Updated September 2026
Best Payment Link Tools in the UK (2026): 6 Options Compared
Need to send secure payment links to customers by text, email or WhatsApp? Compare Stripe, PayPal, Square, SumUp, PayPal POS/Zettle and Simply Link by fees, checkout, tracking, reminders and best fit.
If you just need a secure link that lets a customer pay by card, you have plenty of good options. The harder choice is finding the payment link tool that fits what happens before and after the customer taps it.
For a UK small business, freelancer or solo service professional, that usually means comparing more than transaction fees. You also need to know whether the link is easy to send by text or email, whether the customer needs an account, how clearly you can track payment, and what happens when somebody says “I’ll pay later” and forgets.
Quick answer: which payment link tool is best?
Stripe is the strongest all-round choice if you want flexible payment infrastructure and a polished hosted checkout. Square is excellent if you also take in-person payments. SumUp makes sense for businesses already using its card readers. PayPal is useful when customer familiarity matters. Simply Link is the better fit for UK solo service professionals when the real problem is not creating the link, but tracking what is still due and following up when clients forget to pay.
Best pure payment infrastructure
Stripe: flexible hosted checkout, strong payment methods and competitive UK card pricing.
Best online + in-person mix
Square or SumUp: useful when payment links sit alongside card readers or point-of-sale.
Best service-payment workflow
Simply Link: built around requests, status, due dates and follow-up for UK solo professionals.
Pricing and product details were checked against current UK provider information on 6 September 2026. Payment fees can vary by card type, payment method, currency and account setup, so check the provider before switching.
Best payment link tools UK: quick comparison
This is the short version. All six options can help you take remote payments without building a full ecommerce website, but they solve different parts of the job.
| Provider | Best for | Typical UK fee | Monthly cost | Send by text/email? | Customer account? | Tracking & follow-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stripe Payment infrastructure | Flexible secure checkout, developers and businesses that want a powerful payments platform. | 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards. | £0 for basic Payment Links | Yes | No Stripe account needed | Excellent transaction data. Payment Links itself is not a service-job chasing workflow. |
PayPal Online payments | Businesses whose customers already know and prefer PayPal. | Varies by payment route; standard domestic commercial pricing can be 2.9% + fixed fee. | Usually £0 for standard use | Yes | Guest options can apply | Good payment visibility, but the workflow is PayPal-led rather than built around service-payment chasing. |
Square POS + online checkout | Small businesses combining remote payment links with in-person sales. | 1.4% + 25p for UK online card transactions. | £0 for Payment Links | Yes | No Square account needed | Strong wider business tools; Square Invoices adds invoice reminders and tracking beyond basic links. |
SumUp Card readers + online links | Small businesses already using SumUp hardware and wanting a simple remote-payment option. | 2.5% for online payments including payment links on standard pay-as-you-go pricing. | £0 basic option | Yes | No SumUp account needed | Useful payment status in the SumUp ecosystem, with less emphasis on automatic service follow-up. |
PayPal POS / Zettle POS + payment links | Existing Zettle or PayPal POS users who want remote links alongside in-person payments. | PayPal POS lists 1.2% + 30p for card/APM payment links and 2.9% + 30p for PayPal-payment routes. | £0 basic POS software | Yes, where available | Depends on payment route | Useful inside the PayPal POS ecosystem; availability and flow depend on the account/product being used. |
Simply Link Service payment workflow | UK solo professionals who want to request, share, track and follow up on client payments. | Free: Stripe fees + 1% Simply Link platform fee. Pro: Stripe fees with 0% Simply Link platform fee. | Free or £19 Pro | Yes | No Simply Link account needed | Tracks what is due; Pro adds automatic reminders, custom wording, branding and unlimited usage. |
What are the best tools for generating secure payment links?
For a straightforward secure card payment link, Stripe, Square and SumUp are all strong choices. They provide hosted payment pages so the customer can pay remotely without you handling card details yourself. PayPal adds a familiar consumer brand, while Simply Link uses Stripe checkout and adds a service-business workflow around the payment request.
“Secure” should not just mean the payment page uses a recognised processor. The client should also be able to tell what they are paying for, recognise the business that sent the request, and open the checkout comfortably on a phone.
Hosted secure checkout
The customer should enter payment details on a recognised, secure payment page rather than sending card details to you.
Good mobile experience
A link sent by text or WhatsApp needs to open cleanly and be easy to pay from a phone.
Clear payment context
The customer should understand who sent the request, what they are paying for and how much is due.
Useful status afterwards
A good workflow makes it easy to tell whether the request is paid, still open or needs attention.
Which payment link tools support text and email requests?
Payment links are designed to be shared. Stripe explicitly supports sharing links over email, SMS and other channels, while Square lets businesses share Payment Links through social media, email, text or a website. Simply Link gives you a payment request link that can be copied into the client conversation you already use, including text, email or WhatsApp.
PayPal, SumUp and PayPal POS/Zettle can also be used for remote payment requests, although the exact sharing controls depend on the product and app you are using. If sending links through messages is your main workflow, test the whole journey from your own phone before choosing.
What about WhatsApp and Instagram?
If the provider gives you a normal shareable URL, you can usually paste it into WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram DM or another client message. The important difference is what the provider does after you send it: basic tools take the payment; workflow tools can also help you see what is still unpaid and decide what needs attention.
Best payment link tool by use case
There is no single winner for every business. Start with the problem you actually need the payment link to solve.
Best payment link for a UK small business
Square is a strong all-round option if you mix online and in-person payments. Stripe is stronger if you want payment flexibility and do not need POS hardware.
Best fit: Square or Stripe
Best payment link for freelancers
If you just need a clean link, Stripe works well. If unpaid client requests and follow-up are the recurring headache, a service workflow becomes more useful.
Best fit: Stripe or Simply Link
Best for outstanding client payments
When clients often intend to pay later, due dates, status and reminders matter more than simply generating another URL.
Best fit: Simply Link; Square Invoices if you need invoice-led reminders
Best with a card reader
Keeping remote and face-to-face payments in one ecosystem can reduce admin for shops, markets and mobile sellers.
Best fit: Square, SumUp or PayPal POS
Best without a website
Hosted payment links are specifically useful when you want to send customers straight to checkout without building an online store.
Best fit: Stripe, Square, SumUp, PayPal or Simply Link
Best if you also need QR codes
Stripe and Square explicitly support QR-code use with their payment-link products, which is useful for posters, counters, events and face-to-face prompts.
Best fit: Stripe or Square
Payment link fees: what does a £100 payment cost?
Raw transaction fees matter, especially if you take lots of payments. But compare like with like: some providers price different card types or payment routes differently, and a tool with more admin features may charge separately for those features.
| Provider | Published rate used | Approx. fee on £100 | Important context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe | 1.5% + 20p | About £1.70 | Standard UK card on integrated pricing. |
| Square | 1.4% + 25p | About £1.65 | UK online card transaction. |
| SumUp | 2.5% | About £2.50 | Online payment on standard pay-as-you-go pricing. |
| PayPal POS / Zettle | 1.2% + 30p or 2.9% + 30p | About £1.50 or £3.20 | Depends on whether the payment-link route is standard card/APM or PayPal/guest checkout. |
| PayPal | Varies by commercial payment route | Check the exact flow | PayPal publishes different rates for different payment types, so one headline number can mislead. |
| Simply Link Free | Stripe fee + 1% platform fee | About £2.70 | Illustrative standard UK £100 card payment using Stripe 1.5% + 20p, plus the Simply Link Free platform fee. |
| Simply Link Pro | Stripe fee + £19/month subscription | About £1.70 processing | No Simply Link platform fee on Pro; subscription cost is separate. |
Do not choose on fees alone. Saving 50p on a payment is useful. Saving yourself from repeatedly checking your bank, searching old messages and remembering who still owes you can matter more. The best tool is the one that reduces the total payment admin around your real workflow.
Best for payment infrastructure
Stripe Payment Links
Stripe Payment Links is one of the strongest options if your priority is a polished, secure checkout without building the payment page yourself. Stripe says Payment Links can be shared over email, SMS or other channels, and can also be turned into QR codes or buy buttons.
For standard UK cards, Stripe currently publishes a 1.5% + 20p rate. The trade-off is that Stripe is a broad payments platform. It gives you powerful payment data and configuration, but a solo service professional may still need to create their own process for due dates, client wording and chasing unpaid work.
