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Regular savings accounts
Earn up to 8% on your savings
If you usually save little and often, regular savings accounts can offer top rates of up to 8% for feeding them every month – we've all the top picks in this guide, plus tricks to maximise interest.
This guide was originally written by Martin Lewis and is now updated by the MSE Money Team.
Other MSE savings guides...
- Top savings accounts: The top-paying normal savings
- Cash ISAs: The likely winner if you pay tax on savings interest
- Children's savings: Earn up to 5.8% on kids' savings
- Current accounts: Earn up to 5.12% on smaller sums
What are regular savings accounts?
The clue's in the name. Most regular savings accounts require you to put money away each month and the interest is 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.
You'll get what 'looks like' half the advertised interest (they're still winners though)
With regular savings, the interest you'll earn is about half the interest rate of the account. But don't worry, it's not a con – it's because the money is saved monthly rather than as a lump sum.
This has caused confusion and disappointment in the past, with some complaining that they've received less interest than they thought they would. Yet that's because they expected the wrong amount, not because they were underpaid.
Here's an example to help explain...
Mr Matt Mattics has saved a total of £3,000 in a regular savings account paying 10% interest over a year.
What does he expect to earn? A simple sum works out that putting £3,000 in at 10% interest should earn £300 interest.
Why is this wrong? Matt only had £3,000 in there for the last month; it took a year to build up to that amount. You only earn interest on money in the account. So after the first month he was earning the 10% on just £250, halfway through the year he was earning it on £1,500, and so on.
How should Matt work it out? Over the year, his average balance was roughly half the £3,000, in other words £1,500... so Matt should expect to earn about 10% of £1,500 over the year, which is £150.
Does this mean regular savings accounts aren't worth it?
No, even though you only save in increments, the higher rates mean you are still getting unbeatable interest on the money in the account.
If that’s new money from your regular income, you can’t beat it. If that’s money you’re moving from elsewhere (for example, from a lower paying easy-access account), then remember that while you’re waiting each month to move it across to the higher rate, it’s still (hopefully) earning interest there too, you can’t see it in isolation.
Should I get a regular savings account?
To help you make the most of a regular savings account, it's worth getting your head around the following need-to-knows...
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 below.

Existing-customer regular savers – what we'd go for
For most providers, if you don't currently bank with them you can just open a current account first – you'll then be able to open the regular saver once it's open. Do check Best bank accounts for more details on the accounts themselves first – some will even pay you up to £175 in free cash to switch to them.
So, for most of these, it's go for the one you can get. If you are opening a new account to get a regular saver, First Direct’s pays a fixed 7% on up to a decent £300/month, though you must pay in every month and you can’t make any withdrawals or close the account during the 12 months (you’ll get a much lower rate if you do).
Provider | Rate (AER) | Max monthly deposit & interest (i) | Can you skip months? | Penalty-free withdrawals allowed? | How to open |
Top existing-member regular savings accounts. Here are the accounts with the top rates. | |||||
First Direct | 7% fixed for one year | £300 (maxed out that's £135/yr interest) |
No, min £25/month | No. If you close early you only get 1.75% interest for the time the money was in the account | Online/ app |
Co-operative Bank | 7% variable for one year | £250 (maxed out that's £105/yr interest) |
Yes | Yes | Online/ branch |
Skipton BS (must have been a member since before 20 Jan 2025) |
6.5% variable for one year | £250 (maxed out that's £105/yr interest) |
Yes | No, but early closure permitted | Online/ app/ branch/ phone/ post |
Nationwide | 6.5% variable for one year | £200 (maxed out that's £84/yr interest) |
Yes | Yes, three a year | Online/ app |
Lloyds Bank (need a Club Lloyds account) | 6.25% fixed for one year | £400 (maxed out that's £161/yr interest) |
Yes | Yes | Online/ app/ branch/ phone |
NatWest / RBS | 6.17% variable on up to £5,000 |
£150 (maxed out that's £60 interest in the first yr) |
Yes | Yes | Online/ app |
Top alternative options. Though rates are lower. | |||||
TSB | 6% fixed for one year | £250 (maxed out that's £97/yr interest) |
Yes, by cancelling standing order | Yes, but you can't replace withdrawn funds | Online/ branch |
Bank of Scotland | 5.5% fixed for one year | £250 (maxed out that's £89/yr interest) |
Yes | Yes | Online/ app/ branch/ phone |
Halifax | 5.5% fixed for one year | £250 (maxed out that's £89/yr interest) |
No | No, but early closure permitted | Online/ app/ branch/ phone |
(must have been a customer for at least a year) |
5.45% variable for one year | £250 (maxed out that's £88yr interest) |
Yes | Yes, one a year. Must keep at least £1 at all times | Branch/ post |
Lloyds Bank | 5.25% fixed for one year | £250 (maxed out that's £85/yr interest) |
Yes | Yes | Online/ app/ branch/ phone |
5% fixed for one year | £250 (maxed out that's £81/yr interest) |
No, min £25/month | No. If you close early you only get 1.75% interest for the time the money was in the account | Online/ branch (sole accounts) or Phone/ branch (joint accounts) |
|
Santander | 5% fixed for a year | £200 (maxed out that's £65/yr interest) |
Yes | Yes, but you can't replace withdrawn funds | Online/ branch |
(i) Max interest assumes you pay in the max monthly amount at the start of each month, starting from the day you open the account. Calculated using our Regular Savings Calculator.

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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Top open-to-all accounts
The top open-to-all accounts match or even beat some of the existing-customer accounts above. So you could always open one (or more) of the accounts above and couple it with one here, to maximise the amount you can save per month.

Regular savers open to all – what we'd go for
The current top rate for regular savers open to all is offered by Principality BS at 8% fixed for six months. You can deposit up to £200/month and you don't have to pay in each month. However, you can't make any withdrawals, so only put away what you're sure you won't need to access (though if you really need to you can close the account early).
For a longer regular saver, Halifax offers 5.5% fixed for a year on up to £250/month.
Provider | Rate (AER) | Max monthly deposit & interest (i) | Can you skip months? | Penalty-free withdrawals allowed? | How to open |
Principality BS | 8% fixed for six months | £200 (maxed out that's £27 interest after 6mths) |
Yes | No, but early closure permitted | Online/ post/ branch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Halifax | 5.5% fixed for one year | £250 (maxed out that's £89/yr interest) |
No | No, but early closure permitted | Online/ branch/ app/ phone |
(i) Max interest assumes you pay in the max monthly amount at the start of each month, starting from the day you open the account. Calculated using our Regular Savings Calculator.

Not sure how much interest you'll get? Find out with our Regular Savings Calculator. Simply plug in the savings account 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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