Dojo Review: Fast Transfers But Is It Worth It?

Dojo Pocket card machine in a person's hand

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Dojo offers transaction fees as low as 1%, 24-hour fund transfers every day of the week, and extensive EPOS integration. However, the hardware doesn’t support offline payments, and you’ll potentially face more ongoing fees than you would with other providers.

Even though Dojo didn’t quite crack our list of the best merchant service providers in the UK, it still has plenty of appealing qualities.

Read on for an in-depth look at its pricing, hardware, features, and customer support compared to other top options on the market. But if you’re short on time, you can use our free quote tool to get free, no-obligation quotes from top providers. After all, many providers have custom pricing options, including Dojo.

dojo logo on white background
Dojo
4.1
Suitable for

Owners who want a device with varied connections

Merchants who want a device with a long battery life

Businesses who need weekend payouts

Less suitable for

Merchants who need to take offline payments

Businesses who don’t want to be tied to a contract

Owners who prefer to use email support

Pricing
Card turnoverTransaction feesMonthly feeCard machine cost
Under £100k a year £39.99/month for £3,999 card turnover per month, then 1% per transaction Included in monthly transaction fee From £179 upfront
Over £100k a year Custom fees £10/month/location From £15 per month, or from £179 upfront
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We conduct independent research, testing, and scoring to provide you with honest reviews. In our latest round of research and testing, we assessed over 18 payment processing providers, reviewing them across five main areas of investigation: pricing, hardware, software, support, and ease of use.

Dojo Review: Key Takeaways

  • Offers payment processing services and card machines
  • Offers card machines from £15 per month, or for a one-time fee starting at £179
  • Charges custom transaction fees for businesses with over £100k in annual card turnover
  • Covers up to £3,000 worth of switching fees
  • Integrates with over 600 third-party EPOS systems
  • Offers next-day payouts as standard

How Much Does Dojo Cost?

In 2025, Dojo changed its pricing structure to a new, more flexible custom model that allows businesses to choose how they pay, their rate option, and their contract terms.

Nevertheless, there are two pricing paths:

  • One for businesses processing more than £100,000 in card payments per year
  • One for businesses that process less than £100,000 in card payments per year.

Here’s a quick summary:

Business turnover Less than £100,000 a yearMore than £100,000 a year
Card machine costsFrom £179 upfront, no monthly option specifiedFrom £15 per month (requires a 30-day rolling contract) OR from £179 upfront
Transaction fees£39.99 per month (covers transactions up to £3,999 card turnover per month), 1% on transactions over £4k per monthCustom
Platform feesIncluded in the £39.99 per month charge£10 per month, per location
Contract lengths12 months, price locked30-day rolling OR 12 months price locked
Dojo's Pricing: Quick Summary

Businesses taking in over £1 million in annual card turnover can negotiate different fees and contract lengths with Dojo.

What are Dojo’s hardware costs?

There is now a choice for either paying monthly or paying upfront for Dojo’s hardware (although validity for the former depends on business turnover):

  • Pay monthly, ongoing
    • From £15 per month (only available for businesses with an annual card turnover of £100,000 or more)
  • Pay once, upfront
    • From £179 with no ongoing hardware costs (available to any business)

Whether you pay monthly or upfront for your Dojo card machine, the cheapest device is the Dojo Go model, according to our research (there is no public pricing for any other hardware devices Dojo offers, such as the Dojo Pocket, as these require you to get a pricing quote from the supplier). Alternatively, you can also purchase this hardware outright for £179 and not have any more ongoing costs to consider.

By comparison, you can purchase hardware outright for around one month of Dojo’s monthly fee via providers like Square (£19 + VAT). In other words, there are cheaper options than Dojo for hardware on the UK market. However, that low-cost hardware is much less capable than the Dojo Go, as we’ll detail in our hardware section further down this page.

What are Dojo’s transaction fees?

