Square Loyalty vs FaveCard: Free, No POS Needed

Who each is best for

Square Loyalty is a points-based programme built into the Square ecosystem. Its real strength is integration: if you already run Square as your point-of-sale, loyalty points are earned automatically at checkout, tied to the customer's phone number or card, with nothing extra for staff to do. For a Square business, that seamlessness is genuinely hard to beat.

FaveCard is the better fit if you do not use Square, or you want to start for free. It is point-of-sale-agnostic (it works alongside any register, or none), sets up in minutes, and gives your customers a loyalty card they keep on their phone, with Apple and Google Wallet passes on a paid plan.

Where FaveCard pulls ahead

1. Free, and no point-of-sale lock-in

This is the biggest difference. Square Loyalty only works if Square is your POS, and it is paid: a standalone add-on from around $45/month per location, or bundled into Square Plus at $49/month per location, with a 30-day trial and no free tier (Square's pricing). FaveCard runs for free on any setup, or none, so you are not tied to one payment vendor. See the pricing page for current plans.

2. A card on the phone, not just points at the register

With Square, loyalty lives as points attached to a phone number or card at checkout. With FaveCard, each customer gets an actual loyalty card they keep on their phone, and on a paid plan it becomes a native Apple or Google Wallet pass, front and centre in their wallet, with no app to download.

3. What the customer tells you, in their own words

Square identifies a customer by the phone number they give at the till, and anything else on their profile is typed in by your staff or imported from a file. FaveCard asks the customer directly. On the Business plan you choose what your signup form requests, from a catalogue of ready-made questions such as a favourite drink, what someone usually books, or how they heard about you, and each one is shown to the customer in their own language. They answer on their own phone, they can skip anything, and the answers land on their card for your team to see at the next visit.

4. Turn visits into reviews and repeat visits

On a paid plan, FaveCard adds one-tap Google review requests, automated birthday offers, and promotion campaigns pushed to the wallet card. Square's marketing (email and text campaigns) is a separate Square Marketing subscription on top of the loyalty cost.

5. Start in minutes, no hardware

FaveCard needs no terminal and no POS integration: create your card, share a QR code or link, and start stamping in about five minutes. Square Loyalty assumes you are already set up on Square POS.

When to choose Square Loyalty instead

An honest read, because for a Square business it is a strong option:

• You already use Square POS. Points are earned automatically at checkout, with no extra step, which FaveCard cannot match without a Square integration.
• You want spend-based points and tiers rather than a stamp card.
• You want everything in one vendor (payments, POS, loyalty, marketing) and are happy to pay for the bundle.

If you do not use Square, or you would rather start free and keep your loyalty independent of your till, FaveCard is the stronger choice.

How we verified this: Square Loyalty's pricing and model were checked on Square's loyalty page and pricing page in July 2026. Square prices vary by region and monthly loyalty visits, so check the source before relying on them.