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 at its published 1.2% rate plus £25 a month for the terminal. Below roughly £4,500 a month the flat-rate readers win on the monthly hardware plan; above it, Dojo does.
Rates and contract terms checked 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 (published 1.2% + £25/month terminal) | Other acquirers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £2,000 | £33.80 | £35.00 | £49.00 | Custom quote |
| £5,000 | £84.50 | £87.50 | £85.00 | Custom quote |
| £10,000 | £169.00 | £175.00 | £145.00 | Custom quote |
| £20,000 | £338.00 | £350.00 | £265.00 | Custom quote |
| £50,000 | £845.00 | £875.00 | £625.00 | Custom quote |
Flat rates are the providers' published pricing, checked August 2026. The Dojo column uses Dojo's published 1.2% blended rate, which applies to businesses under £100,000 a year in card turnover, plus £25 a month for a Dojo Go Max on the monthly plan (£149 upfront on the current launch offer is the alternative). Above £100,000 a year Dojo quotes a custom rate, often lower, so at the higher volumes the computed figure is a ceiling. Worldpay, Barclaycard, Lloyds Cardnet, Elavon, takepayments and the other traditional acquirers also price by custom quote, typically adding £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: pay-as-you-go wins comfortably
SumUp costs £2,000 × 1.69% = £33.80; Square and Zettle cost £2,000 × 1.75% = £35.00. Dojo at its published 1.2% plus £25 a month for the terminal, £2,000 × 1.2% + £25 = £24.00 + £25 = £49.00, costs more than any flat-rate reader, because the £25 fixed cost alone is over 1% of turnover at this volume. Even buying the terminal upfront leaves the answer the same in year one.
At £5,000 a month: the maths flips
This is the crossover zone. SumUp costs £84.50 and Square or Zettle £87.50, while Dojo at its published 1.2% plus £25 a month costs £5,000 × 1.2% + £25 = £85.00. The three figures now sit within a few pounds of each other: the £25 hardware plan is only 0.5% of turnover, so the lower rate has almost covered it. Buy the terminal upfront instead (Dojo Go Max, £149 on the current launch offer) and Dojo is already the cheapest option at this volume.
At £10,000 a month: Dojo wins, and you are into custom-quote territory
SumUp costs £169.00, Square and Zettle £175.00, and Dojo's published 1.2% plus £25 a month comes to £145.00. That saves £30.00 a month against 1.75% flat, which is £360.00 a year. And £10,000 a month is £120,000 a year, above the £100,000 threshold for the published rate, so Dojo quotes a custom rate here that is typically at or below 1.2%: treat the computed figure as a ceiling and negotiate.
At £20,000 a month: flat rates start leaving real money on the table
SumUp costs £338.00, Square and Zettle £350.00, against £265.00on Dojo's published-rate arithmetic (1.2% plus £25 a month). The gap against 1.75% flat is now £85.00 a month, or £1,020.00a year. At £240,000 a year of card turnover you are well inside Dojo's custom-quote tier, so you have genuine leverage to push the rate below 1.2%.
At £50,000 a month: paying a flat rate is the expensive choice
SumUp costs £845.00, Square and Zettle £875.00, against £625.00even on the published 1.2% plus £25 a month. At £600,000 a year you are firmly in Dojo's custom-quote tier, and high-turnover businesses can be quoted far below the published rate: we have seen Dojo quotes as low as 0.29%, which at £50,000 would be £50,000 × 0.29% + £25 = £170.00 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: a lower rate beats a flat rate once the rate saving covers the fixed monthly cost. Dojo's published 1.2% plus £25 a month saves 0.49 percentage points against SumUp's 1.69%, so it breaks even at £25 ÷ 0.0049 = £5,102of monthly card takings. Against the 1.75% charged by Square and Zettle the saving is 0.55 points and the break-even is £25 ÷ 0.0055 = £4,545.
That is why we quote the practical crossover as roughly £4,550 to £5,100 a month on the monthly hardware plan, and why it moves with the specifics: buying the terminal upfront, or taking the free terminal arranged through MerchantSwitch, moves the crossover down to roughly £3,000 a month, while any extra monthly charges (PCI compliance, minimum billing, authorisation fees) push it higher. 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 rental 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 published 1.2% blended rate (for businesses under £100,000 a year in card turnover) and the £25 a month Dojo Go Max plan. Above £100,000 a year 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, Square and Zettle at 1.75% cost £175.00, and Dojo at its published 1.2% plus £25 a month for a Dojo Go Max costs £145.00. Note that £10,000 a month is £120,000 a year, above the £100,000 threshold for Dojo's published rate, so at this volume Dojo actually quotes a custom rate (we have seen quotes as low as 0.29%); treat the computed figure as a ceiling.
What is the cheapest card machine for a low-turnover business?
Below roughly £4,000 a month, a no-monthly-fee reader is usually cheapest. At £2,000 a month, SumUp at 1.69% costs £33.80 and Square or Zettle at 1.75% cost £35.00, while Dojo at its published 1.2% plus £25 a month for the terminal costs £49.00, because the fixed cost is spread over too little volume.
At what turnover does a monthly-fee card machine become cheaper?
Against SumUp's 1.69% flat rate, Dojo's published 1.2% plus £25 a month for the terminal breaks even at £25 divided by 0.49% = about £5,102 of monthly card takings. Against 1.75% flat the break-even is £25 divided by 0.55% = about £4,545. So the practical crossover sits at roughly £4,550-£5,100 a month on the monthly hardware plan; buying the terminal upfront, or the free terminal arranged through MerchantSwitch, removes the monthly cost and moves the crossover to roughly £3,000 a month.
Do these card machine costs include VAT and every fee?
The tables cover transaction fees plus stated monthly rental 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.