Tide business account fees: every charge, with the actual numbers

Every figure on this page comes from Tide's own plans and pricing page and its "How much will a Tide account cost?" help article, checked on 29 August 2026. Tide can change pricing at any time, so confirm before you apply.

Tide's plan prices in 2026

Tide sells four tiers. The Free plan is genuinely £0 a month; the paid tiers are Smart at £12.49/m, Pro at £27.49/m and Max at £69.99/m on monthly billing (annual billing costs less). What the paid tiers mainly buy is a bigger free transfer allowance, no foreign-exchange fee on card spend, extra business accounts and team cards, and a better savings rate.

Every Tide fee, listed

This is the full per-use price list that applies on top of whatever plan you are on. Note that the 20p transfer fee applies to money coming in as well as going out — on inbound payments it is deducted from the amount that arrives.

What that costs three real businesses

The plan fee tells you very little on its own. These worked examples use the figures above, on the Free plan unless stated.

• Freelance designer, card-only, 12 payments a month. 5 transfers free, 7 at 20p = £1.40 a month. No cash, no FX. Total: about £17 a year. The Free plan is the right answer.
• Trades business banking £2,000 of cash a month at the Post Office. Four £500 deposits at £2.50 each = £10 a month, plus 40 transfers (35 chargeable) = £7. About £17 a month, £204 a year. Moving to Smart at £12.49 cuts the transfer cost to £2 and halves the percentage rate on deposits over £500 — worth modelling, and worth comparing against a bank with free cash handling.
• Ecommerce seller paying overseas suppliers by card. £4,000 a month of foreign-currency card spend on the Free plan attracts 2.75% = £110 a month. Smart at £12.49 removes that fee entirely. This is the single clearest case for upgrading.

Where the Free plan quietly gets expensive

Three specific charges do the damage. Cash at PayPoint is 3% — pay in £1,000 that way and it costs £30, against £9.90 at the Post Office. Foreign-currency card spend is 2.75% on Free and 0% from Smart upwards. And the 5-transfer monthly allowance is small: a business paying 15 suppliers and receiving 25 customer payments crosses it in the first week, at 20p each way.

By contrast, several things genuinely are free on every plan: holding the account, UK card payments, Direct Debits, payments between Tide accounts, and Tide's Making Tax Digital tools. That is why Tide works well for app-first, cashless businesses and works badly for cash-heavy ones — see how it compares with Starling and Monzo, where Starling charges nothing per transfer.

Is a paid plan worth it?

Do the arithmetic rather than the marketing. Smart's 25 extra free transfers are worth £5 a month against Free, so the £12.49 only makes sense if you also value 0% FX fees, the second business current account, the team card, CHAPS payments or the jump from 2% to 2.5% AER on savings. On a £20,000 savings balance that rate difference is £100 a year, which covers most of the plan on its own. Pro at £27.49 makes sense at genuinely high payment volumes or with two or three team members; Max at £69.99 is mainly for businesses that will earn back a chunk of it through 0.5% cashback on card spend.

How the REFER200 bonus fits the cost picture

Using code REFER200 makes you eligible for up to £200: £75 once you spend £100 on the Tide card within 30 days of opening, plus £125 if you deposit at least £5,000 into a Tide Instant Saver within 7 days of opening and leave it there for a month. That is roughly 16 months of the Smart plan, or 12 years of the Free plan's transfer fees for a light user — real money, but a one-off. Choose the plan that fits your transaction pattern first.

Check the primary source

Pricing here reflects Tide's published figures on 29 August 2026. Before applying, cross-check Tide's pricing page and Tide's terms, which are the only authoritative source, and read our full Tide review for how these costs feel in daily use.

Frequently asked questions