Lowest Fees Card Machines UK 2026 | Compare Cheapest Transaction Rates Solutions Quick answer
The lowest-fee card machine is not necessarily the provider advertising the smallest percentage.
The cheapest overall option depends on:
monthly card turnover
number of transactions
average transaction value
consumer vs business cards
UK vs international cards
terminal rental
fixed transaction charges
contract terms
Current UK pricing examples include:
Provider Current pricing example Best starting point for
Elavon From 0.99% on eligible personal Visa/Mastercard + £15/month terminal
Regular SME turnover
SumUp Payments Plus 0.99% eligible domestic consumer cards + £19/month
Growing SMEs
Dojo 1.2% blended rate below £100k annual card turnover
Retail / hospitality SMEs
Tyl by NatWest 1.39% + 5p eligible UK/European personal cards
Smaller established businesses
Worldpay 1.50% Simplicity rate on qualifying Mastercard/Visa transactions
Regular card turnover
SumUp PAYG 1.69% in person, £0/month
Low / variable turnover
Square 1.75% UK in person, £0 monthly processing fee
Small businesses wanting flexibility
Our view: once your business has regular card turnover, compare the total effective processing rate rather than assuming a £0/month provider is cheapest.
Compare Low-Fee Card Machine Quotes
Free quotes • No obligation • Compare UK payment providers
How do we work?
Transparent, impartial, and data‑driven reviews made by a team of expert humans, never AI generated – here’s exactly how Compare Your Business Costs helps you find the best deals from trusted UK providers: click here
Authored by: Ally Cox (Business Technology & B2B Services Specialist 10+ Years’ Experience)
Reviewed by: James Ward (Telecoms Specialist, 12+ Years Experience)
Last Updated: September 2026
Card Machine Fees Calculator UK Use the calculator below to compare your current card-processing costs with an alternative pricing model.
The number to compare is your effective card-processing rate:
total monthly card-payment costs ÷ monthly card turnover × 100
This calculator is an estimate only. Actual charges depend on provider, card mix, turnover, transaction value and contract terms.
Card Machine Fees Calculator UK Estimate your monthly and annual card processing costs in seconds. Adjust the fields below to see how much your current setup could be costing you.
Pricing model Flat rate Custom / Merchant account
Your Estimated Costs
Estimated monthly fees
£0.00
Estimated annual fees
£0.00
Estimated monthly transactions
0
Potential monthly saving
£0.00
You could save money by switching to a lower-fee provider.
This calculator is an estimate only. Actual card machine costs vary by provider, pricing structure, card mix, sector and contract terms.
Key Takeaways
Elavon currently publishes 0.99% pricing on eligible personal cards on several SME plans.
SumUp Payments Plus currently reduces eligible domestic-card fees to 0.99% for £19/month.
Dojo currently advertises a 1.2% blended rate for businesses below £100,000 annual card turnover.
Tyl currently charges 1.39% + 5p for eligible UK/European personal cards for smaller businesses.
Worldpay currently publishes a 1.50% Simplicity rate on relevant Visa/Mastercard transactions.
Square currently charges 1.75% for UK in-person card payments with no monthly processing fee.
SumUp PAYG currently charges 1.69% in person with no monthly fee.
A low headline percentage can be offset by terminal rental and fixed transaction charges.
Businesses with low average transaction values should pay particular attention to per-transaction fees.
Card mix can materially change the real cost of traditional merchant-service pricing.
What Does “Lowest Fee Card Machine” Actually Mean? There are several different meanings.
Priority What to compare
Lowest transaction percentage
Merchant/subscription pricing
Lowest fixed cost
PAYG/no-monthly-fee provider
Lowest cost per small transaction
Avoid high fixed authorisation fees
Lowest total monthly cost
Calculate effective rate
Lowest contract risk
Flexible/no-contract provider
Our View: Headline Rate Is Only One Part of the Price A provider charging:
0.99%
may look much cheaper than one charging:
1.69%
But the 0.99% plan might also include:
monthly terminal rental
different commercial-card rates
higher international-card rates
while the 1.69% option may have:
£0 monthly subscription
£0 rental
one simple rate
You need to price your actual transaction mix.
Lowest Published Card Machine Fees UK 2026 Elavon
Elavon currently publishes several small-business payment plans.
