Coffee shop and cafe POS systems in the UK
Quick Reference
Direct Answer
A UK coffee shop can run a full POS from £0 a month in 2026. Square's free plan on a £149 Square Terminal covers menu, modifiers and payments at 1.75% per transaction. SumUp charges 1.69% pay-as-you-go, or 0.99% on domestic cards with its £19 a month Payments Plus plan, which suits high-volume low-ticket coffee trade. Epos Now lists handheld systems from £15 a month. Pick by volume: under roughly £2,700 a month of card takings, pay-as-you-go wins; above it, a monthly plan starts paying for itself.
Summary
UK cafe and coffee shop POS options, prices read from vendor UK pages 14 July 2026: Square (free POS plan, Square Terminal £149, 1.75% in person), SumUp (1.69% pay-as-you-go, or Payments Plus £19 a month with 0.99% domestic in-person cards, premium and Amex staying 1.69%), Epos Now (handheld from £15 a month, Countertop 2 bundle from £299 plus subscription from £54 a month), PayPal Zettle (reader from £29 ex VAT, free app, 1.75%). Coffee trade is high-volume low-ticket, so per-transaction rate matters more than features.
This Page Covers
What a cafe or coffee shop POS costs in the UK in 2026 on published prices, why per-transaction rate dominates at coffee ticket sizes, and how to choose.
Not Covered Here
Full table-service restaurant features (see the restaurant POS page) and enterprise chains on bespoke pricing.
Coffee is the extreme case of high-volume, low-ticket card trade: hundreds of contactless taps a day at a few pounds each. That makes the percentage rate, and any fixed pence per transaction, matter more than any software feature. A till that saves the barista two taps per order matters too; deep stock control mostly does not.
Published prices below were read from each vendor's UK site on 14 July 2026. The interesting comparison for a cafe is not free versus paid software, it is pay-as-you-go rates versus a monthly plan that buys a lower rate.
The options on published UK pricing
| System | Software | Hardware | Card rate | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square POS (free plan) | £0 a month | Square Terminal £149 | 1.75% in person | Simplest credible cafe till on one device |
| SumUp (pay-as-you-go) | Free app | SumUp readers (see the SumUp Solo review for current hardware pricing) | 1.69% all in-person cards, including Amex | Low and variable volume, no commitment |
| SumUp Payments Plus | £19 a month | As above | 0.99% domestic in-person cards; premium, international and Amex 1.69%; online 2.5% | Busy cafes past roughly £2,700 a month in card takings |
| Epos Now | Handheld systems from £15 a month; Countertop 2 subscription from £54 a month | Countertop 2 bundle from £299 | Flat rate from 0.8% | Cafes wanting a dedicated till and kitchen display |
| PayPal Zettle | Free POS app | PayPal Reader from £29 ex VAT (new business users) | 1.75% | Cheapest published hardware entry |
Published UK prices read from each vendor's site on 14 July 2026. SumUp's 0.99% applies to domestic debit and credit cards on the £19 a month Payments Plus plan; the break-even against 1.69% pay-as-you-go sits at roughly £2,714 of monthly card volume.
How the picks stack up
Square is the default cafe answer for a reason: a £149 Square Terminal with the free POS plan gives you menu, modifiers (oat milk, extra shot), a built-in receipt printer and 1.75% processing with no monthly fee and no contract. For counter-service coffee that is the whole job. Cafes that grow into food service can move onto Square for Restaurants (free plan, or £69 a month Plus) without changing hardware.
SumUp wins on rate maths. Pay-as-you-go is 1.69% for every in-person card including Amex. The Payments Plus plan at £19 a month cuts domestic in-person cards to 0.99%, and on SumUp's published numbers that beats pay-as-you-go once monthly card takings pass roughly £2,714, which a busy coffee shop clears easily. Premium, international and Amex cards stay at 1.69% on both plans. Full rate card in the SumUp fees breakdown and hardware in the SumUp Solo review.
Epos Now lists handheld POS systems from £15 a month and its Countertop 2 bundle from £299 with a support subscription from £54 a month, which suits cafes that want a fixed till, a kitchen display (from £19 a month) and bundled card processing advertised from 0.8%; see the Epos Now review for how the bundle and contract fit together. PayPal Zettle remains the cheapest published way in: reader from £29 ex VAT for new business users, free app, 1.75% per payment.
How to choose
- Under roughly £2,700 a month in card takings: pay-as-you-go (SumUp 1.69%, Square 1.75%, Zettle 1.75%) with no monthly fee.
- Above roughly £2,700 a month: SumUp Payments Plus at £19 a month with 0.99% domestic cards is the published-price leader.
- Food service, tickets to a kitchen: step up to a restaurant plan or an Epos Now setup with a kitchen display.
- Queue speed: a terminal with the till on the device (Square Terminal) or a handheld beats a separate till plus reader at peak.
The MerchantHQ angle
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Get matched in 2 minutesFrequently asked questions
What is the best POS for a small coffee shop?
On published July 2026 prices, a Square Terminal at £149 running the free Square POS plan is the strongest starting point: no monthly fee, 1.75% per payment, menu and modifiers on the device. If your card takings are past roughly £2,700 a month, SumUp's Payments Plus (£19 a month, 0.99% domestic in-person cards) usually works out cheaper overall despite the subscription.
How much do card fees cost a coffee shop?
At coffee volumes the percentage is everything. On £5,000 of monthly card takings, 1.75% is £87.50 a month while SumUp's 0.99% plan is £49.50 plus the £19 subscription, about £68.50 all in. Fixed pence fees matter at low ticket sizes too, which is why in-person plans here charge percentage only. Model your own volume on the fees calculator.
Do I need a full EPOS or just a card reader for a cafe?
If you sell drinks and a short food menu, a smart terminal running a free POS plan is enough: it is the till and the card machine in one. A separate EPOS earns its keep once you add a kitchen, table numbers or serious stock (retail bags of beans, merchandise). The EPOS hub walks through the three setup shapes.
Can customers tip on these systems?
Yes. Square, SumUp and Zettle all support on-screen tipping at payment. How tips are reported and passed to staff is your arrangement; the systems record them per transaction. If you run table service with a service charge instead, confirm handling with the provider before you rely on it.
Sources
Prices read 14 July 2026 from sumup.com/en-gb/pricing, squareup.com/gb/en/point-of-sale/restaurants, eposnow.com/uk, zettle.com/gb/pos. Square Terminal £149 hardware price as carried on the live MerchantHQ EPOS hub and Square Terminal review.
Related
EPOS systems hub · Restaurant POS systems · Best card machines for cafes · Epos Now review · SumUp fees breakdown · Card fees calculator
More EPOS by business type: Restaurants, Retail, Pubs and bars, Self-service kiosks.
Reviewed by Oliver Mackman. Last reviewed: 2026-07-14.