SumUp Review: Is It Right for Your Business?

SumUp card reader review

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SumUp is a favourite among small businesses looking for a quick way to accept card payments, and for good reason.

Based on our experience with SumUp products, we can say that it was one of the easiest payment systems to set up that we tested. One of its card machines even earns a spot on our list of the best card readers for small businesses.

Besides processing payments, SumUp also offers a simple EPOS system, and a free online store builder, making it a handy one-stop-shop for new and small businesses. However, given its lack of negotiable transaction fees, and the lack of advanced features for its EPOS system and online store, SumUp isn’t an option we’d recommend to high volume sellers.

We’ll get into why in our review. But, if you’d like to skip ahead and just be matched with a payment processing provider, we can help. Just tell us about your business using our free comparison tool, and we’ll match you with suitable providers who’ll contact you with tailored quotes.

SumUp
4.3
Fees From 1.69% per transaction
Suitable for

Merchants who want no monthly fees

Businesses looking for a zero-contract provider

Businesses that needs an EPOS system and/or online store

Not suitable for

Merchants looking for varied EPOS hardware options

Businesses that need 24/7 support

High volume sellers that need low transaction fees

Pricing
Cost and fees
Card machines From £39 + VAT
Monthly fees From £0/month
In-person transaction fees From 1.69%
Online transaction fees From 2.5%
EPOS software From £0/month
Online store builder £0/month
What does SumUp do?

SumUp helps businesses process payments through a variety of tools and services. Here’s what it offers:

  • Card machines (choose from three models)
  • Payment processing for in-person and online payments
  • Business current account
  • Invoicing tool
  • EPOS app and software
  • EPOS countertop terminal and accessories
  • Online store builder
  • Bookings website builder

SumUp’s Pros and Cons

Here’s a quick look a the pros and cons of using SumUp for taking payments:

Pros

  • No monthly fees
  • Zero-contract and easy setup
  • Free EPOS system and online store

Cons

  • Limited EPOS hardware range
  • Support team not available 24/7
  • Transaction fees add up for high volume sellers

Pro: No monthly fees

One reason small businesses like SumUp is because it comes with no monthly account fees or monthly card machine rental fees, since SumUp sells its card machines outright. It’s not the only provider to do this, with Square, Zettle, and Stripe all doing the same.

Monthly fees and card machine rental fees can cost between £10 and £20 per month, each, so you’ll be saving a lot with SumUp.

Pro: Zero-contract and easy setup

Because SumUp is a zero-contract provider, it’s quick and easy to set up an account with them, since you won’t be fussing around negotiating the terms of your contract.

Once you’ve ordered your chosen card machine, it’s also very quick to get up and running. We were able to charge our SumUp Air card machine in under an hour, and didn’t have much trouble downloading the SumUp app and connecting the reader to it.

Pro: Free EPOS system and online store

SumUp has other free tools besides payment processing, which include a free EPOS app and free online store builder. This provides small businesses an affordable way to build a complete solution for taking payments and managing sales and products.

Once again, SumUp isn’t the only provider to offer a free EPOS system and online store builder, with Square and Zettle offering the same. Still, with EPOS software costing an average of £50 per month, and online store costing £20 per month, you’ll be saving a lot with SumUp’s free tools.

X Con: Limited EPOS hardware range

Own downside to SumUp is that it has quite a limited range of hardware to support its EPOS system. It only has one countertop terminal model, one type of cash drawer, and one type of receipt printer. Along with its card machines, one of which comes with a built-in receipt printer, that’s pretty much it.

This won’t be an issue for all businesses, but restaurants or cafes that do table service might find they’re missing a card machine that gives them access to the EPOS system, along with menu items. Retailers might want a barcode scanner, also missing from SumUp’s kit. Providers that do offer these tools include Clover and Square.

X Con: Support team not available 24/7

Another downside to SumUp is that its customer support team is only available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. This means that during the hours and days when most businesses are the most busy, after 5pm and on the weekends, SumUp isn’t available to help with quick troubleshooting.

