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Best EPOS Systems for UK Businesses (2026)
Square and Zettle are the default: free POS app, 1.75% flat rate, no contract. SumUp undercuts on rate (0.99%) once monthly card turnover passes £2,500.
An EPOS system is two purchases in one: the software that runs your tills, and the payment processor behind every card transaction. Get the processor wrong and you overpay on every sale for as long as you stay.
Square and Zettle start free, charge 1.75% on every in-person card payment, and have most businesses taking payments within an hour. That rate works at low volume.
Above roughly £2,500 a month in card takings, SumUp’s 0.99% plan is cheaper than the flat-rate alternatives. Above £15,000, a negotiated terminal rate from Dojo or TakePayments typically beats everyone on this list. Lightspeed and YumaPOS will not show their rate until you call.
Figures verified against provider websites, April 2026. Lightspeed UK card rate sourced via third-party review; confirm at lightspeedhq.com/uk/payments before signing. YumaPOS card rate requires a direct quote. Shopify Payments transaction fee waived on Grow plan and above. Epos Now rate corrected to 1.5% (Visa/MC): some third-party sources cite 1.7%, which is outdated.
Best EPOS picks by business type
These picks are organised by the decision that matters most: cost structure, sector fit, and contract risk. None of them are universally best. Each comes with an explicit condition for when it is the wrong choice.
Best free-plan EPOS: Square vs Zettle vs SumUp vs Loyverse
Square POS. Free plan, £19 Reader, 1.75% flat on all in-person cards including Amex, no contract. The free app covers unlimited products, inventory, staff permissions, and a customer CRM. Most businesses are taking payments within an hour of signing up.
Not right if: card turnover regularly exceeds £10,000–£15,000/month; at that point the 1.75% flat rate is no longer the cheapest option.
Zettle by PayPal. Same 1.75% rate, £29 Reader 2, no contract. The reason to choose it over Square is the PayPal connection: if you already invoice through PayPal or run a PayPal-powered online store, Zettle pulls in-person and digital payments into one dashboard.
Without that integration, Square is the stronger default: cheaper hardware and more developed retail tools.
SumUp POS. 1.69% PAYG or 0.99% on the £19/month Payments Plus plan. At £10,000/month of card takings, 0.99% saves £76/month versus 1.75%. The POS Lite tier is free but lacks table management and split billing; POS Pro (£49/month) adds those for hospitality.
Loyverse. The software is permanently free and Loyverse charges no transaction commission. You bring your own payment processor: SumUp, Zettle, and Teya all integrate directly.
Free kitchen display and customer-facing screen are genuinely unusual at this price point. The trade-off is managing POS and payments as two separate relationships.
Best for retail (multi-location): Lightspeed Retail
Lightspeed Retail runs from £75 to £189/month. Every plan includes centralised inventory across all locations, purchase-order management, and a built-in eCommerce storefront. Multichannel selling across Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Google Shopping comes included at every tier.
If you manage stock across two or more sites, Lightspeed does things that Square, SumUp, and Zettle cannot. The UK card-present rate (~1.49% + 20p) is not published on the pricing page; confirm before signing an annual subscription.
Best for hospitality with delivery integrations: YumaPOS or Epos Now
YumaPOS has Just Eat, Uber Eats, and Deliveroo built directly into the platform, no middleware needed. Software starts at £40/month and hardware is bundled with no upfront charge.
The catch is that you cannot work out what you will actually pay before speaking to sales. Card rate and hardware terms are both quote-only.
Epos Now publishes its 1.5% Visa/MC rate and £249 hardware bundle. Many comparison sites still show 1.7%; the current figure, verified April 2026, is 1.5%.
The 12-month minimum and £54/month care plan are the main friction points. Delivery integrations via the app marketplace (Deliveroo, Order & Pay) rather than natively built in.
Not right if: you need pricing transparency before committing (YumaPOS) or want to avoid minimum contracts (both).
Best for e-commerce + physical retail: Shopify POS
Shopify POS is the only system where online and in-person inventory, orders, and customers are genuinely unified without middleware. POS Lite is free with any Shopify eCom plan (from £25/month).
POS Pro (£69/month per location) adds staff permissions, exchange-only returns, and unlimited registers. Shopify Payments is the built-in processor; using a competitor adds a 0.5–2% surcharge on every sale.
