Zettle Card Reader UK: What It Actually Costs Small Businesses

Zettle by PayPal is a mobile card reader and point-of-sale platform for UK small businesses. It charges a flat 1.75% per transaction on all major debit and credit cards, with no monthly fee and no fixed contract. The Zettle Reader 2 costs £29 + VAT for your first unit. Funds settle to a linked UK bank account within one to two business days, or instantly to a PayPal balance. This page covers every fee, hardware cost, and honest limitation of Zettle UK, updated August 2026.

Key Facts: Zettle UK

Who Is This Page For?

This page is for UK sole traders, small business owners, market traders, and charity organisers who want a clear, honest breakdown of what Zettle by PayPal costs and whether it is right for their business. It is also useful for anyone searching for iZettle fees, iZettle charges, or Zettle transaction fees, since iZettle is the former brand name for the same product.

If you already process more than £15,000 a month in card payments, you will likely find the flat 1.75% rate expensive compared to interchange-plus pricing from a traditional acquirer. The comparison tables and FAQ sections below will help you decide.

What Is Zettle by PayPal?

Zettle, formerly known as iZettle, is a Swedish payments company that PayPal acquired in 2018 for approximately £1.85 billion. Since then it has traded as Zettle by PayPal in the UK. It is one of the most recognisable names in mobile card payments for small businesses.

At its core, Zettle provides a mobile card reader that pairs via Bluetooth with a smartphone or tablet running the free Zettle Go app. This turns almost any iOS or Android device into a point-of-sale terminal. Businesses can accept chip and PIN, contactless, Apple Pay, and Google Pay wherever they are. Zettle has since expanded into invoicing, payment links, and basic e-commerce integrations.

Because Zettle sits within the PayPal group, funds processed through it can go directly into your PayPal balance for near-instant access, or transfer to a nominated UK bank account, typically arriving within one to two working days.

Zettle Fees and Pricing UK 2026

Zettle's pricing is straightforward compared to most traditional merchant service providers. There is no monthly subscription on the standard plan, no setup fee, and no minimum monthly volume. The core iZettle fee structure that many UK businesses search for is as follows:

• 1.75% per transaction for all major UK debit and credit cards — Visa, Mastercard, and American Express — whether contactless, chip and PIN, or manually keyed, when using the Zettle Reader 2 or Zettle Terminal.
• The 1.75% rate applies regardless of card type. Many providers charge more for Amex, so this is a genuine advantage for businesses that take American Express payments regularly.
• Online payment links and invoicing carry a different fee structure aligned to PayPal's standard online rates. Check Zettle's website directly before relying on those products heavily.
• No PCI DSS compliance fee, no statement fee, and no authorisation fee on the standard plan.

To put the transaction fee in context: at £10,000 of monthly card turnover, you pay £175 in fees. At £5,000 a month, that falls to £87.50. If your monthly volume exceeds roughly £15,000, a negotiated interchange-plus rate from a traditional acquirer could save you a meaningful amount each month.

What percentage does Zettle take?

Zettle takes 1.75% of every card transaction on its standard pay-as-you-go plan. That applies to all major UK debit and credit cards including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. There is no additional fixed fee per transaction and no monthly subscription on the standard plan.

How much does Zettle charge per transaction?

Zettle charges 1.75% per transaction for in-person card payments using the Zettle Reader 2 or Zettle Terminal. On a £50 sale that is 87.5p. On a £100 sale it is £1.75. There are no hidden authorisation fees or statement charges on the standard plan.

Does Zettle charge a monthly fee?

No. Zettle's standard pay-as-you-go plan has no monthly subscription fee. You only pay the 1.75% transaction fee on card payments you process, making it accessible for seasonal or low-volume businesses that cannot commit to a monthly minimum.

Hardware Options and Costs

Zettle Reader 2

The Zettle Reader 2 is the company's flagship mobile card reader. It pairs with a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth and accepts chip and PIN, swipe, and contactless payments. It is popular with market traders, mobile hairdressers, food trucks, and tradespeople who need to take payments away from a fixed till.

• £29 + VAT for your first reader (an introductory price for new customers).
• £59 + VAT for additional or replacement readers after the initial unit.

The reader has a rechargeable battery and works with the free Zettle Go app on iOS and Android. You will need your own compatible smartphone or tablet, as the reader has no screen for entering amounts.

Zettle Terminal

The Zettle Terminal is a standalone all-in-one card machine priced at £199 + VAT. It has its own touchscreen, a built-in receipt printer, and a long battery life, making it more suitable for a fixed till in a shop, café, or salon. It runs Zettle Go natively with no need to pair a phone, and it connects via Wi-Fi or a SIM card for mobile data. Data plans may incur additional costs.

The Terminal is a significant step up in price from the Reader 2. It suits businesses with a permanent point-of-sale location rather than those needing maximum portability.

Zettle card reader price comparison

Who Zettle Suits Best

Zettle works well for a specific type of UK business. The list below identifies the strongest fits.

• Sole traders and freelancers — tradespeople, tutors, mobile beauty therapists — who need to accept card payments occasionally without paying a monthly fee during quiet periods.
• Market and stall traders who need a lightweight, battery-powered reader that works via the data connection on a paired phone.
• Small retailers, cafés, and salons looking for a simple point-of-sale without investing in expensive EPOS hardware.
• Charities and community groups running fundraising events or one-off pop-up stalls, where the lack of a monthly fee and low hardware cost matter most.
• Existing PayPal users who want to consolidate online and in-person payment processing under one provider for simpler reconciliation.

Zettle is generally less suited to larger retailers with complex multi-till or multi-location requirements, or businesses needing advanced inventory management, detailed staff permissions, or deep integrations with third-party accounting platforms.

Zettle Pros and Cons

Pros

• No monthly fees on the standard plan, making it low-risk for seasonal or low-volume businesses.
• Simple, transparent flat-rate pricing of 1.75% per transaction with no hidden PCI compliance or statement fees.
• Affordable entry-level hardware: the first Zettle Reader 2 is £29 + VAT.
• Strong integration with PayPal, allowing funds to reach a PayPal balance near-instantly or a UK bank account within one to two days.
• No long-term contracts or early termination fees, giving you full flexibility to switch providers.
• Contactless, chip and PIN, Apple Pay, and Google Pay all accepted as standard.
• The free Zettle Go app includes basic sales reporting, inventory tracking, and receipt options.

Cons

• The 1.75% flat rate can work out more expensive than a negotiated interchange-plus deal for businesses processing high volumes. At £20,000 a month you pay £350 in fees; a traditional acquirer might offer rates that save £60 to £80 a month at that level.
• Additional card readers cost £59 + VAT each, which adds up quickly for multi-staff businesses.
• The Zettle Terminal at £199 + VAT is a significant upfront cost compared to some competitors' equivalent all-in-one machines.
• Inventory management and reporting features are more basic than dedicated EPOS systems such as Square, which may limit scalability for growing retailers.
• Customer support has received mixed feedback on Trustpilot, with some users reporting slower response times during account queries.
• As with many PayPal-linked services, account reviews or fund holds can occasionally occur, which may cause short-term cash flow disruption.

Zettle vs SumUp vs Square: Fee and Feature Comparison

Zettle, SumUp, and Square are the three most commonly compared mobile card payment providers for UK small businesses. Each has a distinct strength.

SumUp has a slightly lower headline transaction rate of 1.69% and comparable hardware costs, but lacks the PayPal ecosystem integration that Zettle offers. Square provides more sophisticated point-of-sale software with stronger inventory management and better multi-location tools, making it a better fit for growing retail or hospitality businesses. Zettle sits between the two: more feature-rich than SumUp for businesses already in the PayPal world, but less scalable than Square for complex operations.

For a detailed side-by-side breakdown, see the Zettle vs SumUp comparison and the Zettle vs Square comparison.

Zettle Transaction Limits

Zettle applies a default single-transaction limit on its standard account. The limit for a single chip-and-PIN or contactless card payment is £5,000 (lower, at £2,500, for chip-and-signature or magnetic stripe transactions), though this can vary by account status and verification level. If you regularly process large individual transactions, contact Zettle directly before signing up to confirm your specific limit. Businesses processing high-value transactions, such as builders or kitchen fitters taking stage payments, may find a traditional merchant account more suitable.

iZettle Fees: What Has Changed Since Rebranding?

Many UK businesses still search for iZettle fees or iZettle charges because the iZettle brand was well established before PayPal rebranded it in 2021. The product is the same. iZettle is now called Zettle by PayPal. The transaction fees, hardware range, and pay-as-you-go pricing model have all carried over from the iZettle era, so any reference you find to iZettle rates of 1.75% per transaction still reflects the current Zettle pricing structure.

The iZettle Go app is now the Zettle Go app. The iZettle Reader is now the Zettle Reader 2. Existing iZettle accounts migrated to Zettle by PayPal automatically and continue to operate on the same terms.