Name | Logo | Bonus Rate | Normal Rate | Flexible | Customer Reviews | CTA | Feature | Expand |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bonus Rate 4.1% | Normal Rate 4.1% | Flexible No | Customer Reviews 3.7 (Based on 6 reviews) | See Offer £1 Minimum | Features:
| Tembo Money Expert Review: Affordability & Help To Buy Your First HomeProvider: Tembo Money Verdict: Tembo Money specialises in helping to buy your first home with expert mortgage advice combined with top paying Lifetime and Cash ISA. Is Tembo Money any good? Yes, in a nutshell, it’s a really slick app and service that can help those with affordability issues get on the property ladder sooner. As well as their online and personal mortgage brokerage service they also have to of the best savings accounts on the market. The Tembo Lifetime ISA comes with excellent rates and the Government 25% top up and for when you have used up your £4,000 LISA allowance there is also a great paying Cash ISA. When I spoke to Richard Dana the CEO and founder of Tembo for this review, he highlighted that the key benefit of Tembo’s serivce is that it is all in one place and they can manage the entire process of savings to buying your first home. The savings accounts don’t have any withdrawal penalties, there are no cheeky intro rates and as an added bonus Tembo offer free mortgage advice for all savings account holders, which is a saving of up to £749. Pros
Cons
Overall4.7 | ||
Bonus Rate 4% | Normal Rate 4% | Flexible Yes | Customer Reviews 4.8 (Based on 275 reviews) | See Offer £1 Minimum | Features:
| |||
Bonus Rate 3.95% | Normal Rate 3.95% | Flexible Yes | Customer Reviews 4.1 (Based on 14 reviews) | See Offer £1 Minimum | Features:
| CMC Invest Cash ISA now pays 3.95% AER interestAccount: CMC Invest Cash ISA Description: CMC Invest is an excellent choice for savers as it has kept close to the top of the rate tables with a cash Individual Savings Account (ISA) offering a competitive interest rate of 3.95% AER. The CMC Invest cash ISA can be opened through the investment app with as little as £1 in funds, with the variable interest rate calculated daily and paid monthly. Is the CMC Invest Cash ISA any good? CMC Invest’s Cash ISA offers a flexible and fairly competitive option for savers who want both access and decent interest, though it’s not without trade-offs. Its headline rate is 3.95% AER (variable), as of 10 September 2025. This rate is lower than earlier promotional or higher-tier rates but still attractive compared with many other easy-access ISAs. The Cash ISA only requires £1 to open, allows you to withdraw and replace money within the same tax year without eating into your ISA allowance, and has no monthly fee (aside from a possible charge for urgent withdrawals). These features make it a good contender for those who like simplicity and flexibility, especially if they already use CMC Invest as an investment accounts. However, if you just want the highest savings rate on a fixed term or locked savings rate, there may be other providers who beat it, Tembo for instance, pays 4.1%. But, CMC Invest does also have a stocks and shares ISA where you can get significantly better returns in the stock market compared to in a savings account. Is the CMC Invest Cash ISA safe? Yes, CMC Invest’s Cash ISA has taken steps to ensure safety of customer funds. The platform is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), meaning it must comply with rules about how client money is managed. Its ISA terms confirm that it is a flexible ISA in accordance with ISA regulations, including that withdrawals and re-deposits within a tax year do not count against your annual allowance. Moreover, the cash held in the Cash ISA is now held on deposit with NatWest. Deposited cash with a bank qualifies for protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000 per person per banking group, meaning your cash is insured in case the bank fails. This makes CMC’s Cash ISA a “standard” Cash ISA in terms of protection for savers. Overall, CMC Invest’s Cash ISA is a good choice for many who want a flexible, easy-access Cash ISA with a solid rate and minimal fuss, especially if you like having your savings and investments under one roof. It might not be the best choice if you only care about maximising rate for money you’re unlikely to touch. Pros
Cons
Overall5 | ||
Bonus Rate 3.91% | Normal Rate 3.91% | Flexible Yes | Customer Reviews 4.4 (Based on 235 reviews) | See Offer £1 Minimum | Features:
| Moneyfarm Cash ISA Review: 3.91% AER Tax Free SavingsIs Moneyfarm's Cash ISA any good? Yes, we still rate the Moneyfarm Cash ISA as excellent, offering a secure, flexible, and fee-free savings option that beats most high-street banks. Interest is calculated daily and paid without penalty, provided you remain within the withdrawal limits and meet the balance threshold. The Cash ISA sits alongside Moneyfarm’s Stocks & Shares ISA, allowing savers to split their ISA allowance between low-risk cash savings and long-term market investments – all under one provider. This makes it ideal for customers who want to manage risk by diversifying within the ISA wrapper. If you want to make more money in the longer term go for the investment ISA option, as your money will grow with the stock market, which over time always outperforms cash. Transfers from other Cash ISAs are now accepted – a recent and welcome addition. You can consolidate your ISA pots fee-free and benefit from the full variable interest rate. Transfers don’t count towards the £20,000 annual ISA allowance, meaning you can make the switch at any time. Although Moneyfarm is not a bank, client cash is securely held with regulated banking partners or invested in Qualified Money Market Funds. Funds are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000, offering peace of mind in the event of insolvency. In summary, Moneyfarm’s Cash ISA remains one of the best options on the market for tax-free savings. It’s competitive, flexible, protected, and now more accessible with the addition of free ISA transfers. Pros
Cons
Overall5 | ||
Bonus Rate 3.61% | Normal Rate 3.61% | Flexible Yes | Customer Reviews 4.6 (Based on 2,564 reviews) | See Offer £1 Minimum | Features:
| Wealthify Cash ISA Pays 3.61% AER / 3.55% Tax-freeIs Wealthify's Cash ISA Any Good? Rates: You get good interest rates with Wealthify’s Cash ISA, which currently pays 3.61% AER / 3.55% tax-free p.a (variable/paid monthly), which is only a little bit less than the Bank of England base rate of 4%. . As Wealthify’s Cash ISA interest rate is variable, the amount of money you get monthly will go up and down in line with any rises or falls in the Bank of England’s base rate. But, the good thing about saving with Wealthify is that if rates go down again, you can switch into investments. One of the things that came up when I interviewed the then Wealthify CEO Andy Russell, back in 2020 was that it’s hard to educate people to invest rather than save, so hopefully, this may be people’s first step into a wider world of investing. Market Access: Wealthify’s savings accounts are managed by ClearBank (which also powers other cash ISAs including those of Chip, Allicia Bank & Raisin). But, that’s one of the things I like about Wealthify, it does the hard work for you by picking the bank account you save in, so you don’t have to make too many decisions. However, there is a downside to Wealthify’s Cash ISA. The £85,000 Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection that you usually get with savings accounts applies to all the money you have saved with ClearBank. So, if, for example, you have £150,000 spread across savings accounts powered by ClearBank with Wealthify, Chip, Allica Bank and Raisin and ClearBank goes bust only £85,000 is covered by the FSCS. If you have a Wealthify Investment ISA, though, you do get the whole £85,000 FSCS cover in case Wealthify goes bust. ClearBank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (No. 754568). Across all your ClearBank products, up to £85,000 of eligible deposits is protected by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If you want to spread your savings across multiple banks you could consider using a savings platform, like Hargreaves Lansdown Active Savings or AJ Bell Cash Hub. Wealthify’s Cash ISA is flexible so you can take money out if you need it and put it bank in again without it reducing your allowance, as long as it’s before this year’s ISA allowance deadline. The minimum funding for the ISA is £1. App & Platform: I’ve always found the Wealthify apps and website really easy to use. Customer Service: Even though Wealthify’s Cash ISA is an online savings account with no branches and is provided by a third party (ClearBank) you can still phone the nice people who work for Wealthify in Wales if you have any problems. Research & Analysis: Some good guides on how cash ISAs work and blogs about investing for when (and if) you want to take on more risk for potentially better returns. Pros
Cons
Overall4.5 |
What are Cash ISAs?
You can save up to £20,000 each tax year – your ISA allowance – in a cash ISA without paying tax on any of the interest you earn on your savings, and you don’t have to declare it on your tax return. ISAs are useful for high earners with a lot of savings who might not be covered by the personal savings allowance, which lets you earn £1,000 of savings interest tax-free as a basic-rate tax payer, or £500 if you’re in the higher-rate band.
Cash ISAs can be either variable-rate or fixed-rate accounts. Variable means the rate can change depending on what the Bank of England base rate is, while a fixed-rate account offers you an unchanged rate for a certain time period, but you’ll usually have to lock your money away for 1-5 years.
A no-notice, variable-rate cash ISA lets you access your money at any time, or you could go for one with a notice period or a fixed term for a better rate, but the interest rate you can earn is subject to change.
Some ISAs are “flexible”, which means that if you withdraw some money from them, you can put that amount back into the ISA in the same tax year without affecting your £20,000 limit. If your ISA isn’t flexible, every deposit will count towards your annual £20,000.
