Square is built around its POS hardware. Shopolo is built around selling gift cards, loyalty programs, and online ordering without any hardware at all. Here's how they compare.
Pricing sourced from public Square and Shopolo plan pages. Subject to change.
Square's gift cards, loyalty, and ordering features are add-ons to a point-of-sale system. If you just want to sell gift cards online or run a loyalty program without buying hardware, Square adds friction. Shopolo is designed from the ground up for that use case.
Square Loyalty is a separate paid add-on at $45/month per location. On Shopolo's Growth and Pro plans, loyalty is included. If you have 2–3 locations, you're saving $90–$135/month just on loyalty.
Square funds go into a Square account with a 1–2 business day payout schedule (or instant for a fee). On Shopolo, Stripe pays your bank account directly. There's 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, and ordering — live in under 10 minutes.
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