For a provider with more availability, we recommend Worldpay, whose phone lines are open 24/7, or takepayments, who are online at weekends as well as weekdays.

X Con: Transaction fees add up for high volume sellers

To make up for its lack of monthly fees, SumUp, like most providers of its type, charges slightly high fixed fees of 1.69%. These aren’t the highest fees we’ve seen, with Zettle and Square both charging 1.75% per transaction, but they’re not the cheapest either, with Revolut charging just 0.8% + 2p per transaction.

If you’re a high-volume seller (you process over £2,000 in card payments per month), you might want to consider going with a provider that offers negotiable and competitive transaction fees, like takepayments or Worldpay. Although these providers also come with monthly fees, in the long run they’ll cost you less, since high transaction fees can eat into profits.

High risk merchant?

SumUp might not be right for you if you’re considered a high-risk merchant, and it runs credit checks on potential merchants. This can be an issue for your future credit checks, or if you don’t currently have great credit.

Payment providers that don’t run credit checks on new customers, include Square, Tyl, and Stripe. These might be a better option if your business is considered high-risk.

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How Much Does SumUp Cost?

SumUp’s pricing is very straightforward. Card machines cost from £39 + VAT, and in-person transaction fees with a free account are 1.69%.

Here’s a quick overview:

ItemCost/fee
Card machines£39-£139 + VAT
Monthly fee £0 OR £19/month with SumUp One account
In-person transaction fees1.69% OR 0.99% with SumUp One
Online transaction fees2.5% OR 0.99% with SumUp One
EPOS software£0-£49/month
Online store£0/month
Invoicing tool £0-£7/month

SumUp offers excellent value for money for small businesses overall, largely thanks to its lack of monthly fees and free EPOS and online store software. Its card machines are also some of the best value, with its £39 + VAT SumUp Air only beaten by Square’s £19 + VAT Square Reader.

When it comes to transaction fees, compared to other fixed-fee zero contract providers SumUp falls somewhere in the middle. Its 1.69% fee is cheaper than Square and Zettle’s 1.75%, but more than Stripe’s 1.4% + 10p.

How to get lower transaction fees with SumUp:

There are two ways you can lower transaction fees with SumUp:

  • SumUp Business Account: if you open a free account, you’ll pay transaction fees of 1.49% for in-person purchases (online transaction fees stay at 2.5%).
  • SumUp One subscription: for £19 per month, you’ll pay transaction fees of 0.99%, on both in-person and online transactions (international, AMEX, and commercial cards have a 1.99% fee)

Here’s some additional information you should know about SumUp’s pricing:

  • You won’t be charged for any payments that don’t go through
  • You won’t be charged for any cash payments you log with SumUp
  • No VAT is levied on SumUp’s transaction fees
  • PCI compliance is included at no extra cost
  • There are no setup or early termination fees

If you’ve been wondering what is PCI compliance, read our in-depth article to learn everything you need to know. And, for a full breakdown of all SumUp’s costs and fees, go to our guide.

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What Are SumUp’s Card Machines Like?

SumUp has three types of card machines:

  • SumUp Air: has a flat pin pad and needs to be paired with the SumUp app in order to take payments
  • SumUp Solo: a standalone card machine with a touchscreen
  • SumUp Solo and printer: like the regular SumUp Solo but with a built-in printer
Swipe right to see more
0 out of 0

SumUp Solo

SumUp Solo and Printer

Hardware Cost

£39 + VAT

Hardware Cost

£79 + VAT

Hardware Cost

£139 + VAT

The SumUp Air

At £39 + VAT, the SumUp Air is the most affordable of SumUp’s card machines. Its lightweight and compact design, and its long battery life make it a good solution for selling on-the-go if you’re a tradesperson or market vendor.

