Card reader / mobile POS · United Kingdom
PayPal (Zettle) alternatives in United Kingdom, ranked by the share of card sales they take
4 of the 4 nearest providers we hold take a smaller share of card sales than PayPal (Zettle), which costs 1.77% at £5,000 a month over three years.
The lowest is SumUp at 1.41%, a difference of £634 across the three years for a shop of that size.
The group, by effective rate
Every provider in the same category and market that publishes a rate a total can be built from, in order.
| Provider | In person | Monthly fee | Hardware | Effective at £5,000 | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal (Zettle) (this page) | 1.75% (no flat fee stated) | none ex VAT | £29 once | 1.77% | 98.23% |
| SumUp | 0.99% (no flat fee stated) | £19.00 ex VAT | £79 once | 1.41% | 98.59% |
| myPOS | 1.10% + £0.07 | none VAT basis not stated | not stated | 1.45% | 98.55% |
| Barclaycard Payments | 1.60% (no flat fee stated) | none ex VAT | £29 once | 1.62% | 98.38% |
| Square | 1.75% | none ex VAT | £19 once | 1.76% | 98.24% |
UK providers do not publish on the same basis. Monthly fees and hardware are printed exactly as published, and where the provider states the basis we print it. At 20% VAT an ex-VAT fee is 1.2 times higher on the invoice, so an ex-VAT figure and an inc-VAT figure are not comparable as printed. We do not convert between them.
Scroll sideways on a phone.
How that is worked out
The average sale is an assumption of this site, not a published figure: $25.00 in the United States and £20.00 in the United Kingdom. It decides how heavily a per-transaction fee lands, so the calculator lets you change it. Interchange, chargebacks, refunds, currency conversion, sales tax and VAT are not in any figure on this site, because the pricing page does not price them for a given shop. Every figure here is a floor. The full method is at Method.
When to stay where you are
Conditions under which the table above should not move you.
- A lower rate is not a reason on its own. Moving means new hardware, a new payout account and re-training whoever works the till, and no provider here publishes what leaving involves.
- Watch the monthly fees. SumUp (£19.00) charge them whether you trade or not, which is what moves the ranking for a quiet shop.
- If the shop takes under £2,000 a month, the ranking is different — put your own takings in rather than reading the £5,000 column.
Who this is not for
This is a price ranking, not a shortlist of better products. We have not used any of these providers. If your reason for moving is the hardware or the support, the order on this page tells you nothing about that.
Sources
- PayPal (Zettle) pricing page. checked 2026-08-25
- SumUp pricing page. checked 2026-08-25
- myPOS pricing page. checked 2026-08-25
- Barclaycard Payments pricing page. checked 2026-08-25
- Square pricing page. checked 2026-08-25
Related
- PayPal (Zettle) fees in full
- Every provider we hold
- Effective rate calculator
- What a 'get a quote' button is for
Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from providers' published pricing pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.