The Cheapest Retail EPOS Systems for UK Businesses

SumUp offers the cheapest retail EPOS system, based on our assessment of its software fees, hardware costs, and transaction fees. It has a free software plan, low transaction fees of 1.69% and countertop terminals starting at £109 + VAT.

That said, SumUp’s not the only provider to offer free EPOS software. Competitors Zettle and Square also have free plans, but their transaction fees are higher than SumUp’s.

Retail EPOS systems cost £50 per month on average for software alone, with transaction fees and hardware adding to your overall spend, so opting for a provider with low monthly software fees can save you money over time.

Read on for a full list of the best cheap EPOS providers. In this article, we’ve included a cost spectrum to illustrate the potential cost increase associated with upgrading your plan, as well as other tips for keeping prices to a minimum.

The Best Cheap Retail EPOS Systems: Overview

Here’s a quick overview of how much the cheapest retail EPOS systems cost:

Scores are based on how well each retail EPOS system performed overall during our testing, with pricing taken into account, but not the only factor.

1. SumUp: Cheapest Overall

SumUp is the cheapest overall retail EPOS system, with a free EPOS software plan, fixed transaction fees of 1.69% (lower than rivals Square and Zettle’s 1.75%) and terminal stands that start at just £109 + VAT.

With no long-term contracts and clear pricing, it’s a cost-effective solution for small to medium retailers on a budget.

What makes SumUp a good, cheap retail EPOS system?

SumUp only offers one type of EPOS software, which can work for both retail and hospitality businesses, although paid versions include more hospitality-centric features.

Along with Square and Zettle, it’s one of the few providers to offer a completely free EPOS software plan, and earns a spot at the top of the list for its cheaper-than-average in-person transaction fees of 1.69%, compared with Square and Zettle’s 1.75%.

SumUp’s hardware isn’t the absolute cheapest, but it’s still affordable:

• SumUp Air: At £25 + VAT, SumUp’s cheapest card reader is more expensive than Square (£19 + VAT) but cheaper than Zettle’s (£29 + VAT). That said, it’s currently on sale for just £19 + VAT.
• SumUp iPad Stand: The stand costs £109 + VAT, only slightly more than Square’s and Zettle’s equivalents, which both cost £99 + VAT.

Upgrading to one of SumUp’s paid software plans for more advanced features is also quite affordable. The £19 per month Plus plan isn’t worth it for retailers, since it only provides additional features for hospitality, but if you want access to more advanced reporting and gift card tools, the £49 per month Pro plan is cheaper than Shopify’s £69 per month premium plan, and costs the same as Square’s Plus plan.

SumUp: Cost spectrum

SumUp offers superb value for money, though you can also upgrade your software and hardware packages as and when required. Here’s a look at its pricing ranges:

How much does SumUp cost? Full pricing breakdown

Here’s a quick overview of SumUp’s main charges:

SumUp software subscription fees

• Free POS App (£0 per month): Basic sales reporting and product cataloguing features, plus discount and gift card creation.
• POS Plus (£19 per month): Everything in Free, plus hospitality features such as table management and kitchen printer integration.
• POS Pro (£49 per month): Everything in Plus, plus advanced reporting and analysis, multi-location management and additional hospitality features, such as allergen management and scheduled menu changes.

SumUp transaction rates on free plan

• In-person transactions: 1.69% per transaction
• Online transactions: 2.5%
• Virtual Terminal transactions: 2.95% + £0.25 per transaction

SumUp EPOS hardware costs

• SumUp Air Card Reader: £25 + VAT (£35 + VAT with charging station), currently on sale for £19 + VAT.
• SumUp Solo 4G Card Reader: £79 + VAT (or £139 + VAT with built-in receipt printer), currently on sale for £59 + VAT
• SumUp Terminal (handheld EPOS): £169 + VAT
• POS Stand for iPads: £109 + VAT
• Cash drawer: £69 + VAT (or £320 + VAT with built-in receipt printer)
• Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Printer: £219 + VAT
• Barcode Scanner: £59 + VAT

Want to see how SumUp compares to its big-name rival, Stripe, for payment processing? Read our full SumUp vs Stripe comparison for all the details.

