Is Memberful or Square better?

Neither clearly leads. Memberful starts at $49/month and Square at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Memberful or Square?

Square has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $49/month for Memberful and Free for Square.

Does Memberful or Square run on more platforms?

Memberful runs on web, api. Square runs on POS (Mobile app), Web.

Can I use Square for free?

Yes. Square has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Memberful starts at $49/month.

What is Memberful best used for?

Memberful is most often used for selling paid membership subscriptions from an existing website, gating podcast, newsletter or course content behind a paywall, running a wordpress site with paid member-only content, offering one-time purchases alongside recurring memberships. Of those, selling paid membership subscriptions from an existing website and gating podcast, newsletter or course content behind a paywall are not what Square is typically brought in for.

What can Memberful do that Square cannot?

Memberful covers Membership checkout, Flexible subscriptions, Member management, Landing page builder. Square covers Payment processing, Point of sale, Invoicing, Payroll.

E-Commerce · head to head

Memberful vs Square

Memberful

E-Commerce

Membership platform for creators to sell subscriptions, courses and gated content

From: $49/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Square

E-Commerce

Powering the economy

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Square has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Memberful charges a 4.9% transaction fee on top of the flat monthly fee on the Standard plan.; Square plus plan pricing not specified in documentation
They diverge on capability: Memberful covers Membership checkout, Square covers Payment processing.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Memberful and Square actually diverge.

Attributes where Memberful and Square differ
Attribute	Memberful	Square
Starting price	$49/month	Free
Pricing model	subscription	freemium
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	web, api	POS (Mobile app), Web
Founded	2013	2009

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Memberful

Membership checkout
Flexible subscriptions
Member management
Landing page builder
Dynamic paywalls
Third-party integrations

Only in Square

Payment processing
Point of sale
Invoicing
Payroll
Banking
QuickBooks
WooCommerce
Wix

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Memberful

Selling paid membership subscriptions from an existing websitenot Square
Gating podcast, newsletter or course content behind a paywallnot Square
Running a WordPress site with paid member-only contentnot Square
Offering one-time purchases alongside recurring membershipsnot Square

Square

Accept payments with all-in-one POS applicationnot Memberful
Online ordering and basic website creationnot Memberful
Invoicing and appointment bookingnot Memberful
Staff scheduling and loyalty programmesnot Memberful

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Memberful

Charges a 4.9% transaction fee on top of the flat monthly fee on the Standard plan.
Requires a separate Stripe account, adding setup complexity compared to all-in-one checkout platforms.
Lacks built-in course-hosting depth found in dedicated learning management platforms.
No free plan beyond the pre-launch trial period; charges begin once payments go live.

Square

Plus plan pricing not specified in documentation
Processing fees differ by tier but exact rates not detailed
Free plan pricing mentioned but specific features for Plus unclear
Text marketing charged at 3¢ per message after first 500 included

Pricing, plan by plan

Memberful

$49/month

Standard$49/month
- 4.9% transaction fee
- Full platform access
- Free until you go live
Enterprise$undefined/mo
- Custom volume-based rates
- Premium services and success management
- Dedicated migration support

Square

Free

FreeFree
- Accept payments with all-in-one POS app
- Online site builder (ordering profiles, basic websites, online stores, booking sites)
- Item library and inventory tracking
Plus$null/mo
- All Free plan features
- Advanced POS features for food, retail, and appointments
- Lower processing fees on card transactions

Which should you pick?

Choose Memberful if

You need membership checkout.
You work on web, api.
You also want flexible subscriptions.

Memberful review

Choose Square if

You need payment processing.
You want to start without paying.
You work on POS (Mobile app), Web.
You also want point of sale.

Square review

Questions people ask

Is Memberful or Square better?: Neither clearly leads. Memberful starts at $49/month and Square at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Memberful or Square?: Square has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $49/month for Memberful and Free for Square.
Does Memberful or Square run on more platforms?: Memberful runs on web, api. Square runs on POS (Mobile app), Web.
Can I use Square for free?: Yes. Square has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Memberful starts at $49/month.
What is Memberful best used for?: Memberful is most often used for selling paid membership subscriptions from an existing website, gating podcast, newsletter or course content behind a paywall, running a wordpress site with paid member-only content, offering one-time purchases alongside recurring memberships. Of those, selling paid membership subscriptions from an existing website and gating podcast, newsletter or course content behind a paywall are not what Square is typically brought in for.
What can Memberful do that Square cannot?: Memberful covers Membership checkout, Flexible subscriptions, Member management, Landing page builder. Square covers Payment processing, Point of sale, Invoicing, Payroll.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Memberful: What does Memberful cost?

Memberful's Standard plan costs $49/month plus a 4.9% transaction fee, while larger organizations can get custom volume-based rates on the Enterprise plan.

Source

Square: Does Square offer a free plan?

Yes, Square's free plan includes an all-in-one POS app, online site builder, item library and inventory tracking, invoicing, appointment scheduling, staff calendars, and checking and savings account access. No subscription fees are charged.

Source

Memberful: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Memberful can be used for free while setting up a membership site, with no charges incurred until the creator goes live and starts accepting payments.

Source

Square: What does Square Plus add compared to the free plan?

Square Plus adds advanced POS features for food and retail, lower processing fees on card transactions, custom loyalty programs, unlimited email marketing campaigns, text messaging, and staff scheduling and attendance tracking.

Source

Memberful: What does Memberful integrate with?

Memberful integrates with WordPress, Mailchimp, Discord and Kit, among other tools, to connect membership data with existing sites and marketing systems.

Source

Memberful vs Square

Memberful

Square

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Memberful

Only in Square

What people use each for

Memberful

Square

Where each one falls short

Memberful

Square

Pricing, plan by plan

Memberful

Square

Which should you pick?

Choose Memberful if

Choose Square if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Memberful

More on Square

Keep looking

Other head to heads