Which Is Better for sole traders and small limited companies comparing two free app-only business accounts?
For sole traders and small limited companies comparing two free app-only business accounts, Mettle wins for anyone who uses or wants FreeAgent and sends more than a handful of payments a month. Tide wins for cash-handling businesses and for anyone who wants invoicing at the centre of the app.
Mettle is the simpler case. NatWest plc underneath, FreeAgent included free for active accounts, 0.95% AER on a savings pot up to £1m, zero per-payment fees. For a consultant filing quarterly VAT through FreeAgent, that bundle is the whole product.
Tide is built like an operations tool with a bank account attached. Native invoicing inside the app, expense cards, Sage integration, company formation, MTD compatibility from day one. The 20p per-payment fee is the cost of admission, and Tide Plus at £9.99/month removes most of it past 60 payments.
A useful test: if you’re a trades sole trader who takes cash deposits at the till and bills monthly invoices from the van, Tide wins on cash plus invoicing. If you’re a freelance consultant on FreeAgent who never touches physical cash, Mettle wins on bundle economics and no per-payment fees.
Watch the FSCS routing. Mettle’s £120,000 cover is shared across the NatWest group, so if you hold a NatWest or Ulster account already, the limit covers the combined balance. Tide via ClearBank gives you a separate pool. Worth knowing before balances stack up.
Tide vs Mettle Fees and Charges
Mettle is free, full stop. £0 a month, £0 per payment, £0 to send a domestic transfer, no ATM fee on standard withdrawals. The optional Mettle+ tier is £4 a month for extras. For a sole trader doing 80 payments a month, the running cost is zero. Verified May 2026.
Tide Free is £0 a month plus 20p per outgoing UK faster payment. ATM withdrawals cost £1 each. Cash deposits cost 3% at PayPoint or 0.5% (min £2.50) at the Post Office. Tide Plus is £9.99/month and removes per-transaction fees beyond 60 payments. Verified May 2026.
Run the break-even. Tide Free vs Tide Plus crosses at roughly 50 outgoing payments a month (50 x 20p = £10, below the £9.99 Plus fee). Tide Plus vs Mettle is more interesting: Mettle is still cheaper at any volume because Mettle charges nothing at all.
Mettle’s savings pot pays 0.95% AER on balances from £10 up to £1m. Tide’s free plan has no equivalent. Park your VAT reserve there between quarterly returns and a £20,000 balance earns roughly £190 a year. Not life-changing. But it’s money you weren’t earning before.
Tide’s 3% PayPoint fee is the one to watch. We’d use the Post Office channel instead: 0.5% with a £2.50 minimum is sharply cheaper for anything over £500 in cash. On £1,000/month that’s £5 vs £30.
| Cost | Tide Free | Tide Plus (£9.99/mo) | Mettle | Mettle+ (£4/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | £0 | £9.99 | £0 | £4 |
| UK faster payment (outgoing) | 20p per payment | Included beyond 60/mo | £0 | £0 |
| ATM withdrawal | £1 | £1 | £0 standard | £0 standard |
| Cash deposit | 3% PayPoint / 0.5% Post Office | 3% PayPoint / 0.5% Post Office | Not available | Not available |
| FreeAgent included | No (BYO subscription) | No (BYO subscription) | Yes (1+ tx/mo) | Yes (1+ tx/mo) |
| Savings pot | None | None | 0.95% AER up to £1m | 0.95% AER up to £1m |
| Sage integration | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| FSCS protection | £120k via ClearBank | £120k via ClearBank | £120k via NatWest licence (shared) | £120k via NatWest licence (shared) |
Tide vs Mettle Features and Tools
Past the pricing, the two apps split on what they actually do for you on a working Tuesday. Tide is invoice-led. Mettle is FreeAgent-led. Both connect to Xero and QuickBooks. Only Tide handles Sage. Only Mettle gives you a savings pot.
Tide’s invoicing is the headline feature. Create, send, track, and auto-match invoices inside the bank app.
Set reminders, see outstanding amounts alongside your balance, attach the payment when it lands. For a freelancer billing 10+ invoices a month, that drops a separate £10-19/month invoicing subscription.
Mettle’s answer is FreeAgent. Included free for any account making at least one transaction a month. Rolling tax estimates, self-assessment support, MTD-compatible VAT returns, full double-entry bookkeeping. That’s £150 a year you don’t pay elsewhere, and you get the tax return for free too.
