Top savings accounts: where to find the best rates for your cash

Savers can still earn up to 8% on their savings, but rates are starting to fall.

There are still some great savings deals available – but you need to make the most of it as the Bank of England is widely expected to continue cutting rates in the coming months.

And with the cost of living crisis still squeezing our finances, we all must ensure our savings are working as hard as possible.

If you make the mistake of leaving your savings in your current account, you could be earning as little as 0.1% on your cash, or possibly nothing at all.

However, by moving your savings to a top-paying account you could enjoy a rate of up to 8%.

So, let's look at the best offers currently available, starting with regular saver accounts.

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Regular savers: up to 8%

Regular savings accounts are generally best for new savers as they don't allow you to deposit a lump sum upfront. Instead, you make regular monthly contributions, and the money is returned to you with interest after one year.

However, if the rates are generous enough, and you are eligible, then they can also work for savers with a pot already built up.

All you do is put your funds in the best-paying easy-access account (which we've also listed in this article) and filter some money into a regular saver, or savers, each month.

So, what rates can you get?

The good news is that you can get up to 8% on accounts without any restrictions.

The Principality Building Society 6 Month Regular saver pays an AER of 8%, with monthly deposits of between £1 and £200.

Another attractive offering is from First Direct. It offers a 7% rate, which is still more than three times the current rate of inflation (2.2%).

Monthly deposits must be between £25 and £300, which enables you to save up to £3,600 a year.

However, it's only available to new or existing first direct 1^st Account holders.

The HSBC Regular Saver and The Co-operative Bank Regular Saver Issue 1 also offer an AER of 7% on their accounts.

Notice accounts: up to 5.15%

Rates on notice accounts have fallen since the beginning of August.

The top rate on a 90-day notice account is now 5.15% from Bank of London and The Middle East. You'll need at least £10,000 to open it but can invest up to £1,000,000.

Those with less to put away initially could consider the Vanquis Bank 90-Day Notice Account, which can be opened with just £1,000.

Investec Bank also offers its 90-day Notice Saver Issue 2, but the rate is 5.05%. The minimum opening amount is £5,000 and up to £250,000 can be tucked away.

Cash ISAs: earn up to 5.1%

The Personal Savings Allowance (PSA) has meant that it’s easy to get a tax-free return from your savings even if you don’t use an ISA, though it’s still worthwhile making use of your tax-free ISA allowance (which is £20,000 for 2024/25).

That’s because any money you put into an ISA will stay tax-free long-term, even if the interest you earn grows beyond the PSA limits.

With the PSA, any interest you earn beyond the £1,000/£500 limit is taxed at your marginal rate.

The best rate on an easy-access Cash ISA right now is 5.1% from Trading 212 and there is no minimum opening amount.

Want to lock money away? Punjab National Bank is the best option for a one-year fixed-rate ISA, paying 4.80% and it can be opened with a minimum of £1,000.

Best fixed-rate savings: up to 5%

Before we get into the best fixed-rate savings, we wanted to point out an interesting shift we've seen in this part of the market.

In recent years, you were generally rewarded with a higher rate by agreeing to lock your money away for a longer period, with five-year fixes for the best-paying accounts.

However, the best rates currently available are actually on shorter-term accounts of less than a year, even if rates are starting to fall.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's look at the top fixed-rate deals.

One of the best rates at the moment is from Oxburey Bank, which is a three-month bond paying 5% with a minimum opening deposit of £10,000.

Obviously that's a pretty short term, and if that's what you're after you may want to consider a notice account like the one mentioned earlier.

Looking for a longer-term deal? Monument Bank pays 4.81% on its one-year bond, but it requires a hefty £25,000 deposit.

For smaller pots, Synergy Bank has a similar length deal with a 4.75% rate which can be opened from £1,000.

Want to lock your money away even longer to shield against future Base Rate cuts? The top five-year bond from Birmingham Bank pays 4.36% and has a £5,000 minimum deposit.

Current accounts: earn up to 5%

There are a lot of choices to be made when it comes to a current account, such as whether you’ll need an overdraft, so you’ll need to consider the options.

However, if you’re basing it on interest paid then you can earn 5% from Nationwide on balances of up to £1,500. However, you’ll need to put in £1,000 a month.

Kroo Bank is an attractive option for those with higher cash balances, even though it pays a slightly lower rate of 4.10%.

Separately, you can also be rewarded with cash and other rewards for agreeing to switch your current account.

For example, Lloyds is offering £200 to anyone switching to a new Club Lloyds, Club Lloyds Silver or Club Lloyds Platinum Account using the Current Account Switching Service.

Find the best alternatives in our roundup of current accounts that pay in-credit interest

Best easy/instant access savings: up to 4.87%

While you can currently bag a rate of 5.20% with Ulster Bank's Loyalty Saver, it's not open to everyone (you'll need to have a linked product) and it's being cut to 4.75% on 14 October.

That means those looking for the best rate are better off going for Oxbury's Easy Access Special Edition account, which pays 4.87%.

However, it requires a mammoth £25,000 minimum deposit.

That means Leeds BS' Limited Issue Online Access pays a slightly lower 4.65% but can be opened with just £1,000 and is open to everyone – though if you don't mind jumping through some hoops you can obviously choose the Ulster Bank account mentioned first.

Where to earn the most interest on your cash

Here's a table with all the top deals for you to compare at a glance.

The account you go for will probably be determined by the amount you have to save and whether you want instant access to your money.

Please note that we've only included the highest-paying account from each category (i.e. five-year bond, instant access ISA).

Remember, sometimes you'll need to open another account with a provider to access certain savings rates.

Provider	Type	Interest rate	Minimum/maximum deposit
Principality Building Society	Regular saver	8%	Max. £200 a month
Bank of London and The Middle East	90-day notice	5.15%	Min. £10k opening deposit
Trading 212	Easy access Cash ISA	5.1%	No min / £20k max
Nationwide	Current account	5%	Min £1,000 a month deposit / £1.5k max interest
Oxbury Bank	Instant access	4.87%	Min £25k deposit
Monument Bank	One-year bond	4.81%	Min £25k deposit

Time to consider investing?

The reality is you're likely to achieve a better return over the long term by investing (five years or more).

If you are comfortable taking on some risk for potentially better returns, you could consider investing in the stock market (capital at risk).

*This article contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission on any sales of products or services we write about. This article was written completely independently.