Which Is Better for Small UK Sole Traders and Startups?
The old framing, simple reader versus complete platform, no longer holds: both now sell a countertop till and a free online store. The real question is which features you need and how you take payments.
Choose SumUp if you want the lowest cost. SumUp Solo Lite at £25 is one of the cheapest readers on the mainstream UK market, and its 1.69% PAYG rate undercuts Square’s 1.75%, saving £0.60 per £1,000 in card sales. Our SumUp review has the full detail.
On a plan the gap widens: SumUp’s Payments Plus at £19/month drops the rate to 0.99% on UK debit and credit cards, while Square’s cheapest rate-cutting plan is Retail Plus at £49/month for 1.6% card-present. On pure transaction cost, SumUp wins at both tiers.
Visit SumUpChoose Square if you need POS depth. Square’s free POS app handles table management, modifiers and open tabs with no subscription; SumUp’s free app covers simple counter service, with paid POS Plus and Point of Sale Pro tiers above it. Our Square review covers Square’s POS in full.
Both now sell online: SumUp’s Online Store is free at 2.5%, and Square Online is free at 1.4% + 25p on UK cards. Square’s store shares inventory with its wider POS, so it suits a growing omnichannel retailer; SumUp’s is the simpler shopfront.
Visit SquareBusinessExpert may earn a commission if you sign up through links on this page. Square and SumUp are both affiliate partners. Our recommendations are based on verified pricing and features, not commission rates.
SumUp vs Square Fees and Charges
Card Transaction Fees
At PAYG, SumUp charges you 1.69% on every card, Square 1.75% on UK cards (non-UK cards add 1.5%). On £1,000/month in card sales, SumUp saves you £0.60; on £5,000/month, about £3. Both take Amex at that same rate, with no surcharge.
Monthly, Setup and Contract Costs
SumUp Payments Plus at £19/month (or £189/year) drops your rate to 0.99% on UK debit and credit cards. Square’s cheapest rate-cutting plan is Retail Plus at £49/month for 1.6% card-present; its other plans add features rather than cutting the rate. Neither charges setup or exit fees.
Other Fees to Watch
On Payments Plus, premium, international and Amex cards stay at 1.69%, not 0.99%. Online and remote payments are priced separately: SumUp is 2.5% on its Online Store, payment links and invoices; Square is 1.4% + 25p on UK cards online.
Fee Verdict: Who Costs Less
Two calculations decide the cost question, and neither is captured by the headline rate. The first is how long SumUp’s cheaper rate takes to repay its dearer reader. The second is whether the Payments Plus plan is worth it for your card mix.
Square’s Reader is £19; SumUp’s Solo Lite is £25, a £6 difference. The rate gap is 0.06 points (1.75% versus 1.69%). So SumUp’s per-sale saving covers that £6 only after about £10,000 of cumulative in-person card sales.
| Cumulative in-person card sales | Lower combined reader + processing cost |
|---|---|
| Below ~£10,000 | Square |
| Around £10,000 | Roughly equal |
| Above ~£10,000 | SumUp |
Payments Plus (£19/month) cuts the rate to 0.99%, but only on domestic debit and credit cards; premium, international and Amex cards stay at 1.69%. So the monthly break-even against PAYG depends on how much of your turnover qualifies.
| Share of turnover on qualifying UK debit/credit | Approx. monthly break-even vs PAYG |
|---|---|
| 100% | £2,714 |
| 90% | £3,016 |
| 80% | £3,393 |
| 70% | £3,878 |
| 60% | £4,524 |
Calculations by BusinessExpert from published rates, 10 August 2026. Reader crossover assumes Solo Lite £25 vs Reader £19 (both ex VAT) at PAYG rates on UK cards.
Break-even is £19 ÷ the 0.70-point saving at 100% eligibility. The £189 annual plan (£15.75/month) lowers the 100% break-even to about £2,250/month.
Above £10,000/month SumUp offers custom pricing; above £200,000/year Square offers custom rates too. Our cheapest card machines guide runs the same reader-crossover maths across more providers.
SumUp vs Square Payment Methods and Checkout Options
Cards, Wallets and Alternative Payment Methods
On card acceptance you won’t turn a customer away with either: both take Visa, Mastercard and American Express with no Amex surcharge, and both offer Tap to Pay on iPhone for contactless without buying hardware. There is no meaningful difference here.
Checkout Experience
Both now offer a free online store: SumUp’s Online Store at 2.5% and Square Online at 1.4% + 25p on UK cards. Square adds an embeddable checkout and virtual terminal, and shares inventory across its POS, so for a growing omnichannel setup we rate Square the tighter fit.