For £10, you can get an additional charging dock, which can turn it into a countertop device, but since the battery lasts up to 12 hours, it’s not strictly necessary.

One minor inconvenience is that the SumUp Air has to be used with the SumUp app on your phone, which could make processing transactions while standing slightly awkward, because you need to use both hands. The flat pin pad might also be a bit disconcerting for some customers, since when we tested it we noticed that there’s not really a response to confirm you’ve pressed a button when entering a pin.

If you’d prefer a traditional card machine with buttons, we’d recommend providers such as Barclaycard or Worldpay, since SumUp doesn’t offer them.

All that being said, the SumUp app was relatively easy to navigate, since it was free of jargon and didn’t have an overwhelming number of tabs to navigate through before getting to the checkout screen.

sumup app on smartphone showing making a payment
Charging an amount via the SumUp Air card reader is a simple task in the connected smartphone application - Source: Expert Market

The SumUp Solo

The SumUp Solo and the version with a printer are SumUp’s standalone card machines, which means they can operate independently of the SumUp app.

They both come with a built-in free unlimited SIM card, which means they can operate in areas without Wifi. That said, we don’t think they’re as suited to on-the-go selling as the SumUp Air, since both Solo models are a little clunkier (especially the one with a printer), and the battery doesn’t last as long (approximately 8 hours).

Both the standard Solo and the Solo and printer lend themselves better to countertop use, since the standard Solo comes with a mount, and the Solo and printer sits upright thanks to its design.

Our one criticism of SumUp’s overall offering is that none of its card machines can be used as standalone EPOS devices. Providers like Square and Clover offer larger, touchscreen card machines, from which you can access their EPOS software. These are very useful for hospitality businesses that do table service.

Accept payments on your smartphone with SumUp

The SumUp app allows you to accept contactless payments from your smartphone, without the need to purchase a card reader.

It’s a good option for merchants testing out a product, organising a pop-up, or who only sell occasionally, and don’t necessarily want to invest in a card machine.

What payments method does SumUp accept?

Whatever SumUp card machine you have, you’ll be able to accept the following payment methods:

  • Contactless and chip and pin
  • Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Amex, VPay, Discover, Diners Club, Union Pay
  • Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay

SumUp accepts a very wide variety of card types – more than competitor Square, but less than Zettle. Being able to take cards from providers like Union Pay that are popular outside the UK puts you at an advantage if you have international customers.

Is SumUp’s EPOS System Worth it?

SumUp’s EPOS system is a good option for small hospitality businesses, such as takeaways, pubs and bars, or food trucks. However, based on our testing, we don’t think it quite has the tools to support larger business with complex operations.

SumUp has two EPOS systems:

  • Free POS app/POS Lite (£0/month): these are essentially the same system, except that the POS app is run on iPad, whereas POS Lite can be accessed from a physical terminal.
  • POS Pro (£49/month): A more advanced EPOS system that comes with table and staff management tools.
Screenshot of SumUp POS system with an allergen selection interface for highlighting dishes with specific allergens.
We were able to signal what allergens were contained in specific menu items with SumUp. This feature impressed us, and can increase customer trust and safety. Source: Expert Market

The features you get access to with SumUp’s free EPOS software are quite basic, but still include essentials like basic sales reports, inventory management, and accepting tips and issuing refunds. On the paid POS Pro plan, you’ll get access to additional features like bill splitting, table management, staff shift hours logging, and online ordering.

While not a bad EPOS system, you can get better value for money with SumUp’s competitor Square. It also offers free and paid EPOS software, and its free software comes with features missing from SumUp’s, such as discounts, multi-location management, and table management. Square also has EPOS software designed for a variety of businesses, including hospitality, retail, and salons, whereas SumUp’s EPOS software is heavily tailored to hospitality.

Operate a takeaway business and interested in self-service?

SumUp has a 21 inch kiosk tablet that costs £499 + VAT, and can be mounted on the wall or attached to the counter of your establishment. To use it, you need to be signed up to the £49 per month POS Pro plan, which gives you access to transaction fees of 0.99%.

