Tide business account review

Tide aims to give small business owners their time back, by simplifying expenses & invoicing.

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The Tide business account is designed for SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises), and aims to help businesses manage all their finance admin in the one app. Tide offers 4 different account plans – one of which is free – so you can upgrade your account as your business grows. What’s more, if you’re planning to set up a limited company, it will even register your company for you when you set up your business account.

Tide has been featured as one of our best business accounts. We picked it as best for accounting integrations – it stands out for the number of accountancy software packages it can integrate with. It also runs promotional offers from time to time. We have a separate guide on Tide’s card reader.

Compare Tide’s business accounts

4 of 4 results
Updated regularly
Finder Score Account fee Bank transfers Requires credit check Arranged overdraft Accounting integrations Account management Key benefits Business bottom txt
8.7Great
Free
£0.20
5 free per month then 20p per transfer
Clear Books, FreeAgent, KashFlow, QuickBooks, Reckon One, Sage, Xero
App & phone
£200 bonus plus 6-months free accounting when you open a Tide business bank account. FSCS-Protected, Bank Account by ClearBank. T&Cs apply.
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Tide logo
9Excellent
Tide Business Bank Account (Pro)
Free Trial
9Excellent
£27.49 per month or £219.99 if paid yearly (waived in first 1 month)
+ VAT
£0
Clear Books, FreeAgent, KashFlow, QuickBooks, Reckon One, Sage, Xero
App & phone
Get a £200 cashback welcome bonus plus 6-month free accounting when you open a Tide business bank account. T&Cs apply. FSCS-Protected, Bank Account by ClearBank.
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Tide logo
9.4Excellent
Tide Business Bank Account (Max)
CashbackFree Trial
9.4Excellent
£69.99 per month (waived in first 1 month)
£0
150 free per month
Clear Books, FreeAgent, KashFlow, QuickBooks, Reckon One, Sage, Xero
App & phone
Get a £200 cashback welcome bonus plus 6-month free accounting when you open a Tide business bank account. T&Cs apply. FSCS-Protected, Bank Account by ClearBank.
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Tide logo
8.8Great
Tide Business Bank Account (Smart)
Free Trial
8.8Great
£12.49 per month or £124.99 if paid yearly (waived in first 1 month)
£0.20
5 free per month then 20p per transfer
Clear Books, FreeAgent, KashFlow, QuickBooks, Reckon One, Sage, Xero
App & phone
Get a £200 cashback welcome bonus plus 6-month free accounting when you open a Tide business bank account. T&Cs apply. FSCS-Protected, Bank Account by ClearBank.
View details
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Finder Score for bank accounts

To make comparing even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Fees, features and customer service across 20+ of the most popular banks are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score the better the account – simple.

Read the full methodology

Discover and compare the fees and features of other business accounts here

What is Tide?

Tide is a fintech app which offers business accounts to small businesses and freelancers, hoping to relieve them of some of the financial stress that comes with a growing company.

Tide’s business accounts come with a number of features that address some of the most stressful aspects of working for yourself. Tide has been featured as one of our best business bank accounts for small businesses, sole traders and freelancers.

How does the Tide business account work?

Like many other fintech online-only business apps, the majority of Tide’s features are found on your smartphone. The card you’re sent in the post is the only physical aspect of your Tide account.

The Tide app offers a number of resources to help freelancers nurture their businesses and organises them into a series of easily accessible pages.

The app is simple and easy to use, with some extra features designed to make managing your money more convenient. The pages of features include:

  • Accounts: The introductory screen for your Tide app. Here you can see your Tide account plus any other accounts you have linked through Open Banking, along with their balances and transaction records.
  • Easy accounting: Each Tide card has a record of its transactions. File these transactions under a selection of different categories, e.g. travel, insurance, health, food.
  • Invoice: Manage invoices, see a description of the job and its pricing, see which invoices are active or paid and create new invoices. Invoices can be issued in minutes.
  • Pay: You get issued a virtual card immediately upon registration, then you will be posted a physical card with which to make payments.
  • Help: Issue enquiries and requests to the Tide team. This page also displays several questions frequently asked by users.
  • More: Manage your personal and security details and learn about more Tide services including accountancy software, direct debits and customisable invoice templates.

Is Tide Making Tax Digital (MTD) compliant?

Yes, in fact it was the first business bank to embed Making Tax Digital (MTD) into its account for all users. Most other business bank accounts just provide the ability to send information to a third-party accounting platform (like QuickBooks or Xero).

Tide offers integrated HMRC-recognised software within its business accounts to help you comply with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax rules. The software is included in your business account for free and will enable you to submit quarterly updates and your final declaration to HMRC. You’ll also be able to record your income and expenses, as well as get a linked tax account to set aside money for your tax bill.

Further benefits include auto-categorising and receipt capture for instant bookkeeping as well as running tax estimates and a dedicated Tide Tax account so you can ring-fence funds for tax.

Tide’s accounting add-ons with Making Tax Digital (MTD)

Tide Making Tax DigitalTide AccountingTide Admin Extra
Price£0£13.99 + VAT (free to Tide Pro customers)£17.99 + VAT (free to Tide Max customers)
Quarterly MTD filings to HMRCYesYesYes
Self Assessment form generatorYesYesYes
Tax estimates + deadlinesYesYesYes
Put money aside in a Tide Tax AccountYesYesYes
File VAT to HMRCNoYesYes
Profitability, expenses and cash flow forecastingNoYesYes
Financial reportsNoYesYes
Real-time reconciliation to Tide BCAYesYesYes
Live bookkeeping score and task listYesYesYes
Categorise transactions in bulkYesYesYes
Auto-categorisation of income and expensesYesYesYes
Give user-access to your accountantYesYesYes
Connect your external bank accountsYesYesYes
Send customised invoices3/month3/monthUnlimited
Auto-chasing and auto-matching invoicesNoNoYes
Premium templates and cloningNoNoYes
Send payment receiptsNoNoYes

The prices above are based on sole traders.

What is Tide Pro?

Tide Pro is an account plan which has a host of features designed to help small businesses grow and scale up.

While it’s not free – it has a £27.49 monthly fee – it does include a range of features designed for a growing business:

  • Unlimited free transfers. Unlike the Free and Smart plans which charge 20p each time you make or receive a transfer, you’ll get unlimited free transfers with Pro (and the more expensive Max plan).
  • Extra accounts. You can get 2 free additional business accounts.
  • Free access to Tide Accounting. Helping you to manage your bookkeeping and sort your taxes.

You will also benefit from most of the features found on the Free account plan and Tide Smart plan.

Tide Max takes things a level further. It charges £69.99 a month, but offers 3 additional business accounts, 5 free CHAPS payments, unlimited free invoicing, access to Tide Admin Extra, and access to payroll software.

How can Tide help your business? CEO Oliver Prill answers

3:47

Tide CEO Oliver Prill on how the company developed its business account: “The Tide team found that banking itself was not really working well for SMEs, but they also realised that it’s not just banking but all the things around it, like accounting, payroll and invoicing. So they set out on a journey to solve all of that for small businesses.”

The company registration service from Tide

Tide also offers a service that allows new customers to register a limited company at the same time as opening a Tide business account. Rather than paying the usual £100 fee to do this, Tide customers pay £14.99 and Tide takes care of the rest, with the certificate of incorporation usually arriving from Companies House by email within one business day.

The streamlined process means both applications can be carried out at the same time, with business owners able to check whether their company name is available and then register the name at the time of sign-up. Tide is only able to process applications from single company shareholders, although it notes that you can add additional shareholders and directors to your limited company at a later date by contacting Companies House directly.

You can also choose to add on a virtual office address when you register a limited company. This can be useful if you run your business from home as it lets you use a registered address in Central London and keep your home address private.

What does the Tide app look like?

Tide app
Tide app
Tide app

Business loans from Tide

Tide has joined forces with Funding Options to become the largest credit marketplace in the UK, with more than 120 lenders to choose from.

There’s no lengthy application process and you can choose to apply for:

  • Business loans
  • Start-up loans
  • Business cash advances
  • Invoice finance
  • Asset finance

For a monthly fee of £4.99 (plus VAT), you can also take advantage of Tide’s Credit Score Insights feature. This enables you to access your business credit score and get insights into what’s impacting it, as well as tips on how you can improve your score to increase your chances of being accepted for credit.

Is Tide safe?

Not only do you have to authenticate your account using a password, you also have to authorise all payments through your phone. Tide also requests a selfie every time you log onto a new device to make sure it’s actually you.

Tide’s bank accounts are provided by ClearBank, which means they are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which protects deposits of up to £120,000. Tide itself is not a bank, but it is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Tide vs the competitors

Tide logoMettle by NatWest logoStarling logo
NameTide Business Bank Account (Free)Mettle by NatWest Mobile AccountStarling Business Current Account
Account feeFreeFreeFree
Bank transfers£0.20
5 free per month then 20p per transfer		£0
Overdraft
Up to £50,000 subject to eligibility and application
Overseas card transaction fees0 plus 2.75%£0
Not available in some countries		£0, currency conversion charge of £0
FSCS protected
Accounting integrationsClear Books, FreeAgent, KashFlow, QuickBooks, Reckon One, Sage, XeroFreeAgent, QuickBooks, Xero FreeAgent, QuickBooks, Xero
Account managementApp & phoneOnline & appOnline, app & phone

What do customers say about Tide?

80% of customers we surveyed in 2026 would recommend Tide to a friend.

It is highly popular among startups and small businesses for its exceptionally quick setup process and feature-rich, efficient app. It is generally viewed as a reliable and cost-effective banking solution with no hidden fees.

However, Tide's customer service receives heavy criticism; many users report that support is sloppy, understaffed, and too slow to resolve issues, with one user noting a failure to receive a promised promotional sign-up bonus.

AI-generated summary from the text of customer reviews on Finder.

Tide and Finder Awards

Finder Awards logo

Our Finder Awards celebrate brands that truly stand out in their field. Tide was named our 2025 Startup Business Bank Provider of the Year Award winner!

Pros and cons of Tide

Pros

  • Free plan option.
  • Sort your transactions into a number of categories.
  • Connect your Tide account with accounting technology.
  • Invoice directly from your Tide app.
  • Link your other bank cards to the app to see the balance and a spending record for each one.
  • Can help you set up a limited company.

Cons

  • Fees apply to international transfers.
  • Can't deposit cheques.
  • No overdrafts or business credit cards available.
  • Digital-only banking, so maybe not for you if your prefer face-to-face contact.

Our verdict

Tide is specifically built for small businesses, which means you’ll get a lot of features to help you manage your finances and keep on top of everything even if you don’t have a big accounting team. It’s also easy to use and set up. What’s more, you have the benefit of being able to choose from 4 different pricing plans, depending on what suits your business best. It’s also a pretty great option if you want to set up a limited company, as it’ll register your company for you.

However, if you want access to unlimited bank transfers, you’ll need to pay a fairly chunky monthly fee. So, if you use your account a lot and make several transfers a week, you might be better off with one its competitors, such as Mettle or Starling, which don’t charge transaction fees. Also, the downside of Tide’s expertise in business current accounts is that you don’t get any other products such as credit cards or personal current accounts.

Get started by visiting Tide's website and sign up for an account. If you have read this review and decided that Tide’s account is not for you, you can also compare other business bank accounts on the market.

All in all, Tide is a sound option for a small business owners. It’s comparatively cheap, has plenty of useful features, can be used both from the app and from desktop, and it helps you track your spending and manage your business finances, saving you from spending an age studying your account statements.

Frequently asked questions

Our “Best for” picks highlight top options in specific categories based on our independent evaluation (see our full methodology), while “Promoted” tags indicate sponsored placements. Selected products may not suit everyone. We track selected market offers, which may not cover every product. Products are listed in no particular order unless specified, and inclusion or ordering may be influenced by popularity or commercial agreements. Most comparison table data is provided by Defaqto or sourced directly from providers. Always evaluate your own circumstances and consider independent advice before making major financial decisions.
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Matthew Boyle is a banking and mortgages publisher at Finder. He has a 7-year history of publishing helpful guides to assist consumers in making better decisions. In his spare time, you will find him walking in the Norfolk countryside admiring the local wildlife. See full bio

Matthew's expertise
Matthew has written 210 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Helping first-time buyers apply for a mortgage
  • Comparing bank accounts and highlighting useful features
  • Publishing easy-to-understand guides
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