Alternatives to UK card terminals
Pick the terminal you are considering or already using. Each page ranks 5 UK alternatives on rate, contract, hardware and best-fit, then explains when to stick with the original. Real data from our terminals dataset.
| Terminal | Rating | Rate | Contract | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alternatives to Dojo Go Max | 4.4 / 5 | 1.2% blended below £100,000 a year in card takings (custom rate above) | 12 months minimum | Hospitality (restaurants, pubs, cafés) |
| Alternatives to SumUp Solo | 4.2 / 5 | 1.69% per transaction | No contract | Sole traders, mobile traders, market stalls |
| Alternatives to Tap to Pay on iPhone (no terminal) | 4.2 / 5 | Set by the provider you use it with; see that provider's own pricing page | No fixed term for the feature itself; any contract is with your provider | Mobile traders, dog groomers, mobile beauticians |
| Alternatives to Square Terminal | 4.1 / 5 | 1.75% per transaction (UK) | No contract | Independent retail |
| Alternatives to Teya Pro | 4.1 / 5 | Bespoke (blended, tiered or interchange++ per merchant) | Rolling monthly plan, no lock-in | Hospitality and retail wanting weekend settlement without a 12-month contract |
| Alternatives to Adyen for Platforms | 4.0 / 5 | Interchange-plus pricing, quoted per merchant | Quoted per merchant (not published) | Larger merchants with high card volume |
| Alternatives to Stripe Reader S700 | 4.0 / 5 | 1.4% + 10p EEA cards, 2.9% + 10p non-EEA (Stripe standard Terminal pricing) | No contract (Stripe standard pay-as-you-go terms) | Existing Stripe online merchants |
| Alternatives to Zettle Reader 2 | 4.0 / 5 | 1.75% per transaction | No contract | Existing PayPal merchants |
| Alternatives to BBPOS WisePOS E | 3.9 / 5 | 1.4% + 10p EEA cards, 2.9% + 10p non-EEA cards when used with Stripe | No contract when used with Stripe | Tech-led businesses with developer resource |
| Alternatives to Stripe Reader M2 | 3.9 / 5 | Custom (Stripe pricing) | Stripe terms | Existing Stripe online merchants |
| Alternatives to BBPOS WisePad 3 | 3.8 / 5 | 1.4% + 10p EEA cards, 2.9% + 10p non-EEA cards when used with Stripe | No contract when used with Stripe | Existing Stripe online merchants adding in-person |
| Alternatives to PAX A920 Pro | 3.8 / 5 | Acquirer-dependent | Not published; often 12 to 36 months via the acquirer or ISO (our estimate) | Hospitality, retail and salons via a broker or ISO |
| Alternatives to Tide Card Reader | 3.8 / 5 | 1.5% per transaction (UK) | No contract | Existing Tide Business banking customers |
| Alternatives to PAX A77 | 3.7 / 5 | Acquirer-dependent | Typically 12 to 36 months via the acquirer / ISO | Mobile traders via ISO / broker |
| Alternatives to Revolut Card Reader | 3.7 / 5 | 0.8% to 1.0% per transaction (depending on subscription tier) | Subscription-tier dependent (Revolut Business plan) | Existing Revolut Business customers |
| Alternatives to Tyl by NatWest | 3.7 / 5 | Published standard rate 1.39% + 5p; bespoke pricing for higher-turnover merchants | 12 to 18 months typical | NatWest Business banking customers |
| Alternatives to Ingenico iWL250 / Move 5000 | 3.5 / 5 | Acquirer-dependent; blended or interchange-plus negotiated per merchant | Typically 12 to 48 months via the acquirer | Existing acquirer-bundled deployments |
| Alternatives to Verifone V200c / V400m | 3.5 / 5 | Acquirer-dependent; blended or interchange-plus negotiated per merchant | Not published; often 12 to 48 months via the acquirer (our estimate) | Existing Worldpay, Barclaycard or Elavon merchants |
| Alternatives to Worldpay terminals (legacy estate) | 3.5 / 5 | Negotiated per merchant; blended or interchange-plus | 12 to 60 months | Existing Worldpay merchants on a fair-priced contract |
FAQ
How do you choose the alternatives on each page?
Each page starts from a hand-curated seed of the most-considered alternatives for that terminal, then tops up to five with the next-highest-rated terminal in our database that shares at least one best-fit cluster. Ratings, rates, contracts and hardware costs are pulled from the MerchantHQ terminals dataset.
Are these alternatives ranked on price alone?
No. Cheapest on headline rate is not always cheapest on year-one cost once you factor in hardware, monthly fees and ecosystem lock-in. Each page ranks on rate, contract, hardware and best-fit, and flags when to stick with the original terminal.
Is MerchantHQ tied to any of these providers?
MerchantHQ runs whole-of-market switching support across 40+ UK card-payment providers. Quote enquiries go to one card-payments broker, Merchant Advice Service, which pays us a fee for each introduction; acquirers do not pay us commission on quote enquiries. That fee never affects a ranking. Written by Adam Parker for Best Business Loans Ltd (16833937).
Last updated: . Written by Adam Parker for Best Business Loans Ltd (16833937).