Best card machine for gyms and fitness studios
Gyms and fitness studios usually have two separate payment problems, not one: fast card taps at the front desk for class drop-ins and retail, and recurring monthly membership billing in the background. The best card machine handles the first well — it isn't the right tool for the second.
Best choice: Square
Square's 1.75% flat rate is competitive, and its real advantage for a gym is the growth path — Square for Retail adds stock tracking for shakes and merchandise, and multiple staff logins for a busy front desk, without switching providers later.
Best alternative: SumUp
For a smaller studio that just needs a straightforward reader for class drop-ins and day passes, SumUp's 1.69% rate and simple setup are hard to beat — you can always move to Square later if you outgrow it.
What a gym's front-desk card takings usually look like
Front-desk card volume for a gym or studio typically comes from day passes and drop-ins (£8-20), class packs (£30-80) and retail add-ons (£3-10) like shakes, kit and merchandise — separate from recurring membership billing, which shouldn't run through a card machine at all (see below). The figures here are for that front-desk volume only.
| Provider | Best for | Card fee | Contract | WMP score | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Square | Growing into full POS & retail stock | 1.75% | None | See Square pricing (opens in a new tab) | |
SumUp | Simplest, cheapest for a small studio | 1.69% | None | See SumUp pricing (opens in a new tab) | |
Zettle | Already using PayPal elsewhere | 1.75% | None | See Zettle pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Beyond the headline rate
Membership billing is a separate problem
Monthly memberships are usually cheaper and more reliable through a Direct Debit tool like GoCardless (around 1%, capped per collection) than manually charging a card every month, which also risks a failed payment when a member's card expires.
Queue speed at the front desk
Peak class changeover times mean several people paying or checking in within a few minutes — a fast contactless tap matters more here than in most trades, which favours an established, reliable terminal over a budget option with patchy reviews.
Retail stock tracking
If you sell shakes, supplements or branded kit alongside memberships, Square for Retail adds stock levels and low-stock alerts that a basic card reader app doesn't offer.
Multiple staff, one account
Studios with more than one person on the front desk benefit from a provider that supports multiple staff logins with separate permissions, rather than sharing a single login.
A studio taking £2,500/month in front-desk card payments
From a mix of day passes, class packs and retail add-ons (membership billing handled separately via Direct Debit, not included here):
| SumUp (1.69%) | £42.25/month |
| Square (1.75%) | £43.75/month |
| Zettle (1.75%) | £43.75/month |
At this volume the three options land within about £1.50/month of each other — the real decision is which feature set fits your studio, not the fee difference. Compare that against separately billing memberships through GoCardless rather than a card machine, which typically works out cheaper at scale for recurring payments.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best card machine for a gym or fitness studio?
Square for most gyms, thanks to its growth path into full POS and retail stock tracking; SumUp as the cheaper, simpler option for a smaller studio.
Should membership fees go through my card machine?
No — a Direct Debit tool like GoCardless is usually cheaper and more reliable for recurring monthly billing than manually charging a card each month.
Need a full POS system, not just a card reader?
Compare EPOS platforms built for retail and multi-staff businesses.
Methodology: Pricing pulled directly from squareup.com/gb, sumup.com and zettle.com official UK pricing pages on 30 July 2026. Typical gym/studio transaction values are directional industry estimates, not an independent survey. See our Editorial Policy.