Best EPOS System for UK Restaurants in 2026 — Honest Guide
We tested and compared the major EPOS systems available to UK restaurants in 2026: Epos Now, Lightspeed, Square, Zettle, SumUp, and Bill Feeds. Here's what you actually need to know before you spend a penny.
What UK restaurants actually need from an EPOS
Before comparing products, let's define what a UK restaurant EPOS actually needs to do:
- UK VAT compliance — auto-calculate 20% VAT, print VAT invoices, export MTD-compatible reports for HMRC
- Kitchen Display System (KDS) — route orders to the kitchen in real time, replacing paper tickets
- Allergen management — Natasha's Law requires clear allergen labelling on menus
- Table management — assign orders to tables, manage covers, handle split bills
- Takeaway workflow — handle collection and delivery orders separately from dine-in
- Reasonable cost — no surprise fees that destroy margins
The contenders: quick summary
🥇 Bill Feeds — Best Overall for UK Restaurants
£19/month. Full EPOS, KDS, QR ordering, MTD VAT reports, allergen management, multi-branch. BYOD. No transaction fees. No contracts.
Best for: Restaurants and takeaways of any size. Especially strong for curry houses, halal restaurants, and chicken shops.
Epos Now — Established but Expensive
Hardware bundle starts at ~£800–1,200. Software £25–45/month. Year-one total: £2,600+. Good feature set but high upfront cost and proprietary hardware lock-in.
Best for: Large restaurants that want on-site hardware terminals and have the budget for the upfront investment.
Lightspeed Restaurant — Powerful but Costly
From £59/month. Excellent features for full-service restaurants. Strong multi-branch support. But the monthly cost is 3x Bill Feeds, and onboarding is complex.
Best for: Upscale full-service restaurants with complex menus and the IT resources to configure and maintain the system.
Square for Restaurants — Flexible but Per-Transaction Fees
Free tier + 1.75% per card transaction. KDS only on paid Plus plan (~£48/mo). Good for cafes and pop-ups. Transaction fees become expensive at volume.
Best for: Small cafes with low volumes where simplicity matters more than features.
Zettle (PayPal) — Payments Tool, Not a Restaurant EPOS
Free + 1.75% per transaction. No KDS, no table management, no MTD reports. Good for taking payments. Not suitable for a restaurant that needs kitchen management.
Not recommended for: Any full-service restaurant or busy takeaway.
SumUp — Similar to Zettle
1.69% per transaction. Basic POS, no KDS, no restaurant-specific features. Positioned as a card reader solution, not a full restaurant EPOS.
Not recommended for: Restaurants that need kitchen management or complex workflows.
Full comparison table: UK restaurant EPOS systems 2026
| Feature | Bill Feeds | Epos Now | Square | Zettle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | £19 | £25–45 | Free + 1.75% | Free + 1.75% |
| Hardware cost | £0 (BYOD) | £800–1,200 | £0 | £29–79 reader |
| Kitchen Display | ✓ Included | Add-on | Plus only | ✗ |
| UK VAT + MTD | ✓ | Partial | ✗ | ✗ |
| QR ordering | ✓ | Add-on | Limited | ✗ |
| Allergen labels | ✓ | Basic | ✗ | ✗ |
| Multi-branch | ✓ £39/mo | ✓ | Paid | ✗ |
| No contract | ✓ | 1–3 yr | ✓ | ✓ |
Our recommendation
For the vast majority of UK restaurants and takeaways — from a single-site curry house in Bradford to a 5-branch restaurant group in London — Bill Feeds offers the best combination of features, compliance, and value.
At £19/month with no transaction fees, no hardware costs, full KDS, MTD VAT reporting, allergen management, and QR ordering, it undercuts every competitor on cost while matching or exceeding them on features relevant to UK hospitality.
If you have a specific need for Epos Now's on-site terminal ecosystem, or Lightspeed's advanced menu engineering features, those may justify their higher costs. For everyone else, Bill Feeds is the clear choice.
Try Bill Feeds — No Credit Card Required
21-day free setup. No hardware to buy. Be live in minutes.
Set Up Free — Takes 5 MinutesFrequently asked questions
What is the best EPOS system for a small UK restaurant?
Bill Feeds at £19/month offers the best value for small UK restaurants with full EPOS, KDS, VAT compliance, and QR ordering included from day one.
How much does a restaurant EPOS system cost in the UK?
Costs range from £19/month (Bill Feeds) to £2,600+ in year one (Epos Now with hardware). Square and Zettle are "free" but charge 1.75% per transaction which costs far more at volume.
Do I need EPOS hardware for a UK restaurant?
No. Bill Feeds is BYOD — it runs on any iPad, tablet, or smartphone. No hardware purchase required. Epos Now requires proprietary hardware at £800–1,200.