Best EPOS systems in the UK for hospitality (2026)

The best EPOS system in the UK depends on your venue. For published prices and no contract, start with Square for Restaurants (free plan, 1.75% card fee). For cafés and wet-led pubs on a budget, SumUp POS and Tabology are good value. For busy restaurants and groups, Lightspeed, Toast, Zonal and Tevalis offer more depth. Toast and Zonal publish some UK prices; Lightspeed and Tevalis quote. Epos Now suits owners who want a bundle and a big app store. Below, we compare eight systems on £ prices, card fees and contracts.

Disclosure: Menuthere is an online, QR and WhatsApp ordering platform, not an EPOS. We don't earn anything from the systems below. We list Menuthere separately at the end, for venues that mainly need ordering.

Quick picks

How we picked

We looked at systems that UK hospitality owners shortlist most, and checked each provider's own UK pages on 11 October 2026. We scored them on:

1. Published UK prices. Can you see the cost before you call sales?
2. Card fees and contract. Is card processing tied in? How long is the term?
3. Hospitality features. Tables, tabs, courses, modifiers, kitchen tickets or KDS, split bills, tips and service charge.
4. UK fit. VAT, Making Tax Digital exports, UK support hours.
5. Fit by venue size. One site vs groups.

We have not tested every system in a live venue. Use this as a shortlist and get written quotes.

UK EPOS systems compared (October 2026)

Prices are from each provider's UK pages on 11 October 2026 and exclude VAT unless stated.

Card fees matter more than software. At £30,000 a month on cards, 1.75% is £525 a month. Saving 0.3% is worth £1,080 a year. Always compare the card rate alongside the software price. Our PDQ machine guide compares card machines.

The 8 best EPOS systems for UK hospitality

1. Square for Restaurants: best overall for small venues

Square publishes everything, has a free plan and no contract. The Plus plan (£69 a month per location) adds restaurant tools such as split bills and seat management.

• Pros: free plan; clear card fees; good hardware range including a handheld; online ordering from the same system.
• Cons: 1.75% in person is higher than some quoted rates; you must use Square's payments; on the Free plan each KDS screen is £15 a month (unlimited on Plus), and kiosks are £35 per device a month.
• Best for: cafés, takeaways and restaurants up to about 60 covers that want to start fast.

2. SumUp POS: best value for cafés

SumUp pairs its POS with low-cost card readers and next-day payouts, including weekends.

• Pros: cheap readers; no long-term contract; Payments Plus cuts the card rate to 0.99% on UK consumer cards for £19 a month; add-ons such as Hospitality and KDS are £19 a month each.
• Cons: SumUp shows two POS prices. POS Pro is £49 a month on its POS pricing page, and a separate POS Plus is £39 on its main pricing page, so ask which one fits your venue. Fewer tools for big table-service restaurants.
• Best for: coffee shops, bakeries, small bars. See café EPOS.

3. Tabology: best for independent pubs and restaurants

A UK hospitality EPOS with published monthly prices, mobile ordering, table plans and an optional bookings tier.

• Pros: clear UK pricing; built for hospitality; KDS is a cheap add-on.
• Cons: card rate and contract term not published.
• Best for: independent pubs and restaurants. See pub EPOS.

4. Epos Now: best for bundles and add-ons

One of the UK's biggest EPOS brands, with hardware bundles and a large app store for accounting, rota and delivery apps.

• Pros: wide choice of hardware and integrations; works across retail and hospitality.
• Cons: discounted bundles need a 12-month subscription; card rates are quoted; it scores 4.3 on Trustpilot from about 26,700 reviews, but the one-star reviews (11%) mention contract terms, extra charges and support delays. Read our Epos Now review.
• Best for: owners who want one supplier for hardware, software and payments.

5. Lightspeed Restaurant: best for busy restaurants

A restaurant-first system with strong table service, KDS and reporting. It won Best EPOS System at The Staff Canteen Members' Choice Awards 2026, voted for by UK hospitality professionals (Square was highly commended).

• Pros: deep restaurant features; multi-site reporting; strong integrations.
• Cons: UK prices aren't published in a form we could check, so ask for a written quote; more than a small café needs.
• Best for: busy restaurants and small groups. See Lightspeed alternatives.

