Dojo card machines UK: pricing, review and the free terminal offer
One page for everything Dojo: what the 1.2% rate really costs at your volume, which terminal fits your business, who should pick Dojo and who genuinely should not, plus the offer when you switch to Dojo through MerchantSwitch.
MerchantSwitch is an independent comparison site. We are not Dojo, and this is not an official Dojo page: Dojo pays us a fee when a business we introduce completes a switch, and everything below is our own assessment. Rates checked: 27 August 2026. Looking for the data-style provider profile instead? See the Dojo provider profile.
The free Dojo terminal, arranged through us
- Free Dojo terminal: £0 upfront and no monthly terminal rental for the life of your contract when arranged through MerchantSwitch. Going direct, hardware is from £149 upfront or £15/month to rent.
- Up to £3,000 contract buyout: up to £3,000 towards your existing provider's exit fees when you switch to Dojo through MerchantSwitch (eligibility confirmed at quote).
- We respond in under 5 minutes.
How we are paid: the offer is funded by the fee Dojo pays us on a completed switch. It waives the hardware cost; your pricing is exactly what it would be going direct, the 1.2% all-in blended rate under £100k a year of card turnover or your custom quote above it. Full detail on how the free Dojo card machine works.
The honest quick verdict
Our full Dojo card machine review scores Dojo 4.5 out of 5, and the fee we earn on completed switches does not change the arithmetic behind that number. The 1.2% blended rate undercuts every flat-rate reader on rate alone, settlement is next-day as standard, and the combination is the strongest terminal-led package we track for businesses that get the terminal free or trade past the rental crossover.
The half point we hold back is for the contract and the fees Dojo does not publish: ending the agreement before your minimum term ends can mean an early account closure fee (amount set by your agreed plan, not published), plus any fee for equipment not returned, though there is no early account closure fee if you tell Dojo you want to end the agreement within the first month (Dojo general terms v2.0). 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, and above £100k a year of card turnover pricing sits behind a custom quote. Below the volume crossover, Dojo is often the wrong answer entirely. More on that below.
For the wider record rather than just our word: Dojo scores 4.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 5,542 reviews (checked 27 August 2026), says it serves 100,000+ UK businesses, and is a trading name of Paymentsense Limited, authorised and regulated by the FCA (FRN 738728). The recurring complaint in the negative reviews is sales-call volume before signup, not the product afterwards.
Dojo pricing in one paragraph
Under £100,000 a year of card turnover, Dojo publishes a 1.2% all-in blended rate for all card transactions. 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. Above £100,000 the rate is a custom quote on a 12-month fixed plan or 30-day rolling plan, and we have seen quotes as low as 0.29% for high-turnover businesses. Hardware is from £149 upfront or £15/month going direct, waived when the deal is arranged through us. The Essential software plan is free and Plus is £11.99/month per location (the £11.99 price is for new customers and new locations from 24 August 2026; £25/month per location standard). Checked November 2026.
How the quote is built, worked examples at two turnover levels, and where the pay-as-you-go crossover sits: Dojo pricing UK, explained in full.
The terminals: Go Max, Pocket, Wired and Tap to Pay on iPhone
Dojo's current lineup (per dojo.tech, checked August 2026) covers four ways to take a payment. Dojo Go Max is the portable all-rounder: touchscreen, roughly 10-hour battery, built-in thermal printer, and automatic WiFi or 4G connectivity so a dropped connection does not stop payments. Dojo Pocket is the slim handheld for table service, taking orders and payments on one device with digital receipts. Dojo Wired is the countertop option for till-side trade, and Tap to Pay on iPhone needs no hardware at all. Going direct, the Go Max is £149 upfront (launch offer, usually £229) or £25/month, the Pocket £239 or £20/month and the Wired £179 or £15/month (prices checked November 2026); through MerchantSwitch the terminal is free.
Full spec table and which machine fits counter service versus table service: the Dojo card machine lineup compared.
Who Dojo suits, and who it does not
A good fit if you:
- Take enough on cards for the rate gap to count: 1.2% is 0.49 points under SumUp, so at £5,000 a month you pay £60.00 against £84.50 (and the gap widens with volume)
- Run hospitality or retail and care about next-day settlement (with weekends available on the faster settlement upgrade)
- Want out of a long acquirer contract: Dojo's cancellation-fee cover (up to £3,000 through MerchantSwitch; eligibility confirmed at quote) is built for exactly that
- Need pay-at-table or EPOS-integrated hardware
Look elsewhere if you:
- Would rent the terminal direct and take under about £3,060 a month on cards (Dojo Wired at £15/month) or £5,100 (Dojo Go Max at £25/month). At £2,000 a month, 1.2% is £24.00 plus £25.00 for a rented Go Max, £49.00 in all, against £33.80 at SumUp with no contract
- Trade seasonally or sporadically, where a minimum monthly payment and a minimum term punish quiet months twice
- Will not commit to a minimum term: the early account closure fee is real once the first month passes
We say this on every Dojo page because it is true and because it is the test of whether you can trust the rest: below the rental crossover, do not rent a Dojo terminal, and whatever your volume, get the minimum monthly payment in writing before you sign. Our small business card machine guide covers the low-volume options properly.
