POS systems for restaurants in the UK
Quick Reference
Direct Answer
The best POS system for a UK restaurant in 2026 depends on scale. Square for Restaurants runs a free plan (you pay only card processing at 1.75% in person) and a Plus plan at £69 a month per location. Epos Now sells a Countertop 2 bundle from £299 with a care and support subscription from £54 a month. Dojo pairs its terminals with hospitality POS systems on bespoke rates. A small independent can start free with Square; a table-service restaurant with a kitchen to feed usually justifies a paid plan.
Summary
UK restaurant POS options, prices read from vendor UK pages 14 July 2026: Square for Restaurants (free plan, or Plus at £69 a month per location, hardware separate, 1.75% in-person card rate), Epos Now (Countertop 2 from £299 plus care and support subscription from £54 a month on 12-month terms, kitchen display from £19 a month, card processing from 0.8%), PayPal Zettle (reader from £29 ex VAT for new users, free POS app, 1.75%), SumUp POS Pro (quote-priced restaurant POS), Dojo (bespoke blended rates, hospitality POS integrations, same or next-day settlement).
This Page Covers
What a restaurant POS system costs in the UK in 2026 on published prices, which systems fit table service, counter service and kitchens, and how to choose.
Not Covered Here
Enterprise chain estates on bespoke contracts, and pure card readers with no till software (see the card readers hub).
A restaurant POS has to do more than take payment. It holds the menu with modifiers, sends orders to the kitchen, splits bills, handles tips and tells you which dishes make money. That extra software is why restaurant systems carry monthly fees that a plain card machine does not.
The UK market splits into three lanes: free-plan systems where you only pay card processing (Square for Restaurants Free, Zettle), subscription bundles with dedicated hardware (Epos Now, Square for Restaurants Plus), and quote-priced systems sold with the card acquiring (Dojo, SumUp POS Pro). All the published prices below were read from each vendor's UK site on 14 July 2026.
The options on published UK pricing
| System | Software | Hardware | Card rate | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square for Restaurants (Free) | £0 a month | Square Terminal £149, or Register, Kiosk, iPad | 1.75% in person | Independents starting out; counter service |
| Square for Restaurants (Plus) | £69 a month per location, 30-day free trial | Not included in the subscription | 1.75% in person | Table service, multiple stations, advanced reports |
| Epos Now | Care and support subscription from £54 a month, 12-month terms; kitchen display from £19 a month | Countertop 2 bundle from £299 (listed was £849) | Flat rate from 0.8%; Amex, JCB and UnionPay at an opt-in second fixed rate | Dedicated hospitality till with a card machine and printer in one bundle |
| PayPal Zettle | Free POS app | PayPal Reader from £29 ex VAT (new business users); PayPal Terminal from £149 ex VAT | 1.75% | Food trucks, pop-ups and small cafes on PayPal |
| SumUp POS Pro | Quote-priced | Quote-priced (iPads, readers, printers) | 1.69% pay-as-you-go on SumUp readers; POS Pro pricing on quote | SumUp merchants outgrowing a plain reader |
| Dojo | Pairs with hospitality POS partners | PAX A920 terminals on rental | Bespoke blended, typically 1.4% to 1.9% | Restaurants past roughly £15k a month in card volume |
Published UK prices read from each vendor's site on 14 July 2026. Quote-priced entries publish no standard rate card; treat any figure a salesperson quotes as negotiable.
How the picks stack up
Square for Restaurants is the published-price benchmark. The Free plan charges nothing monthly and you pay only processing (1.75% in person), which makes it the cheapest credible way to run a real restaurant POS. The Plus plan at £69 a month per location adds the deeper restaurant feature set after a 30-day trial, and businesses processing over £200k a year can ask for custom pricing. It runs on a Square Terminal, Square Register, Square Kiosk or an iPad, and hardware is not included in the subscription.
Epos Now is the dedicated-till route: a Countertop 2 bundle (till, card machine and printer) from £299 against a listed £849, funded by a care and support subscription from £54 a month on 12-month terms. Its kitchen display system is from £19 a month and card processing is advertised from 0.8% on a flat rate for Visa and Mastercard, with Amex, JCB and UnionPay at an opt-in second rate. Read the full Epos Now review before signing: the low hardware price is inseparable from the subscription.
Dojo does not sell a POS of its own but integrates with the main UK hospitality POS systems, and its bespoke blended rates (typically 1.4% to 1.9%) plus same or next-day settlement including weekends make it the acquiring half of many restaurant setups past roughly £15k a month. SumUp POS Pro covers table management, kitchen orders and delivery integrations but publishes no price; SumUp quotes it per business, so benchmark that quote against Square's published £69 before signing.
How to choose
- Counter service with a short menu: a free plan (Square for Restaurants Free, Zettle) on a smart terminal covers it.
- Table service: you want table plans, coursing and bill splitting, which is where paid plans (Square Plus £69 a month, Epos Now) earn their fee.
- A busy kitchen: add a kitchen display system rather than relying on printed tickets. Epos Now lists its KDS from £19 a month.
- High card volume: past roughly £15k a month, quote-priced acquiring (Dojo) can beat flat published rates. Model it on the fees calculator before deciding.
The MerchantHQ angle
Published prices are the benchmark. Quotes should beat them.
Half this market prices on quote. Tell us your trade and volume and we benchmark every quote against the published market, recommend the right setup, then stay your named UK account team for life.
Get matched in 2 minutesFrequently asked questions
How much does a restaurant POS system cost in the UK?
On published July 2026 prices: £0 a month on Square for Restaurants Free (1.75% processing only), £69 a month per location on Square Plus, or an Epos Now hardware bundle from £299 with a support subscription from £54 a month. On top sits card processing, from 0.8% to about 1.75% on published flat rates. A single-site restaurant should budget £0 to £75 a month for software plus processing.
Can I run a restaurant on a free POS plan?
Yes, if your service style is simple. Square for Restaurants Free and the Zettle POS app both charge nothing monthly and cover menus, basic modifiers and payments. You give up deeper table management, coursing and advanced reporting, which is what the paid tiers sell. Counter-service and fast-casual sites manage fine on free plans; full table service usually outgrows them.
Do I need a kitchen display system or will printed tickets do?
Printed tickets work for low volume, but a kitchen display system removes lost tickets and shows live order timing. Epos Now lists its KDS from £19 a month, and Square supports kitchen displays on its restaurant plans. If the kitchen regularly runs more than a handful of open orders, the KDS pays for itself in fewer remakes.
Which POS handles tips and service charge properly?
All the systems here take tips at the point of payment, but how tips reach staff depends on the acquirer and your own tronc arrangements, and tip-handling rules vary by acquirer. Confirm tip and service-charge handling before signing, especially on quote-priced hospitality deals.
Sources
Prices read 14 July 2026 from squareup.com/gb/en/point-of-sale/restaurants, eposnow.com/uk and eposnow.com/uk/payment-processing, zettle.com/gb/pos, sumup.com/en-gb/point-of-sale and sumup.com/en-gb/pricing. Dojo rate range from the MerchantHQ Card Acquirer Index (Dojo publishes no standard rate card).
Related
EPOS systems hub · Coffee shop POS · Pub and bar EPOS · Self-service kiosks · Epos Now review · Best card machines for restaurants · Card terminals for hospitality · Card fees calculator
More EPOS by business type: Retail, Cafes, Pubs and bars, Self-service kiosks.
Reviewed by Oliver Mackman. Last reviewed: 2026-07-14.