Square online ordering for restaurants: fees, setup and limits
Square online ordering lets a restaurant take pickup and delivery orders on a branded ordering page that feeds the same Square account as its counter. The free plan costs $0 a month and takes about 3.3% + 30¢ of each online card order; Plus ($49 a month per location) lowers that to 2.9% + 30¢ and adds QR code ordering. Plus only pays for itself once online sales pass about $12,250 a month.
Below: what each plan includes, the add-ons that raise the bill, a worked month, what delivery costs per trip, how to set it up, how to pause it, and when Square is or isn't the right fit for a small restaurant.
1. Does Square have online ordering for restaurants?
Yes. Every Square plan includes online ordering. Square's restaurant pricing page lists item and menu management, pickup and local delivery, and a branded online ordering page on the Free plan [1]. Orders land in the same place as your counter sales: the Square POS, and a kitchen display or ticket printer if you have one.
Square sells the same features under a few names: Square Online (the website and ordering page), Square for Restaurants (the POS for food businesses) and the newer Square Free, Plus and Premium plans. For a restaurant they come down to the same question: which plan, and what you pay on each order.
2. How does Square online ordering work?
- Your menu items live in Square's item library, the same list your POS uses. Prices, options and sold-out status are shared.
- You turn on pickup, delivery or both for the items you want sold online, and set the hours for each [2].
- Square gives you an ordering page (on a Square address, or your own domain on a paid plan). You link it from Google, Instagram, a QR code and your website.
- Diners pick items, choose options, pay by card and get a confirmation.
- The order appears on your POS, kitchen display or printer. You mark it in progress and ready; the diner is told.
The main thing to know: a Square order is paid online by card, so every order carries the online processing fee.
3. Square online ordering fees, by plan
Square doesn't show its plan prices and rates in a form we could read directly, so the figures below come from a 2026 pricing breakdown and Square's own help pages, as listed in the sources. Check your own dashboard before you choose.
| Plan | Monthly price | Online card orders | In-person cards | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 3.3% + 30¢ | 2.6% + 15¢ | Ordering page, pickup and local delivery included [1] [3] |
| Plus | $49 per location | 2.9% + 30¢ | See your plan | Adds QR code ordering and more site customisation [4]; KDS $30 per device [1] |
| Premium | $149 per location | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.4% + 15¢ | Advanced reporting, 24/7 phone support [4]; KDS $20 per device [1] |
| Pro | Custom | Custom | Custom | For businesses processing over $250,000 a year [1] |
Other charges that can apply on any plan, from the same breakdown [3]: manually keyed cards and cards on file at 3.5% + 15¢, and about 1.5% more on international cards.
4. The add-ons that raise the bill
| Add-on | Plus | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen display (KDS), per device | $30 a month | $20 a month |
| Kiosk, per device | $99 a month | $99 a month |
| Kiosk Lite (iOS), per device | $50 a month | $30 a month |
Source: Square for Restaurants pricing [1]. Hardware (terminals, tablets, printers) is bought separately. A small takeout place on Plus with two kitchen screens pays $49 + $60 = $109 a month before any card fees.
5. A worked month: Free or Plus?
An example, not your numbers: 300 online orders a month at $25 each, $7,500 in online sales, all paid by card.
| Free plan | Plus plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage part | 3.3% × $7,500 = $247.50 | 2.9% × $7,500 = $217.50 |
| 30¢ per order | $90.00 | $90.00 |
| Monthly plan | $0 | $49.00 |
| Total a month | $337.50 | $356.50 |
| Per $25 order | $1.13 | $1.19 |
The gap between the plans is 0.4% of online sales. Plus costs $49, so it saves money only when 0.4% of your online sales is more than $49: above $12,250 a month in online orders. Below that, pick Plus for its features (QR ordering at the table, more design control), not to save on fees.
For comparison, the same 300 orders as DoorDash Marketplace pickups at 6% would cost $450, and as Basic delivery at 15%, $1,125 (see our DoorDash commission fee guide). An ordering page where diners pay at the counter costs $0 online; you pay your normal counter rate when they pay.
6. Square online ordering delivery: in-house or on-demand
Square offers two kinds of delivery, and one location can only run one of them at a time, though you can switch whenever you like [2]:
- In-house delivery. Your own drivers. You set the area by ZIP code or by radius, and the delivery and service fees diners pay [2].
- On-demand delivery. Square books a courier for each order. You pay the courier's fee per trip, and can pass it to the diner, cover it, or split it.
| Courier | Fee per delivery (US) |
|---|---|
| DoorDash | $6.99 up to 5 miles, then $1 a mile up to 10 miles; $8.99 in California, $9.98 in New York City |
| Uber | $4.20 + 75¢ per kilometer; in California $4.50 + 95¢ per kilometer |
| Nash | Varies with courier availability |
Source: Square's on-demand delivery pricing policy, updated March 16, 2026 [5]. Card processing still applies to the order. Alcohol can only be delivered on-demand through DoorDash, and on-demand delivery doesn't support age checks for tobacco [2].
