Look, we've spent the last six months testing every major POS system on the UK market. We've racked up over £2,000 in hardware costs, monthly fees, and transaction charges, all so you don't have to waste your own money figuring out which system actually works for your business.
The short answer? There's no one-size-fits-all winner. But after processing thousands of test transactions, dealing with customer support at 2am, and comparing pricing structures until our eyes glazed over, we've got some pretty strong opinions about which systems are genuinely worth your time and money.
Let's cut through the marketing nonsense and get to what actually matters.
What We Actually Tested (And How)
We didn't just sign up for free trials and call it a day. We set up full accounts with seven major providers, bought the hardware, and ran them through real-world scenarios, busy lunch rushes, inventory management, refunds, split bills, the works.
We tested:
- Epos Now – The UK favourite with proper support
- SumUp – The budget-friendly option everyone talks about
- Square – The Silicon Valley import
- Lightspeed – The premium choice for serious operations
- Shopify POS – For businesses with online stores
- Toast POS – The restaurant specialist
- Zettle by PayPal – The PayPal-backed challenger
Each system was evaluated on pricing transparency, ease of setup, daily usability, customer support response times, and whether the features they promised actually worked when you needed them.
Our Top Pick: Epos Now (And Why It Keeps Winning)
After all our testing, Epos Now consistently came out on top for most UK businesses, and it's not particularly close.
Here's why: Epos Now strikes the perfect balance between robust features and not making you feel like you need a computer science degree to process a sale. The system just works, and when it doesn't, there's actual UK-based support that picks up the phone.
What we loved:
- Proper inventory management that doesn't require constant babysitting
- Staff management features that actually help you run a team
- Reporting that gives you insights you can use (not just data dumps)
- Hardware that doesn't feel cheap or temperamental
- Integration options for accounting, bookings, and online ordering
The pricing bit:
Epos Now's pricing starts around £25-£35 per month depending on your setup, plus card processing fees (typically around 1.7% for chip and PIN). Yes, there's an upfront hardware cost (usually £299-£799), but you own the kit outright: no endless rental fees.
For most cafés, restaurants, and retail shops turning over £5,000+ per month, Epos Now works out cheaper than the "free" systems once you factor in transaction fees. We've done the maths, and it's not even close.
The downsides?
It's not the absolute cheapest option if you're just starting out with minimal sales. And while the system is flexible, it's not quite as plug-and-play as something like SumUp for a total beginner.
The Budget Champion: SumUp POS
If you're running a market stall, food truck, or genuinely just starting out with minimal sales, SumUp is hard to argue with.
You can get started for under £30 with their basic card reader, and there are no monthly fees: just 1.69% per transaction. For businesses doing under £3,000-£4,000 per month, this pay-as-you-go model makes financial sense.
Where SumUp shines:
- Incredibly low barrier to entry
- Simple setup (genuinely 10 minutes)
- No monthly commitment anxiety
- Surprisingly decent app for basic operations
Where it falls short:
- Transaction fees add up fast as you grow
- Limited inventory management
- No advanced reporting
- Customer support can be hit-or-miss
We'd recommend SumUp if you're testing a business idea or genuinely operating on tiny margins. But once you're doing consistent volume, you'll quickly outgrow it.
The Flexible Middle Ground: Square POS
Square landed somewhere between SumUp's simplicity and Epos Now's robustness. It's American, which shows in some of the features and support structure, but it's established itself well in the UK market.
The free tier is genuinely free (1.75% transaction fees), and you can scale up to paid plans (£49-£99/month) as you need more advanced features. For small cafés and boutiques, it's a solid option.
Key strengths:
- No long-term commitments
- Decent inventory management
- Good e-commerce integration
- Clean, modern interface
Watch out for:
- Transaction fees higher than some competitors
- Hardware can feel a bit flimsy
- Some features locked behind higher pricing tiers
- Support response times can be slow for UK users
The Premium Choice: Lightspeed
Lightspeed is what you graduate to when you've got serious ambitions or you're already running multiple locations. It's not cheap (£89-£229/month per location), but you get what you pay for.
The inventory management is genuinely impressive, the reporting is granular, and it integrates with basically everything. If you're running a growing restaurant group or multi-location retail business, Lightspeed deserves a serious look.
But for a single-location café or boutique? It's probably overkill, and you'll be paying for features you'll never use.
For Online Sellers: Shopify POS
If you're already selling online or planning to, Shopify POS is worth considering: but only in that specific scenario.
The magic is how everything syncs across your online store and physical location. Inventory updates in real-time, customer data flows between channels, and you manage everything from one dashboard. For retailers with an e-commerce presence, it's genuinely brilliant.
For purely physical businesses? There are better options. Don't pay for integration features you'll never use.
For Restaurants Specifically: Toast POS
Toast has built a cult following in the restaurant world, and after testing it, we can see why. It's designed specifically for hospitality, and it shows.
Table management, menu engineering, kitchen display systems: it's all built for restaurants from the ground up. The pricing is higher (around £59-£165/month), but if you're running a proper restaurant operation, the industry-specific features might justify the cost.
That said, for cafés, takeaways, and casual dining? Epos Now offers 90% of the functionality at a better price point.
Breaking It Down By Business Type
Food trucks & market stalls:
Go with SumUp. Low entry cost, no monthly fees, and you're not tied down.
New cafés & small shops (under £5k/month):
SumUp or Square, depending on whether you want absolutely minimal costs or slightly better features.
Established cafés, restaurants & retail (£5k-£30k/month):
Epos Now wins this category decisively. The monthly cost pays for itself through better management and lower transaction fees.
Restaurants with table service:
Toast or Epos Now, depending on how much you value restaurant-specific features versus overall value.
Retail with online presence:
Shopify POS if you're already on Shopify; otherwise, Epos Now with a separate e-commerce integration.
Multi-location or scaling fast:
Lightspeed or Epos Now Multi-Site, depending on your specific needs and budget.
The Hidden Costs Nobody Talks About
Here's what caught us out during testing: the advertised monthly fee is rarely the full story.
Watch out for:
- Transaction fees – These vary wildly (1.4%-2.6%) and matter more than the monthly cost once you're doing volume
- Payment terminal rentals – Some providers charge £20-£40/month just to rent hardware
- Setup fees – Can be £100-£500 depending on provider
- Support packages – Premium support often costs extra
- Integration costs – Connecting to accounting software, online ordering, etc.
We've found that Epos Now's transparent pricing model: where you own the hardware and know your monthly costs upfront: actually works out better for most businesses over a 12-24 month period.
Our Honest Bottom Line
After spending six months and over £2,000 testing these systems, here's our genuine recommendation:
For most UK hospitality and retail businesses doing consistent trade, go with Epos Now. It's the best balance of features, reliability, and total cost of ownership. The UK-based support alone is worth the slight premium over cheaper alternatives.
If you're literally just starting out with a market stall or testing a business idea, SumUp gets you going without commitment anxiety.
If you're already established online and selling physical products, Shopify POS makes sense because of the seamless integration.
The worst thing you can do? Choose based purely on the monthly fee without considering transaction costs, or pick a system that's too basic and have to migrate in six months. We've seen too many business owners waste time and money making those mistakes.
According to industry research from NerdWallet, the average UK business wastes £1,800 in the first year alone by choosing the wrong POS system: mostly through higher transaction fees and productivity losses.
Don't be that statistic. Do your maths based on your actual expected sales volume, factor in the total costs (not just monthly fees), and pick a system that'll scale with your ambitions.
Want detailed pricing breakdowns and screenshots from our testing? Check out our full Epos Now review where we break down exactly what you'll pay and what you'll get.
