5 Best SumUp Alternatives for Scaling UK Businesses (Cheaper Fees & Better Features)
Daniel Zvi
If you are a growing UK merchant tired of SumUp's flat 1.69% transaction fees eating into your margins as your sales volume increases, the best alternative depends entirely on your setup. Square is the best direct alternative for retail point-of-sale (POS) features, Worldpay offers cheaper custom rates for high-volume sellers processing over £5,000 monthly, and EPOS Now is the top choice for hospitality. Here is a breakdown of the best SumUp alternatives based on your specific business needs to help you secure lower fees and better features.
Square – Best for Omni-Channel UK Retailers
Our top picks for February 2026
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Simple price structures
Who is Square best for?
Square is best for UK retail and service-based businesses who need a seamless, all-in-one ecosystem that connects their physical storefront with their online website. While SumUp offers basic online tools, Square provides robust inventory management, free online store creation, and integrated marketing straight out of the box.
Why is Square a good alternative to SumUp?
Square is a superior alternative to SumUp because of its advanced, industry-specific point-of-sale software that comes with zero monthly fees. While SumUp's app is essentially a basic item library and calculator, Square offers specialised free software tiers like Square for Retail and Square for Restaurants. This gives you deep inventory tracking and staff management without forcing you into an expensive hardware contract, and unlike SumUp, Square does not charge a £10 chargeback fee.
What are the key features?
- Next-business-day payouts as standard (Instant transfers available for a 1.5% fee).
- No chargeback fees or hidden monthly contracts.
- Advanced POS apps tailored to retail, appointments, and hospitality.
- Built-in e-commerce integration with automatic inventory syncing.
EPOS Now – Best for UK Hospitality and Restaurants
Our top picks for February 2026
Who is EPOS Now best for?
EPOS Now is best for busy UK pubs, restaurants, and cafes that require comprehensive table management, kitchen display system (KDS) integration, and granular stock control. It is built for businesses that have moved past basic counter-service tap-and-go payments and need a central hub for their operations.
Why is EPOS Now a good alternative to SumUp?
EPOS Now easily beats SumUp in the hospitality sector because it offers complete, robust till systems with built-in hospitality workflows. SumUp’s mobile readers are fantastic for market stalls, but EPOS Now provides full-scale hardware terminals capable of splitting complex bills, tracking ingredient-level inventory (like pints poured vs. keg weight), and managing floor plans in real-time.
What are the key features?
- Customisable dashboard with real-time stock deductions.
- Seamless integration with major delivery apps (Deliveroo, UberEats, JustEat).
- Staff management tools including clock-in/out and performance tracking.
- Works offline to ensure you never miss a sale during internet outages.
Worldpay – Best for High-Volume Established Merchants
Our top picks for February 2026
Who is Worldpay best for?
Worldpay is best for established UK businesses processing over £5,000 to £10,000 per month who want to negotiate bespoke, lower transaction rates rather than paying a flat, one-size-fits-all percentage.
Why is Worldpay a good alternative to SumUp?
Worldpay is a better alternative for scaling businesses because it uses custom, interchange-plus pricing models that drastically lower transaction fees at high volumes. SumUp's flat 1.69% fee is incredibly expensive if you are processing £20k a month; Worldpay acts as a traditional merchant acquirer, offering custom rates (often closer to 0.75% for debit cards) and dedicated account management for scaling enterprises.
What are the key features?
- Bespoke transaction rates tailored to your business's monthly processing volume.
- Reliable, heavy-duty Ingenico card machines (Countertop, Portable, and Mobile).
- 24/7 UK-based customer support.
- Next-day settlement available for major UK banks.
Tide – Best for Unified Business Banking & Payments
Our top picks for February 2026
Who is Tide best for?
Tide is best for UK freelancers, contractors, and small business owners who want to manage their business bank account, invoicing, and card payments all within a single, unified app.
Why is Tide a good alternative to SumUp?