Dojo offer fixed rates to businesses processing less than £100k a year, and custom rates to businesses processing over £100k a year:

Businesses processing less than £100k a year

First of all, let’s look at the variable rates for business processing less than £100k:

  • £39.99 per month (covers up to £3,999 in monthly card turnover)
  • 1% flat rate per transaction on transactions over £4,000 per month

Businesses processing more than £100k a year

For businesses processing more than £100k per annum, Dojo advertises bespoke rates for debit, credit, and a Secure Transaction fee (adaptable based on your card turnover).

What are Dojo’s platform fees?

With Dojo, businesses with an annual card turnover above £100k pay a base rate of £10 per month for the use of its cloud-native payments platform. This price is in line with providers like Worldpay’s £9.95 per month costs.

For businesses with an annual turnover under £100k, the platform is included in the £39.99 per month base fee they pay for transactions.

Although Dojo has dropped its fees in recent years, it’s worth mentioning that many other providers don’t have monthly fees at all. That includes the likes of Zettle, Tide, Square, and SumUp.

Does Dojo have any hidden fees?

Dojo isn’t very transparent with its pricing, so it most likely has hidden fees.

For example, it’s likely businesses will pay higher transaction fees on certain types of cards, such as Amex, commercial, or international cards, than they would on standard UK personal cards.

If you have a store with multiple locations, it is also worth reiterating that you’ll have a £10 per month charge per location to access its cloud-native payments platform.

Dojo can pay your exit fees

Did you know that if you’re already with another provider, Dojo could pay your exit fees? The merchant account provider says it will help with anything up to £3,000 (subject to your annual card turnover).

Are Dojo’s Card Machines Any Good?

Dojo offers three card readers: the Dojo Go, which costs from £15  per month, the Dojo Pocket, and the Dojo Wired, both for an additional, unknown cost.

Dojo doesn’t support third-party card readers, so these are the only options you have on that front. That means no tabletop machines or any smartphone-centric readers.

Still, the readers themselves are of excellent quality, with reportedly fast speeds and a modern interface. The price points are more expensive than some options out there, especially providers that have a one-time fee, but they aren’t outside of industry norms (Tyl by Natwest has a similar price for its main reader).

1. Dojo Go: Portable Card Machine

Price: From £15 per month, or from £179 upfront

Dojo Go card machine on a table with two hands around it
The Dojo Go is actually a PAX A920 card machine also used by the likes of Tyl by Natwest and takepayments - Source: Dojo

The Dojo Go is essentially a must-have if you opt for a Dojo merchant account.

That’s not just because it is Dojo’s most feature-rich card machine, but down to it being the only option you have. Dojo doesn’t support third-party card reader hardware, and the Dojo Pocket – a slimmer card machine accessory– is only available to you after you’ve purchased the Dojo Go for your business first.

Those limitations aside, let’s detail the key features of the Dojo Go and what we think about it compared to other top card readers.

Dojo Go key features

  • Connectivity: Equipped with both Wi-Fi and a built-in 4G SIM card to ensure reliable connectivity anywhere.
  • Touchscreen interface: Features a high-resolution touchscreen for intuitive navigation and ease of use.
  • Battery life: Long-lasting battery designed to last a full trading day on a single charge.
  • Security: Fully PCI DSS compliant with point-to-point encryption (P2PE) for secure transactions.
  • Built-in receipt printer: Allows for immediate printing of customer receipts after transactions.
  • Weight: 458g

What do we think about the Dojo Go?

Dojo states that the Go card machine can take payments 58% faster than the market average, according to an independent study by Savanta (2023), which is an impressive claim that seems to bear out in reality, according to our additional research.

We believe the Dojo Go is very user-friendly, with a speedy touchscreen interface that allows staff to navigate and process transactions efficiently. At 458g, it’s not the lightest card reader in the world (that role is saved for the Dojo Pocket), but it’s still eminently portable, with a sleek design that looks professional, too.

