Compare POS Systems in the United Kingdom

A UK EPOS (till) system typically costs £0 to £150 or more per month for software, plus card processing and hardware. The cheapest route is free POS software (Square, SumUp, Zettle, Loyverse, Shopify POS Lite), where you only pay card-processing fees (around 1.69% to 1.75% in-person) and a one-off reader (£19 to £79). Mid-range cloud EPOS runs £25 to £75 a month (Shopify POS Pro £69, Lightspeed from £59 to £75, Epos Now around £54). Enterprise hospitality systems (Zonal, Tevalis, Toast, Clover) are quote-only, often £200 or more a month with multi-year contracts. Hardware bundles range from £249 to £1,500 or more. Use the calculator above to estimate your monthly cost.

For a small UK shop the strongest options are the free, no-contract systems: Square POS (free software, 1.75% in-person, great hardware), SumUp or Goodtill (1.69%), Zettle by PayPal (1.75% flat), and Loyverse (free software with built-in loyalty, bring your own SumUp reader). For multi-site or stock-heavy retail, Lightspeed Retail (from £75 a month) and Shopify POS (best if you also sell online) add advanced inventory. The best choice depends on whether you want integrated card payments, how much stock control you need, and whether you sell online too.

The leading integrated-payment EPOS systems publish both a software price and a card rate, so you get one provider and one bill: Square (1.75% in-person), SumUp (1.69%), Zettle (1.75% flat), Shopify POS (around 1.7% plus 25p with Shopify Payments), and Lightspeed (around 2.6% plus 8p). Integrated payments mean no separate merchant account, faster setup, and one support line. The alternative is bring-your-own processing EPOS like Epos Now, Loyverse and TISSL, where you choose your own card processor, which is more flexible but means two suppliers.

Almost all UK EPOS systems include stock control, but the strongest for inventory are Lightspeed Retail (advanced purchase orders, matrix and variant stock), Shopify POS (unified online and in-store stock), Epos Now (stock and purchase orders), SumUp POS Pro or Goodtill (advanced stock), and Loyverse (free basic stock, with an advanced inventory add-on). Square and Zettle include solid everyday inventory for smaller shops. If multi-location stock and supplier ordering matter, Lightspeed and Shopify lead.

For UK hospitality you want table management (floor plans, courses, order and pay) and delivery integrations. The best options are Lightspeed Restaurant (from £59 a month, full table service plus Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat), Square for Restaurants (free plan or £69 a month Plus, table maps and kitchen display), SumUp or Goodtill (Goodeats hospitality module), and Epos Now (hospitality mode). For larger venues and chains, the enterprise systems Zonal, Tevalis and Toast are purpose-built for pubs, restaurant groups and hotels (all quote-only). TISSL is a UK hospitality specialist with strong support.

Yes. The no-contract, no-lock-in UK till systems are Square, SumUp, Zettle, Shopify POS, myPOS and Loyverse, all month-to-month with no minimum term. This matters because many traditional providers tie you in: Epos Now has a 12-month minimum (care plans up to 36 months), Lightspeed requires an annual commitment, takepayments is 12 months, and enterprise systems like Zonal (36 months) and Clover (18 to 36 months via banks) have long lock-ins. UK merchants who want flexibility should start with a free, no-contract system.

A basic cash register just records sales and stores cash. An EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale) system does far more: it takes card payments, tracks stock automatically, gives you sales reports and best-sellers, manages staff and loyalty, and syncs to accounting software like Xero and QuickBooks. If you only take cash and sell a handful of items, a till drawer may do. But for almost any UK shop or cafe taking card payments and managing stock, an EPOS pays for itself, and free options like Square or Loyverse mean there is little reason to stick with a basic cash register.

The cheapest EPOS systems are free: Square, SumUp, Zettle, Shopify POS Lite, myPOS and Loyverse all give you £0 a month software, so you only pay card-processing fees (around 1.69% to 1.75% in-person) and a one-off card reader (£19 to £79). Loyverse is the cheapest full-featured option (free software, free on any device, free loyalty, bring your own SumUp reader). Among paid systems, Epos Now (around £54 a month with hardware) and Lightspeed (from £59 to £75 a month) are mid-range.

For integrated EPOS systems, in-person card fees are typically 1.69% to 1.75% (Square 1.75%, SumUp 1.69%, Zettle 1.75% flat), around 2.6% plus 8p for Lightspeed, and around 1.7% plus 25p for Shopify Payments. Epos Now Payments is 1.5% on Visa and Mastercard. Systems that let you bring your own processor (Loyverse, TISSL) mean you negotiate a separate card rate. Quote-only providers (Dojo, Clover, takepayments) set your rate after assessing your card turnover. Always check whether the rate is for UK consumer cards only, as business, Amex and international cards usually cost more.

Yes, with bring-your-own processing EPOS systems. Epos Now, Loyverse, TISSL, Dojo (via 450 or more EPOS integrations) and the enterprise systems let you connect your own card processor or reader, so you can keep an existing merchant account or shop around for the best rate. Loyverse, for example, pairs with a SumUp reader. The trade-off is you manage two suppliers (till software plus payments). Integrated systems (Square, SumUp, Zettle, Shopify, Lightspeed) bundle payments in for simplicity but lock you to their rate.

For UK pubs and bars, the enterprise hospitality specialists lead: Zonal (built for managed pub estates, with order and pay and loyalty), Tevalis (2,000 or more sites, full-service to clubs and venues) and TISSL (UK hospitality EPOS with strong support), all quote-only and best for multi-site or busy venues. For a single independent pub on a budget, Lightspeed Restaurant, Epos Now (hospitality mode) or Square for Restaurants offer table and tab management, offline mode and delivery integrations at a far lower published price. Offline mode and fast service screens matter most behind a busy bar.

A cloud EPOS stores your sales, stock and reports online rather than on the till itself, so you can manage your business from any phone, tablet or laptop and update prices remotely. Almost all modern UK till systems are cloud-based, including Square, SumUp, Zettle, Shopify POS, Lightspeed, Epos Now and Loyverse. The benefits are real-time reporting, automatic backups, multi-site management, and the ability to keep selling offline (most sync transactions when the connection returns). Cloud EPOS replaces the old cash registers locked to one terminal.