Methods Verdict
On payment methods there is little to choose between them, so this rarely decides the pick. Both accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express at their standard rate, SumUp at 1.69% PAYG and Square at 1.75% on UK cards, with no Amex surcharge on either.
Both support contactless, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and both offer Tap to Pay on iPhone, which removes the hardware cost for contactless-only trade.
For online and remote payments, both charge for the channel separately: SumUp is 2.5% on invoices, payment links and its Online Store; Square is 1.4% + 25p on UK cards online and 2.5% on invoices. Square adds a virtual terminal and embeddable checkout on top.
SumUp vs Square Hardware, POS and In-Person Payments
Card Readers and Terminals
Both ranges now run from a phone-paired reader to a countertop till, so neither forces you to change acquirer as you grow. SumUp is cheaper to buy into; Square’s devices cost more but its POS software runs deeper.
| SumUp | Square | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry reader | Solo Lite, £25 +VAT | Reader, £19 +VAT |
| Standalone reader (screen) | Solo, £79 +VAT | None |
| All-in-one with printer | Terminal, £135 +VAT | Terminal, £149 +VAT; Handheld, £169 +VAT |
| Countertop EPOS till | Register, £399 +VAT | Register, £699 +VAT |
| Free business account | Yes, with a Mastercard | No bank-style account |
SumUp’s free business account with a Mastercard is a genuine edge for a sole trader: card takings can arrive there the following day and are then immediately available to spend or transfer, and Square has no equivalent.
POS Software and Hardware Add-ons
The POS software is where the two most diverge, and where Square usually earns its slightly higher rate for a cafe, shop or appointment-based trade.
Square’s free POS app covers table management, modifiers, open tabs and basic reporting at no subscription. Its deeper tools are paid: Square for Retail Plus is £49/month, Square for Restaurants Plus £69/month, and Square Loyalty starts at £25/month per location.
So “free POS” is real for the basics, but advanced retail, hospitality and loyalty features sit behind paid tiers.
SumUp has several POS tiers. A basic till is free in the SumUp app; the Register can be upgraded to POS Plus for advanced retail and hospitality tools; and a separate Point of Sale Pro product starts at £49/month excluding VAT.
SumUp’s own pages currently show POS Plus at £29 on the Register page and £39 on the main pricing page, a source conflict, so check the price that applies to you. Whichever tier you need, add its cost before assuming SumUp is cheaper.
In-Person Verdict
We rate Square the stronger choice for any business needing a POS app beyond basic counter checkout, and SumUp the right choice for cost-focused sole traders who need card acceptance with a simple till. Both have a free basic POS and a paid step up.
SumUp vs Square Online Payments and Integrations
Hosted Checkout, Payment Links and APIs
Both offer a free native online store: SumUp’s Online Store (£0/month, 2.5%) with payment links at 2.5%, and Square Online at 1.4% + 25p on UK cards, sharing inventory with your reader. On UK-card baskets above about £22.73, Square is cheaper per sale; below that, SumUp.
Platform Integrations
Both connect to Xero for accounting. Square adds FreeAgent and links to WooCommerce and Wix for online selling; SumUp integrates with Shopify and WooCommerce where you already run a store. If you need a full storefront with shared inventory, Square is the tighter fit.
Online Verdict
Both providers now run a free native online store, so the old “only Square sells online” line is out of date. What differs is price by basket size and how tightly the store ties into the rest of the system.
SumUp’s Online Store is free (£0/month) and charges 2.5% per transaction; its payment links are also 2.5%. Square Online is free too, charging 1.4% + 25p on UK cards, and it shares inventory with your in-person reader and wider POS.
Because SumUp is a flat percentage and Square is a percentage plus a fixed 25p, the cheaper option depends on basket size. They are level at about £22.73 per UK-card transaction: below that SumUp is cheaper, above it Square.
| Online sale (UK card) | SumUp (2.5%) | Square (1.4% + 25p) | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| £10 | £0.25 | £0.39 | SumUp |
| £22.73 | £0.57 | £0.57 | Level |
| £50 | £1.25 | £0.95 | Square |
| £100 | £2.50 | £1.65 | Square |
Calculations by BusinessExpert, 10 August 2026, UK-issued cards. For non-UK cards online, Square charges 2.5% + 25p against SumUp’s flat 2.5%, so SumUp is the cheaper route on overseas online cards.