The dual connectivity options of WiFi and 4G provide reliable performance, which means you can accept payments even if one connection type is unavailable. On the other hand, that’s not useful if you are selling outdoors in a remote region without either, nor is it an apt table-top option given it forgoes ethernet connectivity. But for most businesses, it should still work well.

Likewise, the built-in receipt printer saves you from purchasing one separately and improves convenience for both staff and customers when taking payment. Not all card machines offer a built-in receipt printer, for instance, Zettle’s Card Reader 2, so it shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Battery performance appears solid, promising 10 hours of use from a single charge, which is above the industry standard of eight hours. The SumUp Air can do better than this and be used for 12 consecutive hours, though it doesn’t have a screen and instead connects to a smartphone.

2. Dojo Pocket: Compact Card Reader

Price: Custom

Dojo Pocket card machine in a person's hand
The Dojo Pocket is a format of slim, smartphone-size and width card reader that has become increasingly common over recent years - Source: Dojo

Only available after purchasing the Dojo Go, the Dojo Pocket is a more slimline alternative that offers many of the same features, minus the ability to print physical receipts.

Dojo Pocket key features

  • Ultra-portable design: Small and lightweight, it is designed to fit comfortably in your pocket for ultimate mobility.
  • Same connectivity as Dojo Go: Both WiFi and 4G are supported on the Dojo Pocket.
  • Smartphone connectivity: Pairs with smartphones via Bluetooth to use it with the Dojo app (available on iOS and Android).
  • Digital receipts: You can send receipts directly to customers via email or text message through the app (there’s no in-built receipt printer).
  • Battery life: Built to last through a full day of transactions on a single charge.

What do we think about the Dojo Pocket?

We think the Dojo Pocket is ideal for businesses on the move, such as market traders, food trucks, or mobile service providers, due to its compact size.

Customers can simply tap their card/smart device for any sale or refund amount. If the payment is over £100, the device will display a virtual PIN pad to use without the need to insert a card. There’s also the ability to pay via a QR code if a customer has a smartphone.

Speaking of which, pairing the device with a smartphone is pretty seamless by all accounts, and the Dojo app itself offers an intuitive interface, making it easy to manage transactions and send digital receipts to relevant email addresses or phone numbers.

Our main annoyance about the Dojo Pocket is that you can’t opt to purchase it without the Dojo Go. If Dojo allowed it to be purchased individually, the Pocket could take centre stage rather than be a sideshow to the Go model.

Of course, it is also not the best choice for printing physical receipts regularly, since it doesn’t have this built in. But since you would need the Dojo Go to purchase it anyway, which has this functionality, it is something of a moot point.

3. Dojo Wired: Traditional countertop card machine

Price: Custom

Dojo has replaced Dojo One with the Dojo Wired, a new and updated wired countertop card machine that uses Wifi or Ethernet, so you would never lose connection to the internet.

Dojo Wired key features:

  • Connectivity: Wifi and Ethernet
  • Interface: Traditional button PIN pad with screen
  • Charging/battery: Wired device, so it does not require charging to maintain battery
  • Integration: Integrates with your chosen EPOS system through Cloud Connect integration

What do we think of the Dojo Wired?

The Dojo Wired is a great option for businesses that only do counter service, such as retail stores or takeaways, and need a customer-facing card machine.

The card machine accepts both contactless and chip and PIN payments, and has a large bright screen and button PIN pad, making it easy for customer to see the amount they owe and enter their PIN securely.

It connects to your EPOS system using Dojo’s Connect Cloud integration, and operates on both Wifi and Ethernet, making it a reliable option for stationary checkouts.

What Software Features Does Dojo Offer?

Now you know what the prices are, and the sorts of top card machines you can get with Dojo, you next need to consider the features you are getting for your investment. Here’s a run-through of the areas we considered as part of our extensive, impartial research and the results we found with Dojo.

What payment methods does Dojo accept?

