SumUp Review UK 2026: Is SumUp Worth It?
Editorial review of SumUp's card reader: the 1.69% flat rate costed at two turnover levels, where it stops being good value, and what you give up for the low price.
Quick Verdict
SumUp is the cheapest credible way to start taking card payments in the UK (£19 for the reader, 1.69% flat, nothing else), but the same flat rate that makes it brilliant under about £2,400/month makes it expensive once your card takings grow.
Market traders, mobile hairdressers, new businesses and anyone taking under roughly £2,400/month on cards
Businesses comfortably past £2,400/month on cards, and anyone who needs next-day settlement, phone support or a countertop terminal ecosystem
Rates checked: 27 August 2026 · Based on providers' published and typical advertised pricing
How we score: this is our editorial assessment of published pricing, features and contract terms, not aggregated user reviews. See our editorial standards.
What is SumUp?
SumUp is a pay-as-you-go card payment provider aimed squarely at small and micro businesses. The core product, the SumUp Air, is a £19 Bluetooth card reader that pairs with your phone and takes chip & PIN and contactless payments. There is no monthly fee, no contract and no exit fee: you pay a flat 1.69% on each in-person transaction and that is essentially the whole pricing model.
That simplicity is the product. There is no application process to speak of, no negotiation, no paperwork, and you can be taking cards within a day or two of the reader arriving. For a first card machine, it removes every barrier that traditional merchant accounts put in the way.
SumUp Pricing 2026
Pricing Breakdown
| Cost | SumUp |
|---|---|
| Transaction fee (in person) | 1.69% flat |
| Card reader (SumUp Air) | £19 one-off |
| Monthly fee | £0 |
| Contract / exit fee | None |
| Settlement | Typically 2-3 working days |
Published pricing, checked 27 August 2026. Compare every provider in our card machine rates table.
Worked Cost Examples: £3,000 and £15,000 a Month
At £3,000/month card turnover
- • SumUp: £3,000 × 1.69% = £50.70/month (£608.40/year, plus £19 reader in year one)
- • Square at 1.75%: £3,000 × 1.75% = £52.50/month (£630/year)
- • Dojo Fix plan: £39.99/month flat, no transaction fee below £4,000 of monthly card turnover (£479.88/year)
At this volume Dojo's Fix plan is already the cheapest of the three: £3,000/month is above the roughly £2,370/month crossover where Fix's £39.99 flat fee starts beating SumUp's 1.69%.
At £15,000/month card turnover
- • SumUp: £15,000 × 1.69% = £253.50/month (£3,042/year)
- • Square at 1.75%: £15,000 × 1.75% = £262.50/month (£3,150/year)
- • Dojo, conservative custom quote: £15,000 × 1% = £150/month (£1,800/year)
£15,000/month is £180,000 a year, above Dojo's £100,000/year ceiling for the £39.99 Fix plan, so this volume gets a bespoke Flex or Pro quote rather than a published price. A conservative benchmark of 1% of turnover already beats SumUp by £103.50/month (£1,242/year); we have seen quotes as low as 0.29% for high-turnover businesses, which would put the bill nearer £43.50/month. Always get the actual figure quoted rather than assuming either end of that range.
Features: What You Get, and What You Don't
You get a reliable reader, a free app with basic sales reporting, digital receipts, and the ability to take chip & PIN and contactless payments anywhere your phone has signal. Setup takes minutes and there is no approval hurdle for most small businesses.
What you do not get matters just as much. Settlement typically takes 2-3 working days, against next-day as standard from terminal-led providers (weekend and bank holiday payouts are usually a paid upgrade, not the default). Support is primarily digital rather than a UK phone line you can ring in a Saturday-night rush. The reader depends on your phone: flat battery, no payments. And there is no depth behind it for a growing venue: no rented countertop estate, no pay-at-table terminals, and nothing like the EPOS integration breadth a full-service acquirer offers. SumUp is a reader, not a payments infrastructure.
