Best savings accounts for 2024

Discover the market leaders for Isas, bonds, savings and current accounts

Regardless of why you’re saving – for a house, holiday, or as a buffer to cover emergencies – you’ll want to make sure your money is working as hard as possible.
Seeking out an account with a more competitive interest rate can make a huge difference.
For example, Punjab National Bank is paying among the lowest returns, with its savings account offering 0.75pc. A saver with £50,000 in this account will earn around £376.29 a year in interest. Moving the deposit to the best buy easy access account from Cahoot, paying 5pc, would yield £2,558.09 a year, an extra £2,181.80.
To help you get the most out of your savings, The Telegraph has compiled the best rates available on the market right now for bonds, savings accounts, Isas and current accounts, using data from market analyst Moneyfacts. 
In this article, we will cover:
Unlike a current account, which you’ll use to pay your bills and for everyday spending, a savings account is designed to be the place where you can stash your spare money away, where it will hopefully grow over time.
There are several different types of savings accounts – some offer variable rates, which can change at any time, while some require you to commit to locking your cash away for a fixed amount of time. 
In theory, the more inconvenient an account is, the more interest you should earn – but it’s not always the case.
Fixed-rate bonds tend to pay the highest rates on the market, but most top rates can currently be beaten (albeit not by much) by several types of variable accounts – including the top-rate easy-access account. 
What savers need to weigh up is whether to take a fixed deal in order to get guaranteed interest for a longer term, or take a chance on a variable-rate and hope the interest doesn’t get slashed soon. 
We’ve assessed the top bond accounts for various lengths of term:
Union Bank of India 1 Year Fixed Rate Account – 5pc
Requires a deposit of at least £1,000 to open the account. Interest is paid on maturity of the bond. 
Atom Bank 2 Year Fixed Rate Account – 4.6pc
Account requires at least £50 to be opened. Interest is paid annually on the account’s anniversary. 
Atom Bank 5 Year Fixed Rate Account – 4.4pc
You must save at least £50 in this account. Interest is paid annually on the account’s anniversary. 
Variable-rate accounts tend to come with more flexibility than fixed-rate deals; often, you can make as many withdrawals as you like without taking a hit on interest, but some specific deals have their own restrictions. 
In general, easy access accounts let you take out money whenever you like; regular saver accounts require you to make deposits regularly; notice accounts allow you to make withdrawals, but only if you give your provider a prescribed amount of notice.
Cahoot Sunny Day Saver – 5pc
Account can be opened with £1. Advertised rate is paid on balances up to £3,000 – money over this threshold does not accrue interest. Interest is paid annually on the account’s anniversary.
First Direct Regular Saver Account – 7.00pc 
This account has a 12-month term and can be opened with just £25. You must pay in between £25 and £300 a month, and withdrawals during the term are not permitted. Interest is paid on maturity. Only for those with a First Direct current account.
Bank of London and the Middle East 90-Day Notice Account – 5.15pc
Minimum deposit is £10,000. You must give 90 days’ notice before making a withdrawal or closing the account.
In some cases, current accounts will pay interest on the balance of money they hold, which can be useful if you don’t want the hassle of transferring money between multiple accounts. 
We’ve found that Nationwide offer the current account with the highest interest yield: 
Nationwide FlexDirect Current Account – 5pc 
Interest is paid on balances of up to £1,500, and only for the first 12 months. Additionally, you must pay at least £1,000 a month into the account.
Cash Isas work in a similar way to savings accounts, except that all interest you earn is tax-free – and you’re restricted to depositing up to £20,000 in each tax year.
Trading 212 Cash Isa – 5.1pc 
Savers can open this account with £1, and interest is paid daily.
Virgin Money 1-Year Fixed Rate Cash Isa – 4.61pc
The account can be opened with just £1. Interest is paid on maturity of the bond.
State Bank of India 2-Year Fixed-Rate Cash Isa – 4.5pc
The minimum deposit is £1,000. Interest is paid on maturity of the bond.
UBL UK 3-Year Fixed-Rate Cash Isa – 4.31pc
Account can be opened with £2,000. Interest is paid annually on the account’s anniversary.
Hundreds of savings accounts currently offer a rate that beats CPI inflation, which rose by 1.7pc in September, down from 2.2pc in August, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. 
However, savings rates have been gradually falling since the Bank Rate peaked at 5.25pc last summer and, given it was reduced to 5pc on August 1, they’re now beginning to fall further. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is expected to cut rates again at its next meeting on November 7, which could see savings rates fall even faster. 
As such, anyone looking to secure a generous account may need to act fast as many top rates don’t tend to hang around for long.
Alice Haine, of online investment platform
Bestinvest
by Evelyn Partners, says: “Easing inflation has varied implications for savers. On the one hand, more savers will achieve a real return on their savings, but on the other savings rates have already started to decline
following the base rate cut at the start of last month. Deals above the 5pc mark are becoming rarer and another interest rate cut would dampen savings rates even further.
 

“For now, the best savings rates are continuing to outstrip inflation, giving savers who hunted out the top deals a healthy real return on their nest eggs. Locking in a top rate now before
the best deals disappear could be a sensible strategy for those with cash languishing in an account delivering dismal returns to ensure their money is working as hard as possible.
 

“For those with sizeable sums in a savings account, adopting a more tax-efficient strategy that takes advantage
of the tax benefits that come with individual savings accounts (Isas) and pensions could be key in the run-up to the Budget and beyond.”
Use our calculator to see how much your savings account is earning you – and how much more interest you could get if you switched.
A current account is a transactional account that typically pays no interest but gives you a lot of flexibility in how often you access your money.
With a savings account, the bank pays you interest for keeping your money and therefore imposes some restrictions on how many withdrawals you can make.
A fixed-rate bond is a savings account with a fixed term, usually between one and five years. Until the duration of the bond is up, you cannot withdraw your funds, but in exchange for the commitment you will typically benefit from a higher rate.
The difference between an Isa and other savings accounts is that there is no tax charged on the interest. Everyone can save up to £20,000 a year tax-free in an Isa.
The first thing to consider is whether you might need access to the funds in an emergency. A current account or an easy-access savings account will give you this flexibility. 
However, you will get a higher rate if you are willing to lock away your funds for a set period (for example, in a bond). Generally, the longer the period, the higher the rate – however, this is not the case at the moment. Fixed-rate accounts with one and two-year terms are far higher than those with five-year rates.
The other thing to consider is whether you are at risk of exceeding your personal savings allowance. This is £1,000 for a basic-rate taxpayer and £500 for a higher-rate taxpayer. If you earn more than this in interest outside of an Isa, then you will have to pay income tax.
Use our savings tax interest calculator to work out whether you could breach your allowance, and if you should get an Isa.