Tide stands out from SumUp by offering a deeply integrated financial ecosystem where your card reader feeds directly into your Tide business bank account with incredibly low fees. While SumUp does offer a basic business account, Tide is a mature, specialised banking platform that provides advanced expense management, automated accounting sync (Xero, QuickBooks), and highly competitive payment processing rates starting much lower than SumUp's default.
What are the key features?
- Card reader payments settle straight into your Tide business account.
- Low transaction fees starting from just 0.79% + 3p.
- Lifetime free 4G connectivity on their Plus card readers.
- Built-in invoice generation and automated expense tracking.
Airwallex – Best for E-commerce & Multi-Currency Sales
Our top picks for February 2026
Who is Airwallex best for?
Airwallex is best for UK e-commerce brands, digital agencies, and B2B merchants who process a high volume of international payments and need to avoid exorbitant foreign exchange (FX) fees.
Why is Airwallex a good alternative to SumUp?
Airwallex destroys SumUp when it comes to global commerce because it offers borderless accounts that allow you to accept, hold, and send funds in multiple currencies without forced conversions. If you use SumUp for international online sales, you get hit with hefty non-UK card fees (2.5% + 25p) and FX markups. Airwallex bypasses this entirely by letting you collect locally.
What are the key features?
- Accept payments in 170+ currencies with zero forced FX conversion.
- Create global payment links for B2B clients in seconds.
- Seamless integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento.
- Issue physical and virtual multi-currency corporate cards to your team.
Finding the Right SumUp Alternative for Scaling UK Businesses
SumUp is a fantastic entry-level tool for weekend market traders and brand-new startups. But as your transaction volume grows, a flat-rate fee structure quickly becomes a financial liability, and basic software will bottleneck your staff's efficiency. Whether you need the omni-channel brilliance of Square, the hospitality heavy-lifting of EPOS Now, or the high-volume cost savings of Worldpay, the UK merchant services space has evolved — and so should your strategy.
The brands we compared today:
- Square
- EPOS Now
- Worldpay
- Tide
- Airwallex
Ask yourself these questions to decide:
- Am I processing more than £5,000 a month and need custom, cheaper rates?
- Do I run a restaurant or pub that needs table plans and KDS?
- Do I want my online store and physical shop inventory synced perfectly for free?
- Am I selling software or physical goods overseas and losing money on FX fees?
Ready to get started?
- 👉 EPOS Now Review
- 👉 Square Review
- 👉 Tide Review
- 👉 Global Payments / Worldpay Review
- 👉 Airwallex Review
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is there a cheaper alternative to SumUp in the UK?
A: Yes. If you have a high monthly sales volume (over £5,000), traditional merchant providers like Worldpay offer custom rates that are significantly cheaper than SumUp's flat 1.69%. Alternatively, Tide offers transaction fees starting from 0.79% + 3p for users of its banking ecosystem.
Q: Why do growing businesses switch away from SumUp?
A: Growing businesses typically switch from SumUp for two reasons: high fees at scale and a lack of advanced POS features. A flat 1.69% fee is expensive for high-revenue businesses, and SumUp’s software lacks the deep inventory and table management features found in EPOS Now or Square.
Q: Are Square fees higher than SumUp in the UK?
A: For basic, in-person chip and PIN transactions, Square's standard fee (1.75%) is slightly higher than SumUp's (1.69%). However, Square does not charge for chargebacks (SumUp charges £10), and Square's free POS software includes vastly superior features, making it a better overall financial value for many retailers.
Q: Which SumUp alternative is best for international online payments?
A: Airwallex is the best alternative for international payments. Unlike SumUp, which charges higher processing fees for non-UK cards (2.5% + 25p), Airwallex allows you to collect and hold multiple global currencies locally, avoiding high FX conversion markups.
Q: Can I use EPOS Now hardware with SumUp?
A: No, EPOS Now is a standalone point-of-sale and payment provider. If you switch to EPOS Now for your hospitality or retail business, you will use their dedicated hardware terminals and payment processing gateways, completely replacing the need for a SumUp reader.
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