Card machine costs by monthly turnover
Total monthly cost of taking card payments at £2,000, £5,000, £10,000, £20,000 and £50,000 a month in card takings, computed from published UK rates: SumUp at 1.69% flat, Square and Zettle at 1.75% flat with no monthly fee, and Dojo's Fix plan at £39.99/month plus 1% flat on card turnover above £4,000 a month. Below roughly £2,300 a month the flat-rate readers win; above it the Fix plan does, up to its £100,000 a year ceiling, after which everything is a custom quote.
Rates and contract terms checked 27 August 2026· Based on providers' published pricing
The table: total monthly cost at each volume
| Monthly card takings | SumUp (1.69%, £0/month) | Square / Zettle (1.75%, £0/month) | Dojo Fix (£39.99/month + 1% over £4,000/month) | Other acquirers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £2,000 | £33.80 | £35.00 | £39.99 | Custom quote |
| £5,000 | £84.50 | £87.50 | £49.99 | Custom quote |
| £10,000 | £169.00 | £175.00 | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| £20,000 | £338.00 | £350.00 | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| £50,000 | £845.00 | £875.00 | Custom quote | Custom quote |
Flat rates are the providers' published pricing, checked 27 August 2026. The Dojo column uses the Fix plan, which is only available to businesses under £100,000 a year in card turnover (about £8,300 a month): £39.99/month covers card turnover up to £3,999 a month, then a 1% flat rate applies to turnover above £4,000 a month, with Amex and the platform fee included. The terminal is free through MerchantSwitch, or from £179upfront bought direct. Above the ceiling Dojo prices by custom quote, like Worldpay, Barclaycard, Lloyds Cardnet, Elavon, takepayments and the other traditional acquirers, which typically add £10-£60 a month in service or rental fees; there is no published rate to compute from, so they appear as "custom quote".
What the numbers mean at each volume
At £2,000 a month: pay-as-you-go wins, don't switch
SumUp costs £2,000 × 1.69% = £33.80; Square and Zettle cost £2,000 × 1.75% = £35.00. Dojo's Fix plan is its flat £39.99 a month here, which is a 2.0% effective rate on £2,000 of card takings: more than any flat-rate reader. The free terminal does not change that arithmetic, so at this volume the answer is a pay-as-you-go reader, not a switch.
At £5,000 a month: the Fix plan wins clearly
SumUp costs £84.50 and Square or Zettle £87.50, while Dojo's Fix plan costs £39.99 + 1% × £1,000 = £49.99: the £39.99 covers the first £3,999 of turnover and the 1% applies only to the £1,000 above £4,000. That is a 1.0% effective rate against 1.69 to 1.75% flat, a saving of £34.51 a month against SumUp, or £414.12 a year.
At £10,000 a month: you are into custom-quote territory
SumUp costs £169.00, Square and Zettle £175.00. £10,000 a month is £120,000 a year, above the £100,000 ceiling for Dojo's Fix plan, so Dojo prices this volume with a custom quote rather than a menu price. As a conservative benchmark, a 1% rate would be £100 a month, already £75.00 a month under 1.75% flat, and custom quotes come in lower still: we have seen 0.29% at high turnover.
At £20,000 a month: flat rates start leaving real money on the table
SumUp costs £338.00, Square and Zettle £350.00 a month. At £240,000 a year of card turnover every bespoke provider, Dojo included, prices you by custom quote, and a 1% benchmark rate would be £200 a month: £150.00 a month under 1.75% flat, or £1,800.00 a year. You have genuine leverage here; use a recent statement to make providers bid.
At £50,000 a month: paying a flat rate is the expensive choice
SumUp costs £845.00, Square and Zettle £875.00 a month. At £600,000 a year you are firmly in custom-quote territory, and high-turnover businesses can be quoted far below any menu price: we have seen Dojo quotes as low as 0.29%, which at £50,000 would be £50,000 × 0.29% = £145.00 a month, less than a fifth of the 1.75% flat cost. The only reason to stay pay-as-you-go here is genuinely erratic volume.
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Where exactly is the crossover?
The crossover is pure arithmetic: below £4,000 a month the Fix plan is a flat £39.99/month, so a flat-rate reader beats it until the rate on your volume reaches £39.99. Against SumUp's 1.69% that is £39.99 ÷ 0.0169 = £2,366 of monthly card takings. Against the 1.75% charged by Square and Zettle it is £39.99 ÷ 0.0175 = £2,285.
That is why we quote the practical crossover as roughly £2,300 to £2,400 a month. Above £4,000 a month the Fix plan adds 1% flaton the turnover above £4,000, which holds its effective rate at or below about 1% all the way to the plan's ceiling, while any extra monthly charges on an acquirer contract (PCI compliance, minimum billing, authorisation fees) push a crossover higher. The honest way to compare is the effective rate: everything you pay in a month divided by your card turnover, calculated on the full quote. Our UK fee benchmarks page works the effective-rate arithmetic through in more detail.
Assumptions
- Costs cover transaction fees plus stated monthly plan fees only. One-off hardware for the pay-as-you-go readers (£19-£39 + VAT) is excluded, as are any PCI, minimum billing or authorisation fees an acquirer contract may add.
- Flat rates are published pricing: SumUp 1.69%; Square and Zettle 1.75%. These are the in-person reader rates; keyed and online payments cost more with every provider.
- The Dojo figures use the Fix plan (£39.99/month, card turnover up to £3,999 a month included, then 1% flat above £4,000 a month), which is only available under £100,000 a year in card turnover. Above that the rate is a custom quote and can be materially lower: we have seen 0.29% at high turnover.
- All arithmetic is computed on this page from those stated rates, so every figure in the table can be checked by hand.
Frequently asked questions
What does a card machine cost at £10,000 a month?
At £10,000 a month in card takings: SumUp at its published 1.69% flat rate costs £169.00 a month, and Square and Zettle at 1.75% cost £175.00. £10,000 a month is £120,000 a year, above the £100,000 ceiling for Dojo's Fix plan, so Dojo quotes a custom rate at this volume. As a conservative benchmark, 1% of £10,000 is £100 a month, already well under the flat rates, and we have seen custom quotes as low as 0.29% at high turnover.
What is the cheapest card machine for a low-turnover business?
Below roughly £2,300 a month, a no-monthly-fee reader is cheapest. At £2,000 a month, SumUp at 1.69% costs £33.80 and Square or Zettle at 1.75% cost £35.00, while Dojo's Fix plan costs its flat £39.99 a month, a 2.0% effective rate, because the fixed monthly price is spread over too little volume. Don't switch to a monthly plan at this volume.
At what turnover does a monthly-fee card machine become cheaper?
Against SumUp's 1.69% flat rate, Dojo's Fix plan at £39.99/month breaks even at £39.99 divided by 1.69% = about £2,366 of monthly card takings. Against the 1.75% charged by Square and Zettle the break-even is £39.99 divided by 1.75% = about £2,285. So the practical crossover sits at roughly £2,300 to £2,400 a month; above £4,000 a month the Fix plan adds 1% on the turnover above £4,000, which keeps its effective rate at or below about 1% right up to the plan's £100,000 a year ceiling.
Do these card machine costs include VAT and every fee?
The tables cover transaction fees plus stated monthly plan fees only. They exclude one-off hardware for pay-as-you-go readers (£19-£39 + VAT), and any PCI compliance, authorisation or minimum-billing fees an acquirer contract may add. Transaction fees themselves are VAT-exempt financial services. Always calculate the effective rate on the full quote before signing.