As with most merchant accounts, Dojo supports the use of all major credit and debit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Contactless payment via Apple Pay and Google Pay is also accepted via all its card machines using NFC technology.

What’s Dojo’s payout timeframe?

An area we loved about Dojo was that it provides next-day payouts as standard. And that’s not just the next business day, either: Dojo pays out the next day, seven days per week, for no additional cost. That means you’ll be getting weekend and even bank holiday payouts, too.

Of the 18 merchant accounts we researched, Revolut was the only other provider to offer this. Instead, many make you pay a premium price for next-day payments, while weekend payouts are rare, full stop. Big names like Square, Zettle, Worldpay (although it does offer 30-minute payouts for a fee), takepayments, Barclaycard, and Tyl by Natwest make you wait until Monday for a weekend sale.

All this is to say, Dojo is a superb option for speedy payouts, anytime.

Does Dojo integrate with EPOS systems?

Another big boon of Dojo card terminals is that they can integrate with an almost endless number of EPOS systems via API integrations. Dojo collaborates with several top EPOS providers directly so it can offer seamless integration of data with relevant software, such as Lightspeed.

These integrations allow for inventory control and management directly through an EPOS, as well as syncing transactions and sales data between your hardware and EPOS system.

Perhaps why Dojo has gone to great lengths here is that it doesn’t have its own native EPOS platform, so it requires external parties for this functionality. Still, this can be a benefit if your business is already using a particular EPOS software, as you won’t need to transfer over existing data.

What reporting tools does Dojo offer?

Dojo provides reporting capabilities for transaction breakdowns, peak trading times, and top-selling products. You’ll have easy access to real-time transaction data through the cloud-based platform and specifically, its overview dashboard. Plus, you’ll get notifications for things like when funds are transferred.

dashboard showing various graphs inside the Dojo for Business web-app
Dojo's web-app dashboard displays a number of useful graphics to get a quick overview of your card income - Source: Dojo

You can filter reports by date, time, and transaction type.

However, should you want to track employee sales performance or generate detailed reports on salescustomer behaviour, and inventory, you’ll need to integrate Dojo with a compatible third-party EPOS system. That’s because it doesn’t provide these more advanced reporting tools as part of its software. If you want more detailed reporting built in, takepayments is a better fit with a similar monthly fee and contract commitment.

Do Dojo card machines work offline?

As discussed in our hardware section, Dojo’s card machines utilise WiFi and are supported by a 4G SIM card should they be out of range of a WiFi connection.

However, if you are in a remote region where you can’t get reliable connectivity via either of those options, Dojo’s hardware can’t function. It has no offline mode and requires some kind of connection to work, meaning it’s not a great choice for on-the-go businesses in areas without strong 4G service.

Does Dojo offer a mobile app?

A modern merchant account, Dojo does have applications for both iOS and Android devices titled “Dojo for Business”. After you pair your card readers with the app, you can see live updates on transactions and sales performance over time as part of an intuitive and attractive user interface.

You can also manage refunds and voids on the app, as well as access customer support should you need quick assistance.

How secure is Dojo?

Dojo is PCI DSS compliant, and the process to become compliant is fairly straightforward. You’ll just need to read two documents and answer two questions. After this, you’ll be compliant via the app or your Dojo account online.

We’d say Dojo’s compliance process is the easiest and cheapest out of all the providers in our research. For instance, takepayments, our highest-rated provider, has a self-assessment questionnaire of up to 300 questions. In other words, Dojo is a good choice for businesses that want to ensure PCI compliance without paying extra or dealing with lengthy processes.

Dojo also offers Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) of card data at the point of interaction to ensure secure transactions. Plus, it offers assistance with handling and/or disputing chargeback claims, should you need it.

Get free custom quotes from top-rated suppliers

With most merchant account providers like Dojo requiring you to contact them for exact pricing, getting quotes from each provider you’re interested in is a necessary step.

But to make things easier for you, you can use our quote form to get prices for your business requirements from all the top-rated providers without much work on your part. Simply fill in your business requirements, and you’ll get no-obligation quotes sent to your email address for free.

