SumUp Pricing: Is It Good Value for Money?

SumUp offers some of the cheapest card readers for UK small businesses, with hardware from £25 + VAT and pay-as-you-go transaction fees starting at 0.99%. Our tests show the SumUp Solo (£79 + VAT) is its best value card reader, because it works without a phone and still undercuts rivals like Square and PayPal on in-person fees.

Those are the basics, but there’s much more to SumUp’s pricing. We provide a detailed breakdown below, comparing SumUp’s costs with those of its key competitors.

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How Much Do SumUp Card Machines Cost?

Range: £25 + VAT to £135 + VAT

SumUp offers three readers, all of which are one-off purchases:

• SumUp Solo Lite: £25 + VAT (+£10 for charger)
• SumUp Solo: £79 + VAT (+ £109 + VAT with built-in printer)
• SumUp Terminal: £135 + VAT

SumUp charges a one-off fee for all its card machines, making it cheaper in the long term than providers who charge monthly rental fees for their card machines, like takepayments or Worldpay.

Other mobile card reader providers, such as Square and PayPal, also charge one-off fees for card machines. PayPal’s card reader starts at £29, while Square’s card machines start at £19. And, at two years, Square’s warranty is longer than SumUp’s one year.

SumUp Solo Lite vs SumUp Solo vs SumUp Terminal

If you’re picking between SumUp’s readers in 2026, the deciding factor is how independent you need the device to be:

• Solo Lite (previously Air) = cheapest, but needs your phone + the SumUp app (Bluetooth).
  • For when: You need to start taking card payments for the lowest upfront cost.
• Solo = standalone with a built-in SIM and Wi-Fi (no phone required).
  • For when: You don’t want staff relying on a phone mid-service.
• Terminal = standalone + built-in printer + payments + ordering-style workflow (the most “mini-POS” feeling).
  • For when: You’re doing table service or dealing with fast-moving queues and want receipts and ordering in one device.

1) SumUp Solo Lite (phone-paired)

What it is: A compact reader that pairs with your smartphone via Bluetooth and runs through the free SumUp app.

Why it works (especially for pop-ups and low-risk setups):

• Lowest upfront cost in the range (the “get selling quickly” option).
• Keeps the workflow simple: open app → enter amount → take payment.

Trade-offs:

• You’re relying on your phone staying charged, staying connected and being available during service.
• App-based selling is fine for a short menu and simple pricing, but it’s slower when you’re constantly adjusting amounts or juggling lots of items.

What we saw in our testing:

• Setup felt fast and low-friction when connecting a SumUp device to its mobile app, which is required when using the SumUp Solo Lite. Our team liked that the interface avoids heavy finance jargon and generally gets you from A to B quickly.
• A recurring theme user testers found was that the previous SumUp Air model, which we tested most recently, has a clean, minimal design, which is a plus for speed, just like the SumUp Solo Lite, which is nearly identical in shape and weight.
• Some testers wanted clearer visual feedback for key moments (especially around refunds and editing amounts) when using the SumUp Air. Handily, the Solo Lite has a larger screen (that responds to touch) with greater visual cues, though you’ll still need to use the app to get confirmation on refunds and edited amounts.

2) SumUp Solo (standalone, no phone required)

What it is: A pocket-sized touchscreen card reader with a free built-in SIM (unlimited data) plus Wi-Fi, so it can take payments without being tethered to a phone.

Why it’s the most sensible upgrade for day-to-day trading:

• Less operational fragility: One device does the job, so you’re not passing a phone around the counter or losing time re-pairing Bluetooth.
• Better suited to busier in-person service, where shaving seconds off each checkout actually matters.

Trade-offs:

• More upfront cost than the Air/Solo Lite tier.
• If you need built-in receipts everywhere you trade, you’ll likely be looking at either the optional printer route or jumping to Terminal.

3) SumUp Terminal (standalone, built-in printer and ordering-style workflow)

What it is: A handheld device designed to run as a standalone payments and EPOS essentials unit, with a built-in receipt printer, and dual Wi-Fi and a free SIM, switching to the strongest connection automatically.

Why it’s the best fit for hospitality/table service:

• Everything in one hand: Payments, receipts, and a more POS-like flow without needing a separate tablet/phone.
• Built to survive real venues: SumUp positions it as durable and drop-resistant, and it’s designed for service that moves around (tables, queues, events).
• Battery life is described as “lasting all day”, which in practice is up to 14 hours – the longest battery of all the card readers SumUp offers.

Trade-offs:

• Highest upfront cost of the three.
• If all you need is “tap, chip and PIN” at the lowest possible cost, this is overkill.

