How much does KLARA's POS system cost compared to SumUp?

SumUp is more affordable for those new to hardware and is suitable for simple card payments. KLARA is a better choice when POS, TWINT, payments, and accounting need to work together seamlessly. KLARA Kasse Flex starts at CHF 48/month plus VAT; SumUp POS costs a one-time fee of CHF 399. For transaction fees, KLARA charges a flat rate of 1.7% including TWINT, cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay; SumUp charges a standard rate of 1.5% for debit cards and 2.5% for credit cards.

Can I use KLARA just as a payment solution?

Yes. KLARA can also be used as a payment solution. The advantage is that you don't have to stop at payments if you need more: POS, payouts, accounting, payroll, inventory, and online features can all be integrated into the same Swiss SME platform.

Do I need a separate TWINT contract with both providers?

With KLARA, TWINT is integrated directly into KLARA Payments. With SumUp, TWINT is not directly integrated in Switzerland; using TWINT with SumUp therefore requires an additional solution or another payment provider. This can result in separate payment flows, additional reporting, and more coordination in accounting.

KLARA vs. SumUp Comparison

Comparison: KLARA vs. SumUp

SumUp can be a good option if you’re looking to buy a card terminal at the lowest possible price. KLARA also processes payments — but that's only the beginning: TWINT, cards, payouts, point-of-sale, accounting, payroll, and online appointment booking all work together in a single Swiss SME system.

With SumUp, however, additional providers, contracts, or integrations may be required depending on your setup. Important for Swiss businesses: TWINT is not directly integrated with SumUp in Switzerland.

In short: SumUp is an affordable option for getting started. KLARA simplifies day-to-day business operations

If your customers use TWINT, you want your payments to be neatly organized in your accounting, you handle payroll or manage multiple employees, and you value Swiss support, KLARA is clearly the better solution.

KLARA isn’t just an all-in-one solution: you can also use KLARA as a payment solution. The difference is that KLARA solves other problems for you as well — from payments and point-of-sale to accounting, payroll, inventory, and online features.

Requirements / Profile

Recommendation

Why

Hair Salon, Beauty, Wellness

KLARA

Payments, appointments, customer management, and bookkeeping are all part of everyday life.

Gastronomy

KLARA

Fast payments, payouts, and employee processes are key.

Retail with TWINT customers

KLARA

The cash register, TWINT, inventory, payment summary, and accounting systems now work together more seamlessly.

Multiple locations / multiple employees

KLARA

Multi-store, multi-POS, roles, reports, and payroll are more closely integrated.

Businesses with accounting and payroll needs

KLARA

Automatic daily closing, payout dashboard, and Swissdec ELM5 payroll.

Mobile solo providers with basic card needs who do not use TWINT

KLARA & SumUp

Affordable hardware that can also be used standalone (without a cash register) and on the go.

Seasonal pop-up stores that do not require TWINT

KLARA & SumUp

Low barrier to entry for one-time card payments. No subscription or other fixed costs for payments.

Tap-to-pay on mobile

SumUp

SumUp offers a convenient smartphone app that lets you accept payments using your smartphone's NFC chip.

Crucial for Swiss SMEs

KLARA POS

SumUp

Card and mobile payments

1.7% flat fee for TWINT, cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay

Standard: 1.5% debit / 2.5% credit; TWINT not directly integrated

Optional map plan

Special terms may be available for larger payment volumes

Payments Plus: CHF 29/month; 0.99% for in-person payments with major debit/credit cards, 1.99% for American Express, corporate, premium, and non-EU cards

TWINT acceptance

✓ Integrated directly into KLARA Payments

✗ TWINT not integrated – requires an additional solution or another payment provider

Payment Summary and Accounting

Payments/Payout Dashboard, downloadable reports, accounting sync, and automatic daily closing

Reporting available; accounting sync only with Kassensystem Plus and external software; additional payment flows with a separate TWINT setup

Point of Sale and Hardware

The hardware, POS software, and payment systems are designed to work together within a Swiss setup.

Affordable card terminals are off to a strong start; however, the comparison becomes less favorable once TWINT, payouts, and accounting come into play.

Wages / Employees

✓ KLARA Payroll is Swissdec ELM5-certified

✗ No directly integrated Swiss payroll solution

Inventory / Retail

Klara Inventory integrated with the POS system and accounting

Standard features are available; advanced features require additional setup or a subscription.

