Some top-rate accounts can come with strings attached (like “existing customers only” or “additional account necessary”), but this one is more or less open to all. The Moneybox Moneybox Cash ISA offers 5.32% AER. You’ll need to open the account with a minimum of £500.
The Leeds BS Shared Ownership Saver (Issue 3) offers 6% AER on balances up to £20,000. You’ll need to open the account with a minimum of £100. Please note that you'll need to be an existing customer to apply (Available to Leeds Building Society Shared Ownership Mortgage customers.).
If you want an account that allows you to withdraw your money whenever you need to, you'll need to look for an easy access savings account. In fact, experts recommend that everyone has some form of easy access savings that they can get hold of in an emergency as part of an emergency fund. These accounts can also be a good option if you're just starting to save.
Many accounts can be opened with as little as £1, and you can top up funds as and when you're able to. However, interest rates won't be as competitive as some savings accounts and the rate is usually variable so it can change at any point.
The Al Rayan Bank 1 Year Fixed Term Deposit offers 4.7% AER on balances up to £85,000. You’ll need to open the account with a minimum of £1,000.
The Al Rayan Bank 1 Year Fixed Term Deposit offers 4.7% AER on balances up to £85,000. You’ll need to open the account with a minimum of £1,000.
With a fixed rate savings account, you agree to lock your money away for a term of anywhere between 6 months and 5 years in return for a more competitive, fixed interest rate. The longer you're prepared to lock your funds away, the higher your interest rate will be – but keep in mind that if external rates rise, you won't see any benefit.
Fixed rate accounts can be a good option if you have a lump sum of cash that you want to earn interest on and you won't need to access for a while – you won't usually be able to top up your money during the term or withdraw it without paying a penalty.
The Market Harborough BS 195 Day Notice Account offers 4.85% AER on balances up to £500,000. You’ll need to open the account with a minimum of £10,000.
Notice savings accounts are half way between an easy access account and a fixed rate account. They can be a good option if you don't want to tie up your funds for long, but also don't need to access them immediately.
Notice accounts often offer better rates than easy access accounts, but require you to give notice before you can access your funds. How much notice you need to give will depend on the account – for example, you might need to give 30 days' notice, 60 days, 90 days or 180 days. Usually, the more notice you need to give, the better the interest rate you'll get. Interest rates are typically variable.
The Moneybox Moneybox Cash ISA offers 5.32% AER. You’ll need to open the account with a minimum of £500.
Thanks to the personal savings allowance, which allows basic rate taxpayers to earn up to £1,000 in savings interest without paying tax (£500 for high rate taxpayers), the tax-free wrapper offered by cash ISAs is no longer so important.
However, if you can find a particularly competitive option, cash ISAs are still worth considering. You can pay up to £20,000 into any combination of ISAs each tax year, but you can only pay money into one cash ISA. As with other savings accounts, you can choose from easy access and fixed rate options. If you have money to move from an existing ISA, look for one that allows transfers in.
The Principality BS 6 Month Regular Saver (Issue 3) offers 7.5% AER on balances up to £1,200. You can open the account with as little as £1.
Regular savings accounts can be a good option if you're just starting to get into the savings habit or if you have a particular savings goal in mind. These accounts require you to pay in a set amount each month – say between £25 and £300 – for 12 months, and you'll earn a fixed amount of interest on that money.
You won't usually be able to access your funds during the 12-month period and once it's up, your account will close and your savings will usually be moved to an easy access account. Note that with some regular savings accounts, you'll need to open a current account with that particular bank or hold another financial product with it to qualify.
The Moneybox Moneybox Cash Lifetime ISA offers 4.7% AER. You can open the account with as little as £1.
If you're aged between 18 and 39, you can open a Lifetime ISA. This is a longer-term tax-free savings account that gives you a government bonus of 25% of the money you put in, up to a maximum of £1,000 a year.
You'll be able to save up to £4,000 a year, which forms part of your overall annual ISA limit, and you can continue to pay into your ISA until you reach the age of 50. However, you can only withdraw your money after 12 months if you use it to help pay for your first property or after you turn 60 if you intend to use it for your retirement. If you withdraw the money for any other purpose (unless you're terminally ill), you'll face a 25% penalty.
Our best savings accounts are the highest interest rates available for each type of account we specify. To get the latest rates, we use Moneyfacts data, which covers nearly the full market of savings products and is checked and updated daily. We don’t include accounts from private banks.
All the accounts in our list have savings protection – for most, this is the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Other schemes include that of NS&I, which is 100% backed by HM Treasury, and the Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
Believe it or not, some current accounts pay higher rates of interest compared to some savings accounts. What’s more, because it’s a current account you’ll be able to access your money whenever you need to. However, the downside is that the amount of money you can earn interest on will be limited and in some cases, the rate drops after a year. Banks also offer fantastic signup offers when you close down your current account and switch to a new one.