See what Dojo would quote your business
Free Dojo terminal (no rental) through MerchantSwitch, and up to £3,000 towards exit fees if you are switching (eligibility confirmed at quote). We respond in under 5 minutes.
Dojo against every provider we track
Seventeen head-to-heads, each costed at multiple turnover levels. Dojo does not win all of them, which is rather the point of publishing them.
Getting Dojo: eligibility and setup
Dojo underwrites each application like any acquirer, so the process is: application, approval, terminal delivery. A contracted acquirer switch typically takes 1-4 weeks end to end, with approval commonly inside 24-48 hours and the terminal arriving a day or two later. If you are leaving another contract, the 30 to 90 day notice period on the old provider runs in parallel, and Dojo's switching cover pays up to £3,000 of the exit fees when you switch through MerchantSwitch (eligibility confirmed at quote).
Who qualifies, what documents to have ready, and the week-by-week timeline: Dojo eligibility and setup.
Dojo card machine FAQs
How much does a Dojo card machine cost?
It depends on your card turnover. Under £100,000 a year, Dojo publishes a 1.2% all-in blended transaction rate for all card transactions. 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. Above £100,000 the rate is a custom quote on a 12-month fixed plan or 30-day rolling plan, and we have seen quotes as low as 0.29% for high-turnover businesses. Hardware going direct: Dojo Go Max £149 upfront (launch offer, usually £229) or £25/month, Dojo Pocket £239 or £20/month, Dojo Wired £179 or £15/month; arranged through MerchantSwitch the terminal comes with £0 upfront and no monthly rental for the life of your contract. Prices checked November 2026.
Is the free Dojo terminal offer genuine?
Yes. Arranged through MerchantSwitch, the Dojo terminal comes with £0 upfront and no monthly terminal rental for the life of your contract. Going direct, the terminal costs from £149 upfront or from £15/month to rent. To be clear about how we are paid: MerchantSwitch is a free comparison service and Dojo pays us a fee when a match completes. The offer waives the hardware cost; it does not change the pricing, which is the 1.2% all-in blended rate under £100,000 a year or your custom quote above it.
Is Dojo any good?
Our editorial review scores Dojo 4.5 out of 5. The case for: on rate alone the 1.2% blended rate beats every flat-rate reader at any volume (at £5,000 a month it costs £60.00 against £84.50 at SumUp and £87.50 at Square), settlement is next-day as standard, and the hardware is strong. No early account closure fee if you tell Dojo you want to end the agreement within the first month (Dojo general terms v2.0). The case against: ending the agreement before your minimum term ends can mean an early account closure fee (amount set by your agreed plan, not published), plus any fee for equipment not returned; Dojo does not publish its secure transaction fee, refund fee or minimum monthly payment; and if you rent the terminal direct, a no-contract reader stays cheaper below about £3,060 a month (Dojo Wired at £15/month) to £5,100 (Dojo Go Max at £25/month).
What is the difference between Dojo Go Max and Dojo Pocket?
Dojo Go Max is the portable all-rounder: touchscreen, roughly 10-hour battery, built-in thermal receipt printer, and automatic WiFi or 4G connectivity. Dojo Pocket is a slimmer handheld built for hospitality: staff take orders and payments at the table on one device, receipts go out digitally by email or QR code rather than from a built-in printer, and it connects to EPOS systems. Going direct, the Go Max is £149 upfront (launch offer, usually £229) or £25/month, and the Pocket £239 or £20/month (prices checked November 2026); through MerchantSwitch the terminal is free either way. Specs per dojo.tech, checked August 2026.
Does Dojo tie you into a long contract?
Dojo does not publish one contract length: any minimum term is set in your application documents, and above £100,000 a year the custom rate comes on a 12-month fixed plan or 30-day rolling plan. No early account closure fee if you tell Dojo you want to end the agreement within the first month (Dojo general terms v2.0). Ending the agreement before your minimum term ends can mean an early account closure fee (amount set by your agreed plan, not published), plus any fee for equipment not returned. To leave, Dojo asks for at least one month’s written notice. If you are currently stuck in another acquirer's contract, Dojo pays up to £3,000 towards your existing provider's exit fees when you switch through MerchantSwitch (eligibility confirmed at quote).
Is MerchantSwitch part of Dojo?
No. MerchantSwitch is an independent UK comparison site. You can switch to Dojo through MerchantSwitch, but we are not Dojo, we do not speak for Dojo, and we compare Dojo against the rest of the market on the same terms as every other provider we track. Dojo pays us a fee when a business we introduce completes a switch, which is how the free-terminal arrangement is funded. The comparison service is free to you and there is no obligation.
MerchantSwitch is an independent comparison site; you can switch to Dojo through MerchantSwitch, and Dojo pays us a fee when a business we introduce completes a switch. We are an introducer, not a lender or acquirer, and we are not regulated by the FCA. Pricing figures are from dojo.tech/pricing and Dojo's terms, checked November 2026 (see the corrections log); above £100k a year of card turnover rates are quoted per business, so always confirm with a current quote.