Why choose it
- Strong hosted checkout and wide payment-method support.
- 1.5% + 20p published rate for standard UK cards.
- Share by email, SMS or other channels.
- Supports QR codes and recurring payment links when you genuinely need subscription-style billing.
What to watch
- The wider Stripe dashboard can feel more technical than a simple service-business tool.
- Payment Links is designed to take payment, not to manage a complete “who still owes me?” workflow.
- Service-specific reminders and follow-up may require other Stripe products or your own process.
Verdict: Choose Stripe when you want excellent payment infrastructure and are happy managing the surrounding client-payment workflow yourself.
Best for customer familiarity
PayPal payment links
PayPal remains useful because many customers already recognise the brand and may already have an account. For one-off remote payments, that familiarity can remove some hesitation.
The difficult part of comparing PayPal is pricing: PayPal publishes different fees depending on the payment type and checkout route. That makes it especially important to check the exact product you plan to use rather than relying on a single “PayPal fee” quoted in a comparison article.
Why choose it
- Highly recognisable consumer payment brand.
- Useful for clients who actively prefer PayPal.
- Guest or card-payment routes can be available depending on setup.
- Suitable for remote payment requests without a website.
What to watch
- Fees vary by payment type and can be harder to compare at a glance.
- The customer experience is more visibly PayPal-led.
- Not specifically designed around the day-to-day payment chasing of solo service work.
Verdict: Choose PayPal when customer familiarity is a bigger priority than having a service-specific payment-request workflow.
Best for online + in-person payments
Square Payment Links
Square Payment Links is a strong option for small businesses that take payments in more than one way. Square lets you create payment links, buy buttons and QR codes, then share them through social media, email, text or your website.
Square currently lists 1.4% + 25p for UK online card transactions and no monthly fee for Payment Links. Its wider ecosystem is the real advantage: POS, customer tools and Square Invoices can sit alongside the links if your business grows beyond simple remote checkout.
Why choose it
- 1.4% + 25p published UK online card rate.
- Payment Links start at £0 per month.
- Share through text, email, social media or a website.
- Excellent fit when you also use Square POS or card readers.
What to watch
- The wider product is more retail/POS-oriented than specifically designed for solo service follow-up.
- Invoice reminders live in the invoice workflow rather than turning every basic payment link into a chasing system.
Verdict: Choose Square when you want one ecosystem for in-person payments, remote links and wider small-business payment tools.
Best for existing SumUp users
SumUp payment links
SumUp is a natural option if you already use its card readers. Its payment links give small businesses a straightforward way to take a remote payment without adding another processor.
SumUp currently lists a 2.5% fee for online payments including payment links on its standard option. That percentage-only pricing is simple to understand, although it can work out more expensive than Stripe or Square for some payment sizes.
Why choose it
- Simple remote-payment option inside a familiar small-business ecosystem.
- No fixed pence component on the standard 2.5% online rate.
- Good fit for mobile businesses already using SumUp hardware.
- No need to build a website checkout.
What to watch
- 2.5% can cost more than Stripe or Square on many typical service payments.
- Less focused on automatic reminders and service-payment follow-up.
- Best value is strongest when you already use the wider SumUp ecosystem.
Verdict: Choose SumUp when simplicity and keeping remote payments beside your existing SumUp card-reader setup matter most.
Best for existing PayPal POS / Zettle users
PayPal POS and Zettle payment links
Zettle is now part of PayPal POS. PayPal’s current UK POS pricing lists payment-link rates of 2.9% + 30p for PayPal-payment routes and 1.2% + 30p for standard credit/debit card payments and other supported wallets.
Availability is more nuanced than the other tools in this guide. PayPal says payment links in the PayPal POS app are currently available to users with Zettle accounts, while PayPal Business users can access Payment Links through the PayPal app and PayPal.com.
Why choose it
- Useful if your in-person payments already run through Zettle or PayPal POS.
- Current pricing distinguishes between PayPal-payment and card/APM routes.
- Keeps remote and in-person payments in the PayPal ecosystem.
What to watch
- The exact payment-link experience depends on which PayPal/Zettle account and route you use.
