy to use but offers significantly more depth. The guided onboarding walks you through setup, the drag-and-drop theme editor with Online Store 2.0 allows visual customization of every page, and the admin dashboard is purpose-built for efficient ecommerce operations. While there is more to learn, each feature is intuitive and well-documented.
For absolute simplicity with minimal features, Square Online wins. For a balance of ease of use with comprehensive ecommerce capability, Shopify is the better choice.
POS Comparison
Square POS is one of the most popular point-of-sale systems for small businesses. It offers free POS software, affordable hardware (Square Reader, Square Terminal, Square Register), tip management, employee tracking, and detailed sales analytics. Square Online syncs seamlessly with Square POS — inventory, orders, and customer data flow between online and in-person channels automatically.
Shopify POS is equally capable with hardware options, staff management, customer profiles, and full inventory sync across online and physical locations. Shopify POS Lite is included free on all plans, while Shopify POS Pro ($89/month per location) adds advanced features like smart inventory management, staff permissions, and custom receipts.
For businesses already using Square POS extensively, Square Online provides the most seamless integration. For businesses choosing a POS system alongside their ecommerce platform, Shopify POS is comparable in capability with the significant advantage of Shopify's superior online platform.
Design and Templates
Square Online offers approximately 15 templates, all clean and mobile-responsive but limited in variety and customization options. You can modify colors, fonts, and basic layout, but the design flexibility does not approach what Shopify offers. All Square Online stores tend to look similar.
Shopify provides 180+ themes specifically designed for ecommerce, including 12 free options. All themes support Online Store 2.0 section-based editing on every page, are performance-optimized, and built with ecommerce conversion best practices. Premium themes cost $180-$380 one-time. The design quality and variety of Shopify themes is in a completely different league.
Apps and Integrations
Shopify's App Store has 8,000+ apps — the largest ecommerce app ecosystem available. EasyApps Ecommerce alone provides 10 free apps: EA Email Popup & Spin Wheel, EA Sticky Add to Cart, EA Upsell & Cross-Sell, EA Free Shipping Bar, EA Countdown Timer, EA Announcement Bar, EA Auto Free Gift & Rewards Bar, EA Page Speed Booster, EA Accessibility, and EA Auto Language Translate.
Square Online has approximately 50 integrations covering basic needs like social media, email marketing, and accounting. This extremely limited ecosystem means you cannot meaningfully extend Square Online's functionality. For any business that needs specialized features, Shopify's app ecosystem is a decisive advantage.
Ecommerce Feature Depth
Shopify includes comprehensive ecommerce on all plans: unlimited products, multi-location inventory, abandoned cart recovery, discount codes, gift cards, customer accounts, automatic tax calculation, shipping labels with discounted rates, and detailed analytics. Advanced features on higher plans include professional reports, lower processing rates, and international selling through Shopify Markets.
Square Online's free and basic tiers offer product listings, checkout, and inventory sync. Advanced features like abandoned cart emails, custom domains, removing Square branding, and enhanced SEO require paid plans. Features like multi-currency selling, complex shipping rules, and advanced upselling capabilities are limited or unavailable regardless of plan.
For anything beyond very basic online selling, Shopify's ecommerce depth significantly outpaces Square Online.
Shopify: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Most comprehensive ecommerce feature set
- 8,000+ apps for unlimited extensibility
- 180+ professional ecommerce themes
- 100+ payment gateways
- Abandoned cart recovery on all plans
- Shopify Markets for international selling (133 currencies)
- 99.99% uptime with auto-scaling
- Scales from startup to enterprise (Shopify Plus)
- 24/7 customer support
Cons
- No free plan
- $39/month minimum vs Square Online's free tier
- Requires Shopify Payments for zero transaction fees
- POS Pro costs extra ($89/mo per location)
Square Online: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Free plan available for basic online selling
- Seamless integration with Square POS ecosystem
- Simple, fast setup for existing Square users
- Competitive payment processing rates
- Good for restaurants and service businesses on Square
- Unified inventory across online and in-person
Cons
- Only ~15 templates with limited customization
- Only ~50 integrations (vs 8,000+ on Shopify)
- Square branding on free plan
- Locked into Square for payment processing
- Advanced features locked behind paid plans
- Limited international selling
- No scalability path for growing ecommerce businesses
- Basic SEO and marketing capabilities
Who Should Choose Which
Choose Shopify if:
- Online selling is your primary or equal channel
- You want the most comprehensive ecommerce feature set
- You need 8,000+ apps for marketing and operations
- You sell internationally
- You plan to scale significantly over time
- You want choice of 100+ payment gateways
- Professional store design matters to you
Choose Square Online if:
- You already use Square POS and want to add online selling
- You want a free online store with basic features
- You run a restaurant, salon, or service business on Square
- Simplicity matters more than feature depth
- You are comfortable with Square as your only payment processor
- Your online selling needs are basic and supplementary to in-person sales
Migration Tips: Square Online to Shopify
Migrating from Square Online to Shopify is straightforward. Export your product catalog and customer data from Square's dashboard as CSV files and import them into Shopify. For small catalogs, manual setup in Shopify may be faster. Set up 301 redirects for your important URLs and update your domain DNS to point to Shopify.
If you want to continue using Square POS alongside your Shopify store, third-party integration apps can sync inventory between the two systems. However, for the most seamless omnichannel experience, Shopify POS provides better integration with your Shopify online store.
After migrating, install free apps from EasyApps Ecommerce to add features that were not available on Square Online: EA Sticky Add to Cart for persistent cart functionality, EA Free Shipping Bar for dynamic shipping thresholds, EA Email Popup & Spin Wheel for gamified email capture, EA Upsell & Cross-Sell for increasing order values, and EA Countdown Timer for urgency-driven promotions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Square Online free?
Square Online offers a free plan with basic ecommerce, but it includes Square branding, no custom domain, and limited features. Paid plans start at $29/month for Plus, which removes branding and adds abandoned cart emails. Shopify's Basic plan at $39/month includes more comprehensive features from the start.
Which has better POS?
Both have strong POS systems. Square POS is free and extremely popular with small businesses. Shopify POS Lite is free on all plans with POS Pro at $89/month. Square Online integrates more seamlessly with Square POS. Shopify POS integrates better with Shopify's superior online platform. Choose based on your primary selling channel.
Can I use Square POS with Shopify?
Not natively. Shopify and Square have separate POS systems. Third-party apps can sync inventory between them. For the best unified experience, choose one ecosystem — Shopify POS with Shopify or Square POS with Square Online.
Which has more apps?
Shopify has 8,000+ apps compared to Square Online's approximately 50 integrations. This is the biggest difference between the platforms and makes Shopify far more extensible for any business need.
Can I migrate from Square Online to Shopify?
Yes. Export products and customers as CSV files from Square and import into Shopify. For small catalogs, the process takes just a few hours. Update your domain DNS and set up 301 redirects.
Which is better for restaurants?
Square Online has specific restaurant features like online ordering, menu management, and delivery integration that work well with Square POS. Shopify can serve restaurants but is more general-purpose. For restaurant-focused online ordering, Square Online may be more convenient.