Dataset · updated monthly
UK business savings rates, net of cost
Every business savings rate we track, alongside the annual subscription you must pay to reach it — and what you are actually left with. Free to reuse with attribution.
Key findings
Figures anyone is welcome to cite, with attribution and a link.
£875 a year
Virgin Money produces the highest net return on a £25,000 reserve of any provider we track, at 3.50% AER with no plan fee to reach it.
3.50% AER
Virgin Money pays the highest rate available on a free tier, requiring no subscription at all.
3 of 18 providers
Starling, Airwallex, Zempler Bank pay no interest whatsoever on business balances.
7× gap
On a £25,000 balance, Virgin Money’s instant access account pays 3.50% while Lloyds pays 0.50% — £875 a year against £125, from two licensed UK banks with identical FSCS protection.
Bands up to £1m
NatWest advertises 0.85% to 1.46% and Barclays 1.05% to 1.51%, but the higher rates only begin at £1m. Almost every small business earns the bottom of the range.
Full dataset
Net yield modelled on a £25,000 balance. Rates marked unverified are our working figures and have not been confirmed against the provider’s own site.
| Provider | Free tier | Best rate | Cost to reach | Net on £25k | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgin MoneyInstant | 3.50% | 3.50% | — | £875 | verified |
| Allica BankInstant | 2.83% | 3.33% | — | £833 | verified |
| Wise BusinessNot a deposit | 3.50% | 3.50% | — | £612 | verified |
| OakNorth BankInstant | 2.35% | 2.35% | — | £588 | verified |
| MonzoInstant | 1.30% | 3.25% | £300 | £512 | verified |
| TideInstant | 2.00% | 2.00% | — | £500 | verified |
| MettleInstant | 1.46% | 1.46% | — | £365 | verified |
| HSBCInstant | 1.21% | 1.21% | — | £302 | verified |
| Revolut BusinessInstant | 0.00% | 2.15% | £240 | £298 | verified |
| Co-operative BankInstant | 1.06% | 1.06% | — | £265 | verified |
| BarclaysInstant | 1.05% | 1.05% | — | £262 | verified |
| ANNA MoneyInstant | 1.00% | 1.00% | — | £250 | verified |
| SantanderInstant | 0.80% | 1.00% | — | £250 | verified |
| NatWestInstant | 0.85% | 0.85% | — | £213 | verified |
| LloydsInstant | 0.50% | 0.50% | — | £125 | verified |
| StarlingNone offered | 0.00% | 0.00% | — | £0 | verified |
| AirwallexNone offered | 0.00% | 0.00% | — | £0 | verified |
| Zempler BankNone offered | 0.00% | 0.00% | — | £0 | verified |
Net yield by balance
The winner changes as the balance grows, because a fixed subscription is a shrinking proportion of a larger return. Green is best in that column.
| Provider | £5,000 | £10,000 | £25,000 | £50,000 | £100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgin Money | £175 | £350 | £875 | £1,750 | £3,500 |
| Allica Bank | £167 | £333 | £833 | £1,665 | £3,330 |
| Wise Business | £123 | £245 | £612 | £1,225 | £2,450 |
| OakNorth Bank | £118 | £235 | £588 | £1,175 | £2,350 |
| Monzo | £0 | £25 | £512 | £1,325 | £2,950 |
| Tide | £100 | £200 | £500 | £1,000 | £2,000 |
| Mettle | £73 | £146 | £365 | £730 | £1,460 |
| HSBC | £60 | £121 | £302 | £605 | £1,210 |
| Revolut Business | £0 | £0 | £298 | £835 | £1,910 |
| Co-operative Bank | £53 | £106 | £265 | £530 | £1,060 |
How much of Bank Rate do they pass on?
Every provider below earns Bank Rate on money it holds. This is how much of it reaches you, on the rate available without paying for a plan.
Method
Rates are taken from each provider’s own published pricing where we have been able to verify them, and marked unverified where we have not. We do not treat third-party comparison sites as authoritative, having previously published a rate from one that turned out to be more than double the provider’s actual figure.
Net yield is calculated as:
net = (rate × balance − extra annual plan cost) × access factor
The plan cost is the additional annual subscription required to reach that rate, over the cheapest usable plan — not the provider’s total cost. Access factors are instant 1.00, notice 0.90, fixed term 0.82, non-deposit 0.70.
Introductory and promotional rates are excluded. A four-month teaser is not a rate.
“Source: The Business Banking Expert, UK business savings rates, 2026-08-14.”
Change log
- 2026-08-14 — dataset first published. 18 of 18 rates verified against provider websites.
- 10 March 2026 — HSBC cut Business Money Manager instant access rates. The tier up to £100,000 fell from 1.33% to 1.21% AER, a 12 basis point reduction, with equivalent cuts at every band. Recorded from HSBC’s own summary box, which shows both the old and new rates.
- 4 August 2026 — Monzo corrected from 3.25% to 1.30% on Lite and Pro; 3.25% applies to Team only. Previous figure was taken from a third-party source and was wrong.
- 4 August 2026 — Starling recorded as paying nothing on business balances. Its advertised savers are personal products requiring a Starling personal current account.
Corrections are welcome and are noted here rather than made silently. Tell us if a figure is wrong.
Common questions
What is the average UK business savings rate?
Across the 18 providers we track, the mean best available rate is 1.57% AER and the mean rate on a free tier is 1.30%. The gap between those two figures is the amount providers charge, in subscription fees, to reach their advertised rate.
Which UK business accounts pay no interest at all?
Starling, Airwallex, Zempler Bank. On a £25,000 reserve that is several hundred pounds a year foregone against the best freely available rate.
How is net yield calculated?
Interest on the stated balance, minus the extra annual cost of the cheapest plan that unlocks that rate, multiplied by an access factor: instant 1.00, notice 0.90, fixed term 0.82, non-deposit 0.70. A rate you cannot reach for 95 days is worth measurably less than one you can draw tomorrow.
Can I reuse this data?
Yes. It is free to reuse, including commercially, with clear attribution to The Business Banking Expert and a link to this page. A CSV is provided above.