Multiple registers / stores

Multi-store and multi-POS ready, with filtering options by registers, terminals, and stores

Depending on the setup, this is possible; however, as a standalone POS/payment setup

Tips and Team Evaluation

Tips are reported separately from company revenue and can be analyzed either in total or by employee

Tips are allowed, but they are treated as business revenue, which makes it more difficult to accurately track team performance and manage accounting.

Online Appointment Scheduling

KLARA Online Appointment Booking can be integrated with other KLARA processes.

SumUp Bookings is available for simple appointment scheduling and is not linked to other processes.

Swiss Support

Swiss support and personalized advice in German, English, French, and Italian

International support via the Help Center, hotline, and chat

Data Location Software

Switzerland, georedundant

EEA, international transfers permitted

Setup

Point-of-sale, payments, accounting, payroll, inventory, and support—all on one Swiss platform

Multiple functional modules; additional subscriptions, providers, or integrations as needed

Key advantage

Robust Swiss solution with built-in TWINT payment options and integrated processes such as appointment scheduling, payroll, and accounting

A low barrier to entry for easy card payments

Criterion

KLARA POS

SumUp

Getting Started with Payment Hardware

POS Mobile Mini starting at CHF 199 (standard price)

Solo Lite starting at CHF 49 (standard price)

Complete Cash Register Overview

Flex POS starting at CHF 48/month, software included

SumUp POS system: CHF 399, software not included

The key gap in Switzerland: TWINT is not directly integrated with SumUp

TWINT is essential for Swiss businesses: in 2025, over 901 million transactions were processed, more than 6 million people actively use TWINT, and around 81% of brick-and-mortar stores offer TWINT as a payment option.

At SumUp, TWINT is not directly integrated in Switzerland. Anyone who still wants to accept TWINT with SumUp needs an additional solution—such as directly through TWINT or via another payment provider. This leads to separate payment flows, additional reporting, and more coordination in accounting.

With KLARA, TWINT is directly integrated into KLARA Payments — with the same 1.7% transaction fee as cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Payments, payouts, and accounting-related documents are centrally bundled in KLARA.

Payments, payouts, and accounting all in one place

KLARA integrates point-of-sale, payments, and accounting: payments are visible in the payments dashboard, payout documents are available for download, payouts can be posted, and the daily closing is automatically synchronized. With SumUp, accounting synchronization is only possible with the Point-of-Sale Plus system and external accounting software.

With SumUp, tips are processed as business revenue. KLARA separates tips from business revenue and allows them to be analyzed both in total and by employee—a clear advantage for payouts and accounting.

Multiple registers, stores, and roles without a patchwork solution

Klara is designed for multi-store and multi-POS operations. What matters is not only that multiple registers are possible, but that payments, stores, payouts, accounting, and employees are all managed centrally. SumUp offers team, register, and inventory features; Klara is more closely integrated with Swiss payment and administrative processes.

Swiss support instead of purely standardized support channels

Klara offers Swiss support, free setup, and personalized advice in German, French, English, and Italian. SumUp offers multilingual support via its Help Center, hotline, and chat. For SMEs looking for Swiss payment methods, accounting, and support all in one place, Klara is better suited to their day-to-day operations.

What KLARA eliminates: fewer tools, less coordination

Klara streamlines day-to-day operations more comprehensively: payments, point-of-sale, daily closing, payouts, accounting, payroll, inventory, and online functions can all work together on a single platform. This reduces friction in daily operations — especially where multiple payment methods, employees, or locations intersect.

Where KLARA is clearly stronger

TWINT and all other payment methods are directly integrated into KLARA Payments
1.7% flat rate for TWINT, cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay; special rates for larger companies
Payments and Payout Dashboard directly in KLARA
Automatic daily closing and sync with KLARA Accounting
KLARA Payroll with Swissdec ELM5 certification
KLARA Inventory for retail businesses
Multi-store and multi-POS functionality with centralized payment and accounting logic
Swiss data center and personal Swiss support in DE/FR/IT/EN
Pure payment functionality available with a single payment terminal, but scalable as a Swiss SME software platform with add-ons if needed

Where SumUp excels

Low upfront costs for card terminals
Payouts on the next business day
A good option for solo businesses with simple card payments that don’t require TWINT
Tap to Pay on compatible smartphones

What both basically offer

POS functions such as sales, returns, and receipts
One-time purchase of a payment terminal instead of a rental/subscription model
No monthly fees in the basic setup (payment terminal only, without POS)
Apple Pay and Google Pay
Online store features
Online appointment booking
Card payments with Visa and Mastercard, debit and credit cards

Hair Salon and Beauty

TWINT, online appointment booking, and customer management are particularly important in the beauty industry. Klara integrates these features directly with the point-of-sale system, payments, and other SME processes. SumUp also offers booking features; however, TWINT is not directly integrated in Switzerland. For hair salons and beauty businesses with Swiss clients, Klara is therefore the better solution.

