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JET POS vs Square (October 2026): which costs less to run, and when Square wins

By Anika DeshmukhSoftware and comparisons editor·Updated October 21, 2026·How we score

To keep this fair, we score both systems on the same grid (JET 8.7, Square 8.4; see How we test), take every price from each company's own site, and list Square's wins first.

Verdict by business type

Neither system wins everywhere. Here's where each one fits best.

JET vs Square side by side

The biggest differences are the monthly fee, who processes your cards, and the hardware you start with.

Prices verified October 20, 2026 on squareup.com and jetpos.ai. Square merged its industry plans into Free, Plus and Premium on October 6, 2025.

3-year cost at $5K, $20K and $50K a month

At low volume, Square's cheaper hardware wins. As sales grow, JET's $0 software and the lower per-sale fee we assumed for its processor (10¢ vs Square's 15¢) take over, because card processing is most of what any POS costs.

Per month = software + hardware spread over 36 months + card processing. 3 years = hardware upfront + 36 × (software + processing). $40 average sale. Square quotes custom "Pro" rates above $250,000 a year, so at $50K a month you might be offered less than its list rate.

At $20K, Square Free: $1,189 + 36 × ($20,000 × 2.6% + 500 × $0.15) = $22,609. JET: $1,299 + $349 terminal allowance + 36 × ($20,000 × 2.6% + 500 × $0.10) = $22,168.

These setups aren't identical. Square's card reader is built into its Register; JET's card terminal is a separate device from your processor, priced here as a $349 allowance (in the range of countertop terminals sold by Square at $299, Shopify at $349 and Lightspeed at $449), not a quote. Square's US site also doesn't list what the Register Kit includes. JET's total has no processor account or PCI fees, which some processors add (Wells Fargo charges $9.95 plus $10 a month, or $718 over three years); Square charges no PCI fee.

JET's results assume a processor charging 2.6% + 10¢; at Square's 15¢ a sale it would cost $23,068 at $20,000 a month and rank second of the three, Square Free would be cheaper at every volume, and Square Plus would be cheaper above about $36,250 a month. An interchange-plus quote can cut processing: in our Visa and Mastercard fee model it came to about $442 to $469 a month at $20K (2.2% to 2.35%, depending on how many premium cards you take), which would bring JET's 3-year total to about $17,571 to $18,543. If almost every card is a premium rewards card, interchange-plus can cost more than a flat rate. Square's posted rates are flat; it quotes custom rates only above $250,000 a year.

The break-even: about $10,200 a month

Against Square Free, JET pays for its more expensive starting hardware once you pass about $10,200 a month in card sales at a $40 average sale, if your processor charges 2.6% + 10¢ and no monthly fees.

Hardware gap: ($1,299 + $349) − $1,189 = $459, or $12.75 a month over 3 years. Per-sale saving with a 2.6% + 10¢ processor: 5¢ on every sale = $0.05 ÷ $40 = 0.125% of sales. Break-even: $12.75 ÷ 0.00125 = $10,200 a month.

That break-even rests entirely on the 5¢ difference. At Square's 15¢ there is no break-even and Square Free stays cheaper. If your processor also charges $19.95 a month in account and PCI fees (Wells Fargo's figures), the break-even rises to about $26,160 a month.

Against Square Plus at a $40 sale, there's no break-even with a 10¢ processor: JET came out cheaper at every volume we modeled. Plus's $49 fee alone is more than JET's extra hardware cost spread over three years ($12.75 a month). And at a $40 sale, Plus's 2.5% + 15¢ ($1.15) costs a cent more than 2.6% + 10¢ ($1.14). At Square's 15¢, Plus would be cheaper above about $36,250 a month.

With a 10¢ processor, smaller tickets favor JET sooner, because Square's 15¢ is charged on every sale. Bigger tickets favor Square Free longer.

Hardware: what you start with

Square's cheapest countertop setup costs less upfront. JET's comes as one all-in-one station with the cash drawer and printer in the box.

• Square sells a Reader ($59) for phones and tablets, a Stand ($149, iPad not included), Terminal ($299, built-in receipt printer), Handheld ($399), Register ($899; second generation launched February 4, 2026) and a Register Kit from $1,189. Its new AI-powered Kiosk launched October 14, 2026 at $1,999, plus a $99 monthly app on Plus or Premium.
• JET sells two station models. Topaz 2.0 ($1,299) is an all-in-one with a built-in receipt printer, and a cash drawer comes with it; while it's out of stock, it's on pre-order at $1,199, shipping in 30 to 45 days. Onyx MAX ($1,800) adds a 15.6" customer screen that shows the cart and prompts for tips and loyalty. A barcode scanner isn't included, and the card terminal comes from your processor.