- Not the cleanest starting point if you are choosing a brand-new service-business payment workflow from scratch.
Verdict: Choose this route primarily when you are already a PayPal POS or Zettle user and want payment links inside the same ecosystem.
Best for service-payment follow-up
Simply Link
Simply Link is built for UK solo service professionals whose payment admin does not end when the link is sent. It uses Stripe for secure payment processing, then adds the workflow around the request: create it, preview it, make it live, share it, track it and follow up when it is still unpaid.
The Free plan is £0 per month with up to five active payment links and a 1% Simply Link platform fee on top of applicable Stripe fees. Pro is £19 per month, removes the Simply Link platform fee and adds automatic reminders, custom reminder wording, branding and unlimited usage.
Why choose it
- Designed specifically for UK solo and self-employed service professionals.
- Payment tracking focuses on what is paid, still due or needs attention.
- Supports deposits and balances as part of the service-payment workflow.
- Pro adds automatic reminders so chasing does not rely on memory or confidence.
What to watch
- Free has a 1% Simply Link platform fee in addition to Stripe fees.
- Not intended to replace a full ecommerce platform or developer payment API.
- Not a card-reader or physical point-of-sale product.
Verdict: Choose Simply Link when getting the link is easy but keeping track of payment and following up afterwards is the part you want to stop carrying in your head.
Which payment links let UK customers pay without creating an account?
Stripe, Square, SumUp and Simply Link can all give customers a card-payment route without requiring them to create an account with your payment-link tool. PayPal can also offer guest or card checkout in supported payment flows, although the experience and available options depend on the PayPal product and merchant setup.
This matters for service businesses because every extra step gives a busy customer another reason to put payment off. Send yourself a real test request, open it on mobile and check exactly what your customer sees before you commit to a provider.
Which payment link tool is best for tracking payments?
“Tracking” can mean two different things. If you want detailed transaction data, payment-method reporting and infrastructure-level visibility, Stripe is very strong. If you want sales reporting tied into a wider point-of-sale system, Square is a natural fit.
If you are a solo service professional, tracking often means something simpler: who has paid, who still owes me, what is overdue, and who needs a reminder? That is the problem Simply Link is designed around. The payment request stays attached to its status instead of becoming another link buried in a message thread.
Do you need a payment link, an invoice, or recurring billing?
Use a payment link when the customer just needs a fast way to pay
Payment links are ideal for remote checkout by text, email, WhatsApp, social message or QR code. You do not need a full website checkout to use them.
Use an invoice when you need invoice-specific records or terms
If the document itself matters — for example itemised charges, invoice numbers, tax records or formal business purchasing — an invoicing product may be the better starting point. Square and Stripe both offer invoice products alongside their payment tools.
Use recurring billing when you need automatic repeat charges
Subscriptions are a different job from sending a new request each week or month. Stripe supports recurring payment links through its billing products; choose true recurring billing when the customer has agreed to automatic repeat charges.
Important: recurring payment requests are not the same thing as automatically charging a customer on a subscription. If you need true subscription billing or recurring card charges, choose a product built specifically for that job.
How we compared these payment link providers
This comparison is aimed at UK small businesses and solo professionals, not large ecommerce teams. We weighted the things that change the day-to-day experience of getting paid.
1. Secure remote checkout
Can a customer pay through a hosted, mobile-friendly checkout without giving card details directly to the business?
2. Sharing
Can the link fit naturally into text, email, WhatsApp, social messages or QR-code workflows?
3. UK pricing
What is the current published fee for a typical UK online card payment, and is there a monthly cost?
4. Customer friction
Does the customer need another account, app or complicated checkout step before they can pay?
5. Payment visibility
How easy is it to tell whether a request has been paid and what still needs attention?
6. Follow-up
Does the tool stop at checkout, connect to invoice reminders, or actively support due dates and payment chasing?
Final recommendation
If you only need to generate a secure payment link, Stripe, Square, SumUp and PayPal can all do the core job well. Pick the ecosystem that matches how you already take payments and compare the fee on your normal transaction size.
If you also sell face to face, Square or SumUp will often make more sense than adding a separate payment-link-only workflow. If you need deep payment infrastructure or subscription billing, Stripe is difficult to beat for flexibility.
