EPOS systems for pubs and bars in the UK
Quick Reference
Direct Answer
A UK pub or bar EPOS in 2026 runs from £0 a month (Square for Restaurants Free on a smart terminal, 1.75% processing) to a dedicated dual-screen till like the Epos Now Countertop Duo from £349 with a support subscription from £54 a month. The bar-specific decision is settlement timing: Friday to Sunday takings are the week, so acquirers that settle same or next day including weekends (Dojo, Teya) protect cashflow in a way a cheap rate does not.
Summary
UK pub and bar EPOS options, prices read from vendor UK pages 14 July 2026: Epos Now (Countertop Duo dual-screen from £349, Countertop 2 from £299, subscription from £54 a month, kitchen display from £19 a month, processing from 0.8%), Square for Restaurants (free plan or £69 a month Plus, 1.75% in person), Dojo (bespoke 1.4% to 1.9% blended, same or next-day settlement including weekends), SumUp Payments Plus (£19 a month, 0.99% domestic in-person). Weekend settlement and peak-hour throughput are the bar-specific factors.
This Page Covers
What a pub or bar EPOS costs in the UK in 2026 on published prices, why weekend settlement matters more in wet-led venues, and how to choose.
Not Covered Here
Full restaurant table-service coverage (see the restaurant POS page) and nightclub-scale multi-bar estates on bespoke contracts.
Bars concentrate a week of trade into three nights. That changes the EPOS priorities: peak-hour throughput (taps per minute, not features per screen), tabs that do not fall over, and settlement that reaches the bank before Monday's deliveries need paying.
UK hospitality runs roughly 55% to 70% contactless by transaction count on our sector data, and wet-led venues sit at the top of that range. Every published price below was read from the vendor's UK site on 14 July 2026; acquirer-led options (Dojo, Teya) publish no standard rate card and are quoted per venue.
The options on published UK pricing
| System | Software | Hardware | Card rate | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epos Now Countertop Duo | Care and support subscription from £54 a month, 12-month terms | Dual-screen bundle from £349 (listed was £700) | Flat rate from 0.8% | A fixed bar counter with a customer-facing display |
| Square for Restaurants | Free plan £0, or Plus £69 a month per location | Square Terminal £149, Register, Kiosk or iPad | 1.75% in person | Bars that also serve food; tabs and menus on published pricing |
| Dojo | Integrates with UK hospitality POS partners | PAX A920 terminals on rental | Bespoke blended, typically 1.4% to 1.9% | Wet-led venues past roughly £15k a month wanting weekend settlement |
| SumUp Payments Plus | £19 a month | SumUp readers | 0.99% domestic in-person cards; premium and Amex 1.69% | Smaller bars chasing the lowest published in-person rate |
| Teya | Card machine plans from £14.99 a month | Teya terminals on plan | Bespoke; £29.99 monthly fee applies below £2,500 card turnover | Next-day 9am settlement every day including weekends |
Published UK prices read from each vendor's site on 14 July 2026, except Teya's plan pricing (verified on this site 14 July 2026, see the Teya profile) and Dojo's rate range, which comes from the MerchantHQ Card Acquirer Index because Dojo publishes no standard rate card.
How the picks stack up
Epos Now aims its hospitality hardware squarely at bars: the Countertop Duo, a dual-screen till with customer-facing display, is listed from £349 against a stated £700, alongside the standard Countertop 2 from £299, both carried by a care and support subscription from £54 a month on 12-month terms. A kitchen display for food service is from £19 a month and processing is advertised from 0.8% flat. The bundle-plus-subscription model is unpicked in the full Epos Now review.
For a wet-led venue the acquiring side can matter more than the till software. Dojo settles same or next day including weekends, integrates with the major UK hospitality POS systems and prices bespoke (typically 1.4% to 1.9% blended); it suits venues past roughly £15k a month in card volume. Teya settles next day by 9am every day including weekends and bank holidays, with card machine plans from £14.99 a month, and instant settlement when settling to its own business account. See the Dojo profile and Teya profile.
On published pricing, Square for Restaurants covers bar tabs, menus and kitchen tickets on the free plan (1.75% in person) or the £69 a month Plus plan, running on a £149 Square Terminal upwards. SumUp's Payments Plus at £19 a month is the lowest published domestic in-person rate here at 0.99%, but note settlement is next business day as standard, so Saturday and Sunday takings land after the weekend unless you are on a plan with same-day options.
How to choose
- Wet-led, Friday to Sunday heavy: weight weekend settlement (Dojo, Teya) above a headline rate.
- Bar plus food: you need tabs, menus and kitchen routing, which Square for Restaurants and Epos Now both cover on published prices.
- Counter-only bar: a smart terminal on a free plan does the job; a dual-screen till (Epos Now Duo from £349) adds a customer display.
- Card volume past £15k a month: get a bespoke quote and benchmark it against the published rates in this table.
The MerchantHQ angle
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Get matched in 2 minutesFrequently asked questions
What is the best EPOS for a pub in the UK?
For most independent pubs the shortlist is Epos Now (dedicated till hardware from £299 to £349 with a £54 a month support subscription) for a traditional counter setup, Square for Restaurants (free or £69 a month on published pricing) where food matters, and Dojo on the acquiring side for venues past roughly £15k a month that want same or next-day settlement including weekends. Wet-led venues should weight settlement timing heavily.
Why does weekend settlement matter for a bar?
Because the weekend is the week. If Friday and Saturday takings settle next business day, they arrive Monday or Tuesday; with an acquirer that settles every day (Dojo same or next day including weekends, Teya next day by 9am every day), the cash is available before Monday costs land. On a venue taking £10k over a weekend, that timing difference is a permanent working-capital gap.
Can I run bar tabs on these systems?
Yes. Square for Restaurants supports open tabs and bills, Epos Now's hospitality till handles tabs and table plans, and acquirer-integrated hospitality POS systems paired with Dojo do the same. Confirm pre-authorisation support (holding a card against a tab) with the specific provider, as handling varies.
What card rate should a bar expect to pay?
Published flat rates run from Epos Now's advertised 0.8% floor and SumUp's 0.99% plan rate (domestic in-person, £19 a month) to 1.69% to 1.75% pay-as-you-go. Bespoke hospitality quotes typically land between 1.4% and 1.9% blended on our acquirer index data. High contactless share keeps bar transactions cheap to process, so push quotes toward the bottom of that range.
Sources
Prices read 14 July 2026 from eposnow.com/uk, squareup.com/gb/en/point-of-sale/restaurants, sumup.com/en-gb/pricing. Teya plan pricing per the Teya processor profile (verified 14 July 2026). Dojo rate range and hospitality contactless share from the MerchantHQ Card Acquirer Index and sector data.
Related
EPOS systems hub · Restaurant POS systems · Best card machines for pubs · Card terminals for hospitality · Epos Now review · Teya profile · Card fees calculator
More EPOS by business type: Restaurants, Retail, Cafes, Self-service kiosks.
Reviewed by Oliver Mackman. Last reviewed: 2026-07-14.