Card machine costs by monthly turnover
Total monthly cost of taking card payments at £2,000, £5,000, £10,000, £20,000 and £50,000 a month in card takings, computed from published UK rates: SumUp at 1.69% flat, Square and Zettle at 1.75% flat with no monthly fee, and Dojo's 1.2% all-in blended rate under £100,000 a year. On rate alone Dojo is cheapest at every volume up to that ceiling, after which everything is a custom quote; rent the terminal direct and the flat-rate readers win below roughly £3,060 to £5,100 a month.
Rates and contract terms checked 27 August 2026 · Based on providers' published pricing
The table: total monthly cost at each volume
| Monthly card takings | SumUp (1.69%, £0/month) | Square / Zettle (1.75%, £0/month) | Dojo (1.2% blended, terminal extra) | Other acquirers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £2,000 | £33.80 | £35.00 | £24.00 | Custom quote |
| £5,000 | £84.50 | £87.50 | £60.00 | Custom quote |
| £10,000 | £169.00 | £175.00 | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| £20,000 | £338.00 | £350.00 | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| £50,000 | £845.00 | £875.00 | Custom quote | Custom quote |
Flat rates are the providers' published pricing, checked 27 August 2026. The Dojo column uses the 1.2% all-in blended transaction rate for all card transactions, which is only available to businesses under £100,000 a year in card turnover (about £8,300 a month); Dojo’s fees schedule also lists a secure transaction fee, a refund fee and a minimum monthly payment, each set by your agreed plan; the amounts are not published. The terminal is free through MerchantSwitch, or from £149 upfront or £15/month bought or rented direct, and is not in the column. Above the ceiling Dojo prices by custom quote, like Worldpay, Barclaycard, Lloyds Cardnet, Elavon, takepayments and the other traditional acquirers, which typically add £10-£60 a month in service or rental fees; there is no published rate to compute from, so they appear as "custom quote".
What the numbers mean at each volume
At £2,000 a month: don't switch unless the terminal is free
SumUp costs £2,000 × 1.69% = £33.80; Square and Zettle cost £2,000 × 1.75% = £35.00. Dojo's 1.2% blended rate is £2,000 × 1.2% = £24.00, which only wins if the terminal is free, as it is through MerchantSwitch. Rent one direct and the Dojo Wired at £15/month makes it £39.00, the Dojo Go Max at £25/month makes it £49.00: more than any flat-rate reader, so on a rented terminal the answer is a pay-as-you-go reader, not a switch.
At £5,000 a month: Dojo wins clearly with the free terminal
SumUp costs £84.50 and Square or Zettle £87.50, while Dojo's blended rate costs £5,000 × 1.2% = £60.00. That is 1.2% against 1.69 to 1.75% flat, a saving of £24.50 a month against SumUp, or £294.00 a year, with the free MerchantSwitch terminal. Rent the Dojo Go Max direct at £25/month and it becomes £85.00 against SumUp's £84.50, so at this volume the saving rests on the free terminal.
At £10,000 a month: you are into custom-quote territory
SumUp costs £169.00, Square and Zettle £175.00. £10,000 a month is £120,000 a year, above the £100,000 ceiling for Dojo's published rate, so Dojo prices this volume with a custom quote rather than a menu price. As a conservative benchmark, a 1% rate would be £100 a month, already £75.00 a month under 1.75% flat, and custom quotes come in lower still: we have seen 0.29% at high turnover.
At £20,000 a month: flat rates start leaving real money on the table
SumUp costs £338.00, Square and Zettle £350.00 a month. At £240,000 a year of card turnover every bespoke provider, Dojo included, prices you by custom quote, and a 1% benchmark rate would be £200 a month: £150.00 a month under 1.75% flat, or £1,800.00 a year. You have genuine leverage here; use a recent statement to make providers bid.
At £50,000 a month: paying a flat rate is the expensive choice
SumUp costs £845.00, Square and Zettle £875.00 a month. At £600,000 a year you are firmly in custom-quote territory, and high-turnover businesses can be quoted far below any menu price: we have seen Dojo quotes as low as 0.29%, which at £50,000 would be £50,000 × 0.29% = £145.00 a month, less than a fifth of the 1.75% flat cost. The only reason to stay pay-as-you-go here is genuinely erratic volume.
