What is the best card machine for small business in the UK?
The answer is that it depends on what you’re looking for.
Do you want the best reviewed, best app, the cheapest, a reader that has certain features or something else?
Below we rank the various UK card machine companies on everything from reviews to cost to help you make as informed decision as possible when it comes to getting the right one.
Best Small Business Card Machine Company Based On Trustpilot Reviews
| Company | Trustpilot Review Score | Number Of Trustpilot Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| takepayments | 4.8 | 40,447 |
| Worldpay | 4.7 | 6,188 |
| Dojo | 4.7 | 3,516 |
| Tyl by NatWest | 4.7 | 1,267 |
| Square | 4.3 | 2,290 |
| Revolut | 4.3 | 145,366 |
| myPOS | 4.2 | 9,617 |
| Tide | 4.2 | 18,090 |
| myPOS | 4.2 | 9,617 |
| SumUp | 4 | 14,271 |
| Zettle By Paypal | 2.8 | 4,115 |
| Barclaycard | 1.3 | 3,158 |
| Shopify | 1.2 | 824 |
When looking at Trustpilot reviews takepayments is the winner followed closely by Worldpay and Dojo.
Best iPhone App
| Company | Iphone App Score | Iphone App Number of Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Revolut | 4.9 | 646,900 |
| Square | 4.8 | 10,300 |
| Tide | 4.8 | 64,800 |
| SumUp | 4.7 | 11,200 |
| Zettle By Paypal | 4.6 | 10,400 |
| Shopify | 4.3 | 728 |
| myPOS | 4.2 | 679 |
| Dojo | 4 | 58 |
| Worldpay | 3.6 | 15 |
| Tyl by NatWest | 3.4 | 19 |
| Barclaycard | 1.5 | 20 |
In terms of which company has the best iPhone Revolut is the clear winner followed by Square and Tide.
Best Best Android App
| Company | Andoird App Rating | Number of Android App Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| Square | 4.8 | 213,000 |
| Revolut | 4.7 | 2,560,000 |
| SumUp | 4.4 | 78,100 |
| Dojo | 4.1 | 105 |
| Tide | 3.9 | 16,200 |
| Zettle By Paypal | 3.9 | 42,600 |
| Tyl by NatWest | 3.5 | 14 |
| myPOS | 3.2 | 14,300 |
| Shopify | 3.1 | 2,050 |
| Worldpay | 2.5 | 71 |
| Barclaycard | 1.4 | 20 |
In terms of who has the best Android App, Square is the winner followed by Revolut and SumUp.
Cheapest Machines With No Monthly Fees
You can read our full overview of the cheapest card machines in the UK here.
The card readers and machines below can all be purchased for a one-off cost and come with no monthly fees beyond standard transaction fees.
| Card Reader | Price For The Machine (excluding VAT) |
|---|---|
| Square Reader | £19.00 |
| Zettle Card Reader 2 | £29.00 |
| Barclaycard Smartpay Anywhere | £29.00 |
| myPOS Go 2 | £39.00 |
| SumUp Air | £39.00 |
| Revolut Reader | £49.00 |
| Tide Card Reader | £49.00 |
| SumUp Solo | £79.00 |
| Tide Card Reader Plus | £79.00 |
| SumUp Solo & Printer | £139.00 |
| Square Terminal | £149.00 |
| Zettle Payment Terminal | £149.00 |
| myPOS Go Combo | £179.00 |
| myPOS Pro | £229.00 |
Best Card Machine Transaction Fee Comparison
Below we compare the standard payment processing fees per transaction for each of the leading card machine options.
| Card Machine | Standard Card Transaction Fee |
|---|---|
| Square Reader | 1.75% |
| Zettle Card Reader 2 | 1.75% |
| Barclaycard Smartpay Anywhere | 1.60% |
| myPOS Go 2 | 1.10% + £0.07 |
| SumUp Air | 1.69% |
| Shopify WisePad 3 Reader | 1.7% + 0p |
| Revolut Reader | 0.8% + £0.02 |
| Tide Card Reader | 1.50% |
| SumUp Solo | 1.69% |
| Tide Card Reader Plus | 1.50% |
| SumUp Solo & Printer | 1.69% |
| Square Terminal | 1.75% |
| Zettle Payment Terminal | 1.75% |
| myPOS Go Combo | 1.10% + £0.07 |
| myPOS Pro | 1.10% + £0.07 |
| Shopify POS Go | 1.7% + 0p in person |
| Dojo Go | 1.4% + 5p |
| Dojo Pocket | 1.4% + 5p |
| takepaymentsplus | 0.3%-2.5% |
| Barclaycard Flex | 1.60% |
| Barclaycard Smartpay Touch | 1.60% |
| Clover Flex Tyl by NatWest | 0.2%-3.5% + 20p-40p |
| PAX A50 Tyl by NatWest | 1.50% |
| Worldpay FIS Card Machine | 1.50% |
Best Small Business Card Machines That Accept Amex
One way some card machine companies try to reduce their fees is by not accept Amex cards as standard. However, all of the following companies all you to accept Amex out of the box.
- Square Reader
- Zettle Card Reader 2
- Barclaycard Smartpay Anywhere
- myPOS Go 2
- SumUp Air
- Shopify WisePad 3 Reader
- SumUp Solo
- SumUp Solo & Printer
- Square Terminal
- Zettle Payment Terminal
- myPOS Go Combo
- myPOS Pro
- Shopify POS Go
- Dojo Go
- Dojo Pocket
- takepaymentsplus
- Barclaycard Flex
- Barclaycard Smartpay Touch
- Clover Flex Tyl by NatWest
- PAX A50 Tyl by NatWest
- Worldpay FIS Card Machine
Best Card Machine With No Phone Required
Many of the cheapest card machines listed above require a mobile phone to work properly.
However, if you’d prefer not to use one you can choose from the following options.
- myPOS Go 2
- Shopify WisePad 3 Reader
- SumUp Solo
- Tide Card Reader Plus
- SumUp Solo & Printer
- Square Terminal
- Zettle Payment Terminal
- myPOS Go Combo
- myPOS Pro
- Shopify POS Go
- Dojo Go
- takepaymentsplus
- Barclaycard Flex
- Barclaycard Smartpay Touch
- Clover Flex Tyl by NatWest
- PAX A50 Tyl by NatWest
- Worldpay FIS Card Machine
Best Card Machine With A Built-In Printer
Looking for a machine with a built in Printer, then these are your options.
- Tide Card Reader Plus
- SumUp Solo & Printer
- Square Terminal
- myPOS Go Combo
- myPOS Pro
- Dojo Go
- takepaymentsplus
- Barclaycard Flex
- Barclaycard Smartpay Touch
- Clover Flex Tyl by NatWest
- PAX A50 Tyl by NatWest
Card Reader Comparisons
Square Reader vs Square TerminalSquare Reader vs Zettle By Paypal Card Reader 2
Square Reader vs Zettle By Paypal Payment Terminal
Square Reader vs SumUp Air
Square Reader vs SumUp Solo
Square Reader vs SumUp Solo With Printer
Square Reader vs Dojo Go
Square Reader vs Dojo Pocket
Square Reader vs Tide Card Reader
Square Reader vs Tide Card Reader Plus