UK EPOS systems compared
The best EPOS system in the UK depends on your shop.
There is no single best EPOS system for every UK business. A market stall, a café and a corner shop need different things. Here are ten systems, what each one costs, how it takes payments and the kind of business it suits best, including our own.
In short
The best EPOS system for a UK small business depends on how you trade. Square, SumUp and Zettle suit businesses that mainly want low-cost card payments. Shopify POS suits shops that also sell online, and Lightspeed suits growing multi-site retailers. Epos Now and Clover bundle hardware with payments. POS2026 suits independent shops that want stock, suppliers, credit and profit in one browser app.
This guide is written by POS2026, one of the ten systems listed, so it is not independent. To keep it fair, we have not put POS2026 first. Each system gets a plain description, a "best for" line and the main thing to check, taken from the company's own website wherever possible.
Facts were checked on 5 November 2026. Prices exclude VAT unless stated and change often, especially promotional offers. Where a figure comes from a third party, we say so. Before you sign, confirm the price, the card fees and the contract length with the provider.
Summary table
Ten UK EPOS systems at a glance.
The order is not a ranking. Prices exclude VAT.
| System | Best for | How you pay | Card payments | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square | A free start with built-in payments | Free plan; Plus from £29 a month | Through Square; 1.75% in person for UK cards | No long-term contract |
| SumUp POS | A low-cost start; hospitality on POS Pro | Free POS; POS Plus £39; POS Pro £49 a month; add-ons £19 each | 1.69% pay-as-you-go, or Payments Plus at £19 a month | POS Pro: no long-term contracts |
| Zettle / PayPal POS | Occasional card sales | No monthly fee | Through PayPal; 1.75% per card sale | No contracts |
| Epos Now | One supplier and many integrations | Hardware bundle plus subscription; promotional pricing changes often | Epos Now Payments required on discounted bundles | 12 months by default, renewing automatically |
| Lightspeed Retail | Growing multi-location retailers | From £75 a month, billed annually (startups.co.uk) | Lightspeed Payments reported as required | 12-month minimum reported (startups.co.uk) |
| Shopify POS | Shops that also sell online | Shopify plan from £25 a month (£19 yearly); POS Pro £69 per location | From 1.7%; 0.2% to 2% extra with other providers | Monthly or yearly on Basic and Grow |
| Clover | Purpose-built hardware | Plans from £0 to £59.95 a month | Clover processing required; UK rates quoted individually | Varies by seller |
| Loyverse | Tight budgets and patchy internet | Free core; paid add-ons in US dollars | Integrated with partner processors | Add-ons billed monthly or yearly |
| Hike POS | Free choice of payment provider | From £49 a month billed annually, or £59 monthly | Any supported provider; HikePay optional at 1.5% | Cancel anytime |
| POS2026 | The back office in the same app | Subscription with a free trial; prices shown in the app | Not a card processor; use any card machine | Cancel at any time |
Checked on 5 November 2026 on each provider's UK website, except Lightspeed (prices and minimum term from startups.co.uk, August 2026) and Loyverse (US dollar pricing on its global site). Clover UK card rates are not published; Expertsure (October 2026) reports they are quoted individually. All product names are trademarks of their owners. POS2026 is not affiliated with any of them.
Square: best for a free start
Best for: new businesses that want hardware and card payments from one company.
Square has a free plan and Plus from £29 a month. In-person payments cost 1.75% for UK cards, there is no long-term contract, and Square sells its own hardware, from the £19 Reader to the £699 Register. Check: each account works in one currency. See our Square comparison.
SumUp POS: best for a low-cost start
Best for: small businesses that want published prices and a free way in, and cafés or bars on POS Pro.
SumUp has Free POS, POS Plus at £39 a month and POS Pro, the former Goodtill, at £49. POS Pro adds hospitality tools. Cards cost 1.69% pay-as-you-go, or a 0.99% headline rate with Payments Plus at £19 a month. Check: POS Pro add-ons cost £19 a month each. See our SumUp comparison.
Zettle / PayPal POS: best for occasional sales
Best for: market stalls, pop-ups and seasonal traders who want to pay only when they sell.
Zettle, now becoming PayPal Point of Sale, has no monthly fee and no contract. Card sales cost 1.75%, the PayPal Reader is £29 for new users, and Tap to Pay needs no hardware. Check: a flat percentage costs more as takings grow. See our Zettle comparison.
Epos Now: best for one supplier
Best for: businesses that want hardware, payments and integrations from one company, and accept a fixed term.