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Where exactly is the crossover?
The crossover is pure arithmetic, and it only exists if you rent the terminal. On rate alone Dojo's 1.2% is below every flat rate at every volume, so the rental has to be covered by the rate gap. Against SumUp's 1.69% the gap is 0.49 points: the Dojo Go Max at £25/month breaks even at £25 ÷ 0.0049 = £5,102 of monthly card takings, the Dojo Wired at £15/month at £15 ÷ 0.0049 = £3,061. Against the 1.75% charged by Square and Zettle the gap is 0.55 points: £4,545 and £2,727.
That is why we quote the practical crossover as roughly £3,060 to £5,100 a month on a rented Dojo terminal, and none at all with the free MerchantSwitch terminal. Any extra monthly charges on an acquirer contract (PCI compliance, minimum billing, authorisation fees) push a crossover higher, and so can the secure transaction fee and minimum monthly payment Dojo sets per agreed plan, which it does not publish. The honest way to compare is the effective rate: everything you pay in a month divided by your card turnover, calculated on the full quote. Our UK fee benchmarks page works the effective-rate arithmetic through in more detail.
Assumptions
- Costs cover transaction fees plus stated monthly plan fees only. One-off hardware for the pay-as-you-go readers (£19-£39 + VAT) is excluded, as are any PCI, minimum billing or authorisation fees an acquirer contract may add.
- Flat rates are published pricing: SumUp 1.69%; Square and Zettle 1.75%. These are the in-person reader rates; keyed and online payments cost more with every provider.
- The Dojo figures use the 1.2% all-in blended transaction rate for all card transactions, which is only available under £100,000 a year in card turnover; terminal rental (from £15/month) is excluded. Above that the rate is a custom quote and can be materially lower: we have seen 0.29% at high turnover.
- All arithmetic is computed on this page from those stated rates, so every figure in the table can be checked by hand.
Frequently asked questions
What does a card machine cost at £10,000 a month?
At £10,000 a month in card takings: SumUp at its published 1.69% flat rate costs £169.00 a month, and Square and Zettle at 1.75% cost £175.00. £10,000 a month is £120,000 a year, above the £100,000 ceiling for Dojo's published 1.2% rate, so Dojo quotes a custom rate at this volume. As a conservative benchmark, 1% of £10,000 is £100 a month, already well under the flat rates, and we have seen custom quotes as low as 0.29% at high turnover.
What is the cheapest card machine for a low-turnover business?
Below roughly £3,060 a month, a no-monthly-fee reader is cheapest unless you get the terminal free. At £2,000 a month, SumUp at 1.69% costs £33.80 and Square or Zettle at 1.75% cost £35.00, while Dojo's 1.2% blended rate costs £24.00 plus the terminal: free through MerchantSwitch, or rented direct at £15/month (Dojo Wired) to £25/month (Dojo Go Max), which makes it £39.00 to £49.00. Don't rent a terminal at this volume.
At what turnover does a monthly-fee card machine become cheaper?
On rate alone, Dojo's 1.2% is cheaper than SumUp's 1.69% and the 1.75% charged by Square and Zettle at every volume, so with the free MerchantSwitch terminal there is no crossover. Rent the terminal direct and the rental has to be covered by the rate gap: against SumUp that is £25/month divided by 0.49% = about £5,102 of monthly card takings for the Dojo Go Max, or £15/month divided by 0.49% = about £3,061 for the Dojo Wired. Against Square and Zettle it is about £4,545 and £2,727. The published rate stops at Dojo's £100,000 a year ceiling, about £8,300 a month.
Do these card machine costs include VAT and every fee?
The tables cover transaction fees plus stated monthly plan fees only. They exclude one-off hardware for pay-as-you-go readers (£19-£39 + VAT), and any PCI compliance, authorisation or minimum-billing fees an acquirer contract may add. Transaction fees themselves are VAT-exempt financial services. Always calculate the effective rate on the full quote before signing.