Not right if: you are starting in-person-first without an online store (the mandatory eCom plan fee is a sunk cost until online sales develop).
Not ideal if: High-volume sellers who would benefit from Dojo or other negotiated per-transaction rates
Transaction fee1.75% flat (all cards incl. Amex)
Monthly feeNone
Hardware cost£19 +VAT
SettlementNext working day (1–2 days standard)
ContractNo lock-in
Amex acceptedYes: same 1.75% rate
Eligibility: UK businesses: sole traders, partnerships, and limited companies. Account holders must be 18 or over. Custom rates available for businesses processing over £200,000 annually. Prohibited categories include firearms and other restricted activities: see Square’s Acceptable Use Policy.
Not ideal if: High-volume sellers who would benefit from Dojo or other negotiated per-transaction rates
Best for: Market stalls, mobile traders, pop-ups, and small retail or food businesses wanting zero monthly fees and no contracts. The Zettle Terminal is the strongest mobile hardware pick in the UK due to built-in 4G at no ongoing cost.
Watch out: Money lands in PayPal first: one extra transfer step before cash reaches your bank account
Not ideal if: Businesses wanting settlement direct to a bank account: PayPal transfer step adds a day to cash position
Transaction fee1.75% flat (all cards incl. Amex)
Monthly feeNone
Hardware cost£29 +VAT (Reader 2); £149 +VAT (Terminal with 4G)
SettlementMinutes to PayPal; 1–2 days to bank account
ContractNo contract
Amex acceptedYes
Not ideal if: Businesses wanting settlement direct to a bank account: PayPal transfer step adds a day to cash position
Watch out: Money lands in PayPal first: one extra transfer step before cash reaches your bank account
Minutes-to-account settlement into PayPal: the fastest non-myPOS option here
1.75% flat including Amex: matches Square on the in-person rate
Useful for businesses with an existing PayPal invoicing or e-commerce flow
Money sits in PayPal, not a business bank account: one more transfer step before cash is usable
POS app is thinner than Square’s: fine for simple retail, weaker for hospitality
No volume discount structure exists
Zettle Go free POS app: item library, inventory tracking, sales reports and team management included at no extra cost
Instant PayPal settlement: funds available in your PayPal balance immediately after each transaction, no working-day delay
Hardware range from the £29 Zettle Reader 2 to the Zettle Terminal with built-in receipt printer: flexible setup for any counter
PayPal-integrated checkout: customers can pay via PayPal QR at the till, and PayPal online transactions feed into the same merchant account
Built-in product variants, discounts and gift cards: works for retail, hospitality and service businesses out of the box without add-on subscriptions
Best for: Small hospitality and retail businesses wanting low-cost full POS software with integrated payments. POS Lite suits very simple setups. POS Pro at £49/month is cost-competitive for businesses processing under ~£2,700/month on card (above which the 0.99% Payments Plus plan outperforms Square).
Best for: Retail and hospitality businesses wanting a full out-of-box POS bundle with integrated payments, cloud back office, and app ecosystem. Particularly suited to SMEs needing inventory management, staff reporting, and a fixed-location counter setup.
Transaction fee1.5% flat (Visa/Mastercard via Epos Now Payments)
Monthly feeFrom £54/month (care plan with bundle) or £25/device/month
Hardware costFrom £249 (complete POS bundle with 12-month subscription)
SettlementNext working day (same-day available as paid upgrade)
Contract12-month minimum, auto-renewing annually
Amex acceptedYes: at 2.5% (opt-in)
Eligibility: UK businesses. No stated credit or turnover eligibility requirements published.
1.5% flat rate for integrated Epos Now Payments: no variation by card type (Amex excepted)
Full POS bundle from £249: terminal, cash drawer and printer included in one price
Cloud back office with real-time inventory, staff management and multi-location reporting
100+ app integrations including Xero, QuickBooks, Shopify and Deliveroo
Hospitality add-ons include KDS, table management, online ordering and tableside payment
12-month minimum contracts auto-renew annually: missing the 30-day notice window locks you in for another year
Some bundles carry 36-month contracts with heavy early termination penalties
Add-on costs stack up: accounting, loyalty and online ordering each add £15–£25/month
Amex charged at 2.5%: significantly higher than the standard 1.5% card rate
Trustpilot and Reddit complaints cite aggressive sales practices and difficult cancellation
Complete out-of-box POS bundle: terminal, cash drawer, printer and software included
Cloud back office with real-time inventory, staff management and multi-location reporting
Hospitality add-ons: KDS, table management, order and pay (Yoello), online ordering
100+ app integrations: accounting, eCommerce, delivery and loyalty tools
Best for: Retail or hospitality businesses wanting a deeply integrated POS, payments, and eCommerce platform — particularly multi-location operators who need centralised inventory and reporting.
