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.
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.
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 at its core is simple and streamlined, with some more advanced and decorative features present to help exaggerate its convenience. The pages of features include:
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 an £18.99 + VAT monthly fee – it does include a range of features designed for a growing business:
You will also benefit from most of the features found on the free account plan and Tide Plus plan. The main difference is free unlimited transfers, as these are limited on all of Tide’s other account plans.
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.”
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 £50 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 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.
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:
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.
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 £85,000. Tide itself is not a bank, but it is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
In our independent 2024 customer satisfaction survey, 87% of Tide’s users said they’d recommend the brand to a friend. Customers highlighted the bank’s excellent customer service and easy to use online banking. Here’s what some of those Tide customers had to say:
“Tide is really easy to sign up to and connects seamlessly to my accounting software. The app is really intuitive and you regularly receive information about other products and services which may enhance your business.”
“Tide makes me feel like I am a valued customer”
“Great service, easy to setup and very reasonable cost”
On the Apple App Store, Tide scored 4.8 out of 5 based on over 72,900 reviews. On the Google Play Store, the app scored 3.6 out of 5 based on over 20,400 reviews (updated February 2025).
On Trustpilot, Tide scored 3.9 out of 5 from more than 22,800 reviews, giving it a ‘Great’ rating. Many customers commented on the fast and professional service, but some said they’d had problems accessing their account (updated February 2025).
 |  |  | |
| Name | Tide Free Account | Mettle by NatWest Mobile Account | Starling Business Current Account |
| Account fee | Free | Free | Free |
| Bank transfers | £0.20 Free if both accounts are with Tide | Free | Free |
| Overdraft | Up to £50,000 subject to eligibility and application | ||
| Overseas card transaction fees | £0 Not available in some countries | £0, currency conversion charge of £0 | |
| FSCS protected | |||
| Accounting integrations | Clear Books, FreeAgent, KashFlow, QuickBooks, Reckon One, Sage, Xero | FreeAgent, QuickBooks, Xero | FreeAgent, QuickBooks, Xero |
| Account management | Online & app | Online & app | Online, app & phone |
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.
The fees are pretty reasonable, all things considered (especially if you don’t often need to withdraw cash). However, keep in mind that if you use your account a lot and make several transfers and withdrawals a week, you might be better off with one its competittors, 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.
Discover key the differences between Mettle and Tide bank accounts and what is likely to be best for you.
Discover the key differences between Monzo business and Revolut business bank accounts and choose which is likely to be best for you.
Discover the key differences between Mettle and Revolut business bank accounts and choose which is likely to be best for you.
Discover key the differences between Mettle and Monzo business bank accounts and what is likely to be best for you.
Discover the key differences between Starling and Revolut business bank accounts and what is likely to be best for you.
Most banks let you apply for a business account entirely online — you might even have your account open in a matter of minutes.
By switching your business bank account, you may be able to reduce your monthly fees or take advantage of different features like smart bookkeeping tools.
Learn more about how prepaid business cards can be used to spend money with any retailer that accepts debit or credit cards.
Is your UK business a limited company? We take a look at why you might need a business bank account and how you can go about opening one.
Mettle is a spin-off venture from parent bank NatWest – find out more about what this business banking app has to offer small businesses.