SumUp alternatives for growing UK businesses
SumUp is a good product for what it is, and for a lot of small businesses it is genuinely the right answer. People start looking for an alternative when the shop outgrows the reader — not because the reader stopped working, but because it was never built to run a stock file.
How SumUp is set up
SumUp is card-reader-first, with published flat rates and no minimum term on the reader itself. That simplicity is the whole appeal. The limits show up in stock control across hundreds of lines, individual staff permissions, and hospitality features like table plans and kitchen printing — none of which a reader is designed to do.
The table below compares how the two are structured, not what they charge. Published prices move, so get current figures from each provider in writing and compare the full first-year total rather than the monthly line.
SumUp and Zivaro, side by side
| SumUp | Zivaro | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting a price | Published flat rates on their website. Check current pricing, as it changes. | Published bundle prices, then £12 a month + VAT. |
| Contract | Generally no minimum term on the reader. Paid tiers may differ. | No long lock-in. |
| Stock control | Basic item counts through the companion app. | Full stock file, cost prices, reorder levels and supplier ordering. |
| Staff | Limited. | Individual logins, permission levels and per-user sales reporting. |
| Hospitality | Not built for table service. | Table plans, course holding, kitchen printing, split bills. |
When it is worth switching
Switching for a few pounds a month rarely pays. It is worth the disruption when one of these is true:
- You are doing more than roughly 300 card transactions a week
- You carry more than a couple of hundred distinct products
- You employ people who use the till and need to know who did what
- You need table service, order modifiers or a kitchen printer
- You are reordering stock by walking round with a notebook
If none of them apply, stay where you are. We would rather tell you that than sell you a system you do not need. If two or more do, our guide to switching without closing the shop sets out the week, and the contract checklist covers what to read before you sign anything — ours included.
What Zivaro costs
Bundles are a one-off purchase and the hardware is yours from delivery. Software and support are £12 a month + VAT on every bundle, with no long lock-in. Current bundle prices are published on our products page rather than held behind a quote form, so you can do this comparison before speaking to anybody.
Questions people ask
Is SumUp good enough to run a shop?
For a small shop with a short product list and one person serving, often yes. It becomes limiting once you need detailed stock control across hundreds of lines, staff permissions, or hospitality features. Judge it on your product count and staff count rather than your turnover.
Can I keep my SumUp reader with a new till?
Sometimes, but usually only as a standalone device that does not talk to the till, which means staff key the amount in by hand. That works, but you lose the main safety benefit of integration. Ask any prospective supplier which terminals they integrate with before you assume either way.
At what point is a full EPOS cheaper than a card reader?
Rarely on fees alone — the difference between typical rates on a few thousand pounds a month is small. It is the operational cost that decides it: seconds per transaction, stock-outs you did not see coming, and time spent reconciling. Run those on your own numbers.