On a $25 order delivered by a DoorDash courier within 5 miles, you'd pay $6.99 plus about $1.13 in processing on the Free plan, if you cover the delivery fee yourself. That's $8.12, more than a 30% marketplace commission on the same order ($7.50), if you cover the whole fee yourself. That's why most restaurants pass at least part of the courier fee to the diner, or set a delivery minimum.
7. How to set up Square online ordering, step by step
- Tidy the item library first. Online diners see exactly what's there. Give each item a clear name, a price, a short description, and modifiers (sizes, sides, add-ons) marked required or optional.
- Choose which items sell online. Turn on pickup or delivery for each item; leave off dishes that don't travel [2].
- Set fulfillment hours and the time zone. Start ordering a little after you open and stop before you close. Add holidays as restricted dates so nobody orders on a day you're shut [2].
- Set the prep time to your honest busy-hour time.
- Set up delivery if you deliver: in-house with your area and fees, or on-demand with how the courier fee is shared.
- Pick where orders show up: the POS, a kitchen display or a printer. Make sure the alert is loud enough for a busy kitchen.
- Design the ordering page with your logo, photos and colours, and connect your own domain if your plan allows.
- Place test orders from a phone on mobile data: a simple item, an item with every option, a scheduled order and a refund.
- Link it everywhere: your Google Business Profile order link, your website's top button, Instagram, and a QR code on the menu and bags.
The general version of this, for any system, is in our guide on how to set up online ordering for your restaurant, with the kitchen settings and a launch plan.
8. Square QR code ordering
QR code ordering, where diners scan a code at the table and order from their phone, is listed on the Plus plan [4]. A QR code that simply opens your pickup ordering page works on any plan, since it's only a link. For a menu QR on a printed card, see our free QR code menu page.
9. How to pause or turn off Square online ordering
- For a day or a holiday: mark the date as restricted in your fulfillment settings, so no orders can be placed for it [2].
- For a rush: shorten today's fulfillment hours or raise the prep time, so diners are told a later ready time.
- For good: turn off pickup and delivery on your items and remove the ordering link from Google and your website, so nobody lands on a page that can't take orders.
10. Square can now take orders from AI assistants
From July 1, 2026, Square said US restaurants on Square can take orders placed through ChatGPT and Claude, at the normal processing fee with no marketplace commission, as reported by VentureBeat [6]. It runs on the same menu and item library, so a clean menu matters even more.
When is Square the right choice for a restaurant?
Square fits when you already use Square at the counter, want online orders on the same screen as counter orders, want diners to pay online, and sell enough online that the card fee is a small price for fewer no-shows.
It fits less well when you use another POS (Toast, Clover) and don't want two systems (a Clover restaurant already has Clover online ordering with no commission); when most of your orders are small, so the 30¢ per order weighs heavily; or when your regulars would happily pay at the counter, so you'd rather pay nothing online. Our commission-free online ordering guide compares eight options with their prices, Square included.
Common mistakes
- Paying for Plus to save on fees below $12,250 a month in online sales.
- Forgetting per-device fees. Two kitchen screens on Plus add $60 a month.
- A messy item library. "Burger - NEW 2" looks fine at the till and odd to a diner.
- Covering every delivery fee. At $6.99 or more a trip, small delivery orders can lose money; set a minimum or share the fee.
- Holidays not entered, so orders arrive on a closed day.
- No Google link. Diners on your Google listing still only see the delivery apps.
Questions
Is Square online ordering free?
The plan is free; the orders aren't. On the free plan each online card order costs about 3.3% + 30¢ [3], about $1.13 on a $25 order.
Does Square charge a commission on online orders?
No percentage commission like a delivery app. You pay card processing on each order, and courier fees if you use on-demand delivery.
Can I use Square online ordering without the Square POS?
The ordering page works from the same Square account, so you can, but it shines when your counter also runs on Square and both share one menu.
Can diners pay at pickup on Square?
Square's ordering is built around paying online by card. Check your own ordering settings; if you want diners to pay at the counter with no online fee at all, a pay-at-pickup ordering page is the other route.
Does Square do delivery for restaurants?
Yes: your own drivers, or on-demand couriers from DoorDash, Uber or Nash at a fee per trip [5]. One location runs one kind at a time [2].
Square vs DoorDash for a restaurant?
They do different jobs. DoorDash's marketplace brings new diners for 6% on pickup and 15% to 30% on delivery; Square's ordering page serves diners who already know you, for card processing. Many places use both.
Not on Square, or rather pay nothing per order? Build your menu free from a photo of your menu: diners order pickup and pay at the counter, and your phone rings with each order. More on ordering, delivery and Google in all our guides.
Sources
- Square for Restaurants pricing, Square Support, read Nov 2, 2026.
- Delivery with Square Online, Square Support, read Nov 2, 2026.
- Square online ordering pricing and fees, Sauce, 2026 (prices as of March 2026; a competitor's page).
- Square Online plans, Square, read Nov 2, 2026.
- On-Demand Delivery Pricing Policy, Square, updated March 16, 2026.
- Restaurants can now accept orders placed directly from ChatGPT and Claude, VentureBeat, July 2026.