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- This never impacts our editorial recommendations – if it's in, it's in there because we independently rate it best.
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For a more detailed explanation see How MSE is financed.

Top Savings Accounts
0.41% easy access or up to 1.35% fixed
With the Bank of England's base rate at an all-time low, savings rates have been hit hard. Yet if you're on a pitiful 0.01% – as many are – you can still smash that rate. So whether you've £1 or £1 million, take action now to ensure you're getting every possible penny of interest on your savings. Below we take you through the maze of accounts to find the most profitable home for your cash – and keep it safe.
Other MSE savings guides...
Regular savings: Up to 3% interest if you can save monthly
Help to Save: 50% bonus on savings if you're on a low income
Children's savings: Earn up to 3.5% on kids' savings
Cash ISAs: Save permanently tax-free with an ISA
Current accounts: Earn up to 2% on smaller sums

What is a savings account? Plus three savings need-to-knows
A savings account is simply an account for you to put money in and earn interest. Where bank accounts have more bells and whistles, letting you withdraw cash, pay bills and use a debit card to spend, savings accounts are solely there for you to earn interest.
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Up to £85,000 per person is protected in UK-regulated financial institutions
Every bank we mention in this guide is fully UK-regulated, which means you get £85,000 per person protection in the event it goes bust (£170,000 for joint accounts). The only thing to watch is some providers, eg HSBC and First Direct, share licences so you only have £85,000 protection across both banks. See the Are Your Savings Safe? guide.
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Interest from savings is tax-free for most
Savings interest is paid tax-free and most won't pay any tax on it at all. Basic-rate taxpayers can earn £1,000/year tax-free and higher-rate taxpayers £500, so it's only those with very large amounts of savings who would need to worry about this – and that's less than 5% of us. Find full info in our Personal Savings Allowance guide.
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You can split money across different accounts to get a mix of benefits
If you've lots to save, you can open several different savings accounts. For example, if you had £20,000 and you needed £5,000 of it in two months' time, you could stick £5,000 in the top easy-access account, and then put the rest into a one-year fix. If you don't yet know what you want to do with your cash, just stick your money (up to the protected £85,000) in the top easy-access account while you're deciding.
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11 tips for choosing the right savings account
There are many different types of savings account and if you're not sure what each one does, the choice can be confusing. Before we get to the top savings accounts of each type, here are some tips to help you decide if saving is the right choice, and if so, where to put your money...
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Easy-access savings
The main idea with easy-access accounts is that you pay cash into them, they pay you interest while the money's in the account and you can withdraw whenever you want. But interest rates are usually lower than on notice and fixed savings accounts, because you pay for the flexibility. And since the rates are variable, it's worth checking your rate regularly to make sure you're getting the best possible returns.
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Easy-access accounts – what we'd go for
Easy-access rates have dropped sharply in the last few months, though there are a couple of special accounts that can pay up to 2% on smaller amounts – you can find these in the table below.
Yet when it comes to standard easy-access savings, which likely suit more people, Paragon Bank pays the top rate of 0.41%. You can open an account online with £1.
However, you can beat this rate with Kent Reliance's easy-access cash ISA, which pays 0.45%. You can open an account online with £1,000 and deposit up to £20,000 this tax year (less if you've already paid into another ISA).
Provider | Rate (AER variable) | Unlimited withdrawals? | Min/max deposit | How to open | Max FSCS protection |
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Top standard easy-access rates. Here are the highest paying traditional accounts. | |||||
Paragon Bank | 0.41% | ✓ | £1/ £500,000 | Online | £85,000 |
Marcus* | 0.4% | ✓ | £1/ £250,000 | Online | £85,000, shared (1) |
Saga* | 0.4% | ✓ | £1/ £100,000 | Online | £85,000, shared (2) |
RCI Bank UK* | 0.4% | ✓ | £100/ £1m | Online | £85,000 |
Easy-access savings via other routes (click links to read more) | |||||
Chip autosave app (3) | 1.25% (not compounded) + £10 bonus cashback for some | ✓ | £1/ £10,000 | App | £85,000, shared (4) |
Virgin Money current account | 2.02% | ✓ | None/ £1,000 | Online | £85,000, shared (5) |
(1) With Goldman Sachs and Saga. (2) With Goldman Sachs and Marcus. (3) Can't be opened as a joint account. (4) With ClearBank. (5) With Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank.
Remember, cash in all the accounts above is protected up to £85,000 per person, per financial institution. If you've more than £85,000 it's best to spread savings across several different banks just in case one gets into difficulty.
Quick questions
New. Chip+1 savings account pays 1.25% on up to £10,000 plus £10 bonus cashback for some (newbies only)
Chip is a savings app you connect to your current account through Open Banking. It's known for autosaving, where it uses an algorithm to work out how much you can afford to save.
Normally these apps don't pay interest, or very little, but its Chip+1 account* (accessible via our code MSE10 – just put it in the VIP box once you've registered) pays 1.25% variable if you're new to Chip. Plus, you can get £10 in bonus cashback. Though there's a lot you need to know before you sign up...
- You can get 1.25% interest on up to £2,000 for free, or up to £10,000 for a fee. The Chip+1 account is made up of two different plans:
- ChipLite. Chip's fee-free plan won't autosave for you, but will pay 1.25% variable on up to £2,000 (0% above).
- ChipAI. The default plan, it pays 1.25% variable on up to £10,000 (0% above) and charges a £1.50 fee every four weeks – though everyone gets a four-week free trial.
ChipAI gives you access to Chip's autosaving features – just make sure you specify autosaves should go to the 1.25% account during sign-up. If you don't want this, you can pause autosaves once you've registered (go to your profile in the app, then 'Auto-save settings' then 'Skip auto-saves' and choose a date – you can pause for up to three months at a time).
- Get £10 in bonus cashback for signing up to ChipAI. To qualify, sign up via our link above by 11.59pm on Fri 30 Apr (make sure you enter code MSE10 in the VIP box once you've registered). You'll need to be on the ChipAI plan until at least 8 Jul 2021 to qualify, so if you're just planning on using the ChipLite plan, you unfortunately won't be eligible. The bonus is added to your Chip+1 account by 22 Jul 2021.
- If you've more than £3,150 to save, you'll get better returns with ChipAI. If you've less, putting £2,000 in ChipLite and putting the rest in a top easy-access savings account paying 0.41% works out better.
But anyone with £3,150+ will be better off with ChipAI, once the fee and bonus cashback has been factored in. If you can save the full £10,000 with the ChipAI plan, with the fee and cashback taken into account, you'll receive an unbeatable effective interest rate of 1.15% in year one.
- It's easy access so you can take cash out when you want, but it's best to time withdrawals. The interest is calculated weekly (on a Tuesday) and is payable every 90 days, but if you close an account before it's paid you get nothing for that period. So withdrawals are best made shortly after interest's been paid, if possible.
The interest's held in a separate account, so it DOES NOT compound (ie, you don't get interest on the interest), but at 1.25% it still dwarfs what others are paying. If you're concerned, you could withdraw the whole balance and interest and redeposit it if you want to get interest on the interest (unless you already have the maximum £10,000).
- The money you put in is fully UK savings-safety protected but the interest you get isn't. Chip has partnered with ClearBank to run its Chip+1 account. As ClearBank has a full UK banking licence, money held there gets the normal UK savings safety protection like other savings.
With the interest, Chip's actually giving you a marketing bonus for saving. And while your balance will update each time interest is paid out, the cash doesn't go into the ClearBank account – it's held separately, in a ring-fenced high-street bank account.
If you want to protect the interest, you'll need to withdraw ALL your savings and interest, then redeposit it all into your Chip+1 account to get the protection (it's not possible just to withdraw the interest and pay that back in).
- To use Chip+1, you'll need to connect your bank account. Chip connects to most (but not all) bank account providers. These are Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Danske, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Marks & Spencer, Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest, RBS, Revolut, Santander, Starling, TSB and Ulster Bank.
- What is autosaving? Autosaving apps use clever tech to work out what you can afford to save and then do it for you, er, 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 – useful if you find it difficult to put money aside or don't know how to start saving.
Notice savings accounts
Notice accounts are good for people who know they'll need their money, but don't know when. A good example might be if you are a first-time buyer. You know you'll need your saved cash for the deposit, but you might find your dream home in two months or in 10. A (shortish) notice account would let you get a boosted rate, but would also let you access your cash in time to exchange.
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Notice accounts – what we'd go for
If you're sure you won't need instant access to your cash, Secure Trust Bank pays the top rate of 0.6% if you can give 120 days' notice. If four months is too long to wait to get your cash, Secure Trust Bank also offers a shorter 45 days' notice account paying 0.5%, which still beats the top easy-access rates.
