SumUp card reader review 2026

SumUp is a pay-as-you-go card reader: 1.69% on each in-person payment, nothing a month, no contract, and a reader from £25 ex VAT that you own outright. It suits businesses with low or irregular card takings, anyone trading for the first time, and market or event sellers who want a reader that costs nothing while it sits in a drawer. Where it is a poorer fit is steady, higher card turnover, because a flat 1.69% on every pound adds up and a quoted contract rate is often lower at that point.

CapExpand is an authorised Dojo partner and Dojo pays us when a business signs up through us, so read this as a partner's review of a competitor. Every figure below is taken from SumUp's own UK pricing and card reader pages, and there is a section on where SumUp is the right answer rather than Dojo. Figures last verified August 2026.

SumUp at a glance

What SumUp charges

Pay-as-you-go is the default: no monthly fee, 1.69% from each in-person card payment, and that is the whole bill. Payments Plus is a £19 a month subscription that drops the rate on domestic consumer cards to 0.99%. Amex, premium and international cards stay at 1.69% on both.

Rates from sumup.com/en-gb/pricing, checked August 2026.

When the £19 plan pays for itself

The gap between the two rates is 0.7 percentage points. Divide £19 by 0.007 and you get roughly £2,715 a month on domestic consumer cards: below that, pay-as-you-go is cheaper for you; above it, the plan is covering its own cost. At £1,000 a month the plan loses by £12; at £5,000 it wins by £16. A business with a lot of Amex or overseas customers crosses over later, because those cards stay at 1.69%.

A flat 1.69% with nothing fixed is very hard to beat at a few hundred pounds a month. At several thousand a month the comparison is against a quoted contract rate, not another reader. Dojo, for example, quotes each business individually; for higher card volumes a quote is often the lower option, and the only way to know is to compare the quote against your current statement. Our fee comparison calculator puts the published flat rates against your own turnover, and the no monthly fee page sets out the break-even maths for pay-as-you-go against a contract.

Hardware

SumUp sells three readers and offers Tap to Pay through its app. All prices are from sumup.com/en-gb/card-readers, listed excluding VAT, checked August 2026. You buy the reader once; there is no rental.

The practical split: Solo Lite needs your phone next to it for every sale, fine for a stall and awkward at a busy counter. Solo and Terminal stand on their own, and the Terminal is the one to buy if customers expect a paper receipt. For other pay-as-you-go options at similar prices, see Square vs SumUp and SumUp vs Zettle.

Settlement

SumUp's pricing page says your money is available in the SumUp Business Account by 7am the next day, including weekends and bank holidays. The weekend part matters for hospitality, where Saturday takings landing on Sunday morning rather than Tuesday makes a real difference to cash flow.

Note where the money lands. The 7am timing is into the SumUp Business Account, a SumUp product that comes with the account. If you want takings paid into an existing business bank account instead, check SumUp's current payout options for that route. For context, Dojo's terms commit to funds by the end of the business day after the transaction, excluding weekends, and Square's standard transfers take one to two working days.

Who SumUp suits

• Low or unpredictable card takings. A business taking £500 a month on cards pays £8.45, and a quiet month costs almost nothing.
• Starting out. £25 ex VAT for a Solo Lite, or £0 for Tap to Pay, is a small commitment while you find out how much of your trade is on cards.
• Markets, fairs, mobile trades. Solo Lite with your phone, or Tap to Pay with nothing at all, and no bill in the weeks you are not trading. See card machines for market stalls.
• Anyone who will not sign a contract. There is no minimum term on pay-as-you-go and nothing to give notice on.

When SumUp is not the right choice

• Steady card turnover in the thousands. At £10,000 a month on cards, 1.69% is £169 a month before any plan discount, the level at which a quoted contract rate is usually worth comparing against your own statement.
• You need a receipt printer without buying the Terminal. Solo Lite has no printer; Solo takes an optional one at extra cost.
• You want the money in your own bank account by a fixed time. The 7am promise is for the SumUp Business Account; confirm external payout timing first.
• A lot of Amex or overseas cards. They stay at 1.69% on both plans, which weakens the case for Payments Plus.

Head-to-head: Dojo vs SumUp. Other readers at similar prices: SumUp alternatives.

Leaving SumUp

With no contract on pay-as-you-go, leaving means moving your takings elsewhere and closing the account once the last payout has cleared. The reader is yours, though it only works with SumUp. Step by step: how to cancel SumUp. If volume has grown, the switching from SumUp guide covers what to line up so there is no gap in taking cards.

Verdict

SumUp is a good pay-as-you-go reader for a business with low or irregular card takings: the rate is clear, there is nothing monthly, the readers are inexpensive, and the next-morning payout including weekends is a real advantage. The £19 plan is worth it from about £2,715 a month on domestic consumer cards. Once card turnover is steady and in the thousands, the honest comparison is SumUp against a quoted contract, and that is a statement-to-quote exercise rather than something a headline rate can settle.

Common questions