
If you click a link with an * to go through to a provider, we may get paid. This usually only happens if you get a product from it. This is what funds our team of journalists, and keeps us free to use. Yet there are two crucial things you need to know about this.
- This never impacts our editorial recommendations – if it's in, it's in there because we independently rate it best.
- You'll always get as good a deal (or better) than if you went direct.
For a more detailed explanation see How MSE is financed.

Automatic savings apps
What they are, how they work & our top picks
Autosaving apps use clever tech to work out what you can afford to save and then do it for you, automatically – moving money from your bank account to a virtual savings account. The idea is that you start building up savings without really noticing the cash is going. We've everything you need to know and all the top picks below.
MSE weekly email
FREE weekly MoneySaving email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today – it's spam-free!

Who's this guide for? Anyone wanting to try an automatic savings app that can help you get into the savings habit.
Not what you want? Other related guides...
App-based banking | Best bank accounts | Top savings accounts
What are autosaving apps?

These 'autosaving' apps try to squirrel away some of your cash without you noticing – useful if you find it difficult to put money aside or don't know how to start saving.
Some calculate how much you can afford to save each week and automatically move money into a separate savings (or investment) account, while others 'round up' your purchases to the nearest pound and save the change for you. In theory, these features should help you save without having to think about it, leading to higher savings building up.
If you're feeling the pinch, you can always tell the app to save less, or withdraw the money back into your current account if you need it.
Yet while these apps can help you save more, most interest rates they offer can be beaten elsewhere – to max returns on existing savings, see our Top Savings Accounts guide.
The five autosaving app need-to-knows
To help you decide if an autosaving app is right for you, it's worth getting your head around the following need-to-knows...
MSE weekly email
FREE weekly MoneySaving email
For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today – it's spam-free!
Top autosaving apps
If you want to try an app to help you get saving, our top picks are below. Do note all these apps also offer investments as well as savings, so make sure you're signing up to a savings plan – if that's what you want. If you do want to invest, these apps aren't usually the cheapest way (see Investing for beginners for more).
/igd-mseanalysis.png.rendition.320.320.png)
Automatic savings apps – our review
If you're looking to save little and often, most would be better off with a straightforward regular savings account, which would pay more interest. However, if you've tried that and it doesn't work for you, or you don't know how much you can afford to save, it's worth trying one of these apps.

Our top pick is the default free plan from Chip, as you get its autosaving tech and an OK interest rate – it's partnered with Allica Bank to offer an easy-access account paying 1.05%, with unlimited withdrawals. Though to max your return, you can transfer the cash out of the app and into a top savings account.
You give it 'read-only' access to your current account via Open Banking (most major banks are supported) and it uses its algorithm to analyse your spending and work out how much you can afford to save. It does this every few days, automatically transferring the money into one of its accounts – make sure to open the Allica account and set it as your 'autosave allocation' in the app to boost returns. You can ramp up or down how much it saves each time, make manual saves and/or pause autosaves for up to three months.

Plum's Basic plan also offers a similar autosave feature to Chip, plus the option to round up purchases made from your linked bank account to the nearest pound. It then saves the difference (for example, 80p on a £2.20 spend), which it collects weekly. Your savings are initially held in your Plum account paying no interest, but you can move it to its easy-access 'interest pocket' at 0.5% or out of the app into a top savings account for higher rates.

Alternatively, the Chase bank account offers a similar 'round-up' option to Plum, but you need to spend on Chase's debit card to benefit from this. However, it moves any round-up amount to an easy-access account paying a whopping 5% – though it moves the 'round up' balance to another account (of your choice) each year, so the 'round ups' start from scratch. You can also activate 1% cashback on almost all spending for a year.
Top fee-free autosaving apps
Provider | Features | Interest rate (AER variable) |
Min/max deposit | Max FSCS protection |
Chip | Autosave | 1.05% on Allica Bank's easy-access account | £1/ £85,000 | £85,000, shared with Allica Bank |
Plum Basic* | Autosave and round-ups | 0.5% on 'interest pockets' | No min/ no max | £85,000 on interest pockets, shared with Investec |
Round-ups | 5% – though the total gets moved to another account (of your choice) each year | No min/ no max | £85,000, shared with JP Morgan |
Important: The Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection listed is for the interest-paying accounts stated above. Money deposited outside of these may not be covered, or the protection provided by or shared with a different bank. For example, money you deposit in Plum is instead ring-fenced in a different bank account (it uses the Bank of England), so if there are problems with Plum, your money's safe. This would be the case in this scenario as long as the bank itself still existed.

Spotted out of date info/broken links? Email: brokenlink@moneysavingexpert.com
Clever ways to calculate your finances