It’s a great solution for small takeaway businesses looking to speed up their order process, and it’s a piece of hardware that’s not offered by SumUp’s chief rival, Square.

▶ Interested in finding the right EPOS system for your business? Read our guides::

What Types of Online Payments Are Available with SumUp?

SumUp offers businesses several ways to take payments online and remotely:

  • Online store builder (free)
  • Online payment gateway (free)
  • Payment links and QR codes (free)
  • Invoices (free-£7/month)

All in all, SumUp offers a holistic set of tools for accepting remote payments, and has a similar offering to Square. Most traditional payment processing provider aren’t as focused on remote payments and only offer a few of these tools, but not all. takepayments, for example, doesn’t have an online store builder, while Barclaycard only offers an online payment gateway.

Online store and ecommerce integration

There are two ways to get paid with SumUp through an online store. You can either build an online store using SumUp’s tool, or integrate SumUp’s online payment gateway into your existing online store.

SumUp’s online store builder is free to use, and has no paid upgrade version, as is the case with Square’s online store builder. It’s quite a basic website builder, and doesn’t offer any options for customising the design. It’s purely for listing products or menu items for online ordering.

Since you can’t upgrade to a more advanced version of SumUp’s online store builder, it’s also not an option we’d recommend to businesses looking to start an ecommerce business, due to its lack of scalability. For that, we’d recommend Shopify or Wix, which both feature in our picks for the best ecommerce platforms for small businesses.

Luckily, you can still use SumUp as your payment processor on both of these ecommerce platforms, with SumUp’s online payment gateway. It can be integrated into any website through API, and more easily into select platforms through a pre-built plugin. This flexibility earned SumUp a spot in our list of the best payment gateway providers.

What's the difference between SumUp's online store and its bookings page?

SumUp also offers a free tool for building a bookings page, which is different from its online store builder.

With SumUp Bookings, businesses can list services and allow customers to book a day and time slot directly through the website. However, customers aren’t able to pay for the services they booked through the website, and payment still needs to be taken in person rather than online, a feature SumUp claims will soon be available.

SumUp’s online store builder, on the other hand, is for listing products, and doesn’t come with a bookings calendar. Customers can also pay directly for their products through the website.

Payment links and QR codes

If you don’t want to bother creating an online store, you can instead sell through links.

In the SumUp app, you can generate payment links, which you can send to customers through any messaging channel, including WhatsApp, Instagram, text, and email. Customers are then taken to a secure payment page, where they can enter their details.

You can also use the payment link function to generate QR codes, which customers can scan to be taken to a payment page. This is a useful feature for businesses like food trucks or pubs, who want to avoid delays and make it easier for customers to pay.

Invoicing

SumUp has a free and paid version of its invoicing tool.

You can send unlimited invoices for free using SumUp’s free invoicing tool. However, you have to have signed up for a free SumUp Business Account to receive transfers.

For £7 per month on the SumUp Pro invoicing plan, you can send unlimited customised invoices in 14 different languages, and accept transfers to any bank account. The transaction fee for online invoices also goes down to 1.25% from 2.5% with free invoicing.

The £19 per month SumUp One plan includes SumUp Pro invoicing software, with the added bonus that invoicing transaction fees are only 0.99%.

▶ Read about the competition::

What Kind of Business Is SumUp Best For?

SumUp’s affordability and a wide range of tools to facilitate taking payments, both in-person and online, make it best suited to start-ups, small businesses, and mobile businesses.

The SumUp app is an easy platform to navigate, which means it won’t be overwhelming for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Plus, the compact design of its card machines make them great options for on-the-go sellers, like market vendors, tradespeople, or taxi drivers.

Its online store builder will suit small artisans, since you can link to it from social media platforms, or cafes and food trucks looking to accept online orders. These last types of businesses can also benefit from SumUp’s EPOS system, although we recommend opting for the paid version, since the free software is incredibly basic.