Examples include:
Tetra Desk: £15/monthTetra Move: £18/monthpersonal Visa/Mastercard: 0.99% on relevant plansbusiness cards: 1.99% on current published examplesnon-EEA Visa/Mastercard: 2.5%
Our View on Elavon
0.99% is one of the strongest transparent headline rates currently available from a mainstream UK provider.
But whether Elavon is cheapest depends heavily on card mix.
A B2B company taking many commercial cards will not have the same effective rate as a café mainly accepting UK consumer debit cards.
See our Elavon Card Machine review .
SumUp Payments Plus SumUp currently offers:
PAYG: 1.69%, £0/monthPayments Plus: 0.99% on eligible domestic consumer cards, £19/monthTailored: custom rates for qualifying businesses
Payments Plus continues to charge 1.69% for:
premium cards
international cards
American Express
Our View on SumUp
SumUp is one of the most interesting low-fee comparisons because you can move from PAYG to lower subscription pricing without entering a traditional card-terminal rental model.
SumUp itself currently suggests Payments Plus for businesses processing around £3,000+ per month.
See our SumUp Card Machine review .
Dojo Dojo currently publishes:
1.2% blended transaction pricing
for businesses below £100,000 annual card turnover.
Businesses above £100,000 can receive custom pricing.
Why Blended Pricing Matters
A blended rate simplifies the bill because different underlying card costs are combined into one headline percentage.
Our View on Dojo
This makes Dojo particularly interesting for:
restaurants
cafés
pubs
retail
where regular turnover makes transaction pricing important.
But compare:
hardware plan
contract
settlement
alongside the 1.2% rate.
See our Dojo Card Machine review .
Tyl by NatWest For qualifying businesses processing up to £50,000 annually in card payments, Tyl currently charges:
1.39% + 5p for UK/European personal cards1.99% + 5p for other cards
Larger businesses can receive custom rates.
Our View on Tyl
The percentage looks competitive.
But the:
5p fixed authorisation charge
makes average transaction value especially important.
Why 5p Matters
A 5p charge represents:
1% of a £5 transaction
0.5% of a £10 transaction
0.1% of a £50 transaction
That means Tyl’s effective percentage can be very different for a coffee shop and a furniture retailer.
See our Tyl by NatWest review .
Worldpay Worldpay currently publishes a Simplicity tariff of:
1.50%
on qualifying Mastercard and Visa transactions.
The current proposition also includes:
no authorisation fee on the relevant Simplicity package
no minimum monthly service charge
next-business-day settlement
Worldpay also offers custom pricing for higher-turnover businesses.
Our View on Worldpay
Worldpay is especially relevant once your business has:
consistent turnover
multiple terminals
a need for negotiated acquiring pricing
See our Worldpay Card Machine review .
Square Square’s standard UK in-person rate remains:
1.75%
with:
£0 standard monthly processing fee.
Square also offers custom rates to eligible businesses processing more than £200,000 annually.
Our View on Square
1.75% is not the lowest headline rate.
But Square remains highly competitive where:
turnover is low or seasonal
you do not want terminal rental
you value its POS software
you want no traditional long-term card-machine agreement
See our Square Card Machine review .
Which Provider Has the Lowest Fee?
Business situation Providers to compare first
Low/ irregular turnover
SumUp PAYG, Square
£3k+ regular monthly turnover
SumUp Payments Plus + merchant quotes
Mostly UK consumer cards
Elavon, SumUp Plus, Dojo, Tyl
Lots of small transactions
Watch providers with fixed per-transaction charges
Retail/hospitality
Dojo, Worldpay, Tyl, Elavon
High turnover
Custom pricing from multiple acquirers
B2B/commercial cards
Compare commercial-card rates carefully
Our View: There Is No Universal Lowest Fee Imagine two businesses processing:
£10,000/month.
Business A
2,000 transactions averaging £5.
Business B
100 transactions averaging £100.
A provider with a 5p authorisation charge adds:
£100/month to Business A£5/month to Business B
The headline percentage is identical.
The real cost is not.
How to Calculate Your Effective Card Machine Rate Use:
total monthly card-payment costs ÷ monthly card turnover × 100
Example
Monthly turnover:
£15,000
Costs:
processing: £165
terminal rental: £20
authorisation fees: £15
other fees: £5
Total:
£205
Effective rate:
1.37%
This is the figure to compare against another quote.
