Ensuring that your cash savings are earning the highest possible rate of interest is one of the simplest steps you can take to optimise your finances.

In March 2025, the best available interest rates are up to around five per cent. If you have £10,000 in savings, storing it in an account with that rate would leave you £500 better off after one year than storing it in an account that doesn’t pay interest (disregarding any fees).

While every bank sets its own interest rates, most are influenced by the Bank Rate (the UK’s official interest rate), which is decided by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), approximately every six weeks.

Currently, the Bank Rate is 4.5 per cent. However, it’s worth noting that the MPC will meet on 20 March 2025 to make its next decision.

Experts are unsure what they’ll decide but with inflation remaining an issue, maintaining the current level is certainly possible. If they cut the base rate though, banks would be likely to cut their own interest rates soon after.

Let’s take a look at the best accounts available now; rates are correct at the time of publishing but are subject to change or withdrawal. Visit account pages for full terms and ensure they suit your needs before opening.

Best Cash ISAs

Cash Isas currently offer some of the best interest rates of any UK savings accounts. So, if you plan to save no more than £20,000 – the Isa annual allowance for now – this year, one of the options below could be your best choice. If you have already used your ISA allowance this year, you’ll need to opt for a different savings account. Allowances reset in April.

Chip offers a flexible Cash Isa with a promotional 5.0 per cent interest rate for new customers for the first six months. After this, the standard rate of interest is 4.32 per cent. Chip also offers an Instant Access Account with a promotional rate of 4.58 per cent for new customers for six months, which then falls to 3.5 per cent.

Trading 212 offers a flexible Cash Isa with an interest rate of 4.5 per cent, which is available to all customers, not just new ones. There is no minimum balance and no limit on the number of withdrawals you can make – and Independent readers can get an exclusive code to gain a promotional rate which takes the overall return from Trading 212 to 4.78 per cent.

Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.
Capital at risk.

Terms and conditions apply.

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Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.
Capital at risk.

Terms and conditions apply.

Go to website

Also offering 4.78 per cent is Plum’s cash Isa, which includes a 1.24 per cent bonus – but this is just for new customers and only if they keep the account for 12 months. The rate drops to 2.5 per cent after four withdrawals or if your balance is below £100.

Moneybox offers a flexible Cash Isa with an interest rate of 4.77 per cent, which includes a bonus rate of 0.57 per cent for the first 12 months. However, your interest rate will be cut substantially if you make more than three withdrawals within 12 months, or during any periods where your balance is below £500.

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Best easy-access savings accounts

Easy-access accounts are those that have no restrictions on how frequently you can access your money, or how long you have to wait to access it.

If you regularly dip into your savings and don’t want to be penalised for it, this might be the type of account you need.

In our comparison, we’ve excluded some options with high introductory rates that fall to much lower ongoing rates after six months or less. So, our picks are:

Several bigger-name high-street brands and banks are paying between 4.25 and 4.4 per cent, including Tesco and Post Office, but again check when bonus rates expire and make sure to mark them in your calendar to change again.

Best fixed-term savings accounts

Fixed-term accounts usually offer higher interest rates than easy-access accounts and, in exchange, require you to lock your money away for a set period of months or years.

Currently, the best interest rates on fixed-term accounts are actually around the same as easy-access accounts, since the Bank Rate is expected to fall as the year progresses. Easy-access rates will likely fall too, while fixed-term rates are locked in for the duration.

Therefore, if you’re willing to lock your money away, choosing a fixed-term account could pay off over the longer term.

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Here are our some of the top accounts for different periods at present:

Remember that if your chosen account pays out at maturity, the interest earned counts toward that tax year, not the one when you open it.

Best notice savings accounts

With a notice savings account, you’ll only be able to access your cash after a specified notice period set by the provider. So, they’re easier to access than a fixed-term account but more restrictive than an easy-access account.

While more restrictive in general, the Plum 95-day Notice Savings Account, currently has the highest rate of any of the accounts we’ve reviewed for March, at 5.05 per cent.

That might be rewarding if you’re not sure exactly when you’ll need your money, but you know you can wait at least three months to get it.

Other notice accounts offer similar returns to accounts above, which probably renders them irrelevant due to the wait times involved.

When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.