Choosing the right EPOS system for your UK business isn't exactly straightforward these days, is it? You've got SumUp promising simplicity, Toast targeting restaurants, and Shopify POS pulling in the retail crowd. They all sound great on paper, but which one actually fits your business?
Let's break down what these three popular systems really offer, where they fall short, and whether there's a better option you should be considering. No fluff, just honest insights to help you make the right call.
What You Need to Know Before We Start
Before we dive into the comparison, it's worth thinking about what actually matters for your business. Are you running a bustling restaurant that needs tableside ordering? A retail shop juggling online and in-store sales? Or maybe you're after something dead simple for a market stall or small café?
The "best" EPOS system isn't the same for everyone. It depends on your industry, your budget, and whether you're planning to grow. Keep these factors in mind as we go through each option.
SumUp POS: The Budget-Friendly Starter
SumUp's made quite a name for itself as the go-to option for small businesses on a tight budget. And fair play, it's genuinely affordable.
What's Good:
- No monthly subscription fees for the basic setup
- You can get started for under £100 with their card reader
- Dead simple to use, you'll be up and running in minutes
- Accepts all major payment types including contactless and Apple Pay
- No lengthy contracts tying you in
The Downsides:
- Transaction fees of 1.69% add up quickly if you're doing decent volume
- Features are pretty basic, fine for simple sales, but limited if you need proper inventory management
- Integration options are minimal compared to bigger systems
- Customer support can be hit-or-miss according to UK users
- Not ideal for restaurants needing table management or kitchens needing order routing
SumUp works brilliantly if you're a sole trader, run a market stall, or have a small café with straightforward needs. But if you're planning to scale or need more sophisticated features, you'll likely outgrow it fast.
Toast POS: The Restaurant Specialist
Toast has built its reputation as a restaurant-focused system, and it shows. They've got features specifically designed for food service businesses, which sounds perfect on paper.
What's Good:
- Built specifically for restaurants, cafes, and hospitality
- Excellent online ordering integration (particularly useful post-pandemic)
- Kitchen display systems and order routing work smoothly
- Table management and staff scheduling included
- Built-in email marketing tools
The Reality Check:
- Here's the big one: Toast is primarily a US company, and their UK support is… well, let's just say it's not their strong suit
- Hardware costs can run quite high: expect to budget £1,000+ for a proper setup
- Monthly fees start around £69 but increase significantly with add-ons
- Some UK businesses report connectivity issues during peak hours
- You're essentially locked into their hardware ecosystem
Toast is genuinely impressive if you're running a restaurant and don't mind being an early adopter of their UK service. But with limited local support and higher costs, it's worth asking whether the restaurant-specific features justify the premium: especially when other systems offer similar capabilities at better price points.
Shopify POS: The Omnichannel Option
If you're already selling online through Shopify, their POS system seems like the obvious choice. It creates a unified system for online and in-store sales, which is genuinely useful.
What's Good:
- Seamless integration with Shopify's ecommerce platform
- Inventory syncs automatically across all channels
- Customer data stays consistent whether they shop online or in-store
- Good range of apps and integrations
- Works well for retail businesses with an online presence
The Catch:
- To access all POS features, you'll need the Advanced plan at £289/month
- Basic plans severely limit what you can do in-store
- It's really built for online sellers first, retail second
- Not particularly well-suited for hospitality businesses
- Transaction fees can add up if you're not using Shopify Payments
We've got a detailed Shopify POS review if you want the full breakdown, but the short version is this: it's brilliant if you're already invested in the Shopify ecosystem. For everyone else? The costs don't always make sense.
So Which One Should You Choose?
Here's the honest answer: it depends on your specific situation, but there's also a fourth option worth considering that often outperforms all three.
Choose SumUp if:
- You're a sole trader or very small business
- Your needs are genuinely basic
- You want the absolute lowest entry cost
- You're okay with limited features and growth potential
Choose Toast if:
- You run a restaurant and restaurant-specific features are essential
- You're comfortable being patient with UK support development
- Budget isn't your primary concern
- You need sophisticated table management and kitchen systems
Choose Shopify POS if:
- You already have a Shopify online store
- Omnichannel retail is your business model
- You're willing to pay premium prices for ecosystem integration
- You're primarily a product-based retail business
The Option Most UK Businesses Actually Choose
Here's what we've noticed after helping hundreds of UK businesses find the right EPOS system: most end up looking beyond these three options and discovering systems that offer better value, more flexibility, and: crucially: proper UK support.
According to recent industry research from Retail Gazette, UK businesses consistently rank local support and reliability as their top priorities when choosing an EPOS system. That's where systems like Epos Now come into the picture.
Why Epos Now often wins:
- Comprehensive features that work for both retail and hospitality without compromise
- Proper UK-based customer support that actually answers the phone
- Flexible pricing that scales with your business rather than forcing you into expensive plans
- Hardware options that don't lock you into a single ecosystem
- Genuine offline mode that works when your internet drops (which, let's be honest, happens)
- Payment processing flexibility: use whoever offers you the best rates
- Inventory management that's sophisticated without being complicated
The real advantage? You're not compromising. SumUp is cheap but limited. Toast is powerful but awkward for UK businesses. Shopify is integrated but expensive. Epos Now gives you the features you actually need without the frustrating limitations.
We've seen businesses switch from all three of these systems to Epos Now and consistently report that they wish they'd started there. The full Epos Now review goes into proper detail, but the key takeaway is simple: sometimes the most talked-about options aren't actually the best fit.
Making Your Decision
Look, there's no perfect EPOS system for every business. What matters is finding one that fits your specific needs, budget, and growth plans.
If you're just testing the waters with a side hustle, SumUp's low entry cost makes sense. If you're running a complex restaurant and money's no object, Toast's specialisation might justify the premium. And if you're already deep in the Shopify ecosystem, their POS could be worth the investment.
But for most UK businesses: whether you're running a café, restaurant, retail shop, or something in between: you'll likely find better value and fewer compromises with a system built specifically for the UK market.
Next Steps:
Don't just take our word for it. Get demos from the systems that match your shortlist. Test them with your actual workflows. Ask about UK support response times. Check what happens when the internet goes down.
And definitely request a demo from Epos Now before making your final decision. You might find it ticks boxes you didn't even know you had.
The right EPOS system should make your business easier to run, not more complicated. Choose wisely, and you'll wonder how you ever managed without it. Choose poorly, and you'll be back researching alternatives in six months.
Need help figuring out what's best for your specific situation? Get in touch: we're always happy to point you in the right direction, even if that's not always what we recommend. Your business deserves a system that actually works.