Lowest Percentage vs Lowest Total Cost Consider:
Provider A
0.99% processing
£20/month
Provider B
1.69% processing
£0/month
At £1,000/month:
Provider A = £29.90
Provider B = £16.90
Provider B is cheaper.
At £10,000/month:
Provider A = £119
Provider B = £169
Provider A becomes cheaper.
Illustration only.
How to Calculate the Break-Even Turnover Use: monthly fixed fee ÷ difference in percentage rates
Example:
monthly fee: £19
PAYG rate: 1.69%
subscription rate: 0.99%
difference: 0.70%
£19 ÷ 0.007 = approximately:
£2,714/month.
This roughly explains why SumUp positions Payments Plus at around £3,000+ monthly card turnover.
Card Mix Matters Traditional payment pricing may distinguish between:
consumer debit
consumer credit
business cards
corporate cards
international cards
American Express
So a provider advertising:
“from 0.99%”
does not necessarily mean all of your transactions cost 0.99%.
Our View: B2B Businesses Need a Different Comparison If customers frequently use:
business debit cards
corporate credit cards
consumer-card headline rates may be a poor guide.
Ask providers to calculate your quote using your existing merchant statement.
Low Fees vs No Contract
Low-fee merchant pricing PAYG/flexible pricing
Transaction rate
Potentially lower
Usually higher
Monthly fee
Common
Often £0
Contract
May apply
Usually flexible
Pricing simplicity
More complex
Very simple
Best fit
Regular turnover
Low/variable turnover
Lowest Fees for Cafés Cafés should pay particular attention to:
fixed authorisation fees
transaction count
average ticket size
portable terminals
EPOS integration
A 5p charge can have a surprisingly large impact when hundreds of small coffee transactions are processed every day.
Lowest Fees for Restaurants Restaurants should compare:
Dojo
Worldpay
Elavon
Tyl
takepayments
alongside:
settlement
portable terminals
tips
EPOS integration
Lowest Fees for Retail Shops Retailers with regular card turnover should compare:
Elavon
Worldpay
Tyl
Dojo
Square
Businesses selling high-value products should focus heavily on percentage rates.
Lowest Fees for Sole Traders A sole trader should not automatically chase the lowest percentage.
If you process:
low turnover
seasonal work
occasional transactions
a £0/month provider can still produce the lowest total cost.
Lowest Fees for Tradespeople Compare:
mobile card acceptance
Tap to Pay
payment links
remote-payment fees
A tradesperson may take fewer but higher-value transactions, making percentage rates more important than fixed per-transaction fees.
Online Payments Need a Separate Comparison This page focuses mainly on in-person card machines.
If a significant proportion of your payments are:
online
payment links
telephone payments
compare those fees separately.
Square, for example, currently charges:
1.75% UK in person
1.4% + 25p UK online
2.5% manually entered
Terminal Rental Monthly terminal fees can reduce the benefit of a lower percentage rate.
Current examples include:
Elavon Tetra Desk: £15/month
Elavon Tetra Move: £18/month
Tyl terminals: priced separately depending on device
See our Card Machine Rental guide .
Promotional Pricing Do not compare a temporary promotional price against another provider’s normal rate.
Always ask:
when the promotion ends
what standard price applies afterwards
what minimum contract term applies
Interchange++ vs Blended Pricing Blended Pricing
One rate combines multiple underlying costs.
Advantages:
Interchange++
The fee is separated into:
interchange
scheme fees
processor margin
This can provide greater transparency for larger merchants, but bills are more complicated.
Our View
Interchange++ is not automatically cheaper.
Choose it only if the resulting total cost is better for your actual card mix.
Can You Negotiate Card Machine Fees? Often, yes.
Current examples of providers offering custom pricing include:
Dojo above £100k annual card turnover
Square above £200k annual processing for qualifying merchants
SumUp around £10k+ monthly processing for qualifying businesses
Tyl above £50k annual card-payment value
Worldpay for higher-volume merchants
Our View: Use Your Merchant Statement to Negotiate Instead of asking:
“What’s your lowest rate?”
send the provider your recent merchant statement and ask:
“What would this exact month’s transactions have cost with you?”
