ANNA vs Tide: Which Business Account Is Better for UK Tradespeople? (2026)
ANNA vs Tide is a common choice for UK tradespeople who want an app-based business account with tax and admin tools built in. Both have a free plan and paid plans from about £12 a month, but they work very differently once money starts coming in. ANNA charges on incoming payments on its free plan, while Tide caps the transfers you can make. There is also one difference that matters more than the price: whether your money is FSCS protected.
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Choose Tide if you want FSCS protection, take cash payments, or do most of your invoicing in job management software. Its Smart plan at £12.49 a month covers 30 transfers. Choose ANNA if you want unlimited invoicing and tax filing in the same app, don’t handle much cash, and are comfortable with an e-money account that isn’t covered by the FSCS.
How we compared these accounts
- We have not opened ANNA, Tide or Starling accounts for this comparison, so this is not a hands-on test.
- Every fee and limit below comes from each provider’s own pricing and help pages, checked on 16 October 2026.
- Where a provider’s own pages disagree or leave something out, we say so instead of guessing.
- Read how we test and compare tools.
Quick Verdict
Better for most tradespeople
Tide
Eligible deposits are FSCS protected through ClearBank, cash deposits work at the Post Office with published fees, and Smart (£12.49 a month) is cheaper than ANNA’s nearest plan for a typical sole trader.
Better for invoicing and tax in one app
ANNA
Invoicing is unlimited on every plan, MTD for Income Tax filing is free, and an optional Auto Accountant service handles the bookkeeping. The main account is e-money, so it isn’t FSCS protected.
ANNA vs Tide Pricing for UK Tradespeople
Both providers have four plans. ANNA lists its prices plus VAT, so we’ve added VAT at 20% in brackets. Tide’s pricing page doesn’t say whether its prices include VAT.
| Plan level | ANNA | Tide |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | £0. Unlimited outgoing transfers, first £1,000 a month incoming free, then 0.95% | £0. 5 bank transfers and 3 invoices a month |
| Entry paid plan | Grow: £12.90 + VAT (£15.48). 15 transfers, then 27p each | Smart: £12.49. 30 transfers a month |
| Mid plan | Business: £22.90 + VAT (£27.48). 60 transfers, then 20p each. First month free | Pro: £27.49. Unlimited transfers, Tide Accounting |
| Top plan | Big Business: £59.90 + VAT (£71.88). Unlimited transfers | Max: £69.99. Unlimited transfers and invoices, payroll software |
| Invoicing | Included on every plan | 3 invoices a month, unlimited on Max |
What a typical month costs
Take a sole trader who gets paid £4,000 a month by bank transfer and makes 20 payments out to suppliers and merchants:
- ANNA Free: £3,000 of that £4,000 is over the free £1,000, so the 0.95% charge comes to £28.50 a month. The free plan stops being free quickly once you’re busy.
- ANNA Grow: £15.48 including VAT, plus 5 transfers over the allowance at 27p, so about £16.83 a month.
- Tide Free: doesn’t work here, because it only allows 5 transfers a month.
- Tide Smart: 20 transfers fit inside the 30 allowance, so £12.49 a month.
Tide comes out cheaper for this pattern. The catch is invoicing: Tide Smart only includes 3 invoices a month, so it suits you best if you already invoice from job management or accounting software. If you want to raise all your invoices from your bank app, ANNA includes that on every plan.
Is Your Money Protected? FSCS Cover Compared
This is the biggest difference between the two, and it’s easy to miss.
- Tide: Tide isn’t a bank itself, but its current accounts are provided by ClearBank, and eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per depositor across all accounts held with ClearBank. Tide notes that some members still have e-money accounts (sort code 23-69-72) run by PrePay Technologies, which are safeguarded but not FSCS protected.
- ANNA: money in the main ANNA account is e-money. ANNA says it is safeguarded under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 and is not protected by the FSCS. Only ANNA’s separate savings accounts, provided by Griffin Bank, have FSCS cover up to £120,000.
Safeguarding means your money is meant to be kept separate from the provider’s own funds, but if something goes wrong you don’t get the automatic FSCS payout you would from a bank. If you hold your VAT and tax money in the account for months at a time, that matters.
Taking Cash Payments
Plenty of tradespeople are still paid in cash, and this is where the two are hardest to compare.
