Epos Now Pricing for Restaurants: What Does It Really Cost?
What does Epos Now cost for restaurants?
Epos Now pricing for restaurants is made up of a monthly software subscription, hardware costs and optional transaction fees depending on your payment setup. The software subscription starts at accessible price points, which is part of Epos Now's appeal for small operators. The full cost of running Epos Now in a restaurant, once hardware, payment processing and any integrations are included, depends heavily on your configuration.
This breakdown gives restaurant owners and operations managers an accurate picture of what to expect.
Epos Now software subscription
Epos Now offers software plans that are typically tiered by features and number of users or terminals. Prices change and Epos Now regularly runs promotional offers, so current pricing should always be verified directly. As a general guide:
- Entry-level plans cover basic POS functionality: order management, simple reporting and payment processing
- Higher-tier plans or add-ons extend the feature set with more detailed reporting, additional users and integration capabilities
- Hospitality-specific features such as table management may require a hospitality-focused plan or add-on
Epos Now prices its software on a per-month, per-terminal basis. Multi-site operators with more terminals will pay more, and the restaurant-specific feature set available at each price point is worth examining carefully before assuming a lower-cost plan will meet your needs.
One important note: Epos Now serves both retail and hospitality. Some features listed in marketing materials are more relevant to retail than restaurant operations. Confirm that the features you need are available on the plan you are considering, not just visible in the broader product catalogue.
Hardware costs
Epos Now sells hardware bundles that typically include:
- A touchscreen POS terminal
- A receipt printer
- A cash drawer (in some bundles)
- A card reader
Hardware bundles have been available at various promotional prices, sometimes subsidised when taken with a software subscription. As with all POS hardware costs, the key questions are:
Is the hardware proprietary? Epos Now hardware works with the Epos Now software platform, but Epos Now also has compatibility with some standard peripherals. Confirm which hardware is required versus optional before purchasing.
What does replacement or additional hardware cost? Opening a second terminal, adding a kitchen screen or replacing a damaged device all carry costs. Get clarity on these before you commit.
What is the warranty and support process? Hardware failures during service have a direct impact on revenue. Understanding how quickly replacements are dispatched matters more than the initial hardware price.
For restaurants needing a Kitchen Display System — a screen in the kitchen replacing paper tickets — Epos Now offers this via third-party integration rather than a native product. This adds integration cost and an additional vendor relationship to manage.
Transaction and payment processing fees
Epos Now integrates with a range of payment processors. Depending on your setup, payment processing fees may be charged by Epos Now directly or by a third-party processor.
Key points to clarify before signing up:
- Who processes your payments? Epos Now, a third-party processor, or your own merchant account?
- What are the per-transaction rates? These can vary significantly by plan and processor
- Are there minimum monthly processing fees? Some arrangements carry minimum charges regardless of transaction volume
- Can you switch processors? Proprietary payment processing locks you into one provider's rates
For restaurants doing substantial card volume, payment processing costs typically exceed software subscription costs over a twelve-month period. A 0.5 percentage point difference in processing rate on £30,000/month turnover amounts to £150/month — more than many entry-level software subscriptions.
Always calculate processing costs based on your actual revenue, not just the software subscription headline price.
Add-ons and integrations
Epos Now's native feature set for restaurants is functional but not deep. Restaurant operators commonly find they need to add third-party integrations for:
- Online ordering — Epos Now does not provide a native online ordering product; third-party integrations are available through the Epos Now App Store but carry additional costs
- Loyalty and customer marketing — basic tools are available; more sophisticated loyalty and CRM functionality requires integration
- Reservations and table management — basic table plans are available; more complex table management may require add-ons
- Accounting integration — connections to Xero, Sage and similar tools are available but may require a higher-tier plan or paid integration
- Delivery and aggregator integration — Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats integration available via third parties
Each integration adds a monthly cost and an additional vendor relationship. A restaurant using Epos Now as its POS and then adding separate tools for online ordering, loyalty and accounting can end up managing four or five separate billing lines, support contacts and integration maintenance requirements.
Epos Now for multi-location restaurants
Epos Now supports multiple locations under one account and provides consolidated reporting across sites. This works reasonably well for operators with a small number of similar sites.
For larger groups — particularly franchised operations or chains with significant menu variation between sites — the multi-location tools in Epos Now are limited compared to purpose-built restaurant management platforms. Centralised menu management, multi-site pricing control and franchise-level reporting all require more than Epos Now's standard offering provides.
Total cost model: what to calculate
Use this framework when evaluating Epos Now — or any POS system — on true total cost rather than headline price:
| Cost component | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Software subscription | Monthly fee × number of terminals × 36 months |
| Hardware | Upfront purchase or lease per terminal, including KDS and printers |
| Payment processing | % of card revenue × 36 months |
| Online ordering integration | Monthly fee for third-party ordering tool |
| Loyalty/marketing tools | Monthly fee for any add-on |
| Accounting integration | Monthly fee if applicable |
| Implementation and training | One-off cost |
| Ongoing support | Included or additional |
Fill in the figures from your quote. Systems that appear cheap at the software subscription level often carry higher effective cost once processing, integrations and hardware are included.
How Flipdish compares on price and value
Flipdish is a restaurant technology platform built specifically for the UK and Ireland market. Where Epos Now is a POS system to which restaurant features can be added, Flipdish is designed from the ground up as a complete restaurant technology stack.
The Flipdish platform includes POS, Kitchen Display System, online ordering, branded mobile apps, self-service kiosks, AI phone ordering and marketing tools — all in one platform, not assembled from integrations.
| Epos Now | Flipdish | |
|---|---|---|
| POS | Yes | Yes |
| Restaurant-specific POS features | Moderate | Yes |
| Kitchen Display System | Via integration | Native |
| Online ordering | Via third-party | Native |
| Branded app | No | Yes |
| Kiosk | No | Yes |
| AI phone ordering | No | Yes |
| Loyalty | Via third-party | Native |
| AI marketing | No | Yes |
| Multi-location management | Basic | Centralised |
| Built specifically for restaurants | No | Yes |
For restaurants that would need to add online ordering, loyalty tools and marketing capabilities on top of an Epos Now subscription, Flipdish pricing frequently compares favourably when total platform cost is considered. See Flipdish online ordering pricing for current details.
The operational simplicity of one platform versus four or five integrated tools also has real value: one support contact, one data layer, one training requirement and one contract to manage.
Who Epos Now is designed for
Epos Now is a reasonable choice for:
- Small cafés and coffee shops needing a basic till and card payment system
- Operators who primarily need retail-style POS and happen to serve food
- Businesses that do not need online ordering, apps, kiosks or advanced restaurant features
Epos Now is not ideal for:
- Takeaways that need integrated online ordering
- Restaurants that want branded apps or kiosks
- Multi-location groups needing centralised management
- Operators wanting AI phone ordering or advanced marketing tools
Summary
Epos Now pricing starts attractively for basic POS requirements, but the full cost picture for a restaurant with online ordering, loyalty and marketing needs is more complex. Third-party integrations add cost and complexity, and Epos Now's general-purpose design means some restaurant workflows require workarounds.
For restaurants in the UK and Ireland wanting a platform built specifically for hospitality, Flipdish combines every major technology requirement in one integrated system with local support and pricing built around how restaurants actually operate.
Request a demo to compare Flipdish against your current setup and get an accurate total cost comparison for your specific operation size and requirements.