Best for: Retailers who already use or plan to use Shopify for eCommerce and want unified web + in-store stock management. Unmatched for omnichannel retail. Not suited to businesses wanting payment processor flexibility or those processing primarily card-not-present transactions at scale.
Watch out: Third-party processor surcharge (0.5–2.0%) effectively forces Shopify Payments use. POS Pro costs £69/month per location on top of the eCommerce plan.
Not ideal if: Businesses without a Shopify eCommerce subscription, or those wanting processor flexibility.
Card transaction fee1.7% (in-person, Basic plan)
Monthly platform fee£25 (Basic Shopify required)
HardwareTap & Chip Reader from £49
SettlementNext business day
ContractPay monthly; cancel anytime
Amex acceptedYes
Eligibility: UK businesses with an active Shopify storefront subscription (Basic Shopify £25/mo and above). Standard underwriting applies. Hardware ships to mainland UK addresses; Northern Ireland and Channel Islands check at checkout. Some high-risk product categories restricted.
Not ideal if: Businesses without a Shopify eCommerce subscription, or those wanting processor flexibility.
Watch out: Third-party processor surcharge (0.5–2.0%) effectively forces Shopify Payments use. POS Pro costs £69/month per location on top of the eCommerce plan.
Native integration with Shopify online store and inventory
Unified order management across in-person, online, and Etsy/Amazon channels
Shop Pay accelerated checkout extends to in-person via QR
Pay & Chip Reader hardware is cheap (£49) and well-reviewed
Shopify Protect free chargeback coverage on eligible transactions
Requires an active Shopify subscription: not usable standalone
Penalty fee of up to 2% applies if you use a third-party gateway instead of Shopify Payments
Hardware ecosystem narrower than Square or Zettle for retail-only use cases
International card rates are higher than Stripe (3.6% + 25p on Basic plan)
Shopify POS Lite included with all Shopify plans
Shopify POS Pro adds advanced retail features (£62/month per location)
Tap & Chip Reader: contactless and chip-and-PIN, Bluetooth to phone
POS Go: handheld Android device with screen, scanner, and built-in card reader
Shop Pay one-tap checkout extends to QR-based in-person checkout
Best for: UK sit-down restaurants, pubs, and cafes needing robust table management, detailed ingredient-level inventory, and payment processor freedom. Local network architecture is a significant advantage for venues with unreliable broadband.
Best for: Startups, micro-businesses, market stalls, small cafes, and food trucks with very limited budgets. The free KDS and loyalty system make it surprisingly capable for simple hospitality setups. Cost scales predictably as the business grows.
Best for: Businesses already banking with Lloyds, AIB, or a Fiserv-connected reseller who want a familiar bank relationship bundled with their POS hardware. The Clover App Market (200+ apps) provides flexibility for businesses with specific integration needs.
How to choose the right EPOS system
Volume breakpoints: when each pricing model wins
Under £5,000/month: Square or Zettle free plan. No monthly fee, 1.75% flat rate, and no commitment. The cheapest option at low volume by a clear margin.
£5,000–£15,000/month: SumUp Payments Plus (0.99% + £19/month) starts to win. The crossover versus Square’s 1.75% free plan falls at roughly £2,500/month of card turnover. Above that threshold, the lower rate more than covers the plan fee.
Above £15,000/month: flat-rate EPOS is probably not the cheapest route. A negotiated terminal rate through Dojo, TakePayments, or a bank acquirer can reach 0.7–1.0%. Epos Now at 1.5% on £15,000 costs £225/month in processing fees alone; the same volume at 0.8% costs £120. At that scale the EPOS platform fee is the number worth comparing, not the card rate.
Check the contract before you sign
Square, Zettle, SumUp, and Loyverse have no contract. Shopify POS is month-to-month on its eCom plan. Epos Now and TouchBistro both require a 12-month minimum.