2. Zettle: Forever Free EPOS Software

Zettle, unlike rivals SumUp and Square, only offers free EPOS software, with no extra features held behind paid plans. This, combined with its reasonable transaction fees of 1.75% and affordable hardware bundles, earned it second place on our list.

Like SumUp and Square, it’s a contract-free option with clear pricing, making it a risk-free choice for small or new retailers.

What makes Zettle a good, cheap retail EPOS system?

Zettle only offers free EPOS software, with one plan suitable for both retail and hospitality. This means you’ll never have to upgrade to access features behind a paywall.

However, the downside is that Zettle’s EPOS software is generally less advanced than its competitors and less scalable. For example, it doesn’t offer built-in marketing tools or cost versus profit management, which are available on paid versions of most competitors’ EPOS software.

That said, Zettle remains an affordable option for small retailers, such as independent stores or pop-ups.

Zettle’s in-person transaction fees aren’t the cheapest at 1.75%, compared with SumUp’s 1.69%, but Zettle doesn’t upcharge for international or premium cards such as Amex, unlike Square and SumUp.

Plus, Zettle has some cheap hardware:

• PayPal Reader: At £29 + VAT, the PayPal Reader is the second cheapest on the market, after Square’s £19 + VAT Square Reader.
• iPad Stand: At £99 + VAT, Zettle’s iPad stand is also the joint cheapest with Square, costing £10 less than SumUp’s equivalent.

Zettle also offers highly affordable hardware kits, with its retail kit costing just £619 + VAT; far less than the £1,329 + VAT Square equivalent.

Zettle: Cost spectrum

Based on our latest research, here is how Zettle’s pricing for transaction rates, hardware costs and subscription fees vary from cheapest to most expensive:

How much does Zettle cost? Full pricing breakdown

Here’s what you need to know about Zettle’s main fees and charges:

Zettle software subscription fees

• Zettle Go App (£0 per month): Zettle’s only EPOS software plan, it includes product and inventory management, real-time sales reports, and integration with ecommerce platforms.

Zettle transaction rates

• Card-present transactions (in-person): 1.75%
• Payment Links: 2.5%
• Zettle Invoice: 2.5%
• PayPal QR Codes: 1.75%

Zettle EPOS hardware costs

• PayPal Reader: from £29 + VAT (additional readers £69 + VAT, charging dock costs extra £29 + VAT)
• Zettle Card Reader 2: £49 + VAT
• PayPal Terminal: £149 + VAT (£199 + VAT with built-in barcode scanner, charging dock with built-in printer costs extra £50 to £89 + VAT)
• iPad Stand: £99 + VAT
• Cash drawer: £49 + VAT
• Printers: £189-£319 + VAT
• Barcode Scanner: £219 + VAT
• Countertop Kits: £169-£619 + VAT

3. Square: Best Value for Money

Like SumUp and Zettle, Square offers free EPOS software, relatively low transaction fees of 1.75% and cheap hardware. It earns third place on our list since its paid plans are a little more expensive than SumUp’s.

That said, given that Square offers specialised retail EPOS software, with the free plan including a generous number of features, it’s the best value for money option on this list.

What makes Square a good, cheap retail EPOS system?

Square offers specialised EPOS software for retailers, Square for Retail, which includes a free plan, and two paid plans, one of which has custom pricing.

Even though both SumUp and Square offer free and paid EPOS software, Square’s free retail EPOS software is better. It includes features that SumUp reserves for paid plans, such as multi-store management, online selling integration and employee time tracking for up to five staff members.

Like Zettle, its 1.75% in-person transaction fee is higher than SumUp’s standard 1.69%. However, this does get lowered to 1.6% on Square’s £49 per month Plus plan. This isn’t the case with SumUp or Zettle, making Square a slightly better option for higher volume sellers.

In terms of hardware, Square has a much wider selection of kits and accessories than its rivals:

• Square Reader: At £19 + VAT, the Square Reader is the cheapest on the market.
• Square Stand: At £99 + VAT, Square’s iPad stand is also the joint cheapest with Zettle’s, although Square has an advantage since its iPad stand includes a built-in card reader, while Zettle’s doesn’t.

