How much does a restaurant POS system cost in the UK? (2026 guide)
The software price is the smallest part of the bill. Here's what UK venues actually pay in 2026 — software, add-ons, hardware and card fees — with a worked example you can check against your own numbers.
For an independent UK restaurant taking around £40,000 a month in card sales, a realistic all-in cost in 2026 is £1,100–£1,450 per month — of which software is only £0–£199. The rest is add-ons, hardware and, above all, card fees. The cheapest-looking option is frequently the most expensive once you add everything up.
The four costs that make up your real POS bill
Every POS quote in the UK breaks down into the same four components. Providers lead with the first and stay quiet about the other three.
1. Software subscription — £0 to £199+/month
Entry app tiers start at £0 (Zettle's POS app) or £29/month (SumUp POS Plus). Restaurant-specific plans sit higher — Square's Restaurants Plus is £69/month, and full hospitality platforms with QR ordering, kitchen displays and analytics included run £79–£199/month. Servio publishes its plans openly: Starter at £79, Growth at £199, Enterprise from £599, each covering the whole platform.
2. Add-ons to reach a full feature set — £0 to £178/month
This is where cheap tiers get expensive. QR table ordering, kitchen display screens and inventory are usually paid extras or third-party apps. To match what an all-in-one platform includes, budget roughly £99/month on Square (inventory plus full staff permissions) and around £178/month on Zettle or SumUp (a QR-ordering-and-KDS app at ~£99 plus an inventory app at ~£79, at typical published rates). If the platform includes them — as Servio does on every plan — this line is £0.
3. Hardware — £0 to £1,140+ one-off
Traditional setups need proprietary kit: a Square Register is £699 and a Square Terminal £149; with a kitchen printer and a spare reader a typical counter-plus-floor setup passes £1,100 one-off — about £95/month spread over a year, before anything breaks. Fully cloud systems run in the browser on tablets and phones you already own, so this line can genuinely be £0.
4. Card processing fees — the biggest line on the bill
At £40,000 of monthly card sales, fees dwarf everything else. Published UK online rates range from about 1.4% + 25p (Square) to roughly 1.9% + 25p when orders route through a third-party ordering app — which is exactly what happens when you bolt QR ordering onto a free POS tier. Servio takes payments through Stripe at Stripe's published UK rates (about 1.5% + 20p online) and adds no markup. A 0.4-point difference on £40,000 is £160 every month — more than most software subscriptions.
What that adds up to: a worked example
Here is the comparison for a full-service venue on £40,000 of monthly card sales, using published prices and typical configurations (estimates marked). It's the same maths behind the interactive calculator on our pricing page.
| Monthly cost | Square | Zettle | SumUp | Servio Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software | £69 (Restaurants Plus) | £0 (POS app) | £29 (POS Plus) | £199 — pilot venues £99 for first 6 months |
| Add-ons to match features | ~£99 | ~£178 (est.) | ~£178 (est.) | £0 — included |
| Hardware over 12 months | ~£95 (£1,140 kit) | ~£48 (£570 kit) | ~£42 (£500 kit) | £0 — your own devices |
| Card fees on £40k | ~£960 (1.4% + 25p) | ~£1,160 (est. 1.9% + 25p via app) | ~£1,160 (est. 1.9% + 25p via app) | ~£920 (Stripe, 1.5% + 20p) |
| All-in monthly total | ~£1,223 | ~£1,386 | ~£1,409 | ~£1,119 |
Based on publicly available UK pricing and typical configurations, July 2026; estimates marked. Offerings vary by plan, hardware and region — always confirm current details with each provider.
Two things stand out. First, the free-software option is the most expensive overall. Second, the spread between cheapest and dearest is nearly £290 a month — about £3,500 a year — for a comparable feature set. That's a part-time wage, paid to the wrong supplier.
The hidden costs to ask about before you sign
Beyond the four big lines, these are the charges that surprise venues after go-live. Put them to every sales rep in writing:
Per-device charges. Some platforms charge per till or per handheld. Three devices can triple a "per month" price.
Setup and onboarding fees. £0 to several hundred pounds; often waivable if you ask.
Support tiers. Phone support locked behind a higher plan is a real cost when the till goes down on a Saturday.
Contract length and exit fees. Multi-year terms with early-termination charges are still common with hardware-led providers. Month-to-month means the provider keeps earning your business.
Menu rebuild time. Not a fee, but days of your time. Servio imports a menu from a file or URL and builds it for you.
Five ways to keep your POS cost down
1. Compare the all-in monthly figure, never the software sticker price — insist on a like-for-like total at your card volume.
2. Use the devices you already own. If a provider requires proprietary hardware, price the replacement cycle too, not just the first purchase.
3. Watch the card rate more than the subscription. Above roughly £20,000 of monthly card sales, a 0.3-point rate difference outweighs a £50 software saving.
4. Avoid paying twice for features. If you'll want QR ordering or a kitchen display within a year, an all-in-one plan is usually cheaper than app add-ons — and avoids the higher app card rates.
5. Stay month-to-month. The discount for a long contract rarely covers what it costs you if the system doesn't fit.
Where Servio lands
We publish every number because the maths is the pitch: £79/month Starter for food trucks and smaller cafés, £199/month Growth for full-service venues (QR ordering, kitchen display, inventory and analytics all included), and Enterprise from £599 for groups. No hardware, no setup fees, no contract — and payments go through Stripe at Stripe's own published rates. Founding venues currently get 30 days free, then Growth at £99/month for their first six paid months. You can sanity-check every figure above against your own numbers with the calculator on the pricing page, or see how we stack up feature-by-feature on the comparison page.
Common questions
How much should a restaurant POS cost in the UK?
For an independent UK restaurant in 2026, a realistic all-in monthly figure is £1,100–£1,450 on £40,000 of monthly card sales once you count software, add-ons, hardware spread over a year, and card processing fees. Software alone ranges from £0 (basic app tiers) to £199+/month for a full hospitality platform. The biggest variable is not the software price — it is card fees and paid add-ons.
What's the cheapest POS system for a UK restaurant?
The cheapest sticker price is a free app tier (for example Zettle's POS app at £0/month), but free tiers usually exclude QR ordering, kitchen displays and inventory — adding those through third-party apps can cost more per month than a paid all-in-one plan, and routing orders through an app often raises your effective card rate. Compare the total monthly bill, not the software line.
Do I need to buy hardware for a restaurant POS?
Not necessarily. Traditional systems require proprietary tills and terminals (a Square Register is £699, and a typical multi-device setup can pass £1,100 one-off). Fully cloud systems like Servio run in the browser on tablets and phones you already own, so hardware can genuinely be £0 — card payments settle through Stripe without a bespoke terminal.
What card fees do restaurant POS providers charge in the UK?
Published UK online rates in 2026 range from roughly 1.4% + 25p to about 1.9% + 25p per transaction — the higher rates typically apply when orders route through a third-party ordering app on top of your POS. Servio processes payments through Stripe at Stripe's published UK rates (around 1.5% + 20p online), and never marks them up. On £40,000 of monthly card sales, a 0.4 percentage-point difference is £160 a month.
Are there hidden costs in restaurant POS pricing?
The usual ones are: paid add-ons for QR ordering, kitchen display or inventory (£79–£178/month to match an all-in-one feature set); per-device charges as you add tills; setup or onboarding fees; support tiers; and early-exit charges on long contracts. Ask every provider for the all-in monthly figure at your card volume before you sign.