Top savings accounts compared

About Top savings accounts compared

Savings accounts get ranked on what decides what you keep at the end: the rate you earn, how quickly you can reach the money, and how the balance is protected. This line-up spans 636 brands, from easy access bank savings to fixed term deposits. Variable rates account for 95.3% of the offers here, so a headline figure is a starting point rather than a guarantee. The trade-off runs through the whole list. Accounts that pay more usually want the money left alone for longer, while accounts you can reach the same day tend to pay less. Deposit protection also splits the field, because some balances sit under a European guarantee and others under a national scheme with a different limit. Read the rate, the access terms and the cover side by side, then pick the balance that suits how quickly you may need the cash.

How we picked

Every brand here is scored on the same rule set, and the weights are published. Trust carries the most weight at 40%, which reads the deposit protection on the balance, how long the provider has been trading, and how the money is held. Cost takes 35% and looks at the interest rate, the minimum deposit, any monthly charge, and whether a fee applies to the account you actually want. Offer takes 25% and covers access terms, withdrawals, term length and the way support is offered. Ratings come from provider pages, help centres, regulator registers and national protection schemes, alongside the comparison data behind this list, which is why a fixed deposit and an easy access account can sit next to each other here. Where two accounts look the same on paper, the access terms settle the order, since a rate you cannot reach on demand is worth less than a slightly lower one you can. Partners are listed first and the rest follow in score order.

Our top picks

1. 2. XTB

   XTB belongs in this ranking on the rate: 4% variable on money sitting uninvested in the account, joint highest here. Interest is calculated daily and paid monthly shortly after month end, there is no minimum or maximum balance, and you can withdraw any amount to your own bank account. The monthly fee is £0, the model runs commission free and low fees, and FSCS cover stands at FSCS up to GBP 85,000. bunq Spain, ranked next, pays 3.01% and adds EU deposit protection at EU DGS up to EUR 100,000. Support covers email, chat and phone, so a question can go to a person on the phone.

   • Minimum deposit: €0
   • Stock trade fee: €0
   • Account fee: €0

   Pros

   • The account fee is €0 and the stock trade fee is €0, which places XTB at 1 of 166 brands on the share dealing charge.
   • The minimum deposit is €0, putting XTB at 1 of 218 brands on the amount needed to start.
   • Deposit protection is FSCS up to GBP 85,000 and investor protection is EU ICS up to EUR 20,000, both stated with figures rather than vague wording.
   • Interest is paid on uninvested funds, calculated daily and settled monthly, with no minimum or maximum balance.
   • Support covers email, chat and phone, so email, chat and phone are all open to you.

   Cons

   • The inactivity fee is €10, and at 39 of 56 brands on that measure XTB sits well outside the free group.
   • A currency conversion fee of 0.5% applies even though the stock trade fee is €0, which bites on any US share held in a euro or sterling account.
   • Retail leverage runs to 1:30 and 77% of retail accounts lose money, so free dealing does not mean free from risk.
   • Fiat deposits run through bank transfer, and the deposit and withdrawal fee terms leave a charge on withdrawals below a set threshold in EUR or USD.

2. 3. eToro

   eToro earns its place in this ranking by paying 3.8% on a cash management balance held in US dollars, calculated daily and paid monthly, with access to the money at any time. The account carries EU deposit protection of EU DGS up to EUR 100,000, a monthly fee of $0 and a commission free model, and balances run $1 to $10,000. Varo, ranked next, pays a variable rate in a range of 1% to 3.75% in a US bank account under FDIC cover. A practical point separates them: eToro support runs on help centre, thinner than the reach offered by the accounts around it.

   • Minimum deposit: $1 to $10,000
   • Stock trade fee: $0
   • Account fee: $0

   Pros

   • Interest on the USD cash balance pays 3.8% on a variable basis, calculated daily and paid monthly, and withdrawals are allowed at any time.
   • Regulated by Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and SIPC, with client asset protection of EU ICS up to EUR 20,000 and deposit protection of EU DGS up to EUR 100,000.
   • Minimum deposit $1 to $10,000 and minimum portfolio investment $500 keep the starting point low, and fractional shares are among the listed features.
   • A tax-sheltered ISA is available, listed among the isa on offer, alongside portfolio types covering etf, esg and cash.
   • Markets reach stocks, etfs and forex and derivatives are available, so shares, forex, crypto and futures sit in a single account.