What we saw in our testing:

• We found the Terminal device to be, naturally, the most functional of all three devices.
• It feels substantial in-hand, and has all the card reader features you could need (unless you require a fully-fledged SumUp EPOS system).

Bottom line: If you’re staying simple and price-sensitive, Air/Solo Lite gets you selling fast. If you want the smoothest day-to-day workflow without phone dependency, Solo is the clean step up. And if you’re in table service or high-pace venues, Terminal is the one that most directly reduces friction (and staff running back and forth).

What Are SumUp’s Transaction Fees in 2026?

Range: 0.99% to 2.95% + £0.25 per transaction

SumUp keeps its merchant account pricing relatively simple: one flat rate for in-person card payments and a higher flat rate for online/remote payments. This is its standard ‘Pay-as-you-Go’ offering.

If your in-person card turnover is high enough, SumUp’s Payments Plus subscription (£19 per month) can cut the fee on domestic consumer cards, although it doesn’t reduce online payment fees.

SumUp transaction fee summary by plan type

1) Pay-as-you-go (no monthly fee)

Pay-as-you-go is the simplest way to use SumUp. You buy the hardware you need, then pay a flat percentage per transaction with no subscription required. For lower-volume sellers, this is often the most predictable option because your costs scale directly with sales.

Best for: Pop-ups, market stalls, sole traders, seasonal businesses and any team where monthly card turnover varies.

2) Payments Plus (£19 per month subscription)

Payments Plus mainly exists to reduce the fee on in-person domestic consumer card payments (from 1.69% to 0.99%). SumUp also frames the plan as worthwhile at around £3,000+ in monthly card turnover.

• Rule-of-thumb break-even: At £3,000 per month of in-person UK consumer card payments, a 0.70% saving is about £21, which slightly beats the £19 monthly fee.
• Watch out: If a large share of your takings are online (2.50%) or from non-EU/corporate/AMEX (1.69%), Payments Plus won’t reduce those fees, so your real break-even point can be higher than the headline.
• Other benefits: It’s worth noting that you also get 24/7 priority support and free card reader replacements with Payments Plus, even after your warranty has expired.

How to estimate your monthly transaction fees with SumUp?

SumUp’s fees are easiest to forecast if you split your takings into three types of transactions:

1. In-person UK consumer card takings (1.69% pay-as-you-go or 0.99% with Payments Plus)
2. Online/remote takings (2.50% on both pricing options)
3. In-person non-EU/corporate/AMEX takings (1.69% on both pricing options)

Quick example: If you take £4,000 per month in-person (UK consumer cards) and £1,000 per month online, your estimated transaction fees would be:

• Pay-as-you-go: (£4,000 × 1.69%) + (£1,000 × 2.50%) = £67.60 + £25.00 = £92.60
• Payments Plus: (£4,000 × 0.99%) + (£1,000 × 2.50%) + £19 = £39.60 + £25.00 + £19 = £83.60

What are SumUp’s refund and chargeback fees?

SumUp has no additional refund charge, beyond processing fees.

• When any provider processes a refund, the original processing cost isn’t reversed and the same is true with SumUp. There’s no additional cost to bear beyond that.
• If you operate in a high-refund area of business (such as fashion, high-end goods or ticketing), you should treat transaction fees as part of the ‘cost of returns’ and price items accordingly.

Chargebacks (when a customer disputes a payment) are a separate risk category and SumUp charges a non-refundable £10 fee when they occur.

• The original transaction amount will also be deducted from your account if the dispute is lost, as is natural for a chargeback event.

What are SumUp’s fees for online and remote payments?

SumUp’s online/remote payment transaction fee is 2.50%

This rate applies whether you’re pay-as-you-go or on Payments Plus, so subscriptions won’t reduce the cost of taking card payments without the card being physically present. It also applies to payments made over the phone.

There are several ways to sell online with SumUp’s payment gateway:

• Payment links: Send links to customers by email, messaging app, SMS or QR code, which takes them to a payment page.
• Online store: Build a free online store with SumUp, which comes with a built-in payment gateway.
• Payment gateway integration: Integrate SumUp’s payment gateway into your existing online store (plugins for WooCommerce, Wix and PrestaShop, or use API or widgets).
• Invoices: You can send and receive unlimited invoices for free.
  • Invoices Plus (£8 per month): If you need to customise invoices in 14 different languages and accept transfers to any bank account (rather than only your SumUp business account), you can purchase Invoices Plus.

This breadth of ways to take payments online landed SumUp a spot on our list of the UK’s best payment gateway providers.

How does this compare with online payments with other UK payment processing providers?

