The quick answer

SumUp and Zettle both make it fairly easy to start taking cards without signing a traditional long contract. The better choice depends less on a tiny fee difference and more on how you work.

A mobile hairdresser may want a standalone machine that does not borrow their phone all day. A flower shop may care more about creating products and checking sales. A market trader needs something quick to pack, charge and use. A café needs to know whether the app can keep up when five customers arrive at once.

Choose SumUp if simple card-taking, reader choice and low fixed commitment are the priority. Consider PayPal Point of Sale, still widely called Zettle, if you prefer its app, already use PayPal or like the way its product and checkout tools work.

The current headline difference is small but real: SumUp lists 1.69% for pay-as-you-go in-person payments, while PayPal lists 1.75% for POS card and contactless payments. On £5,000 of monthly card sales, that difference is only £3. The machine, where the money lands, how easy staff find it and any online fees can matter more.

There is no permanent winner. Both providers can change prices and offers. Hold the machine, try the app and compare a full year using the months when you are busy and the months when trade is quiet.

SumUp and Zettle in 60 seconds

Zettle is now part of PayPal’s POS offer

Zettle by PayPal has been folded into PayPal’s business product and is presented on current UK pricing pages as PayPal Point of Sale. Existing owners and many searches still use “Zettle”, so this guide uses “PayPal POS (Zettle)” where the distinction matters.

Do not assume every PayPal fee applies to the card reader. PayPal publishes separate prices for PayPal wallet payments, online card processing, payment links and POS. This guide compares face-to-face card sales first, then flags the remote-payment differences.

Headline comparison

Prices below were checked on 11 September 2026. SumUp hardware prices are promotional figures shown at the time of checking and exclude VAT. PayPal’s £29 first-reader offer also excludes VAT and has eligibility and availability terms.

Sources: SumUp pricing, SumUp card readers and PayPal UK business pricing, checked 11 September 2026.

Fees: a small headline gap, a bigger plan decision

SumUp pay as you go

SumUp’s default in-person rate is 1.69% with no monthly fee. It also states 2.5% for online payments. This suits seasonal or unpredictable businesses because there is no subscription to recover during a quiet month.

SumUp Payments Plus

Payments Plus costs £19 a month or £189 a year. It reduces eligible domestic debit and credit card payments to 0.99%. Premium, international and American Express cards remain at 1.69%, while online payments remain at 2.5%. The 0.99% figure must not be applied to the entire card mix unless every payment qualifies.

SumUp’s pages give slightly different turnover cues: the main pricing page says the plan can save money from around £3,000 a month, while the card-reader page refers to monthly sales above £3,300. The mathematical break-even with 100% eligible card sales is about £2,714 because £19 ÷ (1.69% - 0.99%) = £2,714. A mixed card book pushes the break-even higher. Use your own statements.

PayPal POS

PayPal lists 1.75% for card and contactless POS payments. There is no fixed fee in the headline POS rate. It says custom pricing may be available for eligible businesses with large payment volume or unusual models.

PayPal’s online fees are a separate comparison. Its UK page lists 2.9% + 30p for PayPal and Pay in 3, and 1.2% + 30p for standard domestic card processing. Those figures should not be substituted for the 1.75% POS rate or assumed to apply to every integration.

Worked monthly cost comparison

A mobile service business taking £4,000

Assumptions: 160 in-person payments averaging £25; no refunds; all SumUp payments qualify for the lower rate if Plus is selected; VAT on hardware is excluded from this transaction-fee calculation.

• SumUp pay as you go: £4,000 × 1.69% = £67.60
• SumUp Payments Plus: £4,000 × 0.99% + £19 = £39.60 + £19 = £58.60
• PayPal POS: £4,000 × 1.75% = £70.00

Under those assumptions, SumUp Plus saves £9 a month versus SumUp pay as you go and £11.40 versus PayPal POS. If 25% of the SumUp sales are premium or international cards charged at 1.69%, the Plus cost becomes:

• Eligible sales: £3,000 × 0.99% = £29.70
• Other cards: £1,000 × 1.69% = £16.90
• Plan: £19
• Total: £65.60

The saving over SumUp pay as you go falls to £2. The card mix changes the decision.

A seasonal market trader

Assume six busy months at £5,000 of eligible card sales and six quiet months at £600.

• SumUp pay as you go: £33,600 × 1.69% = £567.84 a year
• SumUp Plus monthly all year: £33,600 × 0.99% + £228 = £332.64 + £228 = £560.64
• SumUp Plus annual price: £33,600 × 0.99% + £189 = £521.64
• PayPal POS: £33,600 × 1.75% = £588.00

The annual SumUp plan wins in the simplified example, but only by £46.20 against SumUp pay as you go. If the business can cancel the monthly plan and if plan terms permit the intended pattern, paying only for selected busy months may be worth modelling. Confirm current cancellation and rejoining terms rather than assuming.

Hardware: start with the way you actually sell

Phone-connected readers

SumUp Solo Lite and the PayPal Card Reader both pair with a phone or tablet. This keeps the purchase cost down, but the phone becomes part of the till. Check battery life, mobile data, Bluetooth stability, screen visibility and whether staff are comfortable using a shared or personal device.

