How much to leave as a tip can be a thorny issue.
In recent years, businesses have encouraged customers to tip for a coffee or drink at a bar with a tip option popping up on card readers at the point of payment.
Tipping habits across the UK are changing and the average tip left via card machine at cafes, pubs and retailers has risen 9 per cent year on year between the first half of 2024 and the first half of 2025.
The average tip left when paying by card rose from £3.44 to £3.76 year-on-year across the UK.
However, when compared with the same period in 2022, the national average tip is down 15 per cent from £4.44 to £3.76.
This is Money has analysed tipping data from payments service provider SumUp across thousands of pubs, restaurants, cafes, shops and other retailers. It doesn’t include transactions made in cash, where tips can sometimes be more generous.
We have examined tipping behaviours in cities across the UK over the year across thousands of card reader transactions up and down the country from Glasgow to Southampton.
Which cities leave the biggest tips?
Generally the trend for tipping amounts is down since 2022 – but is isn’t necesssarily because people are less generous.
SumUp says the trend towards using cards even for small transactions, which increased during Covid, had a major effect on how people tip.
A SumUp spokesman says: ‘The shift to cashless payments accelerated post-Covid, with people increasingly using cards even for small transactions like buying a coffee, which tends to produce smaller tips proportionally.
‘This wider frequency of tipping on smaller amounts lowers the average tip size. Additionally, the cost-of-living crisis has reduced consumers’ disposable income, directly impacting their willingness and ability to tip at previous levels.’
Stoke-on-Trent is the tipping capital of the UK, according to SumUp’s data, where residents leave the most generous tips.
The average tip in Stoke-on Trent in the first half of 2025 was £10.54.
This rocketed 169 per cent between the first half of 2025 and the same period last year, when the average amount left as a tip was £3.91.
Glasgow has seen the next biggest jump in the average tip amount year-on-year.
In Glasgow the average tip was £2.90 in the first half of this year. During the same period last year it was £1.69.
It means it has ballooned 72 per cent between the first half of 2024 and the same period in 2025.
People in Plymouth are some of the biggest tippers at from £5.26, though this was down 25 per cent from £7.02 year-on-year.
The analysis accounts for tips made on a purchase using a card reader where a tip is added optionally, and not those left as cash or included as part of the service charge in a food or drinks bill.
When SumUp introduced its tipping feature in 2022 there were a relatively small number of merchants using the function.
SumUp says by 2025, many more merchants had adopted it, which could in part be behind the significant changes seen in cities like Stoke, Glasgow and Plymouth.
But it could also be a reflection of economic growth these cities have seen over this period.
Tip city: Stoke leaves the most generous average tip of £10.25. This is up over 800% from 2022 when the average tip was £1.15
‘Stoke remains the pottery hub of the UK, and with the success of shows like the ‘The Great Pottery Throw Down’, Gen Z and younger generations are beginning to take interest in the craft once again,’ the spokesman said.
‘While Plymouth has also seen some economic resurgence since the pandemic, becoming a hub for defence and marine research development.’
People in Sheffield tend to leave an average tip of £4.19, SumUp data reveals. This is up 35 per cent between the first half of 2024 and the same period in 2025.
In Hull, the average tip in the first half of the year was £2.20. This number is up 24 per cent since the first half of 2024 when it was £1.77.
While in the UK’s capital London, the average tip is up 4 per cent year-on-year from £3.80 to £3.95.
The cities where has tipping has plummeted
On the other side of the table, businesses in Derby have seen tips fall the most with the average tip plunging 71 per cent from £8.19 to £2.36 between the first half of 2024 and 2025.
Tips in Cardiff have shrunk 25 per cent year-on-year from £2.56 in the first half of 2024 to £1.91 in the same period in 2025.
SumUp said the reason for such large jumps in these cities may be because fewer merchants there were using the tip option on card readers in 2022, compared with 2025.
Corin Camenisch, product marketing lead at SumUp: ‘This data shows just how much tipping patterns have fluctuated across the UK since 2022.
‘The figures highlight both the challenges facing the hospitality sector and the resilience some areas have shown in adapting to economic pressures.’
‘For many hospitality workers on minimum or living wages, tips are a vital part of their income. Businesses that handle them transparently not only support staff wellbeing but also build customer trust and enhance the sector’s reputation.’
In October 2024 the Government changed the rules on tipping, introducing new legislation that requires all tips, whether given in cash or via card, to be passed on in full to workers.
Camenisch adds: ‘As more tips are added to card transactions rather than given in cash, ensuring transparency and fair distribution is becoming a critical operational priority.’
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