SumUp vs Square vs Truepos – 2025 Showdown for Irish Small Businesses
Card machines that once cost €700 now arrive in two days for less than the price of a staff lunch. But lower entry costs don’t mean every provider is equal. In this guide we compare SumUp, Square and Truepos on the metrics that matter: up-front price, ongoing fees, payout speed and growth flexibility.
1. Hardware & Up-Front Costs
- SumUp Air is the cheapest reader in Ireland, but add the Solo + printer dock and you’re at €139.
- Square Reader is €49 + VAT; the all-in-one Square Terminal jumps to €169 + VAT.
- Truepos supplies portable Castles S1MINI2 or touchscreen PAX A920 with no rental or purchase cost, letting ISOs or merchants deploy for free and decide later whether to charge, rent or gift the device.
Verdict: If you need a printer or larger screen, “cheap” hardware quickly climbs past free-to-deploy options.
2. Transaction Fees & Hidden Charges
SumUp and Square both use flat pricing: 1.69 % and 1.75 % + VAT. That’s great for side-hustles, but once turnover climbs to €5k - €15k/month, a rate from 1.25 % can save serious cash. Once you go over 15k/month you can avail of even lower rates again from 0.5%. Truepos also removes monthly minimum service charges (MMSC) and PCI admin fees often buried in bank contracts.
3. Payout Times
SumUp takes 2–3 days to put funds in your Irish bank (unless you move them to SumUp’s wallet). Square settles in 1–2 days. Truepos clears next working day to any bank—valuable for cafés, taxis and retailers who need cash in quickly for stock or fuel.
4. POS & Add-On Features
- Square wins on free POS features (inventory, modifiers, staff logins).
- SumUp offers a slimmed-down app, fine for market stalls.
- Truepos integrates with SkyTab EPOS (from €44 month) if you want full table, kitchen and stock tools, but keeps the core payment app lightweight for speed.
5. Support & Scalability
Flat-fee providers lean on online chat. Truepos gives 7-day Irish phone support and remote terminal updates—critical when your queue is out the door.
6. Which Should You Choose?
Final Takeaway
SumUp and Square are unbeatable for hobby traders and side gigs. But if you process real daily volume—or want to brand payments under your own ISO—Truepos delivers the same tap-and-go simplicity with lower long-term fees, free terminals and live Irish support.
Ready to see what you’d save? Get a personalised quote in minutes and start taking payments tomorrow.