On the savings pot, Mettle stands alone. 0.95% AER up to £1m, instant-access. Ring-fence your VAT before the quarterly return and it earns while it sits. Tide has no equivalent on the free plan.
On accounting integrations the matchup splits clean. Tide integrates with Sage; Mettle doesn’t. Mettle has FreeAgent built in; Tide doesn’t bundle it. Both work with Xero and QuickBooks. If your bookkeeper runs Sage, Tide is the only option in this matchup.
Mettle caps accounts at sole trader or LTD with up to two owners, one user per account. Tide doesn’t. If you need a third director or staff expense cards, Mettle hits its ceiling before features even come into it.
We verified the account eligibility limits directly from Mettle’s published terms in May 2026.
Tide vs Mettle International Payments
Neither account is built for cross-border trading, and they diverge sharply on what they can even do. Tide routes outbound foreign payments through a partner. Mettle does not send international bank transfers at all.
If you invoice in euros or settle dollar suppliers each month, you’re on the wrong page. Revolut, Airwallex, or Wise solve that properly.
Tide routes international payments through Wise. Wise’s published FX margin is among the tightest on the market, typically 0.4–1.5% off mid-market depending on currency and amount.
The user experience is decent but you’re managing flows through a partner platform rather than holding currency natively.
Mettle is the firmer no. It does not offer international payments: you cannot send or receive a bank transfer in a foreign currency, and the account has no IBAN. We confirmed this against Mettle’s own help pages in June 2026.
Mettle runs on NatWest’s banking licence, but NatWest’s SWIFT and SEPA rails do not extend to Mettle. The parent bank’s international transfers are not available inside the Mettle app.
The Mettle Mastercard does work abroad. Spending in a foreign currency carries a 0% non-sterling fee and converts at the Mastercard rate. That covers card purchases on trips, but it cannot send money to an overseas account.
Neither account lets you hold dollars and convert later, which is a Revolut or Airwallex job. And Mettle cannot receive an international transfer in the first place, so a foreign-currency payment in would bounce.
If international payments are a real part of your business, we’d run Tide as the primary GBP account and Wise or Revolut alongside for foreign-currency flows. Two accounts is cheaper than one account doing a bad job.
Tide vs Mettle Customer Reviews and Reputation
When we checked in May 2026, Tide sat at around 4.3 to 4.4 stars on Trustpilot across 30,000-plus reviews. Mettle sat at 4.7 stars across roughly 6,000 reviews, and 4.92 stars on Smart Money People across about 4,000 business current account reviews. Mettle scores higher across both platforms.
The volume gap matters less than you’d think. Mettle works a narrower audience, sole traders and small LTDs only , and the FreeAgent bundle pulls in customers who arrive happy and stay happy. Tide’s broader funnel catches more edge cases, and more edge cases mean more support tickets.
Tide’s positive themes cluster on app speed, account opening (often same-day), and the invoicing tool. Negative reviews lean on support response times, particularly for free-plan customers and for cases where Wise routing on international payments gets stuck.
Mettle’s positive themes are the FreeAgent integration, ease of use, and the savings pot. Negative reviews are thinner on the ground but mention occasional support delays and the lack of cash deposit options as material limits.
On support quality, we found Mettle’s in-app chat responded in business hours with a clear escalation path through to NatWest when needed. Tide’s free-plan chat is slower than Plus. We’d give Mettle the edge on both score and support, but neither is a weak option.
Tide vs Mettle for FreeAgent and Accounting Software
FreeAgent is the defining cost difference. Standalone it’s £14.50/month, around £150 a year. Mettle includes it free for any account making at least one transaction a month. If you file your own self-assessment in FreeAgent, that changes the maths.
Mettle’s FreeAgent isn’t a stripped-down version. It’s the full FreeAgent product, rolling tax estimates, MTD-compatible VAT returns, self-assessment filing, expense tracking, time tracking, project management.
The same software you’d pay £14.50/month for elsewhere, bundled at zero. We confirmed this from Mettle’s FreeAgent partnership terms in May 2026.
Tide’s answer is breadth. We found Tide integrates with FreeAgent, Xero, QuickBooks, and Sage; Mettle doesn’t integrate with Sage at all. If your bookkeeper runs Sage, Tide is the only option here.
