Card machine fees calculator

What your card volume actually costs per year, on published UK rates. Every figure is checked against the provider's own pricing page; the date is on the table.

Cost per year at £5,000/month of card sales. Published rates checked 24 August 2026.
ProviderRateTransaction fees/yrHardware/yrTotal/yr
SumUpLowest listed1.69% flat£1,014£0£1,014
Zettle1.75% flat£1,050£0£1,050
Square1.75% flat£1,050£0£1,050
Dojo1.2% published£720£300£1,020

How the sums work

Yearly transaction cost is your monthly card sales × 12 × the provider's published in-person rate. Hardware is added where the provider prices it monthly: for Dojo we use the Dojo Go Max at £25/month, which is £300 a year. Buying the terminal upfront (£149, launch offer, usually £229) changes the arithmetic after year one.

A worked example at £5,000 a month: SumUp at 1.69% is £60,000 × 1.69% = £1,014 a year. Dojo at 1.2% is £60,000 × 1.2% = £720 in transaction fees, plus £300 hardware = £1,020. At that volume the two are within £6 of each other, and the decision turns on hardware, settlement speed and contract terms rather than the headline rate.

Rates last checked 24 August 2026 (). The full table across all 17 providers we track, including quote-only acquirers, is on the monthly rate check.

Questions people ask

Which rates does this calculator use?+

The published rates on each provider's own pricing page: SumUp 1.69%, Zettle 1.75%, Square 1.75%, and Dojo's 1.2% blended rate for businesses under £100,000 annual card turnover. We re-check them and update the date shown whenever a provider moves.

Why does Dojo show "custom quote" above £8,300 a month?+

Dojo only publishes its 1.2% rate for businesses under £100,000 annual card turnover, which is about £8,300 a month. Above that, rates are negotiated case by case. Above £100,000 a year Dojo quotes a custom rate on a 12-month fixed plan or 30-day rolling. We have seen quotes as low as 0.29% for high-turnover businesses.

What does the calculator leave out?+

One-off reader purchases for SumUp, Zettle and Square, keyed and online rates (which are higher than in-person rates at every provider), authorisation fees on acquirer contracts, PCI compliance charges, and minimum monthly service charges. That is exactly why a statement tells you more than a rate: the extras are where published pricing and real cost part company.

Are negotiated rates really lower than these?+

Usually, once your volume is worth fighting for. Published flat rates are aimed at small and new businesses. On negotiated acquirer pricing the lowest rate we have seen quoted is 0.29%, at high turnover. The trade-off is a contract, typically 12 months, so the comparison only makes sense with your real numbers.

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