What Sicada Actually Looks Like
The point of sale itself — the part that runs in your browser, no install.
Sicada's checkout screen — this is the actual product, not a mockup.
Square is a capable point of sale with a genuinely free plan, and for a lot of businesses it's the right choice. This is an honest look at where Sicada is a better fit — and where it isn't.
Free forever · No credit card · No trial
Square is one of the best-known points of sale, and its free plan is a real one: the POS app, basic inventory, reporting and multi-location management all at no monthly cost. The way Square Free pays for itself is card processing — Square handles the payment and keeps a percentage of every card sale. Square's two paid tiers, Plus and Premium, are priced per location (Square's own current pricing, checked September 2026, is $49/month for Plus and $149/month for Premium) and add fuller inventory, reporting and restaurant tooling. Square also has a deep hardware line, its own business banking and lending, and a large app ecosystem.
Sicada works differently. Stock tracking is on the Pro plan, the loyalty program is on the Business plan, an account covers a single shop, and Sicada records card payments rather than processing them. If you'd use Square's free inventory and reporting, want tap-to-pay handled inside the POS, or want Square hardware and banking, Square is very likely the better choice and this page won't try to talk you out of it.
Where Sicada is worth a look: the point of sale itself runs in a web browser with nothing to install and no Square hardware to buy, it takes no cut of your card sales because your own terminal handles the card, and dine-in tabs are part of the core POS on every plan, with QR-code ordering and delivery tracking on the Pro plan.
The point of sale itself — the part that runs in your browser, no install.
Sicada's checkout screen — this is the actual product, not a mockup.
Each product genuinely wins some of these rows. Which ones matter is up to your business.
| Feature | Sicada | Square |
|---|---|---|
| The point of sale runs on | Any web browser — nothing to install | The Square POS app on a phone, tablet or Square hardware (the Square Dashboard runs in a browser) |
| Proprietary hardware | None — use devices you already own | Runs on your phone; the product range is built around Square Reader, Stand, Terminal and Register |
| Free plan | Free forever, no card — 1 user, 5 tables | Square Free, no monthly fee — includes basic inventory, reporting and multi-location |
| How the free plan pays for itself | Free plan has no cost; Pro and Business are a flat monthly fee | No monthly fee; Square takes a percentage of every card payment it processes |
| Card payments | Your own terminal processes the card today; Sicada records the sale (built-in processing planned for later) | Included — Square Payments, with tap-to-pay on a phone |
| The POS provider's cut of your card sales | None — you use your own processor | A percentage of each card payment Square processes |
| Inventory / stock tracking | On the Pro plan | Basic inventory free; advanced inventory on paid tiers |
| Sales analytics | Full sales history free; analytics dashboard on Pro | Reporting free; advanced reporting on the top tier |
| Loyalty program | On the Business plan | On the paid tiers |
| Dine-in tables | A tab on every plan; QR-code ordering on Pro | Table maps and floor plans; coursing and seat management on the paid tiers |
| Delivery orders | Built-in tracking on Pro — driver, status and delivery fee | Through Square Online and delivery partners |
| Multiple locations | One shop per account | Multi-location management included, even on the free plan |
| Offline | Checkout continues and syncs on reconnect; signing in needs a connection | Offline mode accepts chip/PIN cards, Apple Pay/Google Pay and cash; the device must reconnect within 24 hours to finalize payments |
| App languages | 13, including a right-to-left layout for Arabic | Four — English, Spanish, French and Japanese |
| Where you can sign up | Anywhere, as a web app; prices in US dollars | Merchant accounts in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Ireland, France, Spain and Japan |
| Plan structure | One plan — Free, Pro or Business — bundles its features | Free core with paid tiers; some tools are separate add-ons |
Square's plans, rates and features were checked against Square's official pages in September 2026 and can change — see Square pricing for current details. Sicada is POS software, not a payment processor: your own terminal takes the card and Sicada records the sale, so your processor's usual rates still apply. Square includes its own card processing and charges a fee on the sales it processes. Sicada's own plans are the Free, Pro and Business plans.