If you are a UK solo service professional and the annoying part starts after you send the link, Simply Link is built for that gap: create the request, preview it, make it live, share it, track what is still due and follow up when payment has not arrived.
The work is done. The payment is not.
A payment link solves the checkout. The right payment system should also make it obvious what happens next.
Related payment guides
If you are choosing a payment link tool because getting paid is becoming messy, these guides cover the next parts of the workflow.
Accept payments online without a website
See the simplest ways to take remote payments when you do not have an ecommerce site.
Read guide
Automatic payment reminders
Learn when reminders help, what to send and how to avoid manually rebuilding the chase every time.
Read guide
Deposits and balance payment links
Handle staged service payments more clearly when a job needs money upfront and a balance later.
Read guide
Frequently asked questions
What is the best payment link tool for a small business in the UK?
For many UK small businesses, Stripe or Square are strong starting points. Stripe is excellent for flexible secure online payments, while Square is particularly useful if you also take in-person payments. For UK solo service professionals who need to track unpaid requests and follow up, Simply Link is built around that workflow.
What are the best tools for generating secure payment links?
Stripe, Square and SumUp all provide strong hosted payment-link options for remote card payments. PayPal is useful when customer familiarity matters. Simply Link uses Stripe-powered checkout and adds tracking and follow-up for service-payment requests.
Which payment link tools support text and email requests?
Stripe and Square explicitly support sharing payment links through channels such as email and SMS or text. Shareable links from Simply Link can be sent through your normal client messages, including text, email or WhatsApp. PayPal, SumUp and PayPal POS/Zettle also support remote payment-link workflows, although exact share controls vary by product.
What is the best payment link tool for freelancers?
Stripe is a strong option for freelancers who simply want a secure hosted checkout. If your bigger problem is keeping track of outstanding client payments and remembering to chase them, Simply Link is designed specifically for that service-business workflow.
Which payment link tool has the lowest fees?
There is no single lowest-fee provider for every payment because rates vary by card type and payment route. For standard UK online cards, Square currently publishes 1.4% + 25p and Stripe 1.5% + 20p. PayPal POS publishes different rates depending on whether the customer uses a card/APM route or PayPal payment route. Compare using your own typical payment amount.
Can I send a payment link without a website?
Yes. That is one of the main benefits of hosted payment links. You can create the link in the provider dashboard and send it directly by text, email, WhatsApp or another channel without building an ecommerce website.
Which payment links let UK customers pay without creating an account?
Stripe, Square, SumUp and Simply Link can all provide card-payment checkout without the customer creating an account with your payment-link tool. PayPal can also provide guest or card checkout in supported flows, depending on the merchant setup and payment route.
Which payment link tools also support QR codes?
Stripe and Square explicitly support QR-code workflows with their payment-link products. This is useful if you need the same remote checkout on posters, at a counter, at events or in printed material.
What is the best payment link for an outstanding invoice?
If you already use formal invoices, an invoice product such as Square Invoices or Stripe Invoicing may fit best because the reminder stays tied to the invoice. If you are a solo service professional using payment requests rather than a full invoicing workflow, Simply Link focuses on tracking what is still due and following up.
Do payment link tools send automatic reminders?
Some wider payment platforms provide reminders through separate invoicing or billing products, but a basic payment link often stops at checkout. Simply Link Pro is specifically built to combine service payment requests with due dates, tracking and automatic reminders.
Can payment links be used for subscriptions or recurring payments?
Some can. Stripe supports recurring payment links through its billing products. But recurring billing is different from repeatedly sending a payment request. If you need automatic subscription charges, choose a true recurring billing product rather than assuming every recurring-request feature charges the customer automatically.
Related Guides
Continue learning with these related guides:
Create a Payment Link in Seconds
Learn how to create payment links manually and with Simply Link.
Read guideHow to Get Paid Faster as a Freelancer
Stop chasing payments and start getting paid in days instead of weeks.
Read guideHow to Chase Late Payments Automatically
Automate payment reminders and reduce late payments.
Read guideHow to Send a Payment Link on WhatsApp, Text & Instagram
Step-by-step instructions for sending payment links via messaging apps.
Read guideGet Payment Admin Out of Your Head
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