Key takeaways, 2026
- Cloud is the default: Square, Zettle, SumUp, Lightspeed, Epos Now, Shopify POS and Toast all run on tablets or smart terminals with the data in the cloud.
- Real cost: £29 to £200 for hardware, £0 to £90 per month for software, 1.4% to 1.75% on in-person card payments.
- MTD-ready: every major provider integrates with Xero, QuickBooks or Sage so Making Tax Digital reporting is automatic from April 2026.
- Connectivity is critical: a full-fibre line plus 4G failover prevents the Saturday-lunch outage that costs more than a year of software fees.
£29
Entry card reader
Square or SumUp, 2026.
1.4%
Lowest in-person fee
Per chip-and-PIN sale.
£0
Free software tier
Square, Zettle, SumUp.
Apr 2026
MTD mandatory
Income above £50,000.
What an EPOS system actually is, in 2026
An Electronic Point Of Sale system is the combination of hardware (a tablet, smart terminal or full till, plus a card reader, receipt printer and cash drawer) and software (the app that runs the sale, the inventory and the reporting) used to process a customer transaction. In 2026 the software is almost always cloud-based: the data lives on the provider's servers, accessed by any device with an internet connection, with on-device caching so the till still works briefly if the line drops.
The shift from on-premise to cloud changed the economics. A traditional Windows-based till once cost £1,500 in hardware and £400 a year in software licensing. A 2026 cloud EPOS starts at £29 for the reader, runs on the tablet you already own, and either costs nothing per month or charges a flat fee that includes updates, support and integrations. The flipside is the transaction fee: every card payment carries a 1.4% to 1.75% cut for in-person sales, which is where the providers make their money.
Hardware versus software, and why both matter
When buying an EPOS, two separate decisions sit on top of each other. The hardware decides where you can take payments and how robust the setup is. The software decides what the till can actually do beyond accepting cash.
Hardware decisions
- ▸Mobile card reader (£29 to £59), pairs with your phone or tablet.
- ▸Smart terminal (£149 to £199), all-in-one screen, printer and reader.
- ▸Counter-top till bundle (£400 to £800), includes cash drawer and receipt printer.
- ▸Kitchen display screen (£150 to £400), shows orders without paper tickets.
Software must-haves
- ▸Real-time inventory sync across every till and the online shop.
- ▸Integrated card payments, with one transaction fee, not two.
- ▸CRM and customer profiles for loyalty and repeat purchase tracking.
- ▸MTD-ready accounting export to Xero, QuickBooks, Sage or FreeAgent.
The leading UK EPOS providers compared, 2026
The UK market in 2026 is split between the easy-onboarding fintechs (Square, Zettle, SumUp), the hospitality and retail specialists (Lightspeed, Epos Now, Toast) and the e-commerce-led platforms (Shopify POS). Below is an indicative comparison: published prices change frequently, so confirm on each provider's website before committing.
| Provider | Hardware from | Software/month | In-person fee | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square | £29 reader | £0 to £79 | 1.75% | Pop-ups, salons, mixed retail |
| Zettle (by PayPal) | £29 reader | £0 to £39 | 1.75% | Cafés, market stalls, mobile trade |
| SumUp | £39 reader | £0 to £49 | 1.69% | Sole traders, low-volume retail |
| Lightspeed | Quote-based | £59 to £199 | From 1.4% | Restaurants, multi-site retail |
| Epos Now | £25 reader, £499 bundle | £25 to £79 | Quote-based | Hospitality, garden centres, salons |
| Shopify POS | £49 reader | £24 to £344 | 1.5% to 1.7% | Online-first retail going physical |
| Toast | Quote-based | From £55 | Quote-based | Full-service restaurants, bars |
| Tyl by NatWest | £29 reader | £0 to £20 | From 0.7% | High-volume retail, lowest fees |
Indicative pricing only, confirm directly with each provider. PayPal completed the sale of Zettle in late 2025, but the Zettle brand and product line remain active in the UK in 2026.
Why broadband and 4G failover are non-negotiable
A cloud EPOS without a connection is a paperweight. The till syncs prices, fires the receipt printer and authorises card payments over the internet, so a 30-minute outage on a Saturday lunch service can cost a restaurant more in lost revenue than a year of software fees. The fix is straightforward and inexpensive in 2026.