• Square: 1.75% in-person; 1.4% + £0.25 online (UK cards).
• PayPal: 1.75% in-person; 2.5% for invoices/payment links.
• Tyl pay-as-you-go: advertised “from” 1.39% + £0.05 (pricing can vary by business type and risk).

What are SumUp’s payout times?

SumUp states that payouts arrive the next working day, at around 7am. For many small businesses, this is just as critical as assessing the fees because faster payouts reduce the amount of cash you need sitting in the business just to keep stock and payroll moving.

What kind of business gets good value from SumUp’s fees?

• Low-to-mid volume in-person sellers: Pay-as-you-go is simple and predictable.
• High volume in-person sellers (mostly UK consumer cards): Payments Plus can lower fees, especially if you consistently clear the rough £3,000 per month threshold.
• Online-heavy sellers: The 2.50% remote fee becomes the main cost driver, and Payments Plus won’t reduce it, so you may want to compare online rates carefully.

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How Much Do SumUp’s EPOS Systems Cost?

Range: £0 per month to £49 per month, plus optional hardware

In addition to offering payment processing services and card machines, SumUp also offers EPOS systems, which include both software and hardware costs.

How much does SumUp’s EPOS software cost?

In practice, you’ve got three tiers for SumUp’s EPOS software: a free POS layer, for simple selling, a mid-tier upgrade, if you need tighter front-of-house control, and a full EPOS plan, if you’re scheduling menus, managing staff or pushing into online ordering:

• Free POS App (£0 per month): Basic product catalogue with simple sales reporting for businesses that just want to take payments.
  • You need to have a tablet or smartphone (Apple or Android), where you can download and use SumUp’s basic EPOS app.
• POS Plus (£19 per month): A step up if you want more day-to-day operational tools (e.g. cash logging and smoother service workflows) without committing to a full EPOS suite.
• POS Pro (£49 per month): Best if you’re actively running a service (or multiple staff) and want deeper operational controls, such as scheduled menu changes, staff hour tracking, online ordering and accounting integrations.

How to choose which SumUp EPOS software plan is best in 2026?

If you’re understaffed, the paid tiers can be worth it simply because they reduce friction at checkout and help you run service with fewer hands. If you’re mainly processing straightforward card payments (and you don’t need table plans, advanced staff tools or online ordering), start on the free tier and only upgrade once a missing feature is slowing you down.

It’s also worth checking the free EPOS landscape. Providers like Square and Tyl by NatWest offer free EPOS options too, and we found Square’s free tooling is often stronger if your main priority is EPOS depth. For instance, Square’s free EPOS app includes advanced features such as table management for restaurants, unavailable on SumUp’s free plan.

You can find out what the best EPOS systems in the UK are by looking at our official ranking.

How much do SumUp’s EPOS hardware and accessories cost?

Besides its card machines, SumUp also sells optional EPOS accessories:

• iPad Stand: £109 + VAT
• Cash drawer: £69 + VAT
• Combined cash drawer and printer: £320 + VAT
• Wi-Fi/Bluetooth printer: £219 + VAT
• Barcode scanner: £59 + VAT

Does SumUp Have Any Hidden Fees?

SumUp’s pricing is mostly straightforward: you buy hardware once, then you pay transaction fees. There’s no required EPOS subscription unless you choose to add one (like POS Plus/POS Pro) to get extra tools, nor are there any early termination costs since SumUp has no fixed-term contracts.

However, if we’re thinking of hidden fees as costs businesses often forget to model, then there are a few to watch out for:

• Software upgrades: If you add POS Plus, POS Pro, invoicing upgrades or other add-ons later, your monthly costs can slowly rise.
• Accessory creep: iPad stand, printer, cash drawer, barcode scanner and more can add up to a higher initial outlay than you might expect.
• Refund economics: SumUp keeps the original processing fee when you refund a card transaction. In 2026, when margins are tight, that matters most in high-refund industries (events, deposits, pre-orders, high-return retail).

How Does SumUp’s Pricing Compare With Competitors Like Square, PayPal, Stripe and Tyl?

Here’s a quick overview of how SumUp’s pricing stacks up against similar zero-contract rivals:

Square vs SumUp

Square is best for: UK SMEs that take a meaningful share of online payments (ecommerce, links, QR ordering, invoices) and want a stronger free EPOS toolkit, especially when the average online basket is more than £22.73.