6. Toast: best for handheld table service

Toast came from the US and now sells in the UK. It's known for handhelds that take orders and payments at the table.

• Pros: strong handheld and KDS story; restaurant-only focus.
• Cons: Starter is from £80 a month and Essentials £150, and extra devices cost more; the card rate is a flat rate that Toast doesn't publish; card payments come through Toast. See Toast alternatives.
• Best for: busy restaurants with lots of table service. Read about handheld POS.

7. Zonal: best for pub companies and large groups

A long-standing UK hospitality EPOS used by pub companies and restaurant groups, with bookings, stock and kitchen systems. Its published all-in-one rental is £229 a month plus £1,100 upfront, ex VAT. That covers the EPoS, an iServe Plus handheld and Dojo payments.

• Pros: built for scale; UK hospitality focus; one monthly price for till, handheld and payments.
• Cons: 36-month minimum term; other set-ups are by quote; more than a single site needs.
• Best for: pub groups and multi-site operators.

8. Tevalis: best for multi-site hospitality on a quote

A UK hospitality EPOS with stock, reporting and head-office tools for groups.

• Pros: hospitality and multi-site focus.
• Cons: quote only; no public pricing or contract terms.
• Best for: growing groups that want one back office.

Also worth a look: Kobas (UK hospitality EPOS; prices not published on a page we could check, so ask for a quote), Dojo (card machines that link to many EPOS systems; ask for its prices), Teya (card payments; pricing by quote), Clover (Table Services £59.95 a month, plus £9.99 per extra device) and Goodtill (now SumUp POS Pro).

Best EPOS system by venue type

• Restaurants: Square for Restaurants (small), Lightspeed or Toast (busy), Zonal or Tevalis (groups). Read our restaurant EPOS guide.
• Cafés and coffee shops: SumUp POS or Square. Speed and modifiers matter most. See café EPOS.
• Pubs and bars: Tabology or Square for single sites; Zonal for groups. Tabs and measures matter. See pub EPOS.
• Takeaways: a fast counter till that handles delivery-app orders. See EPOS for takeaways.

What every UK hospitality EPOS must do

• VAT at 20% on eat-in food and drink, and the right rate per item for takeaway (hot 20%, most cold food 0%).
• Tips and service charge reporting. All tips and service charges must go to staff in full under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023.
• No card surcharges. Consumer card surcharges have been banned since January 2018.
• Making Tax Digital exports to Xero, QuickBooks or Sage if you are VAT-registered.
• Allergen information for the 14 allergens, to help staff answer questions.
• Offline mode for when the internet drops.
• A kitchen printer or kitchen display system.

8 questions to ask before you sign

1. What is the total first-year cost: software, hardware, card fees and add-ons?
2. Is card processing tied in? Can I use my own provider?
3. How long is the contract, does it auto-renew, and what's the exit fee?
4. Do I own or rent the hardware?
5. Is online ordering included, and is there a per-order fee?
6. Is the KDS included or charged per screen?
7. What are support hours on Friday and Saturday nights?
8. Can I export my data if I leave?

Not ready for a full EPOS? Where Menuthere fits

If most of your orders come from phones, you may not need a full EPOS yet. Menuthere is an ordering layer, not an EPOS:

• Your own ordering website for collection, delivery and dine-in, with 0% commission.
• QR table ordering with no app. QR codes are on the Free plan.
• WhatsApp ordering on your own number (Pro).
• Kitchen tickets and ringing order alerts. Food and drinks can print to separate kitchen and bar printers. In-store counter billing is a POS add-on at US$10 a month.
• Allergens and calories on each dish: tag any of the 14 UK allergens, kcal and a halal mark, on every plan including Free. Guests see them when they open a dish.
• Card payments online through your own Stripe account (Lite and above, 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards). Lite is US$17 a month, billed in US dollars, with a 7-day free trial (card needed to start; nothing is charged until the trial ends). Lite plus the POS add-on is US$27 a month.

What it doesn't do: it has no linked card terminal, no floor plan or courses, and no integrations with UK EPOS systems. Many venues keep their EPOS and add Menuthere for direct orders.

Add commission-free online, QR and WhatsApp ordering to any till.

Create your free ordering pageBook a demo (opens in a new tab)