Provider | Rate (AER variable) | Notice | Min/max deposit | How to open | Max FSCS protection |
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Secure Trust Bank (1) | 0.6% | 120 days | £1,000/ £1m (2) | Online | £85,000 |
Secure Trust Bank (1) | 0.5% | 45 days | £1,000/ £1m (2) | Online | £85,000 |
(1) You can only make three capital withdrawals each year. (2) Each deposit must be £1,000+.
Quick questions
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Fixed-rate accounts
Savings rates have been on a downward spiral recently. And with the Bank of England investigating negative interest rates as a possibility, it seems unlikely that conditions for savers will improve any time soon (though of course there are no guarantees).
If you're worried about rates falling further, fixed-rate accounts (aka 'fixed-rate bonds'), offer some protection. With a fix, you get guaranteed returns for a set time – so if you want rate certainty, fixing is an easy way to get it.
However, with fixed savings you can't withdraw your money until the end of the term, other than in extremely rare circumstances. In return, you get a better reward. This is because the bank gets the certainty of holding your cash for a set amount of time, and in exchange, you get the certainty of the interest rate they offer. Therefore, you should only lock away what you definitely won't need access to.
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One-year fixed savings – what we'd go for
Currently, Charter Savings Bank offers the top one-year rate of 0.61% via savings platform Raisin – you can open an account online with £1,000. Additionally, Raisin newbies can get £5-£50 in bonus cashback when saving between £5,000 and £85,000. If you don't want the faff of opening a Raisin account, Zopa also offers 0.61% but you won't get any cashback.
Alternatively, if you're willing to join a credit union, My Community Bank offers 0.65% on its one-year account. To apply you'll need to meet its criteria, though this is quite broad and includes those working in certain industries such as education or construction, particular trade union members, and National Trust and Co-op members.
Provider | Rate (AER) | Interest paid | Min/max deposit | How to open | Max FSCS protection |
Top standard one-year fixes. Here are the highest paying traditional accounts. | |||||
Charter Savings Bank (1) | 0.61% + £5-£50 cashback for some | At maturity | £1,000/ £85,000 | Online | £85,000 |
Zopa* (1) | 0.61% | Monthly | £1,000/ £250,000 | Online | £85,000 |
Isbank (1) | 0.6% + £5-£50 cashback for some | At maturity | £1,000/ £85,000 | Online | £85,000 |
Shawbrook Bank | 0.6% | Monthly or at maturity | £1,000/ £2m | Online | £85,000 |
Top credit union account. This beats the accounts above on rate, though only if you qualify. | |||||
My Community Finance | 0.65% | At maturity | £1,000/ £85,000 | Online | £85,000 |
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(1) Can't be opened as a joint account.
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Two-year fixed savings – what we'd go for
Currently, Zopa pays the top standard rate of 0.77% – you can open an account online with £1,000.
However, if you're comfortable with an element of risk when it comes to your interest, you can beat this rate. QIB UK offers 0.8% on its two-year fixed-rate option via Raisin – this is expected profit rather than guaranteed interest, though QIB UK has always met its expected profit rates in the past. Raisin newbies can also claim a bonus £5-£50 cashback when saving between £5,000 and £85,000.
Provider | Rate (AER) | Interest paid | Min/max deposit | How to open | Max FSCS protection |
Top standard two-year fixes. Here are the highest paying traditional accounts. | |||||
Zopa* (1) | 0.77% | Monthly | £1,000/ £250,000 | Online | £85,000 |
Shawbrook Bank | 0.76% | Monthly or annually | £1,000/ £2m | Online | £85,000 |
DF Capital | 0.76% | At maturity | £1,000/ £85,000 | Online | £85,000 |
United Trust Bank | 0.75% | Annually | £5,000/ £1m | Online | £85,000 |
Top sharia account. Pays 'expected profit' and beats the accounts above on rate. See how it works. | |||||
QIB UK (1) | 0.8% + £5-£50 cashback for some | At maturity | £1,000/ £85,000 | Online | £85,000 |
(1) Can't be opened as a joint account.
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We've included the top three-year and five-year fixes below. You can get a slightly better rate if you lock in for five years, but you'll need to weigh up whether it's worth it. What you gain in certainty you give up in flexibility, since you won't be able to access your money, even if rates rise during the term.