SumUp currently shows Solo Lite at £19 excluding VAT, against a normal £25 shown on the same page. PayPal lists £29 excluding VAT for a first reader for a new eligible business user and £69 for additional readers. Promotional and first-device prices can disappear, so budget replacements and additional checkout points at the ordinary price.

Standalone and all-in-one devices

SumUp Solo works independently without pairing to a phone and is shown at £59 promotional price, normally £79, excluding VAT. SumUp Terminal is a handheld POS with receipt printing and is shown at £99 promotional price, normally £135.

PayPal Terminal is £149 excluding VAT, or £199 with the built-in barcode scanner. The printer and dock are separate. A standalone unit can be worth more than the price difference when several staff members share it, but it is not automatically a complete stock system.

What to test in person

Create a small catalogue with variants, discounts and VAT. Take a chip-and-PIN payment, issue a refund and resend a receipt. Put the device at the farthest normal selling point. Turn off Wi-Fi and reproduce the real fallback connection. If paper receipts are essential, print several quickly and price replacement rolls.

POS software and stock

Both providers offer a free POS app that can record products and payments. The question is whether the included features match the business after the first month.

For a stall with 40 items, a clear product grid and simple daily report may be enough. For a shop with thousands of variants, purchase orders, supplier records, stock transfers and an ecommerce channel, neither entry app should be accepted without a detailed demonstration. Compare a fuller EPOS system and price the time spent fixing stock differences.

PayPal POS can be attractive if you already use PayPal, but one brand does not mean one fee or one simple report. Check that you can clearly tell apart card-reader sales, PayPal wallet sales and online card payments.

SumUp also offers payment links, invoices, an online store and a Business Account. These have different fees. They are only helpful if orders, customers and money received are easy to match without creating more evening admin.

Where the money lands

SumUp says proceeds are available in the included SumUp Business Account by 7am the next day, including weekends and public holidays. The account includes a Mastercard for spending. If you want the money in a separate high-street bank account, verify the transfer route and timing instead of treating “next day” as the final destination.

PayPal proceeds sit within the PayPal business environment before any bank withdrawal. Check the account’s actual withdrawal options, holds and bank timing. A business that buys stock from the settlement account may value one route; an owner who insists every payout lands directly in an existing bank may value another.

Run a live low-value test after approval, then reconcile gross sale, fee and net amount. Do not submit test transactions from an article preview or a live lead form.

Online payments are a different contest

SumUp charges 2.5% for online payments on both its standard and Payments Plus pricing shown at the time of checking. PayPal’s UK business page lists 2.9% + 30p for PayPal wallet and Pay in 3 payments, but 1.2% + 30p for standard domestic card processing. Eligibility, integration, international additions and product terms matter.

For a £10 payment, the fixed 30p is 3% before the percentage fee. For a £100 payment, it is 0.3%. That is why an in-person comparison cannot be reused for invoices or payment links. Model each channel with its own basket size and fee.

If most revenue is remote, start with our online payment guide and treat the reader as the secondary decision.

Business-by-business recommendations

Market stalls and pop-ups

SumUp’s slightly lower standard rate and inexpensive reader range are attractive. PayPal POS may still be the better choice if you find its app easier or already use the PayPal account every day. Carry a charged backup phone or another way to take payment.

Mobile hair, beauty and trades

Look at payment links for deposits as well as the face-to-face fee. Confirm whether the remote-payment cost outweighs any saving on the final balance. A standalone reader avoids pairing to a personal phone, while a low-cost connected reader keeps initial spending down.

Small shops

Test barcodes, variants, refunds and staff access. PayPal’s Terminal with scanner can simplify a very small catalogue, but a stock-heavy business may need fuller software. SumUp Terminal offers a handheld POS and printer at a lower current promotional purchase price, but compare the software functions, not just the device.

Cafés and food businesses

Test modifiers, tips, order notes, receipt speed and an internet failure. Check whether the handheld device survives a full shift and where it can be charged without blocking service. For table service or kitchen routing, price sector-specific POS before choosing a reader.

Seasonal businesses

Pay-as-you-go pricing reduces fixed cost in quiet months. SumUp Plus can still win over a year if the eligible busy-month volume covers the subscription. Build a month-by-month model rather than multiplying the best month by 12.

Contract and support questions

Neither standard offer is built around a traditional multi-year terminal rental, but account and hardware terms still matter. Ask:

• Is the displayed device price promotional, first-device-only or conditional?
• How much are additional and replacement readers?
• Are delivery, docks, printers and accessories extra?
• Which cards qualify for every quoted rate?
• What are the telephone and message support hours?
• Where does settlement arrive and when can it be spent?
• What can trigger a reserve, hold or further account review?
• Can products, customers and sales be exported in a usable format?
• What happens to paid plans if the business closes for a season?

Keep the written answers with the current fee schedule. A verbal “all cards are the same” is not enough when a plan distinguishes domestic consumer, premium and international cards.