If you sell in person and online and want one system with shared inventory, Square is the tighter fit. If you want a simple free shopfront alongside a cheap reader, SumUp now covers it. Both integrate natively with Xero for accounting.
SumUp vs Square Payouts, Contract Terms and Account Risk
Settlement Speed and Payout Schedule
Watch the destination, not just the timing. SumUp pays out next day at 7am into a SumUp Business Account (usable instantly), from which you move money to your bank. Square transfers to your linked bank the next business day for free, or instantly for 1.5% of the amount.
Contract Length and Exit Terms
You can walk away from either at any time: neither locks you in on PAYG or a plan, and neither charges an exit fee. Both are FCA-regulated payment service providers, so on contract risk there is nothing to separate them.
Reserves, Holds and Account Stability
Read payout claims carefully, because the two describe different destinations. SumUp’s next-day-by-7am payout lands in a SumUp Business Account (instant to that balance), from which you move money to your bank.
Square’s standard transfer goes to your linked bank the next business day, free, or instantly for a 1.5% fee.
Neither underwrites you the way a traditional acquirer would before letting you trade, and the trade for that speed is the same on both: either can hold funds or review an account if transaction patterns change unexpectedly, which is worth weighing if your takings are seasonal or lumpy. Neither publishes comparative hold rates, so we make no claim that one freezes funds more often than the other.
Both are FCA-authorised e-money firms and safeguard merchant funds under FCA rules. Neither balance is FSCS-protected; that protection covers bank deposits, not e-money.
SumUp vs Square Customer Reviews and Reputation
Trustpilot and Independent Review Themes
SumUp scores 4.4/5 from 13,000+ Trustpilot reviews against Square’s 4.1/5 from around 3,600 (checked August 2026). Both attract the same core complaint, fund holds during account reviews. We do not treat the score gap as proof one product is better.
Support Channels and Response Times
Square offers phone support Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm on the free plan, plus live chat and email; Square Terminal and Register users get 24/7 phone support. SumUp offers chat and phone support, though UK response times are a recurring theme in negative reviews.
Reputation Verdict
Neither score should decide this for you, and the gap between them is the least useful part of it. SumUp is praised for how little the hardware costs and how quickly it sets up; Square for the free POS app and the absence of any contract.
We do not read the 4.4 against the 4.1 as proof one product is better. The two attract different user bases with different expectations of what a card reader should even do, so a raw Trustpilot gap is a weak basis for a causal claim. What the shared complaint tells you is worth more than what the scores separate: on either provider a sudden change in your takings can put a hold on the money before a person has looked at your account at all, which is the thing to plan for if your trade is seasonal.
SumUp vs Square for Hospitality and POS Features
Hospitality and POS is where Square and SumUp diverge most, and it is often the decision itself for a business planning to grow into food service, retail management or multi-staff operations.
Square’s free POS covers open tabs, table layout, item modifiers, basic bill splitting and customer records at no cost. Its advanced hospitality and retail tools, and its loyalty programme, are paid: Restaurants Plus at £69/month, Retail Plus at £49/month, and Loyalty from £25/month per location.
For a cafe setting up a till from scratch, the free tier still replaces a basic EPOS.
SumUp’s free in-app till covers products, discounts and cash tracking, enough for a coffee cart or a craft stall.
For a 30-cover restaurant or a multi-staff retailer, you would move up to a paid SumUp tier: POS Plus (shown at £29 on the Register page and £39 on the pricing page) or the separate Point of Sale Pro from £49/month +VAT.
So both have a free basic till and a paid step up. Run the full cost, including the paid POS tier you actually need, before assuming either is cheaper for a hospitality operation.
Downsides of SumUp and Square
Downsides of SumUp
SumUp’s free app is built for simple counter service; table management, modifiers and open tabs need a paid SumUp POS tier, POS Plus (£29–£39) or Point of Sale Pro from £49/month +VAT, which narrows the rate advantage. Premium, international and Amex cards stay at 1.69% even on Payments Plus.
The Solo Lite has no connection of its own, pairing to your phone over Bluetooth, so it depends on that phone’s battery and signal. Step up to the Solo (£79) or Terminal (£135) for a standalone screen.
Downsides of Square
Square’s 1.75% PAYG rate on UK cards is higher than SumUp’s 1.69%, and non-UK cards add 1.5% (3.25% in person). Its cheapest route to a lower rate, Retail Plus at £49/month for 1.6% card-present, still sits above SumUp’s 0.99% plan rate.
Fund holds can occur without warning if transaction patterns change. Support on the free plan is phone (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm), live chat and email, with 24/7 phone support reserved for Square Terminal, Register and higher paid plans.
