Best card machine for cafés and restaurants
Counter-service cafés and full-service restaurants have different needs. If you're taking one payment per order at a counter, a standalone reader is usually enough — if you're managing tables, tabs and split bills, you likely need a full POS system instead.
Best choice: Lopay
Lopay's 0.79-0.99% rate is the cheapest of the mainstream options for a typical café order pattern, with no monthly fee — the most cost-effective default for counter-service.
Best alternative: SumUp or Square
If you'd rather go with the most widely-used option in UK cafés, SumUp and Square both offer fast, reliable contactless checkout at a slightly higher rate (1.69-1.75%). Dojo is worth a direct quote if you want hospitality-specific features, since its rate is package-based rather than a fixed percentage.
What a café's card takings usually look like
A small independent café commonly processes 300-500 card orders a month at an average order value of £10-£18, with a sharp peak during breakfast and lunch service. At this order count, the percentage rate matters more than any fixed fee — a 1% difference on £6,000/month is worth roughly £60, which is why the cheapest headline rate is usually the right starting point for pure counter service.
| Provider | Transaction fee | Hardware | Payout | Note | WMP score | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lopay | 0.79%–0.99% | £35 + P&P | Weekly or next-day | Cheapest headline rate | See Lopay pricing (opens in a new tab) | |
myPOS | 1.10% + £0.07 | £29 ex VAT | Instant to myPOS account* | Fixed fee adds up with high order counts | See myPOS pricing (opens in a new tab) | |
SumUp | 1.69% | £25 +VAT | By 7am next day | Popular, well-established in UK cafés | See SumUp pricing (opens in a new tab) | |
Square | 1.75% | £19 +VAT | Next business day | Square for Retail Plus (£49/mo) drops to 1.6% at higher volume | See Square pricing (opens in a new tab) | |
Dojo | ~1.4% + 5pindicative, package-based | £149 upfront or £15/mo | Next business day | Purpose-built hospitality features; get a quote for exact rate | Get a Dojo quote (opens in a new tab) |
Figures for Lopay, myPOS, SumUp and Square are checked directly against official pricing pages on 30 July 2026. Dojo's official pricing page could not be accessed directly during research — its figure is an estimate from independent sources; confirm directly with Dojo. See methodology. We may earn a commission when you sign up through a link on this page — see our Affiliate Disclosure.
A busy café: £6,000/month, £15 average order
400 orders a month — a realistic volume for a small independent café:
| Lopay Standard (0.99%) | £59.40/month |
| myPOS (1.10% + 7p × 400) | £94.00/month |
| SumUp (1.69%) | £101.40/month |
| Square / Zettle (1.75%) | £105.00/month |
Dojo excluded from this table since its published rate is package/quote-based rather than a fixed percentage — request a quote to compare directly against the figures above.
What else matters at the counter
Checkout speed
At peak times, how quickly a reader accepts contactless and prints or emails a receipt affects your queue. Try the checkout flow in person where possible before committing.
Tipping prompts
Several modern card readers can prompt customers to add a tip at checkout — if this matters to your staff's income, check each provider's current app directly, as this is a frequently updated feature.
Multiple staff logins
If you have several staff members taking payments, check whether the provider supports individual staff logins for accountability and reporting, rather than one shared login.
Growing into a full POS
If you're likely to add table service, online ordering, or a second site within the next year or two, it may be worth starting with a POS-capable provider (Square, Dojo) rather than switching systems later.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a full POS system or just a reader?
Counter-service cafés taking one payment per order usually manage fine with a standalone reader. Table service with tabs and split bills is better served by a full POS system — see our POS systems comparison.
What's cheapest for a busy café?
On published rates, Lopay (0.79-0.99%) is cheapest for a typical café order pattern, ahead of myPOS, SumUp, Zettle and Square.
Need table management and tabs?
Compare full POS systems built for restaurants.
Methodology: Pricing pulled directly from each provider's official UK pricing page (lopay.com, mypos.com, sumup.com, squareup.com/gb) on 30 July 2026; Dojo figures are estimated from independent comparison sources since its official pricing page could not be accessed during research. See our Editorial Policy.