Learn more about KLARA Hair and Beauty

Retail

For the retail sector, key features include inventory management, payment overviews, accounting integration, and support for multiple sales locations. Klara bundles these processes into a Swiss SME platform, making it more comprehensively tailored to the day-to-day operations of retail businesses. SumUp offers POS and inventory functions, but is less well-positioned when it comes to TWINT and Swiss accounting/payroll logic.

More about KLARA Retail

KLARA_Gastro_Visual_Catering_iStock-1667329616

Dining

In the restaurant industry, fast payments, table and split functions, TWINT, and employee processes are key. Klara combines point-of-sale, payments, accounting, and payroll in a single platform. SumUp covers individual restaurant functions; however, for Swiss hospitality businesses with TWINT, accounting, and administrative needs, Klara is the more comprehensive solution. Another major advantage for hospitality businesses: Klara reports tips separately from business revenue—both in total and by employee. This simplifies payouts to the team as well as accounting.

Learn more about KLARA for gastronomy

When SumUp might be the right choice

There are situations where SumUp is a better fit:

Mobile solo providers with low card transaction volumes, without TWINT and without accounting integration. Here, SumUp stands out with low startup costs and simple card payments.

Customers without significant support needs: Buy an affordable card terminal, set it up yourself — done.

For businesses with a Swiss customer base, a need for TWINT, multiple payment methods, or accounting and payroll processes, as well as a need for guided setup/onboarding and later support, KLARA is clearly the better choice.

Hair salons, beauty salons, and wellness centers

KLARA - TWINT, online appointment scheduling, customer management, and accounting all come together on a single Swiss platform.

Restaurants and cafés with a Swiss clientele

KLARA - TWINT is a major payment method in Switzerland; Klara integrates it directly into the checkout, payments, and payment overview.

Retail boutiques with TWINT customers

KLARA - KLARA integrates point-of-sale, TWINT, inventory, payment overview, and accounting much more closely within a single system.

Chains with multiple locations and businesses with staffing needs

KLARA - Key features include central administration, accounting synchronization, and KLARA Payroll with Swissdec ELM5 certification.

Mobile solo providers with low transaction volumes that do not require TWINT

SumUp or KLARA – Low entry barrier, easy card payments, fast payouts.

Seasonal or pop-up stores that do not require TWINT

SumUp - Low barrier to entry and no fixed monthly fees with the basic setup.

TWINT is not directly integrated with SumUp in Switzerland. If you want to accept TWINT payments with SumUp, you’ll need an additional TWINT solution or another payment provider. KLARA integrates TWINT directly into KLARA Payments—with the same 1.7% transaction fee as for cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

SumUp is more affordable for those new to hardware and is suitable for simple card payments. Klara is a better choice when you need your point-of-sale system, TWINT, payments, and accounting to work together seamlessly. KLARA Kasse Flex starts at CHF 48/month + VAT; SumUp POS costs a one-time fee of CHF 399. For transaction fees, KLARA charges a flat rate of 1.7% including TWINT, cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay; SumUp charges a standard rate of 1.5% for debit cards and 2.5% for credit cards.

Yes. KLARA can also be used as a payment solution. The advantage is that you don’t have to stop at payments if you need to go further: point-of-sale, payouts, accounting, payroll, inventory, and online features can all be integrated into the same Swiss SME platform.

With KLARA, TWINT is directly integrated into KLARA Payments. With SumUp, TWINT is not directly integrated in Switzerland; therefore, using TWINT with SumUp requires an additional solution or another payment provider. This can result in separate payment flows, additional reporting, and more coordination in accounting.

KLARA is more focused on Swiss SMEs and offers support and personalized advice from Switzerland in German, French, English, and Italian. SumUp offers multilingual support via digital support channels, a hotline, and chat.

According to SumUp, payments are processed the next business day. KLARA stands out with a centralized payments and payouts dashboard, downloadable payout documents, and automatic accounting sync. For businesses that handle regular bookkeeping and VAT reporting, KLARA is therefore the clear winner.

Yes. KLARA excludes certain industries for regulatory, legal, or operational reasons. You can find the complete, up-to-date list at klara.ch/payments. SumUp also has certain business types that are not compatible; for regulated or high-risk industries, it’s advisable to have both providers review each case individually.