Epos Now sells its own hardware, including kitchen displays, and integrates with hundreds of apps, such as Xero. Discounted bundles need Epos Now Payments. Check: UK plans default to 12 months, renew unless you give 30 days' notice, and charge the remaining fees if you leave early. Read our Epos Now comparison.
Lightspeed Retail: best for growing retailers
Best for: retailers with several shops, a large range and an online store.
Lightspeed handles advanced inventory and multiple locations, with ecommerce and payments in one platform. According to startups.co.uk, UK plans start at £75 a month billed annually, with a 12-month minimum, and new customers are reported to need Lightspeed Payments. Check: each account trades in one currency. See our Lightspeed comparison.
Shopify POS: best for shops that sell online
Best for: retailers who also sell through a Shopify website.
The POS app comes with every Shopify plan; Basic is £25 a month, or £19 billed yearly. POS Pro costs £69 a month per location, billed yearly, and in-person card payments start at 1.7%. Check: a payment provider other than Shopify Payments adds 0.2% to 2%. More in our Shopify POS comparison.
Clover: best for purpose-built hardware
Best for: businesses that want Clover's own devices, often bought through a bank or reseller.
Clover's UK plans run from a £0 Payments Plan and Register Lite at £6.99 a month to Register at £39.95 and Table Service at £59.95. Clover processing is required and the hardware is proprietary. Check: card rates are quoted individually, and contract terms vary by seller.
Loyverse: best for tight budgets
Best for: very small shops, cafés and stalls that want a free POS that keeps working offline.
The core POS is free, with paid add-ons (priced in US dollars) for full sales history, advanced inventory and staff. It runs on iOS and Android, works offline and comes in more than 40 languages. Check: the free plan shows 31 days of sales analytics.
Hike POS: best for choosing your payment provider
Best for: retailers who want a dedicated retail POS with ecommerce and their own choice of payment provider.
Hike charges no transaction fees of its own. Essential is £49 a month billed annually, or £59 monthly, for one outlet. HikePay is optional, and Hike works with providers such as Worldpay and Elavon. Multi-language and multi-currency come on every plan. Check: accounting integrations are an add-on on Plus and Enterprise only.
POS2026: best for the back office
Best for: independent shops that want stock, suppliers, credit and profit in the same app as the till.
POS2026 runs in a web browser on a computer, tablet or phone. It is a subscription with a free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee on the first payment for new accounts; prices are shown in the app. It is not a card processor and sells no hardware, and it comes in more than 47 languages. Check: there is no offline mode, online store, integrations, table service or kitchen display.
Which EPOS system should you choose?
- Choose Zettle or SumUp Free POS if you trade occasionally and mainly need to take cards.
- Choose Square if you want a free plan and one company for hardware and payments.
- Choose SumUp POS Pro, Clover or Epos Now if hospitality is a big part of the business.
- Choose Shopify POS if you already sell online through Shopify.
- Choose Lightspeed or Hike if you run several shops with a large range and a website.
- Choose Loyverse if budget comes first or your internet is unreliable.
- Choose POS2026 if you want stock, suppliers, customer credit and profit in one browser app.
Tip. Add up a full year before you sign: monthly fees, card fees on your expected takings, hardware and add-ons. The lowest monthly price is not always the lowest yearly cost.
Sources
Questions
Common questions.
Straight answers for shop owners, based on what POS2026 actually does.
What is the best EPOS system for a small shop in the UK?
If you mainly take card payments, Square, SumUp or Zettle are low-cost starting points. If you also need stock control, supplier orders and customer credit, look at systems built around the back office, such as POS2026, Lightspeed or Hike.
What is the cheapest EPOS system in the UK?
Square's free plan, SumUp Free POS, Zettle and Loyverse's free core all cost £0 a month. You still pay card fees on every card sale, and features you need may cost extra, so compare the yearly total on your own sales.
Do I have to sign a contract for an EPOS system?
No. Square, SumUp POS Pro, Zettle, Hike and POS2026 advertise no long-term contract or cancellation at any time. Epos Now's UK plans default to 12 months, Lightspeed UK is reported to need 12 months, and Clover terms depend on the seller.
Can I use my own card machine with an EPOS system?
With some. Hike, Loyverse and POS2026 let you use other providers. Square, Zettle and Clover use their own processing, Lightspeed is reported to require its own, and Shopify charges extra for other providers.
Is this guide independent?
No. POS2026 wrote it and is one of the systems listed. We have linked each provider's own pages so you can check every figure.
Want the back office in your EPOS?
Start a POS2026 free trial and see how stock, suppliers, customer credit and profit work alongside the till.
