Tide compared with every major UK business account

A single three-way comparison cannot answer the question most people are actually asking, which is narrower than "which digital account is best". You usually have one specific alternative in mind — the bank your personal account is with, the one your accountant mentioned, or the one advertising heavily this month. So each rival below gets its own full comparison rather than a row in a table.

Every article uses the same six criteria: monthly cost for a realistic small business, cash handling, lending and credit, built-in invoicing and bookkeeping, regulatory and deposit-protection structure, and account-opening speed. We are a Tide partner and earn commission from Tide links only — never from the rivals — so where a rival is structurally better for a given business, the article says so plainly.

If you are comparing providers because of the promotion, start with the full Tide bank review to assess account fit, then check the Tide fee guide and how account protection works. For the current partner-code process, see our step-by-step Tide referral code guide.

Every comparison

Prefer the three-way overview?

If you are weighing the three most-searched digital accounts at once, our Tide vs Starling vs Monzo comparison puts them side by side in one table before you commit to a dedicated head-to-head.

Why Tide gets a nudge from us

Two reasons, and we would rather state both. First, Tide's entry plan costs £0 a month with invoicing, expense tagging and a savings account included, which is a strong baseline for a business paid electronically. Second, new accounts opened with partner code REFER200 can earn up to £200 — materially more than Tide's standard customer refer-a-friend route — and we earn a commission when you use it. That bonus is a one-off; the running costs are forever, so weigh them in that order.