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Checked By Richard Berry
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Even though UK interest rates have recently been reduced to 4.25%, you can still get some investing accounts will pay you interest on your cash of up to 5% to encourage you to keep it with them, rather than transfer it out to higher-paying interest bank accounts.
We have ranked and compared UK trading platforms and investing accounts that offer the highest interest on uninvested cash balances.
Name | Logo | Cash Interest | Min required | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews | CTA | Feature | Expand |
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Cash Interest 5% (Plus) – 0% | Min required £1 | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 4.6 (Based on 1,336 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
| Freetrade offers it’s maximum interest on up to £3,000 in uninvested cash under its Plus account subscription plan, which charges £9.99 a month. Freetrade’s lowest tier, the Basic Account plan, which is free to use, offers interest of 1% up to £1,000. The Basic plan offers a general account, while the Premium plan offers access to an ISA and personal pension. | ||
Cash Interest 4.34% | Min required £1 | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 4.8 (Based on 275 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
| Lightyear does not offer interest on uninvested cash instead, customers can earn money on cash by allocating their money to Vaults, or money market funds, which are managed by BlackRock. Money market funds are treated as investments and, as such, do not receive the standard Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) guarantee on balances up to £85,000 should they fail and lose money. It is rare for a money market fund to fail, but it could still happen, particularly in conditions of extreme market volatility. | ||
Cash Interest 4.30% – 1.5% | Min required $10k | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 3.4 (Based on 277 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
| To get interest in the UK on your free cash balance with eToro, you need a minimum balance of $10,000. The level of interest paid then scales according to a customer’s Club Tier, which is determined by how much money users keep in their account. To get the best interest rate, you need a “Diamond” account with a NLV (net liquidation value) of over $250,000. | ||
Cash Interest 4.25% | Min required £1 | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 3.9 (Based on 678 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
| IG pays interest on uninvested GBP up to £100,000 in a GIA, SIPP or ISA account. Unfortunately, you don’t earn interest on CFD or spread betting accounts so you will have to move your money across to earn on cash. I suspect this will change in the future, as IG cross-sells investment and trading products. Also, unlike other brokers, you have to be an active investor to receive interest, so you cannot treat it like a bank account and just leave your cash there without doing anything. | ||
Cash Interest 4.25% | Min required £1 | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 4.5 (Based on 38 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
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Cash Interest 4.05% – 0% | Min required £8k | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 4.4 (Based on 934 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
| IBKR offers good interest on uninvested cash, but you only get the full amount if you have over £100k on account, including cash and investment. It is not great for small accounts, though, as there is no interest payable on balances and portfolios below £8k. | ||
Cash Interest 4% – 1.55% | Min required £1 | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 4.2 (Based on 1,094 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
| AJ Bell pays fairly high interest on cash balances for their SIPP and Junior SIPP accounts. For stocks and shares ISAs, the maximum interest is higher than with share dealing accounts where interest rate payments are paid quarterly, and they are scaled. For example, if you had £50,000 cash in an AJ Bell account, £10,000 of this money would earn the ‘£0–£10,000’ interest rate, while the remaining £40,000 would earn the ‘Above £10,000’ interest rate. You can’t combine your SIPP and ISA balances to get better interest rates, as they are charged separately. | ||
Cash Interest 3.25% – 1% | Min required £1 | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 4.3 (Based on 1,119 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
| As with all Interactive Investor pricing structures, they are a little complex, as a lot of it is scaled and dependent on what type of account you have. For ii’s ISA, Junior ISA, and trading accounts, cash balances will receive a certain amount of interest on the first £10,000, then more on the value between £10,000 and £100,000. If you’ve got a very big account with over £1m, you can receive the best rate. | ||
Cash Interest 3.15% – 1.75% | Min required £1 | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 3.8 (Based on 1,758 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
| Hargreaves Lansdown has increased interest rates on its accounts, bringing it further in line with competitors. Among its accounts, the platform’s SIPP offers the best rate for uninvested cash followed by their ISA, then general investing account. | ||
Cash Interest 2% – 1.5% | Min required £5k | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 3.6 (Based on 73 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
| Saxo has considerabley dropped it’s rates from the 1st of May and now only pays a fixed rate on interest on balances over £5,000. To get their top interest on cash, you need between £1m and £2m in a VIP account. | ||
Cash Interest 2% | Min required £1 | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 4.1 (Based on 14 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
| CMC Invest offers customers a 2% gross interest rate (2.02% AER) on all uninvested, settled cash held across any of its investment accounts, including General Investment Accounts (GIA), Cash ISAs, Flexible Stocks & Shares ISAs, and SIPPs. Interest is calculated daily and paid monthly, with no fixed term, upper limit, or minimum balance requirements—whether you hold £50 or £50,000 in cash. | ||
Cash Interest 0% | Min required £0 | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 4.8 (Based on 1,616 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
| InvestEngine does not offer interest on uninvested cash. | ||
Cash Interest 0% | Min required £0 | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 4.6 (Based on 2,564 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
| Wealthify does not offer interest on uninvested cash. | ||
Cash Interest 0% | Min required £0 | GMG Rating | Customer Reviews 4.4 (Based on 235 reviews) | See Offer Capital at risk | Features:
| Moneyfarm does not offer interest on uninvested cash. |
Which brokers and investment platforms pay the most interest on uninvested cash?
Freetrade currently offers the most interest on uninvested cash at 5%, but you need to have a Plus subscription to get it.
Other platforms, including, IG, Interactive Brokers, Interactive Investor and Hargreaves Lansdown, also pay competitive interest rates, but these are tiered according to account balances.
Interest rates have been declining across the board, but you can still get some pretty decent returns with these investment accounts.
Richard Berry
Richard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in 2015. With a career spanning two decades as a broker, he brings extensive expertise and knowledge to the financial landscape. Having worked as a broker at Investors Intelligence and a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF Global (Man Financial), Richard has acquired substantial experience in the industry. His career began as a private client stockbroker at Walker Crips and Phillip Securities (now King and Shaxson), following internships on the NYMEX oil trading floor in New York and London IPE in 2001 and 2000. Richard's contributions and expertise have been recognized by respected publications such as The Sunday Times, BusinessInsider, Yahoo Finance, BusinessNews.org.uk, Master Investor, Wealth Briefing, iNews, and The FT, among many others. Under Richard's leadership, the Good Money Guide has evolved into a valuable destination for comprehensive information and expert guidance, specialising in trading, investment, and currency exchange. His commitment to delivering high-quality insights has solidified the Good Money Guide's standing as a well-respected resource for both customers and industry colleagues. To contact Richard, please ask a question in our financial discussion forum.