Square For Online Stores: How It Compares To Shopify, Wix, And BigCommerce
Square Selling AcademyShopify Square Integration
| TL;DR: Square Payment Links let you send customers to an online checkout without building a full ecommerce store. You can use them for payments, items, donations, and events or classes. There is no separate monthly fee, but Square’s online processing rates apply when a customer pays. |
A full store is useful when customers need to browse. Sometimes they already know what they are paying for.
That is where Square Payment Links fit. You create the checkout, share the link, and the customer pays on a Square-hosted page. The same saved link can be used again, so a standard item or charge does not need a fresh checkout every time.
What Can You Use Square Payment Links For?
From the Square Dashboard, you can create a link to:
- Collect a payment
- Sell an item
- Accept a donation
- Sell an event or class
Square Point of Sale supports payment, item, and donation links. Event or class links currently need to be created from Square Dashboard.
If the link uses an item from your Square item library, Square can pull in its price. Depending on the link type, you can also add a description, image, tipping, up to two custom fields, or send the customer to another webpage after checkout.
Do not add fields just because Square gives you the option. If the order needs a name, reference number, or another detail that you would otherwise have to ask for later, collect it at checkout. If not, leave it out.
How Much Do Square Payment Links Cost?
Square does not charge a separate monthly fee for Payment Links. You pay the processing fee when a customer completes the payment. The total Square cost can change depending on payment type, plan, hardware, and the rest of the selling setup.
For the current standard US Square plans:
| Plan | Online / invoice card rate |
|---|---|
| Square Free | 3.3% + 30¢ |
| Square Plus ($49/mo) | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Square Premium ($149/mo) | 2.9% + 30¢ |
Rates verified August 2026
3.3% + 30¢ is the rate a new Square account starts on, since new accounts default to Square Free.
Existing accounts may have different rates, including legacy or custom pricing. If you already use Square, check Settings > Account & Settings > Pricing & subscriptions rather than assuming the public rate is the one on your account.
How To Make A Square Payment Link
For a reusable link, start in Square Dashboard:
- 1 Go to Payments & orders > Payment links.
- 2 Select Create link.
- 3 Choose the type of payment link.
- 4 Add the title and payment details.
- 5 Select an item or event if the link needs one.
- 6 Add any checkout options you need.
- 7 Save the link.
Square also lets you create links from the Square POS app under More > Payment links. If Payment Links is missing from the menu, add it through More > Add-ons > Payment links.
There is another option when the customer is already at checkout. After selecting Charge, you can choose Send Payment Link and let the customer finish the payment from their own phone.
One thing to note before you begin your search through menus is that at this time, Payment Links cannot be made or customized using the Square Restaurants POS, Square Appointments POS, or the Square Invoices app.
Check The Checkout Before Sharing It
Just because the link works does not mean all of the settings have been set properly yet.
First, check out those that might affect the order:
- Location: Which Square location should record the sale?
- Tax: Are the correct automatic sales tax settings being applied?
- Payment methods: Cards are accepted automatically. Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Cash App Pay can be enabled.
- Fulfillment: Does an item need shipping or pickup?
- Customer details: Do you need a note or another piece of information?
- Policies: Does the customer need to see a seller policy before paying?
The location deserves a quick check if you run more than one. Square associates Payment Link sales and reporting with a location, so using the wrong one can put the transaction where staff is not expecting it.
Payment Links can also support tipping, coupons, email notifications, merchant policies, and branding. Use them when they help the sale. They do not all need to be switched on for every link.
How To Share A Square Payment Link
Once the checkout is right, Square gives you several ways to put it in front of the customer.
I. Send The Link Directly
The simplest option is to copy the URL and send it through the channel you already use with customers.
Square Dashboard also includes sharing options such as email campaigns and social media. From Square POS, you can copy a link, send it by text, or share it as a QR code.
A saved link can be used by more than one customer, so the same standard checkout does not need to be rebuilt for each payment.