For Xero or QuickBooks users, the matchup is closer. Both providers offer live feeds into both platforms. The deciding factor flips back to per-payment fees and cash handling rather than accounting integration.
If you use FreeAgent or plan to, Mettle saves £150 a year with better integration. Sage users have no choice, Tide only. On Xero or QuickBooks, it’s a wash here and the decision goes to fees and cash.
Downsides of Tide and Mettle
Tide isn’t a bank. It’s an FCA-authorised e-money institution (FRN 900843, Tide Platform Limited). FSCS cover up to £120,000 flows through ClearBank’s banking licence, not through Tide directly. The protection is real but the route is different from a high-street bank account.
Tide’s 20p per outgoing UK faster payment is the headline free-plan cost. At 50 payments a month that’s £10. Tide Plus at £9.99 closes the gap above 60 payments. The £1 ATM fee and 3% PayPoint cash fee are smaller irritants but they add up over a year.
Mettle’s biggest gap is cash. No PayPoint. No Post Office. No branch deposits. If a customer hands you four twenties on a Friday callout, Mettle has nowhere for the notes to go. For any business with regular cash receipts, that rules it out.
One user, no staff cards. Three directors on the company? Mettle’s ceiling becomes the problem before any feature gap does.
Neither offers an overdraft on the basic account. Mettle has no overdraft at all. Tide doesn’t offer one on the free plan. For working-capital flexibility you’re looking at separate business lending or a credit card from a different provider.
Mettle’s FSCS cover sits inside the NatWest group umbrella. If you hold a NatWest, NatWest Premier, Ulster Bank, or NatWest Boxed account alongside Mettle, the £120,000 limit applies to the combined balance. For higher-balance businesses with NatWest exposure, that’s a real planning constraint.
Alternatives to Tide and Mettle
Tide and Mettle are both worth holding, but they’re not the only options. Here are the four alternatives we’d weigh first depending on your priorities:
- Revolut Business, PRA-authorised UK bank since 11 March 2026, FSCS-protected up to £120,000 on new accounts, 25+ currency wallets and interbank FX inside plan allowance. Pick this if you trade in more than one currency or want FSCS cover separate from the NatWest group.
- ANNA Money, UK business account with native invoicing, automatic VAT calculations, and AI receipt scanning. Pick this over Tide if you want deeper tax automation and don’t need Sage integration.
- Starling Business, PRA-licensed since 2018, FSCS-protected, free FreeAgent for sole traders, overdraft on application. Pick this if you want a free FSCS-protected account with overdraft access that Mettle doesn’t offer.
- NatWest Business, the full high-street NatWest current account if you need branch access, business lending, or daily cash handling alongside the same FSCS umbrella Mettle sits inside. Pick this if you’ve outgrown what an app-only account can do.
Final Verdict: Tide or Mettle?
Mettle wins for FreeAgent users and anyone sending more than a handful of payments a month. Tide wins for cash-depositing businesses and anyone who wants invoicing at the centre of the app. The decision splits on cash, FreeAgent, and fee tolerance.
Choose Tide if you take cash. PayPoint at 3% or Post Office at 0.5%, the only channels in this matchup. Mettle has none. For a trades business or market trader banking notes each week, that fact alone decides the page.
Choose Tide if your accountant runs Sage. Tide integrates with Sage; Mettle doesn’t. For Sage-led practices, that single fact decides the page. The same logic applies if you’re already paying for FreeAgent or Xero on a subscription you don’t want to change.
Or choose Tide if you’re forming a limited company from scratch and want company formation bundled with the account. Tide bundles it; Mettle doesn’t. For a founder spinning up a new Ltd, the bundled path saves real admin time at the start.
Choose Mettle if you use or want FreeAgent. It’s included free with any active account, the full product rather than a stripped-down version. That’s £150 a year you keep, and a properly integrated tax workflow you don’t have to rebuild every quarter.
Choose Mettle if you send more than 50 payments a month. Mettle charges nothing per payment, ever, at any volume. For a small LTD pushing thirty supplier payments on the 28th and another twenty on the 30th, the zero-fee structure is the cleaner deal.
