Skip to main content

Comparison guide

Square vs Stripe

Side-by-side NPM package comparison

Hero image for Square vs Stripe

Quick Verdict

Smallest Bundle

Square

3.3 MB gzipped

Most Popular

Stripe

11.8M weekly downloads

Best Maintained

Square

100/100 maintenance score

Highest Quality

Square

50/100 quality score

Overall Pick

Stripe

Best all-around based on popularity, size, maintenance & quality

square icon

square

Popular

Version 44.1.0

0
81
Excellent

Use Square APIs to manage and run business including payment, customer, product, inventory, and employee management.

Weekly Downloads
203.5K
↑17%
Bundle (gzip)
3.3 MB
Updated
Vulns
0

Health Score Breakdown

Maintenance
100
Popularity
80
Quality
50
Security
100
Stability
70
stripe icon

stripe

Extremely Popular

Version 22.2.0

0
85
Excellent

Stripe API wrapper

Weekly Downloads
11.8M
↑16%
Bundle (gzip)
4.3 MB
Updated
Vulns
0

Health Score Breakdown

Maintenance
100
Popularity
100
Quality
50
Security
100
Stability
70

Choosing between Square and Stripe? Here's a data-driven comparison based on real npm data — downloads, bundle size, health scores, and more — to help you decide which package fits your project best.

Downloads & Popularity

Stripe leads with 11.8M weekly downloads — roughly 58.0x more. Square has 203.5K weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.

Bundle Size

Square has the smallest gzipped bundle at 3.3 MB. Stripe comes in at 4.3 MB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.

Health Score Comparison

Stripe has an overall health score of 85/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. Square has an overall health score of 81/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. Health scores are calculated from maintenance activity, code quality, security posture, popularity, and stability metrics.

When to Choose Each

Choose Square if you value actively maintained, strong security track record. Choose Stripe if you value massive community and ecosystem, actively maintained, strong security track record.

Our Verdict

Both Square and Stripe are solid choices for JavaScript development. Stripe has the edge in overall health score (85/100), while each package brings unique strengths to the table. Evaluate them based on your project's priorities — whether that's community size, bundle efficiency, or maintenance activity — and choose the one that aligns best with your requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is square better than stripe?
It depends on your needs. Square has a health score of 81/100 while Stripe scores 85/100. Stripe has more weekly downloads (11.8M), suggesting broader adoption. Consider your specific requirements — bundle size, community support, and feature set — to decide which is the better fit.
Which has a smaller bundle size, square or stripe?
Square has the smaller gzipped bundle at 3.3 MB. A smaller bundle means faster load times for your users, which can positively impact SEO and user experience.
How many developers use square vs stripe?
Based on npm download statistics, Square has approximately 203.5K weekly downloads and Stripe has approximately 11.8M weekly downloads. These numbers reflect package installations, not unique developers, but they indicate relative adoption levels.
Which is better maintained, square or stripe?
Stripe currently has the higher overall health score at 85/100. Square has a maintenance score of 100/100 and Stripe scores 100/100 on maintenance.

Related Comparisons

Paypal-rest-sdk vs Stripe

The 2026 JavaScript Stack Cheatsheet

One PDF: the best package for every category (ORMs, bundlers, auth, testing, state management). Used by 500+ devs. Free, updated monthly.