Best card machine for small businesses in 2026
Once you're past pay-as-you-go volume, rented terminals and package pricing start to compete on cost — but come with 12-month contracts and exit fees. We compare Tyl by NatWest, Paymentsense, Dojo, Square and SumUp on real published terms.
Quick verdict
Most transparent published rate: Tyl by NatWest (1.39% + 5p, up to £50k/year, no minimum monthly charge). No contract, still competitive: SumUp's Payments Plus (£19/month, 0.99% domestic) beats pay-as-you-go once you're processing enough volume. Watch for: Paymentsense's £24.95 minimum monthly charge applies even in a slow month. Get a quote before committing: Dojo and Takepayments bundle pricing into packages that aren't fully public — the numbers below are estimates only.
| Provider | Hardware | Transaction fee | Monthly costs | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
TyTyl by NatWest |
PAX A80 rental£13.99+VAT/mo, tylbynatwest.com, 30 Jul 2026 | 1.39% + 5pUK cards, up to £50k/year | No minimum charge | ~12 monthsreported, not on official page |
SuSumUp Plus |
£25 (Solo Lite)+VAT, one-off | 0.99%domestic, with Payments Plus | £19/month add-on | None |
SqSquare |
£19+VAT (Reader) | 1.75%standard, or 1.6% on Retail Plus £49/mo | £0 standard | None |
PaPaymentsense |
Bundled in rental | 1.40% (debit) / 1.99% (business)+ 5p auth fee | £20+VAT rental, £4.95+VAT PCI fee, £24.95 minimum charge/month | 18mo–5yr or 30-day rollingvaries by deal, confirm at quote |
DoDojo |
Dojo Go £149 upfront or £15/mo | ~1.4% + 5pindicative, package-based — get a quote | From £39.99/month package | ~12 monthsreported, sub-£1m turnover |
Tyl, SumUp and Square figures are quoted directly from official pricing pages (30 July 2026). Paymentsense figures for fees/monthly charges are official; contract length is third-party reported. Dojo's official pricing page could not be accessed directly at time of writing (blocked automated access) — figures are cross-checked across independent comparison sources and should be confirmed with Dojo directly. See methodology below. We may earn a commission when you sign up through a link on this page — see our Affiliate Disclosure.
What each provider costs at £8,000/month
Assume an established small business taking £8,000 in card sales a month, average sale £35 (228 transactions/month):
| Dojo (package estimate: £39.99 base + 1% on turnover above £3,999, + £15/mo hardware) | ~£95/month |
| SumUp Payments Plus (0.99% + £19/mo) | £98.20/month |
| Tyl by NatWest (1.39% + 5p × 228 + £16.79 rental inc. VAT) | £139.39/month |
| Square (1.75%, no rental) | £140.00/month |
| Paymentsense (1.40% + 5p × 228 + £24 rental inc. VAT + £5.94 PCI inc. VAT) | £153.34/month |
Dojo's figure is a package-based estimate, not an official quote — treat it as indicative only. All other figures are calculated directly from each provider's published rate card as of 30 July 2026, excluding VAT on transaction fees and any add-ons like online payment gateways.
What you're actually signing up to
Exit fees
Paymentsense's third-party-reported exit fees start from £120+VAT depending on time remaining on the contract, plus potential terminal damage/return charges of £100–£200. SumUp and Square have no contract at all, so no exit fee ever applies.
Minimum monthly charges
Paymentsense applies a £24.95 minimum monthly service charge regardless of how little you process — this hits seasonal businesses hardest. Tyl by NatWest confirms no minimum monthly charge on its official pricing page.
Multi-location pricing
Dojo charges an additional £10/month per extra location plus an £11.99/month "Plus" software add-on per location — relevant if you're planning to open a second site.
Credit checks
Rental/contract-based providers (Paymentsense, Dojo, Tyl) typically credit-check the business and its directors as part of onboarding; SumUp and Square do not run a standard credit check on their pay-as-you-go tiers.
Frequently asked questions
Is rental better than buying outright?
Rental bundles support and hardware replacement into a monthly fee but locks you into a contract with exit fees. Buying outright costs more upfront with no ongoing commitment — better if you value flexibility over bundled support.
What's a minimum monthly service charge?
A fee charged even if you process little or no card volume in a given month. Paymentsense's is £24.95/month — check for this specifically if your revenue is seasonal.
Do I need a credit check?
For rolling-contract, rented-hardware providers (Paymentsense, Dojo, Tyl, Barclaycard), typically yes, for the business and its directors. Pay-as-you-go apps like SumUp and Square generally don't require one.
Can I negotiate the rate?
With traditional providers like Tyl, Paymentsense and Dojo, yes — quoted rates are often a starting point, especially above £10,000/month turnover. Flat-rate apps like SumUp, Square and Zettle don't typically negotiate on their published rate.
Need a POS system too, not just a card reader?
Compare full point-of-sale systems for growing businesses.
Methodology: Figures for Tyl (tylbynatwest.com), SumUp (sumup.com) and Square (squareup.com/gb) were pulled directly from official pricing pages on 30 July 2026. Paymentsense fee/monthly-charge figures are from paymentsense.com/uk/pricing; contract-length figures are third-party reported and flagged as such. Dojo's official pricing page returned an access error during research — its figures here are estimates derived from independent comparison sources, cross-checked against each other, and should be confirmed directly with Dojo before making a decision. See our Editorial Policy.