YumaPOS gives 30 days’ notice (the agreement is governed by US law, worth checking before you sign). Lightspeed is annual or monthly, but early-termination terms are not published: ask before committing.
Clover UK via resellers runs to 18–36 months as standard, the longest lock-in in this comparison.
Start no-contract if your business model is still settling. Move to a contracted platform only once volume and workflow are stable enough to commit to 12 months or more.
Payment processor lock-in
Square, Zettle, and Lightspeed lock you to their own processor. Shopify POS does the same but adds a 0.5–2% surcharge if you use a different one.
TouchBistro and Loyverse are payment-agnostic: you negotiate your own rates and can switch acquirers when you get a better offer.
Epos Now defaults to its own Payments service at 1.5% but also accepts third-party terminals. YumaPOS routes through a third-party processor but does not publish which one or its rates.
This distinction matters more than it sounds once your volume grows. If you could negotiate 0.7% with a bank acquirer but your EPOS locks you to 1.75%, that difference costs £1,050/month on £100,000 of turnover.
Fees and hardware prices verified against provider websites, April 2026. Epos Now rate confirmed at 1.5%, not 1.7% as cited on many comparison sites.
Lightspeed UK card rate and YumaPOS card rate are not published; both require a direct quote. This page is editorial content, not regulated financial advice.
EPOS system FAQs
What is the difference between POS and EPOS?
POS stands for point of sale and covers any system where a transaction completes, from a cash register to a card reader. EPOS (electronic point of sale) means a computerised till. In practice, all modern systems are electronic, so the label won’t help you choose. What matters is whether the software covers stock management, reporting, and the integrations your business relies on. Clear reports are what you’ll notice when you file your accounts.
Which EPOS system is cheapest for a new business?
Square, Zettle, and Loyverse all offer permanently free POS software. Square Reader is £19+VAT and Zettle Reader 2 is £29+VAT: both charge 1.75% per in-person transaction with no monthly fee. That’s the rate you’ll pay on every sale. Loyverse takes no commission but needs a separate payment processor: SumUp at 1.69% pay-as-you-go is the most cost-effective pairing, though you’ll need to budget for compatible hardware on top. At 500 card transactions a month, a 0.06% rate difference starts to compound. Below that level, Square is simpler.
Can I use my own payment processor with an EPOS system?
TouchBistro and Loyverse are both payment-agnostic: you negotiate rates with your own acquirer, which means you can switch when you receive a better quote. Clover UK requires a reseller bank, limiting your options in practice. Square, Zettle, Lightspeed, and Shopify POS lock you into their own processor. Epos Now defaults to Epos Now Payments but also supports third-party terminals.
Which EPOS systems work offline?
TouchBistro is the most reliable for offline use: it runs on a local network, so a dropped connection doesn’t stop you taking orders. Square and Zettle process payments offline and sync when connectivity resumes. Lightspeed has an offline mode that syncs on reconnect. Epos Now and YumaPOS are cloud-dependent. The real cost is downtime when your customer is ready to pay.
Which EPOS systems integrate with Just Eat, Uber Eats, and Deliveroo?
YumaPOS has all three platforms built in natively, so if delivery is central to your operation it’s the cleanest option. Epos Now routes delivery orders through Yoello, and Lightspeed Restaurant connects via Deliverect middleware. The catch is the monthly middleware bill. Deliverect adds roughly £49 a month, which is easy to miss when you pay for it separately from your EPOS software. Square for Restaurants supports third-party integrations but not native delivery-platform routing. TouchBistro handles delivery via its Delivery add-on.
How we reviewed Best EPOS System UK
Ranking criteria. We ranked providers on cost, eligibility, features, and ease of access. Cost and protection carry the heaviest weight because these matter across every business type and rarely change with reader preferences.
Data sources. We checked every provider’s pricing page, terms, and product docs directly in April 2026. No comparison sites, no press releases, no affiliate material. FCA register cross-checked for regulatory status.
Update cadence. We re-verify every provider on this page at least monthly, and whenever a provider changes pricing, eligibility, or terms. The verification date on the page reflects the most recent full review. Some links on this page are affiliate links, see our editorial policy.
Square ReaderTop Pick
Zettle by PayPalNo monthly fee
SumUp POS
Epos Now
Lightspeed Payments
YumaPOS
Shopify POSBest for Ecommerce
TouchBistro POS
Loyverse POS
Clover UK