StartMy vs Tide (Direct)
"Don't lock yourself into one bank."
myLO's Verdict
AI Analysis
Freedom: Choose ANY bank you want (Monzo, Starling etc).
The Insider Reality
""Forming via a bank often restricts your options. If they decline your account application later, you're stuck. StartMy lets you form independently.""
The Context
Tide and other neobanks often offer "Free Company Formation" as a loss-leader. It sounds like a great deal—why pay when the bank will do it for free? The catch is that you are paying with your freedom of choice. You are forced to open a Tide account to get the deal.
The Why
The problem arises if Tide's compliance team later decides they can't offer you a bank account (which happens frequently for certain industries). You are then left with a registered company but no bank account, and the admin headache of untangling the two. Furthermore, by bundling formation with banking, you miss out on the wider ecosystem of support. Tide wants you financial data; they don't help you write your business plan or find customers. StartMy is independent. We let you form the company first, then compare all the banks (Tide, Monzo, Starling, Revolut) to find the one that actually suits your business needs.
The Verdict
"Free" often comes with strings attached. StartMy offers formation freedom. We ensure your company is set up correctly and independently, giving you the power to choose the best financial partners for your specific situation without being locked into a single provider.
Feature Showdown
Head to head