Mint Formations vs Tide:How does a formation specialist compare to a bank?

An honest comparison

Tide is best known as a business banking platform. Mint Formations has been registering UK companies for over 15 years. This page compares both formation services fairly - including one limitation of Tide's service that eliminates it entirely for a significant proportion of founders.

A note on our perspective: Mint Formations works with Tide as a banking partner. We introduce founders to Tide for business accounts when it is the right fit - alongside Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest, ANNA Money, Monzo, Cashplus, Zempler, Countingup, and others. We fast-track bank account applications with all of them. We have no incentive to talk Tide down, and every reason to be accurate.

At a glance

What Tide does well

A fair comparison starts with what Tide genuinely delivers.

Price

At £14.99 all-in — including the £100 Companies House fee — Tide offers the lowest formation price in the UK market. For the right type of founder, it represents real value.

Speed

Tide registers companies within one working day. The process is reliable and well-integrated for straightforward applications.

Banking integration

If you want your limited company formed and a business current account opened simultaneously, Tide makes this seamless. Formation and banking happen together in one journey.

Business tools

Tide's app includes Making Tax Digital tools, invoicing, expense tracking, and payroll. For a solo founder running a simple business, these cover day-to-day admin.

FSCS protection

Eligible funds in Tide accounts (via ClearBank) are FSCS-protected up to £120,000 — reassuring for founders managing significant cash balances.

The limitation you need to know before anything else

International founders

Tide's formation service is restricted to UK residents. Non-UK residents can open a Tide business account, but they cannot use Tide to register their company. If you are based outside the UK, Tide is not an option for formation.

Mint has a dedicated international formation service with specialists who handle residency questions, registered address requirements, and ID verification for overseas directors — for founders based anywhere in the world.

Company types

Tide supports private limited companies limited by shares — and only this structure. If you need any of the following, Tide cannot form your company:

• Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) — solicitors, accountants, architects, and professional partnerships
• Company Limited by Guarantee (LBG) — non-profits, community organisations, clubs, and associations
• Limited by Guarantee with charity articles — organisations applying for charitable status
• Flat management companies — leaseholders managing residential buildings
• Bespoke articles of association — investor-backed businesses or complex share structures

Mint supports all of these. Before choosing a formation agent, confirm that your intended company type is supported.

Ongoing services

Once your Tide company is formed, Tide's role is essentially limited to a confirmation statement add-on. The services every business needs as it grows are not offered.

Banking: freedom vs lock-in

Tide's formation journey is designed to end with you as a Tide banking customer. Formation and account opening happen together, and separating them is not straightforward.

This is fine if Tide is the right bank for your business. It is worth thinking about if it might not be — now or in the future as your business grows.

Mint works with Tide as a banking partner. We refer founders to Tide when it is a good fit — alongside Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest, ANNA Money, Monzo, Cashplus, Zempler, Countingup, and others. We are not against Tide as a bank. We send customers to them. The distinction we are drawing is about company formation — a service Tide built to acquire banking customers, not because formation is their expertise. The choice of bank is yours. At Mint, it always is.

What the reviews actually tell you

Tide has substantial review volume on Trustpilot. These reviews are genuine — but they are overwhelmingly written by banking customers commenting on the app experience, the debit card, and Tide's customer service as a bank.

They are not formation reviews. They do not reflect whether applications were checked before submission, whether a specialist was available when something went wrong, or whether Tide provided support six months after the certificate arrived.

Mint's 1,100+ reviews on Reviews.io — alongside 264+ on Google — are written specifically by founders who went through the formation process and, in many cases, continued working with Mint as their businesses developed. When comparing review scores, it is worth understanding what the reviewers are actually measuring.

15 years of experience

Tide was founded in 2015. Their formation service is a relatively recent addition to a banking product.

Mint has been forming UK companies for over 15 years — more than 40,000 companies, from simple single-director LTDs to multi-shareholder structures, international formations, LLPs, charities, and everything in between. We have navigated Companies House rule changes, HMRC process updates, and the complexities that only become visible when formation is your core focus — not a feature added to a banking app.

Experience in company formation is not the same as experience in digital banking. For something as consequential as the legal structure of your business, the distinction matters.

Who should choose Tide / who should choose Mint

Related pages

• Mint vs ANNA Money: Company formation compared
• Mint vs Companies House
• Tide formation review: Full detail
• Compare Mint Formation packages