Cheapest card machine for low monthly sales
If you only take a few hundred pounds a month — a hobby business, occasional market stall, or seasonal side hustle — the monthly fee and rental contracts that suit busier businesses will cost you more than they save. Here's what actually costs least at low volume.
Quick verdict
Zero upfront cost: Tap to Pay on your phone via SumUp or Lopay — no reader to buy at all, just a % per sale. Cheapest ongoing rate with hardware: Lopay Essential (0.79%, reader from £35+P&P). Avoid: any provider with a monthly rental or minimum service charge (Tyl, Paymentsense, Dojo) — at low volume, a £20–£25/month minimum charge can dwarf your actual transaction fees.
| Provider | Upfront hardware | Transaction fee | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|---|
LoLopay Essential | £35 + £6.95 P&P | 0.79% | £0 |
mymyPOS | £29 ex VAT | 1.10% + £0.07 | £0 |
SqSquare | £19 +VAT | 1.75% | £0 |
SuSumUp | £25 +VAT (or £0 Tap to Pay) | 1.69% | £0 |
ZeZettle | £29 +VAT | 1.75% | £0 |
All five providers have genuinely no monthly fee and no contract on their standard tier — figures checked directly against each provider's official pricing page on 30 July 2026. See methodology. We may earn a commission when you sign up through a link on this page — see our Affiliate Disclosure.
First-year cost at £800/month in card sales
Assume a low-volume seasonal or side business taking £800/month, average sale £20 (40 transactions/month) — hardware cost plus 12 months of transaction fees:
| Lopay Essential (£41.95 hardware + 0.79% × £800 × 12) | £117.79 |
| myPOS (£34.80 hardware inc. VAT + (1.10% × £800 + 7p × 40) × 12) | £174.00 |
| Square (£22.80 hardware inc. VAT + 1.75% × £800 × 12) | £190.80 |
| SumUp (£30.00 hardware inc. VAT + 1.69% × £800 × 12) | £192.24 |
| Zettle (£34.80 hardware inc. VAT + 1.75% × £800 × 12) | £202.80 |
Using Tap to Pay on your phone instead of buying a reader removes the hardware line entirely from this calculation — worth considering if you're not sure the business will continue past a season.
Why "cheaper on paper" providers can cost more here
Minimum monthly charges
Paymentsense's £24.95 minimum monthly service charge applies even if you take one sale that month — at £800/month volume that alone is more than triple what Lopay would charge in transaction fees.
Rental contracts
Tyl by NatWest's rental (from £13.99+VAT/month) and similar rented-terminal deals only make sense once your transaction fee savings outweigh the fixed monthly rental — unlikely at a few hundred pounds a month.
Long contracts on hardware you might not use again
A 12-month minimum term on a rented terminal is a poor fit if you're not sure you'll still be trading — or trading at the same volume — in a year.
Card-type surcharges add up proportionally more
Lopay's +1% surcharge for Amex/international cards is a bigger relative hit at low volume — factor in your likely customer card mix before assuming the headline rate is what you'll actually pay.
Frequently asked questions
What's the cheapest option with almost no volume?
Tap to Pay on your phone via SumUp or Lopay — no hardware to buy at all. For the lowest ongoing %, Lopay Essential at 0.79% is cheapest among readers we compared.
Is it worth having a card reader for occasional sales?
Yes — since all five providers here have £0 monthly fees, there's no cost in quiet months. You only pay when you actually sell something, plus the one-off hardware cost.
Selling at markets or events?
See our dedicated comparison for market stall traders.
Methodology: All pricing pulled directly from each provider's official UK pricing page (sumup.com, zettle.com, squareup.com/gb, lopay.com, mypos.com) on 30 July 2026. See our Editorial Policy.