Square is built around its POS hardware. Shopolo is built around selling gift cards, loyalty programs, and online ordering without any hardware at all — and for less than Square charges for those features as add-ons.
Pricing sourced from public Square and Shopolo plan pages. Subject to change.
Square's gift cards, loyalty, and ordering are add-ons to a point-of-sale system. If you want to sell gift cards online or run a loyalty program without buying hardware, Square adds friction and cost. Shopolo is designed from the ground up for that use case — no hardware, no POS, just a link.
Square Loyalty is a separate paid add-on at $45/month per location. On Shopolo, loyalty is included in every plan. If you have 2–3 locations, you're saving $90–$135/month on loyalty alone — before factoring in Square Marketing ($15/mo) and other add-ons.
Square funds go into a Square account with a 1–2 business day standard payout (instant payout costs 1.75% extra). On Shopolo, Stripe pays your connected bank account directly on Stripe's standard schedule. There is no intermediary holding your revenue.
Square is a great fit if you need a full point-of-sale system — card reader, receipt printer, cash drawer, inventory management. If your primary need is POS hardware with loyalty and gift cards bolted on, Square works well. Shopolo is better if you want to sell gift cards and run loyalty without any hardware, or if you already have a POS and just need the customer-facing programs.
No hardware. No setup fees. Gift cards, loyalty, ordering, and bookings — live in under 10 minutes.
Start free — 30 days →