Alternatives to SumUp and Square
If neither SumUp nor Square is the right fit, three alternatives are worth considering (our best card machines guide compares the wider market):
- Lopay: low-cost reader, 0.99% next-day (Standard). Among the cheapest per-transaction rates for phone-paired readers, with basic checkout only. Good for mobile traders who need card acceptance alone.
- myPOS Go 2: £29, 1.10% + 7p on Visa and Mastercard, built-in 4G SIM. Standalone, no phone needed; funds settle to an e-money account. Strong for outdoor traders who cannot rely on a charged phone.
- Tide: 0.89% + 3p in-person on the Sell In-Person plan. Requires a Tide business account; among the cheapest per-transaction rates for UK sole traders already banking with Tide.
Final Verdict: SumUp or Square?
SumUp is the right choice for sole traders and startups who need card acceptance and little else: cheapest hardware at £25, the lowest PAYG rate at 1.69%, and a competitive 0.99% plan at £19/month. Both now offer a free online store, so wanting to sell online no longer rules SumUp out.
If POS depth is what matters, or you want inventory shared tightly across counter and web, Square earns its slightly higher 1.75%: table management and open tabs free out of the box, deeper retail, hospitality and loyalty tools on paid tiers, and a wider hardware range.
The rate gap is small in real money, roughly £3 on £5,000 of monthly sales, so the decision usually turns on software and card mix, not the headline rate. Run your own numbers with the tables above before choosing.
Prices and fees checked 10 August 2026 against sumup.com and squareup.com. This is editorial content, not regulated financial advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SumUp cheaper than Square?
On the rate, usually yes. PAYG is 1.69% (SumUp) versus 1.75% (Square UK cards), and SumUp’s Payments Plus plan drops to 0.99% on UK debit and credit for £19/month, cheaper than any Square rate-cutting plan.
But SumUp’s Solo Lite (£25) costs more than Square’s Reader (£19), so on combined hardware and processing SumUp only pulls ahead after roughly £10,000 of in-person sales.
Neither has a lock-in contract, minimum term, exit fee or PCI charge on PAYG.
Which has better POS software for hospitality?
Square, on the free tier. Square’s free POS app includes table management, modifiers, open tabs and basic bill splitting (splitting by item or seat is a Restaurants Plus feature); SumUp’s free app is built for simple counter service.
Both offer a paid step up (Square for Restaurants Plus at £69/month; SumUp POS Plus at £29–£39 or Point of Sale Pro from £49/month +VAT), so for a serious hospitality setup, price the paid tier you actually need on each.
Does SumUp have an online store?
Yes. SumUp runs a free native Online Store (£0/month) charging 2.5% per transaction, plus payment links at 2.5%. Square Online is also free, at 1.4% + 25p on UK cards. For UK-card baskets above about £22.73 Square is cheaper per sale; below that SumUp is.
Do either provider accept Amex without a surcharge?
Both accept American Express at their standard rate with no Amex surcharge: SumUp at 1.69% PAYG (Amex stays at 1.69% even on Payments Plus), Square at 1.75% on UK cards. For a business with meaningful Amex volume that is a strong reason to choose either over a traditional acquirer.
Which provider settles funds faster?
SumUp pays out next working day at 7am to a SumUp Business Account, from which you move money to your bank; balances in that account are usable instantly.
Square transfers to your linked bank the next business day for free, or instantly for a 1.5% fee. They target different destinations, so compare like for like.
Which has the better hardware range if your business grows?
Both now run from a phone-paired reader to a countertop till. SumUp: Solo Lite (£25), Solo (£79), Terminal (£135) and the Register EPOS till (£399). Square: Reader (£19), Terminal (£149), Handheld (£169) and Register (£699).
All prices exclude VAT. Square’s range is broader at the top; SumUp’s is cheaper at the entry.
How we compared SumUp and Square
How we compared them. We priced both providers from their own pricing pages and product docs, then modelled the cost of each against realistic volumes and card mixes. This is documentation-based, not a device test; where we calculate a crossover we show the inputs so you can reproduce it.
Data sources. Every rate, fee and hardware price came from sumup.com and squareup.com, checked on 10 August 2026, with the FCA register cross-checked for regulatory status. Provider-published facts and our own calculations are labelled separately in the tables above.
Update cadence. We re-check both providers when either changes pricing, eligibility or terms, and the date on the page reflects the most recent full review. Some links on this page are affiliate links, see our editorial policy.