Regular Savings Calculator

Regular savings accounts take a fixed monthly deposit, usually somewhere between £1 and £500, and pay a higher introductory rate than instant-access accounts in exchange for that commitment. The interest maths differs from a lump-sum account because each deposit sits in the account for a different length of time. The first payment earns a full 12 months of interest, the second earns 11, and the last one earns a single month. Add those declining slices together and the effective return on everything you paid in works out at roughly half the headline rate.

The Annual Equivalent Rate on the front of the account is not wrong, it just describes something other than what most savers assume. Take an account advertising 6% at £200 a month. By the end of the year you have paid in £2,400, but the average balance across those months is only about £1,300, because early deposits sit there far longer than late ones. Interest comes to roughly £78, which is genuinely 6% on the average balance and about 3.25% on the total paid in. How often the bank credits that interest matters too, though far less. Monthly interest starts compounding at once, annual interest sits idle for up to 12 months, a difference usually under £5 on £2,400 at 6%.

The best headline rates in 2026 are reserved for existing customers rather than advertised to the open market. First Direct pays 7% to its current account holders on £25 to £300 a month, the Nationwide Flex Regular Saver pays 6.5% on up to £200 a month, and the Lloyds Club version pays 6.25% on £25 to £400. HSBC offers 5% to its own customers. Accounts open to anyone, from the likes of Atom, Coventry Building Society and Skipton, sit closer to 4% or 5%. Cash ISA regular savers cover a similar range and pay tax-free.

Because interest lands on the average balance rather than the full amount, the headline rate flatters the outcome at every level. Saving £300 a month at 7% for 12 months puts £3,600 away, but interest is earned on an average of roughly £1,800, giving about £126 and an effective return nearer 3.5%. That still beats easy access comfortably. Most accounts want an automatic monthly Direct Debit, penalise withdrawals during the 12 months by dropping the rate, and run for a fixed 12-month term before reverting to the bank's standard saver.

Nothing stops you holding one of these at each institution, and rate-chasers stack them deliberately. Running First Direct, Nationwide, Lloyds and HSBC together at £200 to £400 a month each puts £800 to £1,500 a month to work at 6% to 7%, worth perhaps £400 to £800 a year more than leaving it in standard savings. The price of entry is a current account at each bank, most of which expect £500 to £2,000 paid in monthly, and switching incentives of £150 to £200 usually cover the setup hassle.

Set the payment up as a standing order from your main current account, on the same day each month, the 1st or just after payday. A standing order is yours to pause or change, whereas a Direct Debit lets the bank pull the money, and some accounts insist on one. Put a calendar reminder at the 12-month mark, because most regular savers drop to 0.5% or 1% once the promotional year ends and the money quietly stops working.

A Cash ISA is the natural home for anything that outgrows these accounts. It pays 4% to 5% on the full £20,000 annual allowance, tax-free and for as long as you want to keep it there, rather than 6% to 8% on £200 to £400 a month for a single year. Premium Bonds are a third tax-free option, with the return left to chance. For most basic-rate taxpayers the £1,000 Personal Savings Allowance covers the interest anyway, so the net difference is small. On the £500 higher-rate allowance, the ISA starts to win once cash savings pass about £10k.