If you decide you do want a longer fix, Hodge Bank pays the top three-year and five-year fixed rates of 0.95% and 1.35% respectively – both accounts can be opened online with £1,000.
If you're comfortable with an element of risk when it comes to your interest, Gatehouse Bank pays 1.4% on its five-year fixed rate sharia account. This is expected profit rather than guaranteed interest, though Gatehouse Bank has always paid this in the past.
Three-year fixed rates
Provider | Rate (AER) | Interest paid | Min/max deposit | How to open | Max FSCS protection |
Top standard three-year fixes. Here are the highest paying traditional accounts. | |||||
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Hodge Bank | 0.95% | Monthly or annually | £1,000/ £1m | Online/ post | £85,000 |
Zopa* (1) | 0.91% | Monthly | £1,000/ £250,000 | Online | £85,000 |
Cynergy Bank | 0.9% | Annually (2) | £10,000/ £1m | Online | £85,000 |
Zenith Bank (3) | 0.88% + £5-£50 cashback for some | Annually | £1,000/ £85,000 (4) | Online | £85,000 |
(1) Can't be opened as a joint account. (2) Interest/profit paid out of account and not compounded. (3) Can't be opened as a joint account through Raisin. (4) £2m max deposit if opened directly with Zenith.
Five-year fixed rates
Provider | Rate (AER) | Interest paid | Min/max deposit | How to open | Max FSCS protection |
Top standard five-year fixes. Here are the highest paying traditional accounts. | |||||
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Hodge Bank | 1.35% | Monthly or annually (1) | £1,000/ £1m | Online | £85,000 |
Shawbrook Bank | 1.31% | Monthly or annually | £1,000/ £2m | Online | £85,000 |
Charter Savings Bank | 1.26% | Monthly or annually | £5,000/ £1m | Online/ post | £85,000 |
Top sharia account. Pays expected profit rather than guaranteed interest – see how this works. | |||||
Gatehouse Bank | 1.4% | Annually (2) | £1,000/ £1m | Online | £85,000 |
(1) If monthly interest is chosen, the rate is 1.34%. (2) Profit paid out of account and not compounded.
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Boost fixed-rate savings interest
With interest rates so low, we've a way of boosting the returns you get – but it's a bit more complicated than opening a standard savings account...
Raisin is a 'savings marketplace', which means it offers savings accounts from various banks it partners with. It also offers cashback to newbies who save at least £5,000 (its max per account is £85,000).
Open your first account through it and you can claim a £5 bonus if you deposit £5,000-£39,999, £25 on £40,000-£74,999 or a £50 bonus if you've £75,000-£85,000. See full claim instructions.
All accounts below have £85,000 UK savings safety protection and are available to individuals only – Raisin doesn't currently offer joint savings accounts.
One-year fixed accounts
- Charter Savings Bank* 0.61% AER, paid at maturity.
- Isbank* 0.6% AER, paid at maturity.
Two-year fixed accounts
- QIB UK* 0.8% AER, paid at maturity.
- Ahli United Bank UK* 0.74% AER, paid at maturity.
Three-year fixed accounts
- Zenith Bank UK* 0.88% AER, paid annually.
Important. Annoyingly, you have to claim the bonus. See full instructions below.
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The Savings Calculator
This calculator allows you to calculate how much interest you'll be paid, how long you'll need to save for something or tells you how much you need to save each month to meet a goal.
You might get one rate now, but unless you've fixed your rate, it's likely you won't get the same rate in a year – so you may need to redo the calculation then.
The calculator assumes you put money in at the beginning of each month, so if this isn't how you do it, the answers will be slightly out. If you don't make regular deposits but put lump sums in, figure out the monthly equivalent for a rough answer. Feel free to play with the results to see how it impacts your savings.
Want to complain about your savings provider?
If your savings provider has given you the incorrect interest rate, or you haven't received your interest at all, then you don't have to suffer in silence. It's always worth trying to call your provider first to see if it can help, but if not...
Free tool to help you complain
This tool helps you draft and manage your complaint. It's totally free to use, and it's offered by Resolver, a firm we work with to help people get complaints justice.
RESOLVER – FREE COMPLAINTS TOOL*
If the company won't help, Resolver also helps you escalate your complaint to the free Financial Ombudsman Service.
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