Auto-savings apps help you squirrel away some of your cash without you noticing. This could be done through working out how much you can afford to save each week and automatically transferring that amount into a separate savings account. Or your purchases might be rounded up to the nearest £1 and the difference moved to a savings pot. This can be a great option if you’re struggling to get into the savings habit or you regularly forget to put money aside.
Premium bonds are a savings product from National Savings and Investments (NS&I) and give you the chance of winning between £25 and £1 million (tax-free) each month instead of earning interest. You will need to invest at least £25 and you can keep buying bonds until you reach a maximum holding level of £50,000.
Islamic savings accounts must follow the rules and laws of Islam or Sharia law and be guided by Islamic economics. Islamic savings accounts do not pay interest, but instead, you’ll be promised a return on the money saved, called an “expected profit rate”.
The money kept in an Islamic bank account must be ring-fenced and cannot be used for non-Sharia approved activities. This means money will not be lent to businesses that provide goods or services such as alcohol, tobacco or gambling.
We asked the account holders of savings providers featured in this table whether they’d recommend it to a friend and we’ve ordered the table by the percentage score. Our independent survey was carried out in January 2025. You can learn more about the research here.
| Brand | Logo | Customers who’d recommend | Review | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yorkshire Building Society |  | 97% | With Yorkshire Building Society, you can choose from a range of savings accounts including regular savers. | |
| Plum |  | 97% | Plum started as a smart money management app but now has a range of competitive savings accounts for customers. | |
| Atom Bank |  | 93% | Atom Bank has a good range of fixed rate savings accounts to choose from, the set up is fairly quick and the rates are competitive. | |
| RCI Bank |  | 93% | With RCI Bank, you can choose from a a broad range of savings accounts with competitive interest rates. | |
| Marcus |  | 90% | Marcus by Goldman Sachs’ customers were impressed with its “ease of use” and competitive rates. | |
| Aldermore |  | 90% | Aldermore offers a range of savings accounts and individual savings accounts (ISAs). | |
| Shawbrook |  | 90% | Shawbrook Bank has a variety of savings options usually with good rates, including easy-access, fixed-rate and ISAs. | |
| Moneybox |  | 90% | Moneybox has different cash ISAs depending on your needs, as well as notice accounts and a simple saver. | |
| Ford Money |  | 90% | Ford Money offers a range of savings products and ISAs that are designed to be easy to open and manage, and that offer competitive rates. | |
| HSBC |  | 87% | HSBC has lots of different savings accounts on its roster. Like other banks, there are accounts that have exclusive rates for its current account customers. | |
| Starling Bank |  | 87% | Starling Bank has branched out into offering savings accounts, including a fixed-rate account and easy access Saving Spaces. | |
| Leeds Building Society |  | 87% | Leeds Building Society‘s savings accounts regularly top the best buy tables with tantalising interest rates. | |
| Virgin Money |  | 87% | Virgin Money has a good variety of savings accounts available to new customers, as well as exclusive accounts linked to its current account. | |
| Lloyds Bank |  | 83% | Lloyds offers a range of savings accounts and other options to help you manage your money. | |
| NatWest |  | 83% | NatWest has savings accounts for every financial need, from regular savers to fixed rate ISAs to children’s savings accounts. | |
| TSB |  | 83% | TSB is one of the oldest and biggest names in British banking and may be a good savings option for those who like to bank in branch. | |
| Nationwide |  | 80% | Nationwide offers its members a range of exclusive savings accounts, some with competitive rates. | |
| Zopa |  | 80% | Zopa is a digital bank which looks to use technology to offer customers more innovative savings options. | |
| Monument |  | 80% | Monument specialises in savings accounts and loans, and it aims to meet the needs of the mass affluent market. | |
| Tesco Bank |  | 77% | The financial arm of the supermarket, Tesco Bank has a range of different savings accounts including a good variety of fixed term savers. | |
| Post Office |  | 77% | Post Office offers both online and brand-based savings products, which makes it popular with customers who like its good customer service. | |
| Barclays |  | 77% | Savings accounts by Barclays are popular due to good customer service and decent interest rates. | |
| Chip |  | 73% | Chip is managed through an app and offers a selection of different savings accounts depending on your requirements. | |
| Halifax |  | 70% | Part of the wider Lloyds Banking Group, Halifax has several savings options, ranging from easy access accounts to fixed term savings. | |
| Santander |  | 67% | High-street bank Santander comes with all the advantages of a big bank and offers a wide range of savings accounts. |
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