The cheapest rate on paper isn't always the cheapest machine in practice. Answer these seven questions first, then go shopping on price.
Every card machine provider leads with its headline transaction rate, because it's the easiest number to compare. But rate alone rarely decides which machine actually suits a business — volume, mobility and how you're set up to trade usually matter more.
This is the single biggest factor. Pay-as-you-go providers with no monthly fee (SumUp, PayPal POS, Square) are usually cheapest under roughly £2,500–£3,000 a month, because you're not paying for a subscription you don't need yet. Above that, a flat monthly fee plus a lower percentage rate — the model Dojo, Tyl and Worldpay use — usually wins, because the fixed cost gets spread over more transactions.
Flat-percentage providers cost more on big-ticket sales; percentage-plus-fixed-fee providers cost more on lots of small ones. A card machine charging 1.5% + 5p is cheaper than one charging 1.75% flat once your average sale passes around £20 — but more expensive below it. Run your actual average transaction value through a calculator rather than comparing headline rates alone.
Most portable and 4G terminals can store a handful of transactions and process them once signal returns, but limits and time windows vary by provider — some cap offline trading at a few hours, others allow several days. If you regularly work somewhere with patchy signal, ask this before you sign, not after your first dead zone.
Most UK providers settle card takings to your bank account the next working day. A smaller number — SumUp, Dojo, Square and Revolut among them — pay out on weekends and bank holidays too, which matters if Saturday's takings need to cover Monday's supplier invoice. Faster same-day or instant payout options usually carry an extra fee.
| Model | Typical cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Buy outright | £19–£150 one-off | Low volume, no contract, keep it if you switch provider |
| Monthly rental | £13–£40/month | Higher-spec terminals, included replacements and support |
| Included in a plan | Bundled into a flat monthly fee | Providers like Dojo's Fix plan, simplest to budget for |
Rental terminals are rarely yours to keep — read the contract on what happens to the hardware, and what it costs, if you cancel early.
No-contract, pay-as-you-go providers cost more per transaction at volume, but you can stop using them the moment they stop making sense. Contract-based providers (Worldpay, Tyl, takepayments, Dojo) typically lock you in for 12–18 months, sometimes with an early exit fee — that's a real cost if your volume, footprint or plans might change within that window.