II. Use A QR Code
Square can generate a QR code that opens the Payment Link.
This is useful when the customer is looking at something physical rather than reading a message from you. The code can take them straight from the sign, card, menu, or other printed material to checkout.
Test the QR code before printing a large batch. It takes a few seconds and catches the sort of mistake that becomes much more annoying once the code is already on 500 flyers.
III. Add A Buy Button To A Website
If you already have a website, Square can turn a Payment Link into an embeddable buy button.
Square provides HTML code for the button and supports common website builders including WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace. You can adjust details such as the button text, color, font, shape, image, title, and price.
This can work well when the website only needs a small number of direct purchase options. A site with dozens of products, categories, filters, and different fulfillment rules needs more than a collection of buy buttons. When that fuller store runs on Shopify while Square still handles in-person selling, DPL Square Integration & Sync can keep Shopify and Square products, inventory, eligible Square orders, customers, and gift-card workflows connected.
How Shipping And Pickup Work
Shipping and pickup apply to Payment Links that sell items.
For shipping, Square uses shipping rate profiles. Pickup can have its own preparation time, hours, and instructions. Pickup is not available for events or subscriptions.
Set this up before the link is shared. If the checkout says an item can be collected from a location that does not hold it, the problem arises after the customer has already paid.
There is also a restriction for international Payment Link sales. Square allows domestic and international sales through Payment Links, but its tax and shipping fee settings cannot be applied to international Payment Link sales.
For an occasional international payment, that may be workable. If cross-border product sales are becoming a normal part of the business, a fuller ecommerce setup gives you more room to handle those orders properly.
How To Track Payment Link Sales
Square Dashboard shows the sales generated by each Payment Link in the Total Sales column.
You can also go to Reports > Sales > Sales summary and filter the source to Payment Links. That is more useful once several links are active and you want to separate these sales from the rest of the business.
Email notifications can be switched on if someone needs to know when a customer has paid.
If a link is no longer needed, deactivate or delete it. Square makes the old link unavailable after that, and the action cannot be undone.
When You Need More Than A Payment Link
Payment Links are good at getting a customer from “ready to pay” to “paid.” They are not a replacement for every part of an ecommerce store.
A proper storefront becomes more useful when customers need to:
- Browse a larger catalog
- Move through product categories
- Compare several products before buying
- Use more online fulfillment options
- Shop internationally with a fuller shipping and tax setup
- Use a more customizable online store
Square itself points sellers with larger catalogs, wider international selling, more fulfillment needs, or greater storefront customization toward its website tools. If Shopify becomes that storefront while Square stays in place for in-person sales, a Shopify Square integration can keep products, inventory, orders, customers, gift cards, and connected locations working across both systems.
DPL’s SquareUp Marketplace guide covers that next step separately, including setting up products, fulfillment, domains, and SEO for a Square-hosted store.
Do not turn twenty Payment Links into a homemade product catalog just because the first two links worked well.
FAQs About Square Payment Links
Can Square Payment Links take recurring payments?
Some Payment Links can be set to a one-time or recurring frequency when that option applies. Square also has Square Subscriptions for recurring billing and subscription checkout links.
Can employees create Square Payment Links?
Yes, if they have the right permissions. Payment Links is an automatic feature available to the account owner and can be assigned to team members using Square’s permission system.
Can you refund a Square Payment Link payment?
Yes. Square payments can be refunded from Square Dashboard or the POS within one year of the original transaction. Full, partial, and itemized refunds are supported. Square does not return the original processing fee when a payment is refunded.
Can you turn off a Square Payment Link?
Yes. You can deactivate or delete an active link from Square Dashboard or Square POS. Once it is deactivated or deleted, customers who still have the old URL cannot use it.
Conclusion
Open the Payment Link yourself before sending it out. Check the amount, item, tax, location, and fulfillment details, then run through the page as a customer would.
For a simple sale, that may be all the online checkout you need. When customers have to browse before they can decide what to pay for, give them a proper store instead.