If any of these is why you use Square, it's a good reason to stay.
Square Free includes basic inventory, sales reporting and multi-location management. On Sicada, stock tracking and the analytics dashboard are on the Pro plan, and the loyalty program is on Business.
Square handles card payments inside the app through Square Payments, including tap-to-pay on a phone, with one company for the POS and the processing. With Sicada, your own card terminal processes the payment today and Sicada records it against the sale; built-in card processing is a feature we're building for later, not available yet.
Square has its own card readers, stands, terminals and registers, plus business banking, loans and payroll, and a large integrations marketplace built up over more than a decade. Sicada is newer and focuses on the software.
Square's restaurant features include coursing, seat management, a kitchen display system and customisable floor plans on its paid tiers. Sicada covers dine-in tabs on every plan, with per-table QR ordering and delivery on Pro — which suits counter service and smaller dine-in setups.
Every point here is something you can check against the product before you commit.
Sicada's point of sale is a web page. It works the same on a laptop, a Chromebook, an iPad or an Android tablet, with nothing to download from an app store and no Square hardware to buy. Square's register is an app, and its range is built around Square's own readers and terminals.
Square Free has no monthly fee, but Square keeps a percentage of every card payment it processes. Sicada charges a flat monthly fee on its paid plans and takes nothing per sale — your own card terminal and processor handle the payment. If you already have a processor you're happy with, you keep it.
Open a tab for each table on the Free plan. Upgrade to Pro to print a QR code so guests order to their table, and to mark orders for delivery with a driver and status — all in the core POS. With Square, the fuller table-service tooling is on the paid tiers.
Sicada's interface is translated into 13 languages, including a right-to-left layout for Arabic, and because it's a web app you can sign up from any country. Square's POS is in four languages and opens merchant accounts in eight countries.
The Free plan needs no card, so any of these is easy to test before you move.
Sicada has no Square import tool. You'd re-enter your products by hand, or scan barcodes as you add them. Past sales and customer history don't transfer, and your card processing would move from Square Payments to your own terminal.
That makes a switch most realistic for a shop whose catalogue is small enough to rebuild in an afternoon, or one that's opening fresh. If you have thousands of items, years of history and Square hardware in daily use, moving is a real project — worth weighing against what you'd actually gain.
Both have a genuinely free plan with no card required to start — Sicada's Free plan is $0 forever, with no trial to expire. They make their money differently: Square Free has no monthly fee but Square takes a percentage of every card payment it processes, while Sicada charges a flat monthly fee on its paid plans and takes no cut of your sales, because your own card terminal processes the payment. Square Free also includes basic inventory and reporting that are on Sicada's Pro plan.
Square's point of sale is an app you run on a phone, a tablet or Square's own hardware, with a web dashboard for reporting. Sicada's point of sale runs in the browser itself, so it works the same on any laptop, Chromebook or tablet with nothing to install, and there is no Square hardware to buy.
No. Square includes its own card processing, Square Payments, and charges a fee on each card sale. With Sicada, your existing card terminal or reader processes the payment and Sicada records the sale as paid by card. Built-in card processing is planned but is not available yet. If you want tap-to-pay handled inside the POS today, Square does that and Sicada does not.
Dine-in tabs are in Sicada's core POS on every plan, including Free, with QR-code ordering and delivery tracking on the Pro plan. Square also offers table maps and floor plans, with coursing and seat management on its paid tiers. For counter service and small dine-in setups Sicada is simple to run; for a large multi-station kitchen operation Square's restaurant tooling is more developed.
Sicada has no Square import tool. You re-enter your products by hand or by scanning barcodes, and past sales and customer history do not transfer. It is most practical for a shop whose catalogue is small enough to rebuild quickly.
Often not — Square is a capable POS with a genuinely free plan. Switching makes sense mainly if you would rather run the till in a browser with no app and no Square hardware, you already have a card terminal and do not want a POS taking a percentage on top, or you need a language or country Square does not support. Sicada's Free plan takes no card, so you can try it alongside Square first.