Square's devices run Square's software, and none of its plans offers another processor. JET's station keeps working if you change processors.

Feature by feature

Square puts its advanced tools behind Plus ($49) and Premium ($149) per location. JET includes all of its features at $0, but it doesn't have everything Square has.

"Not listed" means the feature doesn't appear on JET's published feature pages. Square's label, scale and offline details come from Square's help center (checked October 21, 2026); its other features from its pricing pages.

The multi-store gap adds up if you need Square's paid tools. Three stores on Square Plus pay $5,292 in software over three years, or $16,092 on Premium. JET charges $0 for the same three stores, though it doesn't list transfer orders. Square Free is also $0 per store, without stock intake or loyalty.

Processing and lock-in

This is the biggest structural difference. Square sets your card rate, and none of its plans lets you use another processor. JET lets you bring any processor, and switch whenever you find a better deal.

• With Square, your rate is 2.6%, 2.5% or 2.4% + 15¢ in person, depending on your plan. Above $250,000 a year, Square offers custom pricing through sales.
• With JET, you negotiate with processors directly. You can ask for interchange-plus pricing, where you pay the card networks' published cost plus a fixed markup.
• The trade-off is that Square is one account, one bill and one support line, while with JET you set up the processor and its terminal yourself.

The right to switch is worth real money. On $20,000 a month in card sales, every 0.1 point of rate is $20 a month, or $720 over three years. A 0.3-point better quote is worth $2,160. More on that in processor lock-in, explained.

Who should pick Square

• Mobile and low-volume sellers: a $59 reader and a $0 plan are hard to beat under about $10,200 a month.
• iPad and iPhone users: JET doesn't run on iOS.
• Cafés and quick-service spots that want a kitchen display or a self-order kiosk: Square has both, and JET has neither.
• Businesses that sell online and send invoices: Square's online site and invoicing come with every plan.
• Owners who want one company for everything, including payroll, banking and processing.

Read our full Square review.

Who should pick JET

• Counter businesses above about $10,200 a month in card sales that can get a processor at 2.6% + 10¢ or better, with no monthly fees.
• Owners who want to choose their processor, or already have a good rate they want to keep.
• Grocers, delis and bodegas that want weighing, label printing, EBT split tender and a Spanish register screen with no monthly fee.
• Full-service restaurants that work with printed kitchen tickets and want table service, split checks and loyalty with no monthly bill.
• Multi-location owners who want inventory and loyalty at every store without a per-store fee.

Read our full JET review.

Switching from Square to JET

Square charges no early termination fee, so leaving costs nothing on Square's side (any Square hardware financing still has to be paid off). What you need for JET:

1. A JET station: Topaz 2.0 ($1,299; currently on pre-order) or Onyx MAX ($1,800).
2. A processor account and a card terminal from that processor. Square's devices run Square's software, so you'll use JET hardware instead.
3. Your data: export your items, customers and sales history from Square before you close the account, and ask JET support how to bring them in.

Square Free costs nothing to keep. You can run JET during its 30-day money-back window and only close Square once you're sure.

Keep reading

• JET POS review
• Square POS review
• Square vs Clover
• Toast vs Square
• POS price comparison 2026
• Cheapest POS system 2026
• Processor lock-in

Sources

Every price and rate on this page was checked on October 20–21, 2026 against the pages below. Something out of date? Tell us and we fix it with a visible note.

1. Square: Pricing (Free, Plus, Premium)
2. Square: What are Square's fees?
3. Square: Retail pricing
4. Square: Restaurant pricing
5. Square: Hardware
6. Square: POS kits
7. Square: Unified pricing and packaging (October 6, 2025)
8. Square: Square Register (2nd generation), February 4, 2026
9. Square: Square Kiosk launch, October 14, 2026
10. Square: Sell items by weight
11. Square: Create and print barcode labels
12. Square: Process card payments with Offline Mode
13. Wells Fargo: Clover Compact (merchant account and PCI fees)
14. JET POS: Software
15. JET POS: JET Retail
16. JET POS: JET Resto
17. JET POS: Topaz 2.0
18. JET POS: Onyx MAX
19. JET POS: Integrated scale
20. JET POS: Bodega POS (EBT/SNAP, Spanish screen)