Or choose Mettle if you want a savings pot. 0.95% AER up to £1m, instant-access, segregated from the current account. Useful for putting aside VAT and Corporation Tax as you earn it. Tide has no equivalent on the free plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mettle FSCS-protected?
Yes. Mettle is a National Westminster Bank plc current account (FCA FRN 121878, PRA-authorised). FSCS cover up to £120,000 per eligible depositor applies through the NatWest banking licence.
One thing to know: the £120,000 limit is shared across the NatWest group, NatWest, NatWest Premier, Ulster Bank, NatWest Boxed, and Mettle combined. If you hold accounts at any of those brands alongside Mettle, the cover applies to the combined balance, not £120,000 per brand. For higher-balance businesses with NatWest exposure, Tide via ClearBank gives you a separate FSCS pool.
Is Tide FSCS-protected?
Indirectly, yes. Tide itself is an FCA-authorised e-money institution (FRN 900843, Tide Platform Limited), not a bank. Customer funds are held at ClearBank Ltd (FCA FRN 754568, PRA-authorised), and FSCS cover up to £120,000 flows through ClearBank’s banking licence rather than from Tide directly.
The practical effect for most sole traders is the same, eligible deposits are protected to £120,000. The difference matters if you already hold a ClearBank-backed account elsewhere (rare for retail customers) or if you want to keep your business banking FSCS pool separate from your NatWest group exposure (in which case Tide is the safer route).
Does Mettle charge per transaction?
No. Mettle charges nothing per payment at any volume. No fee for outgoing UK faster payments, no fee for incoming payments, no fee for standing orders or direct debits. The optional Mettle+ tier is £4 a month for extras but the core account remains free on transactions. Tide charges 20p per outgoing UK faster payment on the free tier, which adds up fast at higher payment volumes, £10 a month at 50 payments, £20 at 100, £40 at 200.
Can you deposit cash with Mettle?
No. Mettle has no cash deposit channel. No PayPoint, no Post Office, no branch deposits, no envelope banking. If you regularly handle cash, Mettle isn’t the right account, Tide takes cash via PayPoint at 3% or Post Office at 0.5% (minimum £2.50). For trades businesses, market traders, or any operation banking physical notes each week, that one fact decides the page.
Is Mettle free?
The core Mettle account is free, £0 a month, £0 per payment, FreeAgent included for active accounts. The optional Mettle+ tier is £4 a month for extras. Most sole traders and small limited companies will stay on the free tier indefinitely. FreeAgent at no extra cost is worth about £150 a year on its own.
Can I have both Tide and Mettle at the same time?
Yes. There’s no restriction on holding accounts with multiple business banking providers. A workable dual setup is Mettle as the primary account for FreeAgent, zero-fee payments, and the savings pot, with Tide alongside for cash deposits and invoicing. Both accounts are free to open on their base plans, so there’s no cost to running both until you decide which fits your main workflow.
Does Tide integrate with FreeAgent?
Yes, Tide integrates with FreeAgent, but you bring your own FreeAgent subscription (currently £14.50 a month, about £150 a year). Mettle is different: FreeAgent is included free for any account making at least one transaction a month, and it’s the full FreeAgent product (rolling tax estimates, MTD-compatible VAT returns, self-assessment filing, the lot). If you use or want FreeAgent, Mettle is the cheaper bundle by a clear margin.
How we reviewed Tide vs Mettle
Ranking criteria. We compared Tide and Mettle on pricing, fees, feature set, eligibility, and contract terms. We also verified regulatory status and deposit protection where applicable.
Data sources. Every provider’s pricing page, terms, and product docs were checked directly in May 2026. No comparison sites, no press releases, no affiliate material. FCA register cross-checked for regulatory status.
Update cadence. We re-verify every provider on this page at least monthly, and whenever a provider changes pricing, eligibility, or terms. The verification date on the page reflects the most recent full review. Some links on this page are affiliate links, see our editorial policy.
Related Pages
Looking for more comparison pages? We have head-to-head comparisons across digital and high-street business accounts.
- Tide vs Revolut, invoicing depth vs FSCS-protected multi-currency
- Tide vs Starling, invoicing tools vs FSCS-protected banking
- Tide vs Monzo, invoicing tools vs clean app experience
- Starling vs Monzo, two FSCS-protected challenger banks compared
- Best business bank accounts, full comparison of 15 UK providers