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SumUp Customer Support and Reviews

SumUp’s customer support team is available only on weekdays, between 9 AM and 5 PM. This isn’t the ideal time for most merchants, who tend to be busiest after 5 PM and on the weekends, but SumUp isn’t the only provider with these hours – Square and Zettle have similar opening hours.

If you’d rather use a provider who’s open when you are, we recommend Worldpay, whose customer service team is available 24/7, or takepayments, whose team is available on weekends and bank holidays.

When it comes to points of contact, you can get in touch with SumUp via phone, email, or live chat. The provider also has a help centre that can help you through simple troubleshooting.

If you’re wondering what SumUp customers are saying about the provider online, its’s generally positive. SumUp has a score of 4.2 out of five stars on TrustPilot, and 4.5 out of five stars on Capterra, which is as good as most businesses can hope for, although nowhere near takepayments’s impressive score of 4.9 stars on TrustPilot.

Customers are generally happy with the service, praising SumUp products for their ease of use and low cost. Those who left poor reviews, however, mentioned poor customer service and hardware not working after just a few uses.

Customer review

This software is awesome. My customers love being able to tap their cards in order to make payments. The tap and go feature is extremely convenient when I am at craft fairs or outdoor vending events. No more keeping money in a pouch.

Alton, SumUp user
Source: Capterra - September 2024
Customer review

My machine stopped working after 2 transactions at a festival over the weekend and I had to ask everyone to give cash or do a bank transfer.

Sarah B., SumUp user
Source: Trustpilot - September 2024
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Our Testing Methodology

To bring you this review of SumUp, we tested 18 different payment services providers, using our findings to create this comparison. We assessed providers across five main areas of investigation, and 23 subcategories.

Here’s what we looked at:

  • Hardware: we looked at each card machine’s size, weight, and portability, and assessed its connectivity, its interface, receipt printing, and battery life.
  • Software: we tallied up how many payment types each provider accepted, looked at payout times, reporting and security features, EPOS functionality, and what systems it integrated with.
  • Pricing: we compared monthly fees, card machine costs, transaction fees and contract lengths against the features of each card reader, to determine the value for money of each.
  • Ease of use: we had several different average users test each card machine and related payment app 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 support types 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

SumUp is best suited to small businesses and startups looking for a simple all-in-one solution for taking payments. Its lack of monthly costs, and compact card machines (one offering 4G connectivity) make it a great choice of provider for tradespeople and market stalls.

However, it’s not a good option for businesses that already sell at high volumes, since it doesn’t offer negotiable transaction fees. Additionally, it’s not a particularly scalable solution, since none of its software is designed to handle large operations, so we’d only recommend it to businesses that plan on staying small.

If you’re not sure if SumUp is right for you, and want to be matched with a suitable payment processing provider, you can use our free quote tool. Through it, we’ll quickly match you with our network of trusted providers, and they’ll then be in touch to provide bespoke quotes. This way, you can quickly find the best deal for your exact business needs.

FAQs

Is SumUp safe to use?
SumUp is safe to use. It’s fully PCI compliant, has an ISO 27001 certificate, which means it meets basic international security standards, and never stores sensitive data on mobile devices using its app.
Which is better: Zettle or SumUp?
SumUp is a slightly better option than Zettle when it comes to taking payments. Both providers have a very similar offering, and SumUp largely wins out on price, with its card machines costing less than Zettle’s, and its transaction fees being lower.

You can find out more in our comparison: Zettle vs SumUp

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Written 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.
Reviewed by:
Oliver Simpson - senior researcher - headshot
After three years in operational B2B data analysis, Oliver became a business insight specialist in 2022 and now focuses full-time on understanding small business preferences and needs. He blends his quantitative skills, forged by his experience working as a law enforcement researcher, with qualitative exploration, to ensure robust and nuanced results.