SumUp POS vs Zettle Go: Which POS System Is Right for Your UK Small Business?

Quick Verdict

SumUp POS is the stronger choice for UK businesses such as cafés, salons, and takeaways that need detailed inventory management and sales reporting built into a single integrated ecosystem. Zettle Go suits businesses that prioritise flexibility and simplicity, particularly mobile traders, market stallholders, and garden centres who need a reliable, no-fuss way to accept card payments on the go. Both offer free tiers, making either a low-risk starting point for UK startups.

Key Differences

The most meaningful distinction between these two products lies in their depth of features versus simplicity of use. SumUp POS offers a more comprehensive out-of-the-box experience, with stronger inventory and reporting tools available even on its free tier. Zettle Go keeps things deliberately streamlined, which is a genuine advantage if your team needs to get up and running within minutes rather than hours. Another notable difference is ecosystem dependency: SumUp POS integrates tightly with SumUp's own payment hardware and software, whilst Zettle Go relies on its proprietary Zettle card reader, which is worth factoring into your upfront hardware costs.

Features

SumUp POS delivers a well-rounded feature set that covers sales processing, product and inventory management, and comprehensive reporting dashboards. Its user-friendly interface means staff training time is minimal, which is a practical benefit for high-turnover sectors like hospitality. The platform is available on Web, iOS, and Android, giving owners genuine flexibility. However, more complex inventory requirements — such as multi-location stock tracking — may push the system to its limits, and advanced accounting integrations are relatively limited, which could be a consideration for businesses working towards Making Tax Digital (MTD) compliance.

Zettle Go covers the core essentials confidently: product catalogues, sales tracking, and acceptance of a wide variety of card payments including contactless and mobile wallets. Its mobile-first design makes it particularly well suited to businesses without a fixed till point. Like SumUp POS, advanced features such as detailed analytics and enhanced reporting sit behind a paid tier. Both platforms are GDPR-compliant in their data handling, which is a baseline requirement for any UK business processing customer information.

Pricing

Both products operate on a freemium model, which is ideal for budget-conscious small businesses. SumUp POS offers a free tier with paid plans available for unlocking advanced functionality; UK pricing for upgraded plans typically starts from around £19 to £49 per month depending on the features required. Transaction fees apply on card payments processed through SumUp hardware. Zettle Go is free to download and use at a basic level, but charges a per-transaction fee on every card sale — typically around 1.75% per transaction for UK merchants using the standard reader. Advanced features within Zettle also carry additional costs. Neither platform charges hidden monthly fees at the free tier, but businesses with high transaction volumes should calculate total monthly costs carefully before committing, as per-transaction fees can accumulate quickly.

Which Should You Choose?

Choose SumUp POS if you run a café, salon, takeaway, or any fixed-location retail business that needs solid inventory tracking and sales reports from day one. Its integrated payments ecosystem and comprehensive free tier make it especially appealing for UK startups looking to keep overheads low whilst maintaining professional functionality.

Choose Zettle Go if you operate a mobile business, attend markets, run a garden centre, or simply need a clean and fast solution with minimal setup. Its straightforward approach and versatile card payment acceptance make it a dependable companion for businesses where simplicity and portability matter most.

For businesses with growing accounting obligations — particularly around Making Tax Digital — it is worth checking the current integration options for both platforms with your preferred UK accounting software before making a final decision.