These low prices and quality designs make Square the best value for money option, when it comes to basic EPOS hardware.

Square: Cost spectrum

Before we dive into the details of its pricing, here’s a brief overview of Square’s cheapest and most expensive transaction rates, hardware costs and subscription fees:

How much does Square cost? Full pricing breakdown

Here’s an overview of Square’s main fees and charges:

Square for Retail EPOS software subscription fees

• Free (£0/month): Includes product cataloguing, basic inventory management, online store integration and staff hour tracking.
• Plus (£49/month): Everything in Free, plus it includes advanced inventory tools, barcode label printing and unlimited employee time tracking.
• Premium (custom): Everything in Plus, plus shift management, full suite of loyalty and marketing software tools, and onboarding support.

Transaction rates for free Square EPOS plan

• Card-present transactions (in-person): 1.75% (1.6% on Plus plan, custom on Premium)
• Online transactions with UK cards: 1.4% + £0.25 per transaction
• Online transactions with non-UK cards: 2.5% + £0.25 per transaction
• Manually keyed-in transactions, Invoices and Virtual Terminal: 2.5%

EPOS hardware costs

• Square Reader (contactless and chip): £19 + VAT
• Square Terminal (handheld EPOS device with printer): £149 + VAT
• Square Handheld (handheld compact EPOS device): £169 + VAT
• Square Stand (for iPad): £99 + VAT
• Square Register (with customer display): £599 + VAT
• Cash Drawers: £79-£319 + VAT
• Printers: £199-£319 + VAT
• Barcode Scanner: £89 + VAT
• Countertop Kits: £419-£1,329 + VAT

4. Shopify: Cheap Starter Plan

Shopify isn’t most people’s first choice for a cheap retail EPOS system. However, it makes the list because it offers a cheap retail EPOS software starting plan, the £5 Starter. This plan comes with a basic EPOS software app that lets users take payments via their smartphone, with no need to spend on hardware.

What makes Shopify a good, cheap retail EPOS system?

Shopify doesn’t have a free EPOS software plan, but its £5 Starter plan is the next best thing. A basic EPOS software app, it can be used to manage online sales via social media channels, and to take in-person payments with the tap-to-pay on iPhone function.

The trade-off is that Shopify’s Starter plan comes with very high fees of 5% for in-person purchases, more than any competitor on this list charges. Shopify’s Starter plan is also not a fully-fledged EPOS software plan and doesn’t work with Shopify’s EPOS hardware, unlike Square, Zettle, and SumUp’s free apps.

To get lower fees of 1.7%, you need to pay for Shopify’s £69 per month POS Pro plan. Shopify’s POS Pro plan is more expensive than the £49 per month paid plans offered by Square and SumUp, but it’s still relatively low compared with competitors such as Lightspeed Retail, which has a starting price of £75 per month.

The real appeal of Shopify is its ecommerce platform, which is an extra cost businesses need to pay on top of paying for Shopify’s EPOS software. So, the £5 Starter plan, which includes tools for online and in-person selling, is a cheap way to test out Shopify’s tools without committing to expensive subscriptions.

Shopify POS: Cost spectrum

Here’s Shopify’s full cost spectrum, with a focus on its EPOS software and tools:

How much does Shopify cost? Full pricing breakdown

Here’s a summary of Shopify’s main fees and charges:

Shopify EPOS software subscription fees

• Starter (£5/month): Basic EPOS software app with cataloguing, payment processing, and social media integration
• POS Pro (£69/month): Fully-fledged EPOS software with advanced stock management, multi-location management, staff management, and ecommerce integration.

Shopify transaction rates

• Card-present transactions (in-person): 1.5% to 5% depending on plan
• Online transactions: 1.5% + £0.25 to 5% + £0.25 depending on plan

Shopify EPOS hardware costs

All hardware costs are VAT inclusive, as advertised on the Shopify website:

• WisePad 3 Card Reader: £59
• Shopify POS Terminal (handheld EPOS device): £239
• iPad Stands with card machines: £179-£335
• Cash drawers: £95
• Printers: £191-£335
• Barcode Scanners: £311-£335
• Countertop bundles: £959

5. Clover: Cheapest Transaction Fees

Clover’s transaction fees start at 1.49%, but can go as low as 0.2% with the provider’s custom pricing model. This makes Clover one of the top options for high-volume sellers looking to save money per purchase.