   Cons

   • Withdrawal costs $5 flat fee each time, which makes small, regular transfers expensive next to the $0 stock trade fee.
   • Client asset protection of EU ICS up to EUR 20,000 sits well below deposit protection of EU DGS up to EUR 100,000, so a large share portfolio can outrun the cover.
   • Taker fee 1% sits above the 0.25% median, which matters for anyone trading crypto often rather than holding.
   • Support runs through help centre, so phone and chat are not part of the offering.

3. 6. bunq Spain

   bunq Spain is in this ranking as the Spanish route into an easy access account paying 3.01% on a variable rate, with a monthly fee of €0, a minimum deposit of €10 and EU deposit protection of EU DGS up to EUR 100,000. Interest is paid weekly, and withdrawals are free each month with a larger allowance once the account has been open a year. Support covers email, chat and help centre, wider than the same provider's reach elsewhere in this ranking. Swedbank, ranked next, pays 0.5% and moves money only inside its own bank.

   • Headline rate: 3.01%
   • Rate type: Variable
   • Minimum deposit: €10

   Pros

   • A monthly fee of €0 and an annual fee of €0, so an easy-access balance can stay open without a charge.
   • multi currency, crypto and virtual card puts multi-currency, crypto, a virtual card and travel features in the same app as the savings balance.
   • Deposits sit under EU DGS up to EUR 100,000 and the Spanish account is supervised by Banco de España.
   • A variable rate of 3.01% paid weekly, above the 3% median across savings accounts.

   Cons

   • The variable 3.01% sits below Starling Personal Account Debit Card at 4%, so the rate is not the reason to open it.
   • Support runs on email, chat and help centre only, with no phone line, while 74.4% covers a large share of the savings market.
   • The opening deposit of €10 sits above the €0.88 median minimum across savings accounts, which puts a floor under the first transfer.
   • Access terms cap free withdrawals at a monthly allowance that only widens after a year, so heavy movers pay more than the €0 monthly fee suggests.

4. 7. bunq: best for top-pick

   bunq takes the top-pick label in this ranking because it pairs an easy access account with EU deposit protection of EU DGS up to EUR 100,000 and a monthly fee of €0, so the balance earns 3.01% on a variable rate with nothing taken out each month. Interest is paid weekly, and withdrawals are free each month with a slightly larger allowance once the account has been open a year. The minimum deposit is €10. Wise, ranked next, reaches you by phone and chat as well as email, while bunq support runs on email and help centre, so a question about a transfer gets answered in writing.

   • Premium from: €0
   • Monthly payments: Yes
   • Legal entity: bunq B.V.

   Pros

   • Investing sits in the same app, with stocks, etfs and crypto and fractional shares among the plan features.
   • The card runs on mastercard, and conversion costs 0.5% to 3% across 8 currencies.
   • Regulated in the Netherlands by De Nederlandsche Bank, with savings under EU DGS up to EUR 100,000 and investments under EU ICS up to EUR 20,000.
   • Aimed at expats, so a euro account follows you between countries.

   Cons

   • Support runs on email and help centre only.
   • The rate is variable, so the 3.01% headline can move in either direction.
   • Crypto trades cost 0.25% to 1.99%, with maker fees of 0.25% to 1.99%.

What to look for

What the balance earns

The median rate in this category is 3%, the lower quartile is 1.25% and the upper quartile is 4%. A figure above the median is worth a look, and a figure below it needs a reason.

Access and term

Easy access accounts cover 92.5% of the offers here, and where money is tied up the term runs to a median of 60 months. Read the withdrawal terms in the provider's own words before you commit: same day, weekly, monthly, or only when a term ends.

Whether the rate can move

95.3% of the accounts here pay a variable rate and 4.7% pay a fixed one. A variable rate follows the base rate up or down, while a fixed rate holds steady for the term. Decide which of those you can live with.

What you need to put in

The median minimum deposit is €0 and the lower quartile is €0, so opening with nothing is common. Where a deposit applies, commit the smallest amount you can live without touching.

Monthly charges

67.9% of the offers here charge no monthly fee, and the median account fee across the category is €0. A small charge can eat the interest on a small balance, so run the numbers against the balance you plan to keep.

Reaching a person

Help centres appear on 81.2% of the offers, phone support on 82%, and email on 65.7%. If you would rather speak to someone about a transfer, check the channel list on the account before you open it.

Frequently asked questions

Top savings accounts compared by country

• Australia
• Austria
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• South Korea
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV