Shift4 vs Takepayments: the full cost comparison
Takepayments publishes Quote only, not published. We charge 1.25% blended on all cards under £10,000 a month, with a free first terminal and no monthly rental. Here is every cost, side by side.
Shift4 blended rate
Monthly rental
Est. yearly saving at £5,000/mo
Settlement, incl. Saturdays
Takepayments is a well-established UK provider with a large field sales team and a strong presence among independent shops, salons and hospitality venues. Service is local and personal, which many owners value highly.
The pricing question is the familiar one: a monthly terminal rental plus separate debit and credit rates. We remove the rental line entirely, supply the machine free and apply one blended 1.25% rate to every card type.
Shift4 against Takepayments, line by line
Takepayments figures are taken from published UK pricing, last verified August 2026.
Headline rate
Headline rate
1.25% blended
Quote only, not published
Terminal cost
Terminal cost
Free first terminal
£0 setup. You rent the hardware and return it at contract end.
Monthly rental
Monthly rental
£0
From around £25/month, quote-dependent by model
Extra monthly fees
Extra monthly fees
None
PCI compliance £5–£6/month
Minimum monthly charge
Minimum monthly charge
None. No use, no bill
Quote-dependent, ask in writing
Authorisation fee
Authorisation fee
None
Not published
Contract
Contract
18 months
12-month minimum on some plans, commonly 18–48 months. The early termination fee equals the remaining monthly rental charges. 90-day notice.
Early exit
Early exit
No early exit fees
Remaining monthly rental charges, with 90-day notice
Settlement
Settlement
Next working day incl. Saturdays
Next business day
Support
Support
Named UK partner, direct mobile
Named account manager
Source: Takepayments published pricing. Debit from around 0.79%–1.29%. Consumer credit typically 1.2%–1.5%. Premium, corporate and non-European cards often above 1.8%. Overall range quoted 0.3%–2.5%.
See what your card machine really costs
Drag to your monthly card takings. The numbers update instantly.
Who are you with now?
Fine tune: average sale & rates
Average sale
Takepayments now
£101per month
With Shift4
£63per month
Estimated annual saving
About £38 a month at £5,000 card turnover.
Every provider at £5,000 a month
- Shift4 Card Machine£750/yr
- SumUp£1,054/yr
- Square£1,060/yr
- Zettle by PayPal£1,065/yr
- Worldpay£1,170/yr
- Takepayments£1,208/yr
- Barclaycard£1,212/yr
- Dojo£1,310/yr
Effective blended rate with Takepayments: 1.40% plus £30.50 a month in fixed fees.
What sits underneath the Takepayments headline rate
Terminal rental
A fixed monthly charge for the hardware itself, payable whether you trade that month or not.
Typical
From around £25/month, quote-dependent by model
PCI compliance
Billed monthly on top of the headline rate, so it never appears in a rate comparison.
Typical
£5–£6/month
Minimum monthly charge
A floor on your bill. Take less than the threshold and you still pay the difference.
Typical
Quote-dependent, ask in writing
Early exit charge
Leaving before the term ends usually means paying out the remaining rental in one go.
Typical
Remaining monthly rental charges, with 90-day notice
When Takepayments is the better choice
We are not right for everyone. These are the cases where we would tell you to stay put.
You want a named local account manager who will visit in person, which their field model does well.
You already have a competing quote in hand and the leverage to negotiate their rate down.
You are near the end of an existing Takepayments term where the rental has already been paid down.
Takepayments does well
Dedicated named account manager from day one, which some first-time card users genuinely value. Room to negotiate if you have a competing quote.
Worth knowing: No published rates, so you cannot compare before committing to a sales conversation.
Four questions worth asking any provider
The real rate
“Is that rate blended across every card type, or only consumer debit?”
Shift4
1.25% blended on all cards under £10,000 a month of card turnover. Above that we quote bespoke.
Worth knowing
A headline rate quoted on consumer debit only, with premium, corporate and non-European cards priced far higher.
The monthly bill
“What will I be billed in a month where I take nothing?”
Shift4
£0. No terminal rental, no minimum monthly service charge, no PCI fee.
Worth knowing
Terminal rental, platform fees, PCI charges and minimum monthly service charges that apply regardless of turnover.
The contract
“How long is the term, and what does it cost to leave early?”
Shift4
18 months with no early exit fees.
Worth knowing
Auto-renewing terms, 90-day notice windows, and exit fees equal to every remaining monthly rental payment.
The money
“When does the money actually land, and is that free?”
Shift4
Next working day incl. Saturdays
Worth knowing
Faster settlement offered as a paid add-on, or next-day settlement only in year one of the contract.
Getting your Takepayments statement
One statement is all we need to work out your real blended rate.
- Step 1
Log in to the takepayments portal
- Step 2
Go to Statements
- Step 3
Select the month
- Step 4
If you cannot find it, ring your account manager and ask them to email it
Businesses moving from Takepayments usually already know their monthly rental figure, which makes the comparison quick, that number is a saving before a single transaction is processed.
The changeover follows the same path as any merchant account move: application, underwriting, delivery, a short overlap while you get used to the new terminal, then return of the old hardware to your existing provider.
Takepayments questions, answered
Can I leave my Takepayments contract early?
Ask for your end date, notice period and any early termination figure in writing. Hardware hire and processing can end on different dates, so get both before deciding whether to move now or at renewal.
Will switching interrupt my card payments?
No. Keep taking payments on your current machine until the new one is delivered and working, then change over at a quiet point in your week.
Do I have to return the rented terminal?
Hired hardware normally has to go back to the provider that supplied it, usually within a set period after the agreement ends. Check the return address and deadline so you are not charged for a machine sitting in a cupboard.
Send your statement, get a straight answer
We read your last full month with Takepayments, work out what you are really paying, and tell you honestly whether we beat it.
Prefer to browse first? See all provider comparisons
Takepayments pricing is taken from publicly published UK sources and was last verified in August 2026. Providers change pricing without notice and rates vary by plan, so treat every figure as indicative and confirm directly with Takepayments. Calculator results are estimates, not quotes, and assume a 60% debit, 30% consumer credit and 10% business card mix. Our rate is confirmed on application, subject to status. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners; we are not affiliated with Takepayments.
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Same free terminal, same rate — every trade, every postcode.