Shopify doesn’t offer a free plan, but it offers a free three-day trial (plus first three months for $1 CAD per month). Its cheapest plan starts at $7 CAD per month and is suitable for businesses just getting started because it’s meant for social selling. Square doesn’t charge a monthly fee, unless you’re paying for an add-on, such as payroll―$45 CAD per month ―or Loyalty rewards, starting at $60 CAD per month. Both of these add-ons are available with Shopify, but only through a third-party integration.
At first glance, Shopify appears to have better processing rates. However, to get 2.4% plus $0 per transaction, you need its Advanced plan, which costs $389 CAD per month. If your business processes a high volume of transactions, this might not be a big issue.
To get Square’s lowest processing rate of 2.6%, a business needs the Plus or Premium plan, depending on whether it’s using Square for Retail or Square Appointments. Square for Retail’s Plus plan is $79 CAD per month, per location, and Premium requires custom pricing. Square Appointments costs $35 CAD per month, per location, for Plus and $85 CAD per month, per location, for Premium.
Both Shopify and Square offer SSL certificates and have app marketplaces for integrations. Square offers a pay-as-you-go solution and Shopify offers a discount for paying for a year at a time, although you can pay month-to-month. An important distinction to understand about Shopify is that you’ll pay your monthly fee whether you make any sales, which can daunt new and fledgling businesses.
Bottom Line
Shopify is a great e-commerce platform for businesses that want to sell online, in-store or through social media. If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution that includes a POS, social selling and inventory management, Shopify is a good choice.
Square is best suited for businesses that need a simple way to accept payments and don’t want to commit to a long-term contract. If you’re selling online, in-person or via invoices, Square could be the right fit.
See how they compare to the competition in our full guide to the best e-commerce platforms[1].
Canadian specific editing and research (including pricing) conducted by Anna Rey.
Featured Partners
Starting price
$16 USD ($21.88 CAD) per month
Drag-and-drop editor
Yes
E-commerce in entry-level plan
No
Starting price
$2.95 USD ($4.05 CAD) per month
Storage and bandwidth
Unmetered bandwidth, and SSD storage starts at 10GB
Extras and inclusions
Free domain name and SSL for a year, free CDN
Starting price
$16 USD ($21.88 CAD) per month
Drag-and-drop editor
Yes
Standout Features
Free domain and SSL certificate, no transaction fees, award-winning templates
References
- ^ best e-commerce platforms (www.forbes.com)