Alternatives to Adyen for Platforms: 5 Better-Fit UK Card Machines in 2026
If you are looking at alternatives to Adyen for Platforms, the usual reason is one of two things: quoted per merchant and aimed at larger merchants, or the fact that Adyen for Platforms is the wrong fit for small SMBs. The five UK card machines below solve one or both of those problems. Dojo Go Max is our strongest-fit alternative (rate: 1.2% blended below £100,000 a year in card takings (custom rate above); contract: 12 months minimum). SumUp Solo runs with no contract if lock-in is the blocker. The rest of this page is the 5-card shortlist, then a short "when to stick with Adyen for Platforms" block for balance, then how we picked, then FAQs. Rates, contracts and hardware prices come from the same terminal data as our full reviews.
Top 5 alternatives to Adyen for Platforms
| Alternative | Rate | Hardware | Contract | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Dojo Go Max | 1.2% blended below £100,000 a year in card takings (custom rate above) | £149 upfront on a launch offer (£229 full price) or £25 a month | 12 months minimum | Hospitality (restaurants, pubs, cafés) |
| 2. SumUp Solo | 1.69% per transaction | £79 + VAT list price (SumUp often discounts it) | No contract | Sole traders, mobile traders, market stalls |
| 3. Stripe Reader S700 | 1.4% + 10p EEA cards, 2.9% + 10p non-EEA (Stripe standard Terminal pricing) | £229 excl. VAT | No contract (Stripe standard pay-as-you-go terms) | Existing Stripe online merchants |
| 4. PAX A920 Pro | Acquirer-dependent | Often rented through the acquirer or ISO; confirm the price with them | Not published; often 12 to 36 months via the acquirer or ISO (our estimate) | Hospitality, retail and salons via a broker or ISO |
| 5. Worldpay terminals (legacy estate) | Negotiated per merchant; blended or interchange-plus | Rental (typical), £15 to £30 per terminal per month | 12 to 60 months | Existing Worldpay merchants on a fair-priced contract |
1. Dojo Go Max
1.2% blended below £100,000 a year in card takings (custom rate above) · £149 upfront on a launch offer (£229 full price) or £25 a month · 12 months minimum
Dojo Go Max is the strongest UK card terminal for hospitality and retail at £10k+ monthly card volume in 2026.
- Same-next-day settlement (unusual in UK).
- Robust hardware tested across hospitality.
- 12-month minimum contract.
2. SumUp Solo
1.69% per transaction · £79 + VAT list price (SumUp often discounts it) · No contract
SumUp Solo is the strongest no-contract UK card terminal for sole traders, mobile businesses and sub-£15k monthly card volume in 2026. £79 + VAT hardware at list price, 1.69% per transaction on pay-as-you-go, no contract, no monthly fee, free 4G SIM.
- No contract, no monthly fee.
- Single transparent rate (1.69%).
- 1.69% is uncompetitive at higher volumes.
1.4% + 10p EEA cards, 2.9% + 10p non-EEA (Stripe standard Terminal pricing) · £229 excl. VAT · No contract (Stripe standard pay-as-you-go terms)
Stripe Reader S700 is the strongest UK card terminal for businesses already running on Stripe online in 2026. £229 excl. VAT hardware, a 5.5in Android touchscreen, and custom checkout flows via the Stripe Terminal SDK.
- Tight Stripe integration (online + in-person on one stack).
- Touchscreen UI with custom apps via Stripe Terminal SDK.
- Higher upfront cost at £229 excl. VAT.
4. PAX A920 Pro
Acquirer-dependent · Often rented through the acquirer or ISO; confirm the price with them · Not published; often 12 to 36 months via the acquirer or ISO (our estimate)
PAX A920 Pro is an Android-based handheld payment terminal with a built-in receipt printer, supplied in the UK through acquirers, ISOs and brokers.
- Android platform that acquirers can customise.
- Receipt printer built in.
- Often rented rather than bought, with lock-in through the acquirer contract.
Negotiated per merchant; blended or interchange-plus · Rental (typical), £15 to £30 per terminal per month · 12 to 60 months
Worldpay's terminal estate covers a long tail of older Verifone and Ingenico hardware plus newer PAX deployments. Pricing is rarely competitive vs the modern fintech acquirers.
- Well-supported across UK retail and hospitality.
- Specific integrations with legacy POS systems.
- Pricing rarely competitive vs Dojo, SumUp, Square.
When to stick with Adyen for Platforms
Adyen for Platforms is still the right choice for larger merchants with high card volume and multi-currency or international flow. The two strongest reasons buyers stay: interchange-plus pricing, and global multi-currency coverage. If your business sits inside larger merchants with high card volume, switching is friction without upside. The alternatives above are for buyers who hit a real blocker on Adyen for Platforms, not for buyers who are just shopping rate.
Read the full Adyen for Platforms review for the year-one cost model, hardware detail and full verdict.
How we picked these alternatives
Each shortlist starts from a hand-curated seed of the 4 most-considered alternatives for the source terminal in UK 2026 buyer journeys, then tops up to 5 with the next-highest-rated terminal in our database that shares at least one best-fit cluster with the source. The intent is to keep the shortlist semantically meaningful: an alternative to a sole-trader reader is another sole-trader reader, not an enterprise platform.
Ratings, rates, contracts and hardware costs are pulled from the MerchantHQ terminals dataset. Headline rates are verified against each acquirer's public pricing; bespoke rates apply above roughly £20k monthly card volume so always verify the live commercials before signing.
MerchantHQ is owned and operated by Best Business Loans Ltd (16833937), directed by Oliver Mackman. Editorial methodology: how we score UK card terminals.
FAQ
What is better than Adyen for Platforms in 2026?
Dojo Go Max is the strongest-fit of the five alternatives to Adyen for Platforms. Rate: 1.2% blended below £100,000 a year in card takings (custom rate above). Contract: 12 months minimum. Hardware: £149 upfront on a launch offer (£229 full price) or £25 a month. The honest caveat: "better" depends on your card volume and trade. For larger merchants with high card volume, Adyen for Platforms still holds up.
Is there a free alternative to Adyen for Platforms?
SumUp Solo runs with no contract; hardware is £79 + VAT list price (SumUp often discounts it). No UK card terminal is truly free once you account for the transaction rate, but SumUp Solo at 1.69% per transaction has the lowest commitment of the five alternatives on this page. Best fit: sole traders, mobile traders, market stalls.
What is the cheapest alternative to Adyen for Platforms?
Of the alternatives that publish a percentage rate, Dojo Go Max starts lowest (1.2% blended below £100,000 a year in card takings (custom rate above); hardware £149 upfront on a launch offer (£229 full price) or £25 a month; contract 12 months minimum). Alternatives priced per merchant are not directly comparable until you have a quote.
Cheapest on rate is not always cheapest on year-one cost once you factor in hardware, monthly fees and ecosystem lock-in (12-month minimum contract). Use the MerchantHQ quote tool for a modelled comparison against your actual volume.
Which alternative is best for larger merchants with high card volume?
Dojo Go Max is the strongest pick on the shortlist for larger merchants with high card volume. Its main strength: same-next-day settlement (unusual in UK); the main watch-out: 12-month minimum contract. The card above has the detail.
Should I switch from Adyen for Platforms?
Switch if you are hitting quoted per merchant and aimed at larger merchants or if small SMBs. Stay if your business is in larger merchants with high card volume and the current contract is reasonable. MerchantHQ runs 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.
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Get matched →Last updated: . Written by Adam Parker for Best Business Loans Ltd (16833937).