Epos Now Pricing for Restaurants: What Does It Really Cost?
How much does Epos Now cost for restaurants?
Epos Now advertises software plans from around £25–£35 per month for a single-terminal setup. For most restaurants, the real monthly cost is significantly higher once hardware, AppStore integrations, payment processing and any add-ons required for restaurant operations are factored in.
This breakdown covers every cost category a restaurant operator should assess before signing.
Software pricing
Epos Now’s hospitality software subscription is typically priced from around £25–£35 per month for a single terminal. Multi-terminal setups and multi-year contracts affect pricing. Promotional rates are sometimes available but may revert after an initial period.
At the base price, you get access to the core POS software: order taking, payment processing, basic menu management and reporting.
Table management, kitchen display integration, loyalty programmes and online ordering are not included at the base price. These require AppStore integrations, each carrying their own subscription.
Always confirm current pricing directly with Epos Now before making any commercial decisions — software prices change and the rate you see advertised may differ from what appears in a contract.
Hardware costs
Epos Now sells hardware in bundles or separately. Common components:
| Hardware | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| POS terminal (starter bundle) | From £299 |
| Receipt printer | Often included in bundles |
| Card payment terminal | Additional if not bundled |
| Kitchen display system (KDS) | Additional per station |
| Kitchen printer | Additional per station |
| Cash drawer | Often included in bundles |
A restaurant with two POS terminals and a kitchen display will spend more than the entry-level bundle price. Hardware can be purchased outright or on a finance arrangement, which spreads the cost over 12–36 months but increases the total amount paid.
Important: If you choose a finance arrangement, calculate the total cost over the full finance period, not just the monthly figure, before comparing it to outright purchase.
The Epos Now AppStore
Epos Now’s model relies heavily on its AppStore, a marketplace of third-party integrations that extends the core POS. For restaurants, this is where costs escalate quickly.
Common AppStore subscriptions for restaurant operators:
| Integration type | Typical monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Online ordering platform | £30–£80+ |
| Loyalty and marketing | £20–£50+ |
| Reservation management | £20–£50+ |
| Accounting integration | £10–£30+ |
| Stock management | £20–£50+ |
These are indicative ranges. Each app has its own subscription, its own support relationship and its own data model. A restaurant running three or four AppStore integrations adds £100–£200 per month to its base POS cost, with the total varying depending on which apps are selected.
Payment processing
Epos Now offers integrated payment solutions through its own payment partnerships. Processing rates vary by contract and transaction volume.
For UK restaurants, the effective cost per transaction through Epos Now’s integrated payment solution should be compared carefully against going-rate acquiring fees from independent UK acquirers. Some businesses find they can negotiate better rates through a standalone acquiring relationship while using a POS that supports open payment integrations.
When calculating payment processing costs, use your actual monthly card revenue:
- Restaurant taking £20,000/month in card payments at 2.5%: £500/month in processing fees
- Restaurant taking £50,000/month at 2.5%: £1,250/month in processing fees
A 0.5 percentage point difference in your processing rate at £50,000/month is £250/month — £3,000/year. Payment processing deserves careful scrutiny, not just a quick comparison of headline rates.
What a realistic Epos Now setup costs a restaurant
For a mid-sized restaurant needing two POS terminals, a kitchen display, online ordering integration and a basic loyalty programme:
| Cost component | Monthly estimate |
|---|---|
| Software (2 terminals) | £50–£80 |
| Hardware (amortised over 3 years) | £30–£80 |
| Online ordering integration | £40–£80 |
| Loyalty / marketing app | £20–£50 |
| Payment processing (2.5% on £30k revenue) | £750 |
| Total estimate | £890–£1,040/month |
These figures are indicative. The payment processing line is typically the largest cost and is often the last thing operators scrutinise when choosing a platform. It should be the first.
Contract terms to review carefully
Before signing an Epos Now contract, clarify:
- Minimum term and early termination fee — what does it cost to leave before the term ends?
- Price increases — is the software price fixed for the contract duration?
- Hardware ownership — is hardware purchased outright, on finance, or on subscription?
- Hardware on cancellation — what happens to hardware if you cancel the software subscription?
- AppStore price stability — are third-party app prices fixed or variable?
- Payment processing rates — are these fixed or subject to review?
Epos Now limitations for restaurants
Epos Now is a generalist POS designed for retail and hospitality. For restaurants, this creates some practical gaps:
No native online ordering. Restaurants taking orders online need a third-party integration. That adds cost and complexity, and the quality of order routing to the kitchen depends on the integration.
No branded mobile app. Epos Now cannot provide a restaurant with its own branded ordering app in the App Store or Google Play.
No self-service kiosk. Kiosk ordering is not a native Epos Now product.
No AI phone ordering. Automated inbound phone ordering is not available.
Integration dependency for core features. Many restaurant-critical capabilities are only available through AppStore subscriptions, each with their own pricing, support contract and data model.
For restaurants whose technology requirements go beyond a basic till, these limitations mean Epos Now becomes a base system that requires significant integration investment to reach full functionality.
Alternatives to Epos Now for restaurants
If you are finding that the full Epos Now cost is higher than expected, or that the integrations required add complexity you don’t want to manage, a restaurant-specific platform is worth comparing.
Flipdish is designed specifically for restaurants, takeaways, QSRs and multi-location groups in the UK and Ireland. It combines POS, online ordering, branded apps, kiosks, AI phone ordering, loyalty and AI marketing in one platform.
| Epos Now | Flipdish | |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant POS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Online ordering | Via AppStore | ✓ Native |
| Branded mobile app | Not available | ✓ |
| Self-service kiosk | Not available | ✓ |
| Kitchen display | Via add-on | ✓ Native |
| AI phone ordering | Not available | ✓ |
| AI marketing | Not available | ✓ |
| Multi-location management | ✓ | ✓ (core feature) |
For restaurants that want to reduce the number of vendor relationships they manage, and have online ordering, POS and marketing in a single system, Flipdish offers a total platform cost that compares favourably with Epos Now plus the integrations required to reach the same capability.
Summary
Epos Now’s advertised pricing is competitive for a basic till setup, but most restaurants need more than that. Once online ordering, loyalty, marketing and kitchen display integrations are included, the real monthly cost for an active restaurant is considerably higher than the base software fee.
Get a full cost breakdown from Epos Now that covers every integration you need, payment processing at your expected card volume, and the total hardware cost over the contract term.
Then compare that total against a purpose-built restaurant platform like Flipdish, where many of those capabilities are included rather than purchased separately.
Talk to Flipdish to see how a single integrated platform compares for your specific restaurant.