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Regular savings accounts
Earn up to 7% on your savings
If you usually save little and often, regular savings accounts can offer top rates of up to 7% for feeding them every month – we've all the top picks in this guide, plus tricks to maximise interest.
Other MSE savings guides...
Top savings accounts: Best easy-access and fixed-rate deals
Top cash ISAs: Save in a permanently tax-free account
Automatic savings apps: Clever apps that save for you

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What are regular savings accounts?
The clue's in the name. Most regular savings accounts require you to put money away each month with interest paid yearly (unless otherwise stated). They offer higher interest rates than traditional fixed or easy-access savings accounts, but tend to impose rigid terms and conditions, such as limiting the number of withdrawals you can make, forcing you to make a deposit every month and capping how much you can save. And the rate usually only lasts for a year.
Rather watch than read? This little video gives you the regular savings lowdown...
Seven regular savings need-to-knows
To help you make the most of a regular savings account, it's worth getting your head around the following need-to-knows...
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Top existing-customer accounts
The top-paying regular savers come with a big 'but' attached – you must also hold another product from the same provider, usually its current account. You can then fund the regular saver by standing order from that linked account. We've listed key info on the top deals in the table below.

Existing-customer regular savers – what we'd go for
As these are for existing customers it's a case of 'go for the one(s) you can get'. If you fancy switching providers for the perks, check out our Best bank accounts guide for for the best options.
First Direct's regular saver pays a massive 7% interest – the top rate of all savings accounts. The rate's fixed for a year and you can save up to a decent £300/month, though you can't make withdrawals – if you do, the account will be closed and you'll only get a paltry 0.65% interest.
If you want to have access to your savings, Lloyds Bank's regular saver allows withdrawals and lets you save a slightly higher £400/month, though it pays a lower 5.25% rate of interest.
Alternatively, Barclays Blue Rewards members can get its Rainy Day Saver, which pays 5.12% on up to £5,000. It's not a regular savings account (you could choose to pay in £5,000 on day one), so it has more flexibility than the others. Though here the rate is variable, so keep watch.
Provider | Rate (AER) | Max monthly deposit | Can you skip months? | Penalty-free withdrawals allowed? | How to open |
First Direct | 7% fixed for one year | £300 | No, min £25/month | No, can't close early without penalty either | Online/ app |
Lloyds Bank (need a Club Lloyds account) | 5.25% fixed for one year | £400 | Yes | Yes | Online/ app/ branch/ phone |
Barclays | 5.12% variable on up to £5,000 |
No max | Yes | Yes | Online/ app/ branch/ phone |
NatWest / RBS | 5.12% variable on up to £5,000 |
£150 | Yes | Yes | Online/ app |
TSB | 5% fixed for one year | £250 | No, min £25/month | Yes, but you can't replace withdrawn funds | Online/ branch |
HSBC | 5% fixed for one year | £250 | No, min £25/month | No, can't close early without penalty either | Online/ branch/ phone |

Not sure how much interest you'll get? Find out with our Regular Savings Calculator. Simply plug in the rates above, and how much you'll save, and it'll tell you how much you'll earn. The calculator also has a mode to show how much more you could earn dripfeeding cash into the regular saver from another account.
Top open-to-all accounts
The top open-to-all accounts match, or pay only slightly less than, some of the existing-customer accounts above. However, they typically let you save less per month, meaning less of your savings will get the higher interest rate – something which can have a big impact on your returns.

Regular savers open to all – what we'd go for
Principality Building Society's regular saver pays the top rate of 5%. The rate's fixed for a year, though you can only put in a low £125/month.
Alternatively, Halifax's regular saver pays 4.5% on monthly savings up to £250/month, and the rate's fixed for one year.
Provider | Rate (AER) | Max monthly deposit | Can you skip months? | Penalty-free withdrawals allowed? | How to open |
Principality BS | 5% fixed for one year | £125 | Yes | No, but early closure permitted | Online/ branch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nationwide | 5% variable for two years | £50 | Yes | Yes | Online |
Halifax | 4.5% fixed for one year | £250 | Yes | No, but early closure permitted | Online/ branch/ app/ phone |

Not sure how much interest you'll get? Find out with our Regular Savings Calculator. Simply plug in the rates above, and how much you'll save, and it'll tell you how much you'll earn. The calculator also has a mode to show how much more you could earn dripfeeding cash into the regular saver from another account.
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