Does Dojo Have Good Customer Support?

Dojo offers fairly extensive help and support options, including phone and live chat lines. Customers get tech support every day of the week between the hours of 8am and 11pm. The support team is UK-based, so you’ll be getting agents who understand your queries from a UK-based business standpoint.

Impressively, if you need immediate card machine support, Dojo technicians can log into your device remotely to assist with any problems. And it also offers 24-hour card machine replacement if a device is unrepairable, too.

Dojo’s online help centre means you’ve got a lot of additional documentation to help you find answers quickly yourself, too. As part of our testing, we tried looking for answers to five common business problems across all of the top merchant account providers. With Dojo, we were able to easily find answers to all five of our test queries within Dojo’s help centre, in one click.

The only thing missing from Dojo’s help and support armoury is a user forum and, perhaps more importantly, an email line.

How Does Dojo Compare to Its Competitors?

We’ve tried to offer a comparison throughout this Dojo review to other big names, but sometimes it is easier to compare key attributes of each provider side-by-side. Here’s a table to do just that.

Swipe right to see more
0 out of 0

Dojo

Monthly Fee

£10 + VAT / Custom

Monthly Fee

Custom (£0-£20/month)

Monthly Fee

Custom (£15-£40/month depending on contract)

Monthly Fee

From £0/month

Monthly Fee

None

Monthly Fee

None

Monthly Fee

None

Hardware Cost

£15 to £20/month

Hardware Cost

From £25 + VAT/month

Hardware Cost

From £20 + VAT/month

Hardware Cost

Contact for quote

Hardware Cost
Hardware Cost

From £29 + VAT

Hardware Cost

From £34 + VAT

Transaction fee

0.8% + 5p to 2.49% + 5p rates or custom

Transaction fee

Custom (0.3%-2.5% depending on card and sales volume)

Transaction fee

Custom (0.75% to 3% depending on card and transaction volume)

Transaction fee

Custom (as low as 0.2%)

Transaction fee
  • Online: 1.4% + £0.25 to 2.5% + £0.25
  • In-person: 1.75%
Transaction fee
  • 1.75% in-person
  • 2.5% payment links and invoicing
Transaction fee
  • Online: 2.5% or 0.99% with £19/month subscription
  • In-person: 1.69% or 0.99% with £19/month subscription
Native EPOS system?
Native EPOS system?
Native EPOS system?
Native EPOS system?
Native EPOS system?
Native EPOS system?
Native EPOS system?
Fund transfer time

24h

Fund transfer time

Next working day

Fund transfer time

30 minutes

Fund transfer time

1-3 days

Fund transfer time

By the next working day

Fund transfer time

1-2 working days

Fund transfer time

Next working days

Contract length

12 months, then monthly rolling contract or custom

Contract length

12 months

Contract length

18 months

Contract length

Zero contract and up to 4-year contract options

Contract length

Zero contract

Contract length

Zero contract

Contract length

Zero contract

Dojo’s monthly fees versus competitors

Dojo sits in the middle of the market with monthly platform fees, charging £10 per location for businesses with over £100k in annual turnover. While it beats the fees our research tells us to be true for the likes of takepayments or Worldpay (reaching as high as £20 and £40 respectively), it is more expensive than the likes of Square, Zettle, and SumUp, which remove ongoing monthly costs entirely. Still, Dojo’s modest fee may be justified by its extra features.

Dojo’s hardware costs versus competitors

Dojo’s hardware cost is competitive but not brilliant, with a monthly rental fee for hardware that is lower than takepayments, similar to or slightly lower than Worldpay. Still, its outright cost of £179 + VAT is far higher than the outright purchase prices for Square, Zettle, and SumUp (£19 to £39 + VAT).

Dojo’s transaction fees versus competitors

Dojo’s fees are flexible and can be negotiated to be even more competitive if your business has a higher turnover (where custom rates come into play). This makes it hard to compare to competitors.

