Compare

Pay Advantage vs Square

Square is made for shopfronts — tap, insert and swipe at the counter. Pay Advantage is made for businesses that get paid online, by invoice and on a schedule, with direct debit, PayID and BPAY alongside cards.

A Pay Advantage card payment form on a phone
A $1,000 card paymentWhat it costs you
  • Pay Advantage$14.78
  • Square$22.00 $7.22 more than Pay Advantage
Published rates, GST included. Checked 27 October 2026.

Fees compared

Pay Advantage and Square fees, side by side.

As published on Square’s Australian pricing page on 27 October 2026. Square's pricing page does not say whether its fees include GST.

Compared on a $500 paymentColoured figures show how much more or less each provider costs than Pay Advantage. Red costs you more, green costs you less.

Pay Advantage and Square fees by payment method
PaymentPay AdvantageSquare
Card payment (domestic)28¢ + 1.45%2.2%$3.47 more than Pay Advantage on a $500 payment
Tap to Pay / in personComing soon1.6%
Direct debit from a bank account88¢Fixed costNot published
PayID48¢Not published
BPAY$1.98Not published

— No published price for this payment.

Pay Advantage fees include GST. A monthly commitment is required to qualify for published pricing, and rates may vary with volume and underwriting.

Features compared

What you get, beyond the fees.

Taken from each provider’s own website, including where they offer more than we do. A tick means the feature is listed there, a short note means it comes with a catch, and a dash means we couldn’t find it — the provider may still offer it.

Features offered by Pay Advantage and Square
FeaturePay AdvantageSquare
Ways to get paid
Visa and MastercardYesYes
American ExpressYesYes
Apple Pay and Google PayYesYes
Bank account debitYesNot listed
PayIDYesNot listed
PayToYesNot listed
BPAYYesNot listed
Buy now, pay laterNot offeredYes
Card terminals or Tap to PayComing soonYes
Point-of-sale systemNot offeredYes
International paymentsYesYes
Recurring billing
Recurring payments by cardYesYes
Recurring payments by bank accountYesNot listed
Recurring payment templatesYesYes
Sign-up page where customers pick their planYesOne plan per link
Batch debitingYesNot listed
Automatic retries for failed paymentsYesNot listed
Digital direct debit agreements with your own termsYesNot listed
Getting paid
Dynamic payment linksYesYes
Payment requests by email and SMSYesYes
Payment portal where customers pay by referenceYesNot listed
Pay-any-amount page, for donationsYesYes
Built-in invoicingYesYes
Card authorisationsYesBar tabs, API
Virtual terminal for phone paymentsYesYes
Automated phone (IVR) paymentsNot offeredNot listed
Your customers
SMS and email remindersYesEmail only
Receipt linksYesYes
Customer notesYesYes
Your branding on the customer portalYesYes
Managing card costs
Surcharge non-card paymentsYesNot listed
Switch off card paymentsYesNot listed
Discounts for paying without a cardYesNot listed
Tools and integrations
Xero integrationYesYes
Recurring billing from XeroYesNot listed
QuickBooks or MYOB integrationNot offeredYes
CRM integration, such as HubSpotNot offeredNot listed
Full APIYesYes
WebhooksYesYes
Reporting and payment analysisYesYes
Partner programYesYes

— Not listed on the provider’s website.

Which one fits

Square or Pay Advantage?

Square may suit you if…

  • Most of your sales happen face to face at a counter or market stall.
  • You want point-of-sale software, hardware and payments from one company.

Pay Advantage may suit you if…

  • You bill customers on a schedule — memberships, subscriptions, rent or instalments.
  • You take card payments online or over the phone and want a lower card rate than a flat percentage.
  • You want customers to pay by direct debit, PayID or BPAY as well as card.
FAQs
Pay Advantage vs Square, answered
Is Pay Advantage cheaper than Square for online payments?

On payments of $40 or more, yes. Square charges a flat percentage on online and keyed card payments, while Pay Advantage charges a small fixed fee plus a lower percentage, so Square works out cheaper only on small payments — the fees table on this page shows the difference on a $500 payment. Pay Advantage pricing requires a monthly commitment.