A small business buying its first card machine is choosing between two shapes of deal. One has no monthly fee and a higher percentage: SumUp at 1.69%, Zettle and Square at 1.75%, myPOS at 1.10% plus 7p. The other has a monthly fee and a lower percentage, like Tide at 17.99 pounds a month for 0.89% plus 3p. Which is cheaper is arithmetic, not opinion, and it turns entirely on monthly card takings.
Card machine, small business plan or pay as you go: the crossover, worked
At 1,000 pounds of card takings a month, 1.69% costs about 17 pounds and Tide's subscription plan costs 17.99 pounds before a penny of percentage. At 5,000 pounds, the pay as you go rate costs about 85 pounds and the subscription plan about 62 pounds. The crossover for most pairings on this shelf sits somewhere between 2,000 and 4,000 pounds a month, which is exactly the range a growing small business passes through.
Ranking the best card machines: the number that is not on the sticker
Every published rate covers a UK consumer debit or credit card presented in person. Commercial cards, American Express and cards issued abroad are charged differently and the surcharge is often larger than the gap between providers. myPOS prints 2.20% plus 7p for EEA consumer cards and 2.45% plus 7p for American Express; Lopay adds one percentage point for each of American Express, international and corporate cards. A salon on a high street and a hotel near an airport should not shop the same way.
The best card machine for small business UK buyers can actually compare
Eleven of the thirty two UK providers read for this index print an in-person rate. The rest sell through a conversation. That matters practically: a business can put SumUp, Zettle, Square, myPOS, Viva, Lopay, Tide, Tyl, Elavon, Shopify and Revolut Business on a spreadsheet in an afternoon, and cannot do the same with takepayments, Dojo, Global Payments, UTP or Nexi without booking four calls first.
Card machines for dental practices: larger bills change the sums
A dental practice takes fewer, larger payments than a shop, usually at reception after treatment. On a large bill the percentage matters and the fixed pence element hardly does. Worked on a £250 treatment from the rates the providers print: SumUp's 1.69% costs about £4.23, Tyl by NatWest's 1.39% plus 5p for personal cards about £3.53, and myPOS's 1.10% plus 7p about £2.82. Tyl prints 1.99% plus 5p for all other cards, so a practice whose patients often pay on business or overseas cards should price that line too. A countertop terminal at reception is the usual shape, with a portable unit only where payment is taken in the surgery.
Questions people ask about card machines for small businesses
What is the cheapest card machine for small business owners?
Measured on printed hardware prices, Tide's Nano starts at 11 pounds plus VAT and Zettle's reader at 29 pounds excluding VAT for new business users. Measured on the rate that runs behind it, Lopay's Essential account at 0.79% is the lowest published figure here. The two rarely come from the same provider.
Do I need a business bank account to take card payments?
You need somewhere for the money to settle. Several providers on this shelf settle into an account they open for you rather than into an existing bank account, which is why Tide, Teya and Revolut Business appear here at all. Check where the money lands before you buy, because it changes your bookkeeping as much as the rate does.
Is the cheap card machine for small business owners the one with no monthly fee?
Below roughly 2,000 pounds a month in card takings, almost always yes. Above it, the lower percentage on a subscription plan usually wins. Work it out with your own last twelve months rather than a rule of thumb, because the crossover moves with the size of your average sale as well as the total.
Are card machines for businesses cheaper than pay as you go readers?
Only above a crossover that depends on your own takings. Below it the percentage on a pay as you go account costs less than a subscription does before a penny of percentage; above it the subscription wins. Work the crossover on your real monthly card volume, because it is the only number that decides which shape is cheaper for you.
Which card machine suits a dental practice?
Usually a countertop or portable terminal at reception rather than a phone reader, because payment is taken at one desk and bills are larger. On large bills compare the percentage rather than the fixed pence: among printed rates here, myPOS prints 1.10% plus 7p and Tyl by NatWest 1.39% plus 5p for personal cards.