What does your money earn at that rate?
You need: An amount and a rate. Nothing you type leaves this page.
What do you want to know?
Interest earned
- You put in£10,000
- Interest£400
- You end with£10,400
Interest credited once a year and left in the account, which is what AER means. Before any tax. Check whether tax applies to you.
The same money on the best rate we have verified
cahoot, Sunny Day Saver (Easy access). £100 more than at 4% over a year. Checked against the provider's own page.
Tell me when a verified rate beats 4%
We check every rate on our shelf against the provider's own page. When one we have verified passes the rate you typed, you get one email with the account.
The working behind the figure, with the maths shown rather than a shortcut.
How the answer is worked out
AER, the Annual Equivalent Rate, is the rate an account would pay if interest were added once a year and left in. A lump sum at 4% AER earns £400 on £10,000 in the first year, and £416 in the second because the first year's interest is earning too. That is the whole of compounding, and the calculator does it year by year rather than with a shortcut.
Monthly saving is different: each payment is in the account for a different length of time. £200 paid in at the start of each month for a year at 4% AER earns about £52, not £96, because the last payment has only been there a month. The calculator walks every month at the monthly rate that compounds to the AER, which is what a regular saver actually does with your money.
The goal modes run the same schedule backwards: how many months of £200 at 4% until £5,000, or what to pay in each month to reach £5,000 in two years. Interest is counted month by month in both.
What the best-rate line means
The line under the answer shows what the same money would earn on the best rate MoneyHQ has verified: a rate we read on the provider's own page, on a record that is live on our savings page, with a working link. It is not a rate someone remembered, and it disappears if nothing on the shelf qualifies.
Is the interest before or after tax?
Before tax unless you choose a tax band, when a second line shows what you would keep after the Personal Savings Allowance for that band. The tax on savings checker adds the starting rate for savings, which needs your income.
Does it matter if interest is paid monthly?
Not to the yearly total. AER already accounts for how often interest is added, so a 4% AER account pays 4% a year whether it credits monthly or yearly. Monthly crediting just means the money arrives in twelve pieces, which the toggle shows.
Why is my regular saver earning less than the rate suggests?
Because only the first payment is in the account for the full year. A regular saver paying 7% on £300 a month earns about £137 over the year, not £252, and that is correct, not a trick. The Saving monthly mode shows the real figure.
Does the calculator include inflation?
No. It shows what the account pays. Whether that beats inflation depends on the rate at the time, and the figure would be ours rather than the provider's, so it is left out on purpose.
How much interest will I earn on £50,000 in a year?
At 4% AER, £2,000 before tax; at 5%, £2,500. Type your own rate above for the exact figure, then use the tax checker to see how much of it is taxed: a basic rate taxpayer's £1,000 Personal Savings Allowance covers only part of it.
How do I calculate interest on savings?
Multiply the balance by the AER for a year's interest left in the account: £10,000 at 4% is £400. Over longer terms the interest earns interest too, and with monthly saving each payment only earns for the months it is in the account, which is what the calculator works through month by month.