- Find out more: The Best Flexible ISA Rates
Calculate Your Cash ISA Returns
Use our Cash ISA returns calculator to see what your tax-free savings will be worth in the future based on your initial and regular contributions.
When using this ISA calculator, please take into consideration that you get tax relief only on up to £20,000 a year.
Are Cash ISAs Worth It?
Yes, Cash ISAs are definitely worth it compared to keeping your money in a traditional savings account, as your profits are tax-free.
More and more people are saving as Cash ISAs are growing in popularity; in May 2025, savers deposited £3.9 billion, according to the Bank of England.
Overall cash ISA deposits rose by £4.3 billion, while £2.4 billion was pulled from interest-paying easy access accounts and £1.9 billion from fixed-rate accounts. The average fixed-rate savings fell to 3.92%, and easy access rates dipped to 1.96%.
How To Get The Best Cash ISA Rates
Interest rates move around but headline rates are also used to entice new customers to open accounts. You can take advantage of this to get the best cash ISA rates for your savings.
Here are three top tips to make sure you get the best cash ISA rates:
- Avoid high street bank cash ISAs, the rates are normally not as good as start-up or challenger banks.
- Use comparison tools, our cash ISA returns calculator to make sure it is worth while switching accounts (as you may lose a bonus)
- Set a yearly reminder to review your ISA rate and switch if your provider cuts interest or better deals emerge.
Different Types of Cash ISA
Fixed vs variable-rate vs uninvested cash ISAs
With variable cash ISAs, the interest rate may change based on the underlying rate set by the Bank of England so it’s important to understand that the interest rate you receive can change.
With fixed-rate cash ISAs the interest rate is fixed for a certain time and you are guaranteed to receive that rate of income.
Some ISA providers offer interest on uninvested cash. These are generally stocks and shares ISA accounts that pay interest if you have cash on account – money that you haven’t yet used to buy investments. Investment platforms can offer better cash interest rates as an incentive for you to open an account as they hope that customers will then go on to manage their investments through them.
How Do Cash ISAs Work?
You can open and hold as many ISAs as you like but you can pay in a maximum of £20,000 per tax year across all of them. That £20,000 ISA allowance renews each tax year. You can also transfer your money from one ISA to another ISA that pays a better interest rate.
Just remember that you mustn’t withdraw the money in cash and pay it into the new account. You have to do an actual ISA transfer, straight from one ISA to another, otherwise you lose the tax benefits.
Advantages of Cash ISAs
- The main advantage of a variable rate cash ISA is that you don’t pay tax on the income you receive.
- They can be flexible and easy access, so you can get your savings when you need them, although some accounts can have a fixed term and still pay a variable rate.
- Your savings are protected up to £85,000 in the event your provider collapses, as long as it’s regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). All the providers in this guide are FCA-regulated.
- If you save for longer in a fixed-rate account, you may get better rates. But if you need to withdraw your money early, you may have to pay a penalty or the account may be closed.
Disadvantages of Cash ISAs
- The returns may not be as good as a stocks and shares ISA, although this depends on the performance of the stock market.
- Cash ISAs don’t always offer the best interest rates – as the product is tax efficient, they are more expensive for providers to operate. So you may find you get a better interest rate with a regular savings account or a fixed-rate bond.
- If you have a variable-rate cash ISA, the rate can change. So if the Bank of England’s base rate falls, your rate will likely follow.
- With a fixed-rate ISA, you may not be able to access your cash for a fixed term, and this can work against you if rates go up and you’re locked in to a lower-paying deal. Depending on whether you think interest rates will go up or down, you could choose a longer or shorter fixed term for your ISA.
Cash ISA Alternatives
If you have already used up your ISA allowance or want to see if there are better saving account interest rates, Hargreaves Lansdown offers an Active Savings account, where you can save across a range of different savings accounts without having to open up a new account each time.
We have also listed below some of the latest saving account switching offers and providers with some of the best interest rates for your savings.
Savings Platform | Best Rate | Savings Accounts | Minimum Deposit | Customer Rating | More Info |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.35% | 80+ | £1 | 5.0 (Based on 2 reviews) | See Rates | |
4.31% | 60+ | £1 | 3.8 (Based on 1,759 reviews) | See Rates | |
4.32% | 200+ | £10,000 | 4.3 (Based on 3 reviews) | See Rates | |
4.32% | 31 | £1,000 | 4.2 (Based on 1,094 reviews) | See Rates |
You may also be interested in these other types of savings accounts: