Dojo vs SumUp: which card machine saves you more?
This one genuinely depends on your volume. Under £5,000 a month SumUp's £0 monthly fee wins; above £10,000 a month Dojo's lower rate takes over, saving roughly £90 a month in transaction fees at £10,000 (about £960 a year once Dojo's £9.95 subscription is counted). Between the two bands the totals come out similar either way.
Rates and contract terms checked July 2026 · Based on providers' published pricing
Dojo
- Transaction
- From 0.79%
- Monthly
- £9.95
- Hardware
- £0
SumUp
- Transaction
- 1.69%
- Monthly
- £0
- Hardware
- £29-£39
The verdict, by monthly card volume
Low fees (Dojo) versus no monthly fee (SumUp): which wins depends on how much you take on cards each month.
| Monthly card volume | Cheaper option | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Under £5,000/month | SumUp | No monthly fee saves money |
| £5,000-£10,000/month | Either | Similar total cost |
| Over £10,000/month | Dojo | Lower percentage fees save £1,000+ a year |
The takeaway:the crossover sits between £5,000 and £10,000 a month. Below it, SumUp's £0 monthly fee outweighs its higher 1.69% rate; above it, Dojo's from-0.79% rate more than covers the £9.95 subscription, and the saving grows with every pound of turnover.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Dojo | SumUp |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction fee | From 0.79% | 1.69% |
| Monthly fee | £9.95 | £0 |
| Hardware | £0 upfront | £29-£39 |
| Contract | 18 months | None |
Where Dojo wins
- Transaction rate - from 0.79% vs SumUp's 1.69%
- No upfront hardware cost - £0 vs £29-£39 for a reader
- High volume - the cheaper total at £10,000+ a month, by £1,000+ a year
Where SumUp wins
- No monthly fee - £0 vs Dojo's £9.95 subscription
- No contract - walk away any time vs an 18-month term
- Low volume - the cheaper total under £5,000 a month
How we calculated this
We take Dojo's and SumUp's published or typical advertised rates and apply them to example monthly card volumes (under £5,000 to over £10,000 a month). 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 SumUp before you commit.
The verdict
Choose Dojo if
- You take £10,000 or more a month on cards
- You want the lowest per-transaction rate, from 0.79%
- You want £0 upfront on hardware
- You are comfortable with an 18-month term
Choose SumUp if
- You take under £5,000 a month on cards
- You want no monthly fee
- You want no contract at all
- You are happy to buy the reader for £29-£39
Want this worked out at your exact numbers?
Tell us your monthly card takings and we'll run Dojo, SumUp and 13 other UK providers at your volume. Free, no obligation.
See also the full UK card machine rates table, all 15 providers in one place.