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How much interest will I earn on £500,000?
Earn up to 5.26% with easy access or 4.65% in a fixed-rate bond.
How much interest you will earn on £500,000 is likely to be determined by the type of savings account you have, the rate it pays and the level of access that you need. You can usually get a better rate if you're willing to give a certain amount of notice before making withdrawals or to commit to not making withdrawals at all for an agreed period. Plus, since you can invest £20,000 each year into an ISA, part of your savings can earn you tax-free interest. We scour savings rates daily to help you find a good home for your hard-earned £500,000.
We scan the savings market daily and automatically update the best offers highlighted throughout this guide.
How much interest will I earn on £500,000?
With £500,000 in Chip's easy access account paying 4.76%, you could earn £23,800.00 over a year, or £1,983.33 per month. Market Harborough Building Society's 4.85% 195-day notice account would pay £24,250.00 over a year (£2,020.83 monthly) on £500,000, while Gatehouse Bank's 12-month fixed rate bond would pay £23,250.00 over a year (£1,937.50 monthly).
If you opted to put the first £20,000 of your savings into an ISA, that could earn £1,052.00 over a year, or £87.67 per month in Chip's easy access cash ISA paying 5.26%. £20,000 in Vanquis Bank's 4.2% 30-day notice account would pay £840.00 over a year (£70.00 monthly), while £20,000 in Vanquis Bank's 4.51% 1-year fixed-rate ISA would pay £902.00 over a year (£75.17 monthly).
We've created this guide to help you calculate how much interest you could earn and what you could do with it. However, these are large amounts of money, so you might want to consider speaking to a financial adviser about the best approach for your individual situation and to discuss other investment options.
What is the best interest rate for £500,000 savings?
If you haven't already used your 2024/2025 ISA allowance of £20,000, then consider splitting your £500,000 into 2 (or more) accounts so that you can make the most of your tax-free savings allowance.
In terms of tax-free savings, Chip is currently offering 5.26% on an easy access ISA. If you're happy to give 30 days' notice before making any withdrawals, then RCI Bank UK is currently offering 4.45%. If you're happy to consider a fixed-rate ISA (where you won't be able to access your savings during the fixed term), you could earn 4.51% over 12 months with Vanquis Bank.
For the remaining £480,000, outside of ISAs, you could earn 4.76% with easy access at Chip, 4.85% on Market Harborough Building Society's 195-day notice account or 4.65% on Gatehouse Bank's 12-month fixed-rate bond (note that you typically can't access your money at all with a fixed-rate bond).
Summary of the best rates for how much you can earn on £500,000
| Best easy access | Chip – Chip Cash ISA (5.26%) |
|---|---|
| Best cash ISA | Chip – Chip Cash ISA (5.26%) |
| Best fixed-rate bond | Gatehouse Bank – 1 Year Fixed Term Woodland Saver (4.65%) |
| Best notice account | Market Harborough Building Society – 195 Day Notice Account (4.85%) |
| Best current account | AIB (4%) |
Even greater returns may be possible with investment products such as a stocks and shares ISA, if you're willing to risk getting back less than you originally invested. Only consider stocks if you won't need to spend the money for several years (5 years is a widely-used rule of thumb).
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Will my £500,000 be safe in a savings account?
£500,000 is well over the £85,000 limit that the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) pledges to compensate in the event that a UK bank or building society (authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority, which you can check on the Financial Services Register) goes bust.
This limit is per person, per bank (or building society). So bear in mind that if you already have £60,000 invested with say, Ford Money, and then you open a new Ford Money savings account with a further £500,000, then £475,000 of your overall holdings with Ford Money would not be covered in the event that the bank collapsed.
What about a current account?
Traditionally, current accounts haven't paid great interest, and many people prefer to hold their savings in a completely separate account. However, some current accounts are now offering interest rates capable of rivalling savings products. Bear in mind that if you've used your personal savings allowance for the 2024/2025 tax year (£1,000 of interest for basic rate taxpayers, £500 for higher rate and £0 for additional rate), then the interest you earn in a current account will be taxable.
AIB is currently paying 4% on balances in its current account.
You can also check out today's bank switching offers, which pay out a one-off sum. You won't even need to transfer your £500,000 for this, but other "strings", like minimum monthly contributions, do usually apply.
Frequently asked questions
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
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