Dojo Card Machine Review UK 2026: Pricing, Hardware and Features

Updated August 2026. Dojo is one of the stronger card-machine options for UK businesses where payments are central to day-to-day trading. Its current proposition is much clearer than older Dojo reviews suggest: businesses below £100,000 annual card turnover can start on a 1.2% all-in blended transaction rate, while larger merchants can move to custom pricing.

Dojo is particularly well suited to cafés, pubs, restaurants and busy retailers because the package goes beyond a basic reader. Current options include portable and fixed hardware, 4G connectivity, next-day takings, POS integrations, tipping, bill splitting, pre-authorisation, payment links and Tap to Pay on iPhone.

Who is Dojo best for?

Dojo makes most sense when card payments are important enough that reliability, support and integrations matter alongside transaction cost. A sole trader taking £500 a month may be better served by a low-cost PAYG reader. A restaurant processing £30,000 a month has a very different risk if the payment system stops during Saturday service.

For that reason, Dojo belongs near the top of the shortlist for hospitality businesses, pubs and bars and established retailers comparing a fuller card-machine provider.

Dojo’s 1.2% blended rate

For businesses below £100,000 annual card turnover, Dojo currently publishes a 1.2% blended rate for all card transactions. A blended rate is useful because the merchant does not need to calculate a different advertised percentage for every normal card category.

At £5,000 monthly card turnover, 1.2% is £60. At £8,000 it is £96. At £10,000 it is £120. Those examples cover the processing percentage only and do not replace the complete Dojo quote.

Compare that with the public PAYG rates in our best card machines guide. Square currently uses 1.75% for standard UK in-person transactions, while SumUp PAYG uses 1.69%.

What happens above £100,000 annual card turnover?

Dojo moves larger businesses onto custom pricing. Its current pricing page gives merchants the option of locking in a rate on a 12-month fixed plan or choosing a 30-day rolling arrangement.

This is the stage where recent merchant statements become important. A tailored quote should be modelled against your actual card mix and monthly turnover rather than compared with one unrelated headline rate.

Our payment processing companies guide explains how to compare blended and flat-rate pricing.

Dojo Go Max

Dojo Go Max is the main portable card machine in the current range. Dojo currently lists it at £149 upfront under its launch offer, compared with the crossed-out £229 price, or £25 per month.

It is designed for fast portable card payments and makes the most sense where staff need a dedicated device rather than a reader paired to a personal phone.

Dojo Pocket

Dojo Pocket is positioned as a portable order-and-payment device. It currently costs £239 upfront or £20 per month.

This is more relevant to venues that want staff to take orders and payments together. If that is your requirement, compare the broader workflow with restaurant EPOS systems and Clover.

Dojo Wired

Dojo Wired is the fixed option for kiosks and counters. Current pricing is £179 upfront or £15 per month.

A fixed device is useful when every customer pays at the same counter and portability adds no value. For a wider comparison of fixed and portable equipment, see our PDQ terminal guide.

Tap to Pay on iPhone

Dojo currently offers Tap to Pay on iPhone with £0 hardware cost and no hardware contract. This gives an existing Dojo merchant another way to accept contactless payments without issuing a dedicated terminal to every staff member.

Tap to Pay can also work as a backup route if the main device is unavailable. Read our iPhone and Tap to Pay guide for the wider comparison.

Essential versus Plus

Dojo’s current Essential plan is free and contains the core tools needed to accept payments and view transactions. Plus costs £11.99 per month per location after the current introductory offer and adds deeper customer and performance insights.

For many micro-businesses, Essential will be enough. Plus becomes easier to justify if the owner will actually use customer-spend analysis, benchmarking and weekly performance information rather than simply paying for another dashboard.

POS integration

Dojo promotes integration with a range of POS providers. Integrated payments allow the till to send the sale amount directly to the terminal, reducing double-keying and reconciliation errors.

This matters in busy venues. If you are changing both systems together, compare our EPOS guide before signing either agreement.

Hospitality features

Dojo’s current feature set includes bill splitting, on-screen tip prompts and pre-authorisation for bar or hotel tabs. These features make the proposition much stronger for hospitality than a basic Bluetooth reader.

For restaurants, compare Dojo with the card-payment requirements in our hospitality card machine guide. For pubs, see our dedicated pub card machine comparison.

Settlement

Dojo currently promotes getting takings in the next banking window. Fast settlement can be valuable for businesses buying stock or paying suppliers daily.

Do not pay for speed you do not need, but do ask exactly when Friday, Saturday and Sunday takings will reach the bank account you actually use.

Connectivity and uptime

Dojo promotes 4G-capable hardware and currently states 99.99% uptime for its platform. The operational benefit is resilience if venue Wi-Fi fails.

No payment system is immune from outages, so busy businesses should still have a fallback. That could be a second terminal, Tap to Pay or an inexpensive mobile card reader from another route.

Support

Dojo markets UK-based support and fast access to a person. This is difficult to value until something breaks, but for a venue taking nearly every sale by card, replacement and support response can matter more than saving £10 a month.

Dojo versus Square

Square is simpler for a new low-volume business. Reader starts at £19 + VAT, core POS software costs £0 and standard in-person processing is 1.75%.

Dojo becomes more interesting when card volume is higher and the business values dedicated hardware, support, settlement and hospitality integration. Square remains a strong benchmark in our Square POS review.

Dojo versus SumUp

SumUp PAYG costs 1.69% in person and Solo Lite starts at £25 + VAT. Payments Plus can reduce eligible domestic consumer cards to 0.99% for £19 a month.

SumUp is excellent for low fixed costs. Dojo is the stronger comparison where the business wants a fuller payment package and dedicated operational support.

See our SumUp fees guide.

Dojo versus Worldpay and takepayments

Worldpay and takepayments remain useful traditional merchant-service comparisons. Worldpay’s current machine propositions use 18-month terminal agreements, while takepayments currently advertises a 12-month machine contract with tailored pricing.

At meaningful card turnover, get all three quotes against the same recent statements rather than comparing unrelated published rates.

Read our Worldpay review and takepayments review.

Dojo and PCI DSS

Dojo includes tools designed to simplify PCI compliance, but the merchant still has responsibilities around secure payment handling. Read our updated PCI DSS guide for the current v4.0.1 position.

Questions to ask before signing

• Is 1.2% the complete processing rate for my current turnover?
• Which hardware costs are upfront and which are monthly?
• What is the minimum term for my exact package?
• What happens if turnover moves above £100,000?
• Which POS systems can integrate directly?
• When do weekend takings reach my bank?
• What does replacement hardware cost?
• Is Essential enough or do I need Plus?
• What happens if I sell or close the business?

Related Quotehunt guides

• Card machine providers
• Best card machines for small businesses
• Payment processing companies
• Mobile card readers
• How to accept card payments
• Card machines for hospitality
• Restaurant EPOS systems

Our verdict

Dojo is one of the strongest current card-machine options for busy UK premises. The 1.2% blended rate below £100,000 annual card turnover is easy to understand, while the current hardware range gives businesses portable, order-and-pay and fixed-counter options.

It is not our default recommendation for a very small sole trader. At that end of the market, Square and SumUp are cheaper to start. Once payments become mission-critical, Dojo’s combination of pricing, hardware, support, integration and next-day takings deserves a proper quote.