For many very small businesses that process low volumes, it’s system of charging £39.99 per month for monthly card turnover under £3,999, and 1% for transactions after that makes it hard to calculate what you’ll pay per transaction exactly. The simplicity of the flat rates offered by Square (1.4% + 25p to 1.75%), Zettle (1.75% to 2.5%), or SumUp may be more attractive (1.69% to 2.5%).

Dojo’s integration capabilities versus competitors

Dojo is known for its strong integration capabilities and can integrate with over 600 major EPOS systems. This native compatibility means that Dojo can form the backbone of an integrated retail solution with advanced reporting and real‑time transaction tracking. This compares very favourably with providers like Clover and Square, which also emphasise full‑system integration.

Dojo’s fund transfer time versus competitors

Dojo’s 24‑hour turnaround is solid, beating out the likes of Zettle, SumUp, and Clover, which could take as long as two or three days. Worldpay’s ultra‑fast transfers of under 30 minutes are also noteworthy (but may come at a premium).

Dojo’s contract lengths versus competitors

Dojo’s 12‑month contract may be seen as a downside for very small or start‑up businesses when compared with the no-contract options offered by Square, Zettle, and SumUp. However, many businesses with higher transaction volumes may be willing to trade contract commitment for lower negotiated fees that Dojo offers.

Methodology: How We Reviewed Dojo

To bring you our reviews, we tested and researched 18 payment services providers, assessing them across five main areas of investigation, and 23 subcategories. These included ease of use, the quality and feel of hardware, and the price of products and services.

Here’s what we looked at:

  • Hardware: We looked at the size, weight, and portability of the card machines they offer, and assessed their connectivity, interface, receipt printing, and battery life.
  • Software: We tallied up how many payment types and methods each provider accepts, looked at payout times, reporting and security features, EPOS functionality, and what systems they integrate with.
  • Pricing: We compared monthly fees, card machine costs, transaction fees and contract lengths against the features of each payment services provider, to determine the value for money of each.
  • Ease of use: We had several different average users test each card machine and payment processing system to see how intuitive each one was to use, and how quickly everyday tasks could be completed.
  • Help and support: We assessed providers based on how many different channels of support they offered, and how available and responsive the support team was.

We then gave each provider an overall score based on how well they fared in the above assessment categories.

Verdict: What Type of Business Is Dojo Best For?

Dojo is a solid choice for businesses needing fast, next-day payouts and three different card machines that integrate seamlessly with existing EPOS systems.

Dojo’s fees are relatively competitive, and it will even pay your exit fees when switching providers. Add in everyday customer support availability and some sleek hardware, and the package Dojo offers is pretty appealing.

We’d say it’s not a suitable option for businesses that need offline payment capabilities, since Dojo doesn’t support this on its high-quality but limited choice of card readers. Plus, businesses that would prefer to avoid monthly fees should also look elsewhere, since Dojo charges £10 per month for its services alongside the ongoing hardware costs of at least £15 per month.

If you want to compare other providers to Dojo, you can use our free quote-finding tool. We will match you up with trusted payment providers based on your business specifications, who will then contact you with obligation-free price quotes. This should help you find the best deal for your exact needs.

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Written by:
Matt Reed is a Senior Communications and Logistics Expert at Expert Market. Adept at evaluating products, he focuses mainly on assessing fleet management and business communication software. Matt began his career in technology publishing with Expert Reviews, where he spent several years putting the latest audio-related products and releases through their paces, revealing his findings in transparent, in-depth articles and guides. Holding a Master’s degree in Journalism from City, University of London, Matt is no stranger to diving into challenging topics and summarising them into practical, helpful information.
Reviewed by:
Headshot of Expert Market Senior Writer Tatiana Lebtreton
Tatiana is Expert Market's resident payments and online growth expert, specialising in (E)POS and merchant accounts, as well as website builders.