- Tide lets you pay cash in at the Post Office and PayPoint on every plan. Tide’s help pages list £2.50 for Post Office deposits up to £500 and 0.5% above that, and 3% at PayPoint. Post Office deposits are limited to £25,000 a month and £300,000 a year.
- ANNA doesn’t list cash deposit fees on its pricing page, and review sites quote different figures. If you bank cash regularly, ask ANNA for its current fee in writing before you switch.
Tax, Invoicing and Accounting Tools
| Feature | ANNA | Tide |
|---|---|---|
| Making Tax Digital for Income Tax | MTD filing free on every plan | Free MTD tools on every plan |
| Invoicing | Unlimited on every plan, with payment links | 3 a month on Free, Smart and Pro; unlimited on Max |
| Xero | Sync with Xero or share access with your accountant | Xero Connector on Smart, Pro and Max |
| Built-in bookkeeping | Auto Accountant: first 4 months free, then £29 a month | Tide Accounting on Pro and Max |
| VAT returns | Spreadsheet VAT filing at £4.50 + VAT per return | Through Tide Accounting or your own software |
| CHAPS payments | Incoming only on Free; £5 each on Grow; 2 free on Business; unlimited on Big Business | Not on Free; 2 a month on Smart and Pro; 5 on Max |
ANNA leans further into doing your admin for you: you can snap receipts, raise unlimited invoices and pay for Auto Accountant to handle the bookkeeping. Tide is more of a business account with tools added on, and it works best alongside accounting software you already use. Either way, you’ll need HMRC-recognised software for Making Tax Digital. Our accounting software comparison covers the full options.
ANNA vs Tide: Which Should You Choose?
Tide has a free plan to start with and paid plans from £12.49 a month. Check the current fees on Tide’s own site before you apply.
The Bottom Line
For most UK tradespeople, Tide is the safer pick of the two. Eligible deposits are FSCS protected, it publishes its cash deposit fees, and Smart costs less than ANNA’s nearest plan for a typical sole trader. ANNA is worth choosing if you want unlimited invoicing and tax filing in one app and you rarely handle cash. Just go in knowing your main balance isn’t covered by the FSCS. Whichever you choose, avoid ANNA’s free plan once you’re taking more than about £2,600 a month, because the 0.95% charge on incoming payments overtakes the cost of a paid plan.
Want the wider picture? Our guide to the best business bank accounts for tradespeople compares seven accounts, including Starling, Mettle and the high street banks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tide is better for most tradespeople because eligible deposits are FSCS protected through ClearBank, it publishes its cash deposit fees, and its Smart plan at £12.49 a month is cheaper than ANNA’s nearest plan for a typical sole trader. ANNA is better if you want unlimited invoicing and tax filing in the same app and rarely handle cash.
No. Money in the main ANNA business account is e-money, safeguarded under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011, and ANNA says it is not protected by the FSCS. Only ANNA’s separate savings accounts, provided by Griffin Bank, are FSCS protected up to £120,000.
Tide says it is not a bank itself. Its current accounts are provided by ClearBank, a UK bank, and eligible deposits are FSCS protected up to £120,000 per depositor across all accounts with ClearBank. Some older Tide accounts are e-money accounts run by PrePay Technologies, which are safeguarded but not FSCS protected.
The ANNA free plan has no monthly fee and unlimited outgoing transfers, but only the first £1,000 of incoming payments each month is free. After that ANNA charges 0.95%, so a tradesperson paid £4,000 in a month would pay £28.50, more than the £12.90 plus VAT Grow plan.
Tide has a free plan with 5 bank transfers and 3 invoices a month. Smart is £12.49 a month with 30 transfers, Pro is £27.49 with unlimited transfers and Tide Accounting, and Max is £69.99 with unlimited invoicing and payroll software.
Tide lets you pay cash in at the Post Office or PayPoint. Its help pages list £2.50 for Post Office deposits up to £500, 0.5% above that, and 3% at PayPoint. ANNA does not list cash deposit fees on its pricing page, so ask ANNA for the current fee before relying on it for cash.
Yes. ANNA includes MTD for Income Tax filing free on every plan, and Tide offers free Making Tax Digital tools on every plan. Both also connect to Xero if you or your accountant prefer separate accounting software.
Fees and limits were checked on each provider’s own website on 16 October 2026 and can change, so check the current terms before opening an account. This is general information, not financial advice. TradeStack HQ helps UK tradespeople find the best tools to run smarter businesses. Some links on this page may be affiliate links, and we may earn a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you.