This exposes:
card-mix differences
fixed charges
monthly costs
Hidden Fees to Check Before choosing a provider, ask about:
terminal rental
authorisation fees
PCI fees
minimum monthly charges
commercial-card rates
international-card rates
chargebacks
refund charges
gateway fees
virtual-terminal fees
settlement fees
early termination
replacement terminals
Common Low-Fee Card Machine Mistakes
choosing the smallest percentage
ignoring monthly rental
ignoring the fixed pence-per-transaction charge
assuming consumer-card pricing applies to every card
using turnover alone to choose a provider
ignoring online-payment fees
comparing promotional and normal pricing
ignoring contract costs
What to Ask Before Choosing a Low-Fee Card Machine
What is the UK consumer-card rate?
What is the commercial-card rate?
What is the international-card rate?
Is there a fixed authorisation fee?
What is terminal rental?
Is there a monthly minimum?
What PCI fees apply?
What is the settlement time?
What is the contract term?
What does early cancellation cost?
What happens when promotional pricing ends?
Can you model the quote using our current card statement?
Our Verdict: Which Card Machine Has the Lowest Fees ?There is no universal lowest-fee card machine.
Our starting points are:
Low / variable turnover: SumUp PAYG or Square£3k+ regular turnover: compare SumUp Payments Plus and merchant-service providersMostly domestic consumer cards: Elavon, SumUp Plus, Dojo and Tyl deserve comparisonHigh transaction count / low average sale: minimise fixed transaction chargesHigh-value retail: prioritise percentage rateHigh turnover: negotiate custom pricingB2B: compare commercial-card pricing separately
The best low-fee card machine is the one with the lowest effective cost on your real payment mix, not the smallest number in an advert.
Compare Low-Fee Card Machine Providers
Frequently Asked Questions What card machine has the lowest fees in the UK?
There is no universal winner. Elavon and SumUp currently publish 0.99% rates on eligible consumer-card transactions, while Dojo currently publishes a 1.2% blended rate for businesses below £100,000 annual card turnover.
Is 0.99% a good card-processing rate?
Yes, 0.99% is a competitive published rate for eligible consumer-card transactions. You should still add monthly fees and check commercial and international-card rates.
Is Dojo’s rate 1.2%?
Dojo currently advertises a 1.2% blended transaction rate for businesses below £100,000 annual card turnover. Larger businesses can receive custom pricing.
Is Tyl cheaper than Square?
Tyl’s eligible personal-card rate is currently 1.39% + 5p compared with Square’s 1.75% standard UK in-person rate. Whether Tyl is cheaper depends on transaction value, terminal cost and card mix.
Is SumUp cheaper than Square?
SumUp PAYG is currently 1.69% versus Square’s 1.75%. SumUp Payments Plus reduces eligible domestic-card pricing to 0.99% for £19/month.
Which card machine is cheapest for a café?
Cafés should compare both percentage and fixed transaction charges because they often process many low-value transactions. Dojo, Elavon, SumUp, Square, Worldpay and Tyl are worth comparing.
Which card machine is cheapest for high turnover?
Higher-turnover businesses should usually request several custom merchant-service quotes rather than rely on public PAYG pricing.
Are no-monthly-fee card machines cheapest?
They can be at low turnover, but a monthly plan with a lower transaction rate can become cheaper as processing volume grows.
What is an effective card-processing rate?
Your effective rate is all monthly card-payment costs divided by monthly card turnover, multiplied by 100.
Can I negotiate card fees?
Yes. Several providers offer bespoke pricing once turnover reaches certain levels, and competing quotes can help with negotiation.
Are business cards more expensive to process?
They can be. Some traditional pricing models charge higher rates for commercial or corporate cards than consumer cards.
Does a lower percentage always mean a cheaper provider?
No. Monthly fees, terminal rental, fixed authorisation charges and card mix can make a lower headline rate more expensive overall.
Related Card Machine Guides
Hi, I’m Ally Cox , a senior copywriter and blogger at CompareYourBusinessCosts.co.uk, the UK’s trusted platform for comparing business services.over a decade of experience in the B2B sector, I specialise in simplifying complex topics like leased lines, VoIP, business energy, HR and payroll solutions, accounting software, and EPOS systems .HR, copywriting, and business operations- from clocking-in systems to card machines and office technology .informed, confident decisions when choosing products and services that improve efficiency and save money.
