How much interest you will earn on £50,000 is likely to be determined by the type of savings account you have, the rate it pays and the level of access that you need. You can usually get a better rate if you're willing to give a certain amount of notice before making withdrawals or to commit to not making withdrawals at all for an agreed period. Plus, since you can invest £20,000 each year into an ISA, part of your savings can earn you tax-free interest. We scour savings rates daily to help you find a good home for your hard-earned £50,000.
We scan the savings market daily and automatically update the best offers highlighted throughout this guide.
With £50,000 in Chase's easy access account paying 4.5%, you could earn £2,250.00 over a year, or £187.50 per month. Stafford Railway Building Society's 4.26% 180-day notice account would pay £2,130.00 over a year (£177.50 monthly) on £50,000, while Market Harborough Building Society's 36-month fixed rate bond would pay £2,375.00 over a year (£197.92 monthly) – £7,468.80 at maturity.
If you opted to put the first £20,000 of your savings into an ISA, that could earn £900.00 over a year, or £75.00 per month in Hargreaves Lansdown's easy access cash ISA paying 4.5%. £20,000 in Dudley Building Society's 3.75% 30-day notice account would pay £750.00 over a year (£62.50 monthly), while £20,000 in Hargreaves Lansdown's 4.4% 2-year fixed-rate ISA would pay £880.00 over a year (£73.33 monthly).
Use the fields above to estimate your return.
If you haven't already used your 2025/2026 ISA allowance of £20,000, then consider splitting your £50,000 into 2 (or more) accounts so that you can make the most of your tax-free savings allowance.
In terms of tax-free savings, Hargreaves Lansdown is currently offering 4.5% on an easy access ISA. If you're happy to give 30 days' notice before making any withdrawals, then Dudley Building Society is currently offering 3.75%. If you're happy to consider a fixed-rate ISA (where you won't be able to access your savings during the fixed term), you could earn 4.4% over 24 months with Hargreaves Lansdown or 4.5% over 60 months with Hargreaves Lansdown.
For the remaining £30,000, outside of ISAs, you could earn 4.5% with easy access at Chase, 4.26% on Stafford Railway Building Society's 180-day notice account or 4.75% on Market Harborough Building Society's 36-month fixed-rate bond (note that you typically can't access your money at all with a fixed-rate bond).
| Best easy access | Chase Saver with Boosted Rate (4.5%) |
|---|---|
| Best cash ISA | Hargreaves Lansdown Active Savings Chetwood Bank - 5 Year Fixed Term ISA (4.5%) |
| Best fixed-rate bond | Market Harborough Building Society Fixed Term Bond10 (03.07.2029) (4.75%) |
| Best notice account | The Stafford Building Society Notice 180 Account (4.26%) |
| Best current account | Kroo (2.65%) |
Even greater returns may be possible with investment products such as a stocks and shares ISA, if you're willing to risk getting back less than you originally invested. Only consider stocks if you won't need to spend the money for several years (5 years is a widely-used rule of thumb).
Open an account in less than 5 minutes, then track it from your phone. Plus explore a range of features like round-ups, auto-saving, pots, goals and more.
£50,000 is well over the £120,000 limit that the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) pledges to compensate in the event that a UK bank or building society (authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority, which you can check on the Financial Services Register) goes bust.
This limit is per person, per bank (or building society). So bear in mind that if you already have £60,000 invested with say, Aldermore, and then you open a new Aldermore savings account with a further £50,000, then £25,000 of your overall holdings with Aldermore would not be covered in the event that the bank collapsed.
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Traditionally, current accounts haven't paid great interest, and many people prefer to hold their savings in a completely separate account. However, some current accounts are now offering interest rates capable of rivalling savings products. Bear in mind that if you've used your personal savings allowance for the 2025/2026 tax year (£1,000 of interest for basic rate taxpayers, £500 for higher rate and £0 for additional rate), then the interest you earn in a current account will be taxable.
Kroo is currently paying 2.65% on balances in its current account.
You can also check out today's bank switching offers, which pay out a one-off sum. You won't even need to transfer your £50,000 for this, but other "strings", like minimum monthly contributions, do usually apply.
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Find out more about the different types of savings accounts on offer.
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A cash ISA is a savings account where you never pay tax on the interest. Use our comparison table to find the best ISA rates – whether you want to lock cash in for a set time or keep it easy access.