Best accounts revealed as savers warned they could be losing out
Millions of cautious savers are sleepwalking into a financial loss by leaving their money languishing in low-paying bank accounts.
These accounts pay interest at around just 1%, which means they are losing money when set against the higher rise in inflation and the cost of living.
By contrast, some of the best easy-access deals pay more than four times as much, new research reveals.
Analysis by TotallyMoney, carried out by Moneycomms, shows that someone with the average savings pot of £17,365 would earn just £149 a year if their money was left in one of the poorest-paying easy-access accounts offering around 0.86% to 1.00%.
However, this same saver could rake in a much higher £714 a year by switching to the top no-restrictions easy-access account paying 4.11%. That is a difference of £565 a year - simply by shifting savings to a new account.
Yet millions appear reluctant to act. The research shows 37% of people have not switched savings accounts for at least five years, while 27% have never switched at all.
Big banks lag badly behind best deals
The problem is particularly acute among customers of the UK's biggest high-street banks.
The so-called Big Five - Barclays, NatWest, HSBC, Lloyds and Santander - are paying an average of just 1.17% to 1.29% on their easy-access savings accounts, the research found.
That leaves savers well adrift of inflation, which has climbed to 3.4%, meaning any account paying less than that is effectively shrinking the real value of savings.
TotallyMoney says many savers wrongly assume loyalty is rewarded - when in reality it often costs them dearly.
How the top savings rates compare to the big banks - interest paid per year
Balance | Top Easy Access | Av. top 50 | Av. | Av. 20 lowest |
£100 | £4 | £4 | £1 | £1 |
£250 | £10 | £10 | £3 | £2 |
£500 | £21 | £20 | £6 | £4 |
£1,000 | £41 | £40 | £13 | £9 |
£2,500 | £103 | £99 | £32 | £22 |
£10,000 | £411 | £397 | £129 | £86 |
£15,000 | £617 | £596 | £194 | £129 |
£17,365 | £714 | £689 | £224 | £149 |
£20,000 | £822 | £794 | £258 | £172 |
£25,000 | £1,028 | £993 | £323 | £215 |
£50,000 | £2,055 | £1,985 | £645 | £430 |
£85,000 | £4,932 | £4,764 | £1,548 | £1,032 |
Moneycomms.co.uk research conducted on behalf of TotallyMoney January 2026 |
Accounts paying some of the lowest rates
Bank | Account | Rate |
TSB | Easy Saver | 1.10% |
Barclays | Everyday Saver | 1.06% |
Co-op Bank | Select Access | 1.06% |
Dudley Building Society | Instant Tracker | 1.05% |
Earl Shilton B S | Instant Access | 1.00% |
NS&I | Investment Account | 1.00% |
The latest research stresses that switching savings accounts is usually straightforward, does not affect credit scores, and can deliver an immediate uplift in returns.
With interest rates expected to come under pressure this year, savers are being urged to act sooner rather than later - or risk seeing their cash quietly eroded by inflation while banks pocket the difference.
The best east access savings accounts - according to moneycomms.co.uk - currently on the market are offered by smaller and lesser known financial companies such as Spring, Kent Reliance and Snoop.
Provider Account Rate| Spring | Easy Saver | 4.11% | More info |
| Charter Savings Bank | Easy Access Savings (70) | 4.06% | More info |
| Kent Reliance | Easy Access Savings | 4.05% | More info |
| Snoop | Easy Access Savings | 4.00% | More info |
| GB Bank | Easy Access (3) | 4.00% | More info |