That said, since Clover doesn’t advertise the cost of its EPOS software or hardware, it’s hard to fully compare it to competitors.

What makes Clover a good, cheap retail EPOS system?

Clover operates on custom, quote-based pricing, and from our research, you’ll generally need to pay more per month in software subscription or hardware costs than our other top cheap EPOS providers for the pleasure of lower transaction fees.

However, given Clover’s low transaction fees, which start at 1.49% for in-person purchases, but can go as low as 0.2% for high-volume sellers, some of its high software and hardware costs will be offset.

Some transactions, such as online, will be subject to higher fees, as is standard across the industry. But should you be turning over a large number of sales, it could make sense to go with Clover.

All its retail packages offer inventory and customer management, plus reporting tools. The higher the tier, the more advanced features are available, including integration with scales for weighing items. Plus, with all plans you get access to Clover’s app market. It provides added functionality for things like loyalty programs and more detailed analytics.

Clover: Cost spectrum

Clover keeps its lips tight on the exact costs of its plans, as it tends to offer bespoke plans for its packages. However, some transaction rates are publicly available, and we have listed the range here:

How much does Clover cost? Full pricing breakdown

Since Clover doesn’t publicly detail the prices of its software and hardware, we can’t break down those costs. However, we do know the key transaction rates for British businesses using Clover are as follows:

Clover transaction rates

Clover only advertises one rate, a starting rate of 1.49% for in-person transactions. However, based on our research, here are the full estimates:

• Card-present transactions (in-person): 1.49%, as advertised on the Clover website, can go as low as 0.2% with custom pricing
• Keyed-in transactions: Potentially 3.5% + £0.10
• Online transactions: Potentially 2.5% + £0.25

Buying Guide: What Should You Look for In A Retail EPOS System?

When choosing a retail EPOS system, make sure it includes:

• Inventory management: View stock levels with the click of a mouse, easily place new orders and set up alerts for when stock falls below a certain level.
• Easy price adjustment: Quickly and easily update prices on a central database. This is particularly useful if your business operates across multiple premises, and for rolling out special offers and promotions.
• Reporting and analytics: Deep-dive reporting helps you to make smart decisions informed by data. As a retailer, you can view a day-by-day breakdown of sales and see which products are selling well and which are underperforming, and adjust orders accordingly.
• Remote working with cloud-based software: Cloud-based software allows you to log on to your system from anywhere, at any time. You can view inventory, amend prices, or roll out a promotion, all while sitting at home in your pants.
• Integrations: Integrations with, or built-in ecommerce platforms, and marketing and loyalty software, are great add-ons for retailers looking to grow their sales.
• Basic hardware: Basic EPOS hardware that retailers need includes a register or tablet stand, a card machine and a barcode scanner. Useful extras include cash drawers and receipt printers.

How Can You Reduce EPOS System Costs?

Besides picking a provider that offers extremely low prices on the software, hardware and transaction fee front, there are a few other tips and tricks to make sure your spending is kept to a minimum:

• Buy a tablet-based EPOS system: Suppliers that offer tablet-based retail EPOS packages on a pay-per-month basis tend to be cheaper than all-in-one hardware solutions. By opting for a tablet-based EPOS system, you can significantly reduce your upfront costs. All the providers in the reviews above offer tablet-based EPOS systems, except for Clover.
• Rent your EPOS system: If you only require an EPOS system for a short period, or if you’re looking to keep your monthly overheads to an absolute minimum, EPOS till rental is the way forward. You can rent a ready-to-go retail EPOS till for around £25 on a rolling monthly contract.
• Buy a second-hand EPOS system: Another option is to look for a second-hand system. These can be bought on websites such as eBay and Gumtree, or from a specialist second-hand dealer. If you do go for a second-hand system, we recommend buying from a reputable dealer offering a warranty. That way, you’re covered if the machine breaks a few months down the line.

How We Found the Best Cheap EPOS Systems