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Top Savings Accounts
All the top deals for standard savings accounts
Top Cash ISAs 2021/22
Protect your savings from tax – permanently
Automatic Savings Apps
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Regular Savings Accounts
Earn up to 3.5% on your savings
Updated Monthly
Regular savers were hit hard last year, with frequent rate cuts across the board. But it's still just about possible to earn 3.5% interest on savings tax-free. Regular savings accounts are a hidden species designed for you to feed 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, or forcing you to make a deposit every month. And the rate usually only lasts for a year.
Rather watch than read? This little video gives you the regular savings lowdown...
Embedded YouTube Video
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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While regular savings accounts can pay higher rates of interest, the problem with them is that it takes time to build up the amount of money you have in there. Yet if you have a lump sum of cash, and you want to maximise its earnings, you can still take advantage.
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- Put the lump sum in the top-paying easy-access account.
You'll then start earning interest on the full sum straightaway (see Top Savings Accounts).
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Then, pay in to the regular saver from the easy-access account each month.
The key is to put as much as you can (up to the monthly limit) into the regular savings account to max the interest.This technique is called 'drip-feeding', as you're slowly moving your cash across, month by month. This means every penny you want to save is earning the most it can at any moment. Here's how it should work in practice...
Let's say you have £3,000 in savings. If you start by putting this in a top easy-access account and moving £250 across to a top regular saver in the first month, you'll have £2,750 earning the easy-access rate (eg, 0.5%), and £250 earning the higher regular saver rate (eg, 1.05%).
This way, you can keep getting interest on the lump sum while getting a higher rate on the money you pay in to the regular saver. After 12 monthly payments, the full amount will be in the regular saver. You can then move the whole lot to the top payer at the time and start the process again with a new regular saver (provided they're still around).To get the maximum gain, put as much in as possible in the early months, but always ensure you've enough left to keep up the minimum payments for the account's lifespan. Then you've got as much interest as possible, while meeting the account's terms and conditions.
- Put the lump sum in the top-paying easy-access account.
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The protection you get here is the same as normal savings. Provided your money is in a UK-regulated bank or building society account, it's protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. The golden rule is...
The first £85,000 per person, per financial institution is protected.
While that sounds simple, the details are more complex – there are specific rules involving how different banks are registered and what counts as a financial institution. For full info, read our full Are my savings safe? guide.
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How to maximise safety
With most regular savers, limits on the amount you can deposit mean the balance gets nowhere near £85,000, so there's no problem.
But if you have savings in other accounts with the same bank, don't put more than £85,000 in any one institution – spread it around. See how to get 100% safety.
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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
With these accounts, which are linked to providers' other products, it's very much a case of "go for the one(s) you can get".
Currently the top payer is Yorkshire Building Society's 3.5% regular saver, but to be eligible you need to have an active savings account, mortgage or employee Share Plan with it that was opened before 2 Jan 2020. NatWest or RBS current account customers can get the next best rate of 3.04% with their linked regular savers, yet these accounts only let you save a maximum of £50 a month.
With all of these accounts the rates are variable – so the returns aren't certain.
Other bank-linked accounts paying similar amounts have dropped their rates recently, leaving these three as the only ones paying more than the open-to-all accounts below.
| Provider | Rate (AER) | Max monthly deposit | Can you skip months? | Penalty-free withdrawals allowed? | How to open |
| Yorkshire BS | 3.5% variable |
£500 | ✓ | ✓ Max 1/yr (1) |
Phone/ post |
| NatWest | 3.04% variable |
£50 | ✓ | ✓ | Online/ app |
| RBS | 3.04% variable |
£50 | ✓ | ✓ | Online/ app |
(1) Penalty-free withdrawals allowed on one day per account year. Can also access money by closing account.
Top open-to-all accounts
If you don't have the current account necessary to unlock one of the accounts above, check out the top open-to-all accounts below, which aren't linked to other products.
Recent rate drops mean these open-to-all accounts aren't as lucrative as the top bank-linked accounts. While there are still decent deals on offer, they can be beaten by branch-based accounts offered by building societies. So check if there's a decent account near you.
Regular savers open to all – what we'd go for
Here, the top rate is from Coventry Building Society, which pays 1.05% and lets you save a decent £500/mth. However, the rate's variable – so you'll need to keep an eye on it in case it drops.
Alternatively, if you want some added certainty, Principality BS pays 1% fixed for a year on up to £250/mth.
Whichever account you pick, it's worth remembering to move your cash when the term ends – otherwise the provider will move your money to a standard account paying much less.
| Provider | Rate (AER) | Max monthly deposit | Can you skip months? | Penalty-free withdrawals allowed? | How to open |
| Coventry BS | 1.05% variable |
£500 | ✓ | ❌ (1) |
Online/ phone/ post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Principality BS | 1% fixed for one year | £250 | ✓ | ❌ (2) | Online/ post/ branch |
| Nationwide | 1% variable | £100 | ✓ | ✓ | Online/ app |
(1) 30-day interest penalty for withdrawals/early closure. (2) No withdrawals allowed. Can access money early by closing account.
Top branch-based regular savers
Local and regional banks and building societies often offer good rates, though you usually need to open accounts in branch. We've listed accounts paying more than the 'open-to-all' rates above. See if there's a branch near you.
North East England
- Darlington Building Society's regular saver offers 1.25% AER variable on up to £250 a month if you're an existing member or if you live in postcode areas DL, DH, SR, TS, YO or HG. Plus, it currently lets you pay in up to £750 on one month of your choice – so you can quickly boost your balance.
South West England
- If you're aged 16-25 and live, work or study in Bath, you can get 4% AER variable on deposits of £10-£50 a month with this regular saver from Bath Building Society.
West Midlands
- West Bromwich Building Society's regular saver pays 2% AER fixed for 12 months and you can save £10-£100 a month. It has 20+ branches in the West Midlands (find your nearest).
- Live in postcode areas B, DY, WS or WV? Tipton & Coseley Building Society's regular saver pays 1.25% AER variable on deposits of £10-£250 a month until 28 February 2022.
- Leek United BS pays 1.1% AER variable and lets you save an unusually large amount – up to £1,000 a month. But you can only get it if you've been a Leek United BS customer for at least a year or if you live in postcode areas CW, SK, DE, TF, ST, WS15.
The Regular Savings Calculator
Below is a special calculator designed to help you work out what you'll earn from regular savings. It assumes your savings interest is covered by the relevant personal savings allowance for your tax rate.
The calculator has two options...
Regular savings only. Choose this if you want to know how much you'll get from a regular saver alone.
Drip-feed calculator. If you want to save a lump sum, and are using the drip-feed route above, this will tell you how much you'll get, and compare it with keeping the money in a normal savings account.
For the most accurate answer, use the AER (annual equivalent rate) – which should be listed in your online account or statement. Remember, most normal savings accounts are variable rates, so the drip-feed calculation will change if the rate does – but it's a good indicator of what you'll earn.
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