• In-person fees: Square is slightly higher for card-present payment fees (1.75%) than SumUp (1.69%), meaning it is always more expensive for in-person transactions.
• Online fees: If your business’s online orders cost more than £22.73, Square’s 1.4% + £0.25 UK online card payment fees are cheaper, according to our calculations. Below £22.73, SumUp (2.5%) is cheaper.
• Hardware: Square’s entry reader is cheaper upfront (from £19 + VAT) than SumUp’s entry reader (from £25 + VAT).
• EPOS depth: Both offer free EPOS apps, but Square’s free tier is generally stronger for operational workflows (e.g. restaurant-style tools) than SumUp’s free tier.

Read our full Square versus SumUp comparison.

Tyl vs SumUp

Tyl is best for: Businesses that want lower published processing costs across mixed in-person and remote sales (especially on UK/EU personal cards) and are comfortable with monthly terminal hire instead of owning hardware.

• Online transaction fees:
  • For UK and EU personal cards (1.39% + £0.05), Tyl is cheaper for transactions above £4.50 than SumUp’s rate (2.5%).
  • For all other non-UK/EU cards, Tyl is cheaper above £9.80, while SumUp is cheaper below that figure.
  • In other words, Tyl is almost always the better choice if you are selling items online.
• In-person transaction fees:
  • For UK/EU personal cards, Tyl’s 1.39% + £0.05 rate means it is cheaper to use Tyl for sales above £16.67. If you run a small shop for low-priced goods, like an off-license, then SumUp is best – otherwise, Tyl is the top choice.
  • Whereas, for all other cards used in-person, SumUp is the cheaper pick. That means SumUp will be the better choice if you sell goods in a tourist hotspot when considering fees alone.
• Hardware: Tyl leases terminals (monthly hire), while SumUp is usually a one-off purchase, which can make SumUp a better value over time if you keep the same device for a longer period (and can afford to pay for an upfront fee).
  • For instance, if you rent Tyl’s most advanced card reader at £19.99 + VAT per month, after seven months of payments, you’ll have paid off more than the purchase price of SumUp’s most expensive card reader, the SumUp Terminal, which costs £135 + VAT upfront.

Stripe vs SumUp

Stripe is best for: Online-first teams that want developer-friendly payments, deeper reporting, and multi-currency selling, particularly when average transactions are ~£20+ online or ~£34.48+ in person.

• Fees: Stripe’s published UK rates of 1.4% + £0.10 (in-person) and 1.5% + 20p (online) can undercut SumUp’s flat pay-as-you-go pricing of 1.69% and 2.5%, respectively, although it depends on the average size of your transactions.
  • If your average in-person sale is over £34.48, Stripe is cheaper per transaction. If it’s under ~£34.48, SumUp is cheaper.
  • If your average online sale is over £20, Stripe is cheaper. If it’s under £20, SumUp is cheaper.
• Hardware: Stripe’s hardware has a higher starting point than SumUp’s, with its Bluetooth mobile reader (Reader M2/WisePad 3) costing £49 + VAT, compared with SumUp’s £25 + VAT Solo Lite.
  • Stripe’s WisePOS E (£179 + VAT; a smart reader with Wi-Fi/Ethernet) and Reader S700 (£279 + VAT; an Advanced handheld reader) also cost more than SumUp’s two other devices (£79 + VAT and £135 + VAT respectively).

• Different best fits: We’d say Stripe has better reporting features than SumUp, and also supports 125+ currencies, compared with SumUp, which only supports UK transactions. That makes Stripe a more appealing option near tourist hot spots, or for rigorous reporting.
  • Meanwhile, if you’re selling in multiple channels but you want the simplest way to get paid fast, SumUp is usually the easier pick.

Read more in our Stripe versus SumUp head-to-head.

PayPal vs SumUp

PayPal is best for: Mobile merchants who want a simple app-based setup, an iPad POS workflow and PayPal ecosystem compatibility, and who’ll actually use the catalogue, reporting and integrations (despite SumUp being cheaper on pure fees).

• Fees: PayPal Point of Sale card-present pricing is typically around 1.75%, which is slightly higher than SumUp’s 1.69% pay-as-you-go rate. Online fees are the same, so there’s no difference there. That means SumUp is the best pick purely on fees.
• Hardware: PayPal’s entry reader is a bit more expensive upfront (from £29 + VAT) than SumUp’s entry reader (from £25 + VAT). PayPals most expensive hardware (£149 + VAT) is also more expensive than SumUp’s (£135 + VAT).
  • In the grand scheme of things, there’s very little between them on hardware costs, so this shouldn’t be a major sticking point.
• Value beyond price: We still think PayPal can be a better value pick if you’ll use its reporting, product catalogue and broader integration network more heavily than SumUp’s lighter-weight setup.

Read our full PayPal versus SumUp comparison.

Methodology: How We Tested SumUp

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