Start with a full-fibre line of at least 100 Mbps, ideally with a static IP so any integrations (loyalty apps, kitchen display, accounting software) reach the till reliably. Then put a 4G or 5G failover on the router: a SIM-equipped router (or a small failover box from your business broadband provider) auto-switches to a mobile network if the fibre drops, usually within 5 to 15 seconds. The card reader keeps working, the customer is served, and the day's revenue is not lost. For more on dedicated lines with built-in resilience, see our leased lines guide.
EPOS and Making Tax Digital from April 2026
From 6 April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income above £50,000 must keep digital records and file quarterly updates under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. The threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028, sweeping in the vast majority of UK micro-businesses.
The good news is that every major cloud EPOS in 2026 either includes MTD-compatible bridging software or syncs natively with the three big accounting platforms (Xero, QuickBooks, Sage) and the SME-favoured FreeAgent. The pattern is straightforward: the EPOS records every sale, the accounting platform classifies the line items, and the quarterly submission goes to HMRC automatically. Confirm the integration is present before signing the EPOS contract: switching after the fact means manual data export, which defeats the point.
How to choose, sector by sector
The right EPOS depends less on price and more on what it has to do day-to-day. Three quick decision shortcuts:
- Retail and beauty: Square, Zettle or SumUp on a free tier cover the basics ; move to Lightspeed or Epos Now when stock control and multi-site reporting become the bottleneck.
- Hospitality and restaurants: Toast, Lightspeed or Epos Now have the kitchen display, course timing, table mapping and split-bill features that a generic EPOS cannot replicate.
- Online-first retailers opening a shop: Shopify POS keeps the inventory unified between the website and the till, which is hard to retrofit on any other platform.
Whichever route you take, ask three test questions before signing: does the contract have a minimum term, does the published transaction fee include surcharges (American Express is often a separate band), and does the support include weekends. The last one decides whether a Sunday outage becomes a phone call or a closed business.
Frequently asked questions
EPOS stands for Electronic Point Of Sale. It is the combination of hardware and software that processes a sale at the moment the customer pays, replacing the old mechanical or basic electronic till. A 2026 EPOS is almost always cloud-based: the till runs as an app on a tablet or smart terminal, and the data lives on the provider's servers rather than on the device.
For a small UK business, expect to pay £29 to £200 for the card-reader or terminal hardware, plus £0 to £90 per till per month for the software. Transaction fees sit at 1.4% to 1.75% for in-person card payments and 2.5% to 3% for online sales. Square and SumUp offer free software tiers, while Lightspeed, Toast and Epos Now charge a fixed monthly fee in exchange for deeper inventory, reporting and integration features.
Both options exist. A card reader (Square Reader, Zettle Reader 2, SumUp Air) pairs by Bluetooth with a phone or tablet running the EPOS app, costs around £29 to £59 and suits a market stall or pop-up. A smart terminal (Square Terminal, Zettle Terminal, SumUp Solo) is an all-in-one device with the screen, printer and card reader in one unit, costs £149 to £199 and is better for a fixed counter. Some businesses use both: a smart terminal at the till and a mobile reader for table service.
From April 2026, MTD for Income Tax is mandatory for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income above £50,000, and it expands to lower thresholds in 2027. Almost every major cloud EPOS in 2026 either includes MTD-compatible reporting or integrates directly with Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent or Sage, which file the digital records on your behalf. Square, Zettle, Lightspeed and Epos Now all publish their MTD compatibility on their websites; check the integration list before signing up.
A cloud EPOS will not work without a stable internet connection at the till. The minimum is a full-fibre line of at least 100 Mbps with a static or stable IP for any integrations, and a 4G or 5G failover on the router so card payments keep working if the line drops. Most modern routers can be set up to auto-switch to a mobile SIM within seconds. Lost connectivity during a Saturday lunch service is the single biggest avoidable revenue hit in hospitality.
For a pop-up, market stall or single counter, Square or SumUp on a free plan with a £29 reader is the lowest-friction option. For a café or small restaurant with table service, Zettle, Lightspeed or Toast give the kitchen display, course timing and split-bill features. For a multi-site retailer with serious inventory, Lightspeed, Epos Now or Shopify POS unify stock across locations. For a salon or beauty business, look at Square Appointments or Treatwell, which combine booking and payment in one platform.