Dojo vs Shift4: which saves you more?
For most UK businesses Dojo is the clearer, cheaper choice: published plan pricing (the Fix plan is £39.99 a month covering card turnover up to £3,999 a month, then 1% flat above £4,000, for businesses under £100,000 a year; custom quotes above that, and we have seen quotes as low as 0.29% for high-turnover businesses) with no setup fee, next-day settlement and a 30-day trial before a 12-month price-locked plan. Shift4 is custom quoted (market examples land around 2.6% + 10p), typically settles in 2-5 days and commonly runs 36-48 month agreements, so it suits large multi-site programmes rather than a single-site shop, cafe or salon.
Rates and contract terms checked 27 August 2026· Based on providers' published pricing
Dojo
- Fix plan
- £39.99/mo
- Settlement
- Next day
- Contract
- 12 mo
Shift4
- Transaction
- Custom quote
- Settlement
- 2-5 days
- Contract
- 36-48 mo
The MerchantSwitch route: Free Dojo terminal (no rental) through MerchantSwitch. Up to £3,000 towards your exit fees when you switch through MerchantSwitch. We have seen Dojo quotes as low as 0.29% for high-turnover businesses. Get the offer.
Feature by feature
Shift4 serves larger, often multi-site programmes with bespoke commercials; Dojo is built around straightforward UK acquiring with published plan pricing and fast settlement. Compare what affects cash flow, contracts and support tickets, not only the percentage on a proposal.
| Feature | Dojo | Shift4 |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Fix plan: £39.99/month covers card turnover up to £3,999/month, then 1% flat above £4,000 (under £100k/year); custom quote above | Custom quoted; market examples around 2.6% + 10p |
| Pricing model | Published plan pricing by turnover, simple to model | Bespoke packaging with per-tap fees and extras |
| Settlement speed | Next day, standard | Typically 2-5 business days |
| Setup fee | None | Setup fees apply |
| Terminal | From £179 upfront; free via MerchantSwitch | Purchased or leased |
| Contract | 30-day trial, then a 12-month price-locked plan | 36-48 months common |
| HQ and local presence | UK-based support | US-headquartered with UK presence |
| Trustpilot UK (indicative) | 4.3 / 5 | 2.8 / 5 |
The takeaway: Dojo leads on every row here - a published plan price you can check on the website, next-day rather than 2-5 day settlement, no setup fee, hardware you own (or get free through MerchantSwitch), and a far shorter commitment. Shift4's bespoke bundles only start to make sense at enterprise scale.
Want Dojo and Shift4 priced at your numbers?
Tell us your monthly card takings and we will quote both, honestly, plus other UK providers. Free Dojo terminal with no rental if Dojo wins it, and if you are tied into a long contract, Dojo pays up to £3,000 towards your exit fees when you switch through MerchantSwitch (eligibility confirmed at quote). We respond in under 5 minutes.
Where Dojo wins
- Pricing transparency - a published plan price, £39.99 a month with 1% above £4,000 a month under £100k a year, you can sanity-check against turnover
- Faster access to funds - next-day settlement vs a typical 2-5 day cycle
- Lower friction - no setup fee, with the terminal free through MerchantSwitch
- Shorter commitment - a 30-day trial then a 12-month price-locked plan vs 36-48 months
- Merchant feedback - 4.3/5 on Trustpilot vs a UK profile around 2.8/5
Where Shift4 wins
- Enterprise bundles - everything negotiated in a single package for large RFPs
- Multi-site programmes - built for big hospitality and retail stacks
- Bespoke commercials - custom quotes can be tuned to card mix, equipment and software attach
How we calculated this
We take Dojo's and Shift4's published or typical advertised rates and apply them to example monthly card volumes. Total cost is worked out as transaction fees plus fixed monthly fees over 12 months. Rates change and individual pricing can often be negotiated, so treat these figures as a like-for-like guide rather than a quote. Always confirm current pricing with Dojo and Shift4 before you commit.
Quotes, bundles and true monthly cost
Shift4 often wins enterprise-style RFPs where everything is negotiated in a single bundle, so your effective rate depends on card mix, equipment, software attach and per-transaction charges. A structure around 2.6% + 10p is a useful benchmark when comparing like for like, but always model your own volumes and any monthly minimums or extras.
Dojo's plan pricing (£39.99 a month with a 1% flat rate above £4,000 a month of card turnover under £100,000 a year, custom quotes above) is easier to sanity-check against turnover: fewer moving parts in the headline, and less dependency on bespoke spreadsheets to know what you will pay this quarter. At £5,000 a month it works out at £49.99, a 1.0% effective rate.
Settlement speed and contract length
Cash flow is where the gap often shows up first: Dojo's next-day settlement versus Shift4's typical 2-5 day cycle means less money sitting in clearing during a busy week. Onboarding friction matters too - setup fees on many Shift4 deals contrast with no setup fee at Dojo, and the terminal is free through MerchantSwitch.
Contract risk is the other major split: 36-48 months is common on Shift4 programmes, while Dojo runs a 30-day trial and then a 12-month price-locked plan, valuable if you might move premises, change opening hours, or rebalance in-person versus online sales. On public feedback, Dojo's 4.3/5 Trustpilot reads stronger than Shift4's UK 2.8/5 profile for day-to-day merchant experience.
The verdict
Choose Dojo if
- You want straightforward UK acquiring with a published plan price
- Faster payouts matter, next day rather than 2-5 days
- You want no setup fee, with the terminal free through MerchantSwitch
- You prefer a 30-day trial and then a 12-month price-locked plan
- You run a single-site shop, cafe or salon
Choose Shift4 if
- You are signing a large multi-year hospitality or retail stack
- You have dedicated IT and finance resource to run the RFP
- You want everything bundled and negotiated in one agreement
- You are comfortable with a 36-48 month term
Leaning Shift4? We broker both. Send us your takings and we will show you the Shift4 and Dojo maths side by side, and tell you straight if Shift4 wins at your volume.
See also the full UK card machine rates table, every published rate in one place, or head back to the Dojo card machines hub.