The top savings accounts (2026)

Winner: Santander Edge Saver

This account is head and shoulders above any other easy access account when it comes to the rate available – but it comes with a few catches.

Primarily, it’s that to get it you need to have the Santander Edge current account, and that has a £3 monthly fee which will eat into your interest earned. You also need to have two direct debits and pay in £500 every month.

However, there are two ways to stop this reducing what you actually receive. First, the current account also pays cashback on bills. This adds more than enough to cover the fee.

Alternatively you can avoid the fee completely as long as you don’t ever set up the two direct debits on the account. This is particularly handy if already earn cashback on bills, don’t pay any bills or if you’re hoping to open up two personal and one joint Saver as a couple. Technically Santander could force you to change accounts if you don’t set up the direct debits, but I’ve not heard of any instances. However, if you switch into Santander for a bonus, you’ll be required to add qualifying direct debits.

Another potential issue is the cap of £4,000 of savings that will earn interest, which means you won’t earn anything above this amount. Though for most people that’s more than enough, some will still need another account.

However, there is a work around if you’re a couple as you can open up a joint Edge current account to get two joint Edge Savers, meaning you can get £8,000 saved. If you want to double that again you can also open up personal Edge current accounts each to then open up an extra Edge Saver (just make sure you don’t add any direct debits to these extra accounts so you can avoid the fee).

Finally, the rate is only going to be a top option for one year. After 12 months the rate will drop by 2.5% (though since it’s variable it could drop more). However, after a year you can close down your existing Edge Saver and open up a new one a few days later to get the boosted rate for another year.

Despite all this, if you want to get the most interest on a lump sum and still have access to your cash, this is the best bet.

Top alternatives:

As good as the Santander Edge Saver sounds, those hoops could well put you off! Or you might have more than £4,000 you want to save.

Rates are not great right now following December’s base rate cut, though new Chase customers can get 4.5%, or might want to look at Atom’s 4.25% paying Cash ISA.

You can see the top list of other options in our Best Buys tables.

Winner: First Direct Regular Saver

You need to have a First Direct current account to access this account, but with up to £175 on offer for switching your bank, that feels like a no-brainer.

A big plus is that the rate is fixed for a year so if rates fall you won’t see any drop (though you’ll miss out on any increase, but that’s unlikely this year).

However, you won’t be able to withdraw any money from this account within that year without the whole account closing and forfeiting the interest.

Winner: Atom easy access Cash ISA

You won’t pay any tax on interest from savings held in a Cash ISA.

Though the allowance will change next year, in 2026 you can add £20,000 in to a Cash ISA each year. Some will also allow you to transfer in balances from other ISAs above that limit.

Though bear in mind that annual allowance is shared across all ISAs, so you might be better off using this type of account for investments.

The Atom Cash ISA is my current pick since there’s no new customer bonus rate, though do check out our ISA tables as you might be eligible for a slightly higher rate elsewhere.

Runner Up: Premium Bonds

Premium Bonds are best avoided if you’ve not used your PSA or ISA allowances. But if you have, especially anyone who’s a 45% rate taxpayer, then Premium Bonds are worth a look as all the winnings are tax free.

But despite the prize rate sitting at 3.6%, it doesn’t mean you’ll get that return. In fact, the lower your balance, the higher the chance that you’ll win nothing at all!

However, the more you have saved, the more chances you have to win, and the more likely you’ll get prizes approaching the rate. Here’s our full guide to how Premium Bonds work.