Tide Business Account review

Tide has four business accounts, ranging from a free one to one that costs £69.99 per month

Tide is a popular choice for businesses, it’s got a range of different current accounts, including a free one, for sole traders and limited companies. 

Here’s what you get with the Tide business accounts, whether the upgrades are worth paying for and if it’s any good.

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Do you need a Tide Business account?

Before we get into the details of the account, it’s worth double checking whether you need a business account at all. Sole traders can simply use a regular current account for their business — either the one you have already or a separate one to keep everything aside. These accounts can come without fees or as many limitations, so might be preferred. However, if you have a limited liability company, you will need a business bank account. 

Of course, even if you don’t need one, you might prefer to have a business account like Tide because of the additional features it has for businesses, like invoicing and tax tools. 

Tide account tiers

There are four different Tide account tiers: Free, Smart, Pro and Max.

Here’s what each of them offer.

Is it worth paying for extras?

The free account has plenty included — you can do most of your everyday banking at no additional cost with Tide, only paying if you need to deposit cash and for transfers into and out of the account. However, if you’d benefit from additional accounts, expense cards and team access then the Smart account may be suitable for you. 

As your team grows, you may then want to go up to the higher tiers to add extra team members. 

The other extras include Invoice Assistant, which costs £5.99 per month and lets you create and send invoices; Tide Accounting, which helps to file your VAT to HMRC and send your self-assesment tax return; and Admin Extra, which is a bundle of Tide Accounting and Tide Invoice Assistant.

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Tide fees

Other than the cost of your chosen account tier, which are above, there are some additional fees you might come across, although these fees depend on the tier you’ve chosen.

Which businesses can get Tide?

Tide is available for both sole traders and registered limited companies. 

Limited companies need to be registered with UK Companies House and you must be a director of the company to open the account.

Featured deal

IG Stocks & Shares ISA

Customer rating 4.7/5

• Offer

  up to £300 in free shares*
• Annual fee

  £0
• Trading fee

  £0
• Minimum deposit

  £0

Capital at risk. Other fees may apply. *Invest a minimum of £300 and get up to £300 in free shares.

• FSCS Protected? Yes
• Transfer in existing ISA? Yes
• Interest on uninvested cash 3.75%
• Fractional shares No
• Flexible ISA Yes
• Foreign exchange fee 0.70%
• Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees depending on the funds you choose
• Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority Yes: FRN 944492
• Risk warning Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up.
• Offer Invest a minimum of £300 and get up to £300 in free shares. T&Cs apply. Other fees may apply.

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Tide Business Account reviews

On our sister site, Smart Money People, customers have rated Tide 4.64/5, with customers finding it easy to use and talking highly about their customer service.

Negative reviews are mixed, with a small number of users finding that their accounts have been closed with no notice. Read reviews of Tide

Summary: is Tide any good?

The Tide business bank account is a great business account. You can do most of what you need to with the free account for very few fees, then you can upgrade it as your business grows. I’ve personally used Tide before and found it really easy to use and loved the invoicing feature. 

You can integrate your accounting software with Tide, which means you can share the information between them, or you can choose to pay for Tide’s accounting software. 

In terms of the paid upgrades, the Smart account would be a good account if you have a team member you want to integrate, or you can upgrade further if you have more team members you want to add. 

If you’d prefer to look at other accounts before you make your mind up, we’ve compared a range of other free business accounts to help you choose one. 

Tide Free Business Current Account

Tide Free Business Account

Customer rating 4.6/5

• Monthly fee

  £0
• Cash deposit fee

  0.5% (min £2.50) at Post Office, 3% at PayPoint
• Fee for transfers in/out

  Free transfers in/out for 12 months
• Offer

  £200 welcome bonus and 6 months free accounting*

*£200 welcome bonus and 6 months of free accounting

• Access Online or via app
• FSCS Protected? Yes
• Cash withdrawals £1 per withdrawal
• Transfers Transfers cost 20p per transfer after a 12 month promotional period
• Integration with accounting tools Connect your own accounting software or export transactions to share with your accountant for free
• Invoicing tools Yes - send 3 per month free
• Offer details Use code ACCOUNTING200 at sign-up, spend £1,000 on your card within 60 days and subscribe to the Tide Accounting tool 'Admin Extra' within 7 days of opening your account to qualify for a £200 bonus and 6 months of free accounting
• Eligible businesses Registered limited companies or sole traders

View Deal

Compare the best free business current accounts

Check out our list of the top free current accounts for sole traders and limited companies

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