Contract and Exit Terms
This is SumUp at its best: there is no contract to exit. You own the £19 reader, you owe nothing monthly, and if you stop using it tomorrow it costs you nothing. That makes SumUp a zero-risk way to test whether your customers actually want to pay by card. Worst case, you are £19 down. It also means the exit path to a cheaper provider later is completely clean, which is exactly how we suggest using it.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Lowest barrier to entry: £19 reader, no monthly fee, no contract
- 1.69% beats Square's 1.75% on headline rate
- Cheapest option under ~£4,000/month of the providers we track
- Zero exit risk: walk away any time at no cost
Cons
- Flat rate gets expensive at volume: £3,042/year at £15,000/month vs an estimated £1,800/year for a conservative custom quote, and potentially far less
- Slower settlement: typically 2-3 working days, no weekend payouts
- Thin support: primarily digital, no seven-day UK phone line
- No countertop/terminal ecosystem depth: phone-dependent, no pay-at-table, limited EPOS integration for growing venues
Alternatives to SumUp
Square (1.75% flat) costs slightly more per transaction but bundles a genuinely free EPOS system and online store. If you want software, not just a reader, it is the better pay-as-you-go pick. See Square vs SumUp.
Zettle (1.75% flat) is the PayPal-owned equivalent, useful if you already run on PayPal. See SumUp vs Zettle.
Dojo (Fix plan: £39.99/month flat, covering turnover up to £3,999/month then 1% above, terminal from £179 upfront or free through MerchantSwitch) is the upgrade path once you pass roughly £2,370/month. Above £100,000/year of card turnover, Fix is not available and Dojo moves to a bespoke Flex or Pro quote; we have seen quotes as low as 0.29% for high-turnover businesses, but your actual quote depends on turnover, card mix and average transaction value. See Dojo vs SumUp, and our guide to the best card machine for a small business.
Verdict: Is SumUp Worth It?
At low volume, unreservedly yes. If you take a few thousand pounds a month on cards (or you are not yet sure you will take anything), SumUp's £19 reader and 1.69% flat rate are as close to risk-free as card payments get, and that earns it 4.0/5 for its target user. The score is not higher because the product deliberately stops there: settlement is slow, support is thin, and the flat rate quietly becomes over £1,200/year more expensive than even a conservative custom quote once takings reach £15,000/month. Start with SumUp; diarise a pricing review for the month your card takings first pass roughly £2,400.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are SumUp's fees in the UK?
SumUp charges a flat 1.69% per in-person card transaction, with no monthly fee and no contract. The SumUp Air card reader costs £19 as a one-off. On £3,000 of monthly card takings that works out at £50.70/month; on £15,000 it is £253.50/month.
Does SumUp have a monthly fee or contract?
No. SumUp has no monthly fee, no contract and no exit fee. You buy the reader (£19 for the Air) and pay 1.69% per transaction. You can stop using it at any time without penalty.
At what turnover does SumUp stop being good value?
Roughly £2,370/month. Dojo's Fix plan costs £39.99/month flat (covering card turnover up to £3,999/month), so the break-even against SumUp's 1.69% is £39.99 divided by 1.69% = about £2,370/month. Below that, SumUp's zero fixed costs win; above it, Fix is cheaper, all the way up to its £100,000/year eligibility ceiling, beyond which Dojo moves to a bespoke Flex or Pro quote.
How long does SumUp take to pay out?
Standard settlement is typically 2-3 working days to your bank account. That is slower than providers offering next-day settlement, which is worth weighing if cash flow is tight.
Is SumUp better than Square?
On headline rate, yes: SumUp's 1.69% beats Square's 1.75%, a £9/month difference at £15,000 of card takings. But Square includes a free EPOS system and free online store, so if you want software as well as a reader, Square's extra 0.06% can be worth paying. See our Square vs SumUp comparison for the full breakdown.