Best Cash ISA - Trading 212
| Company |
Overall Rating |
Minimum Deposit |
ISA |
SIPP |
 Trading 212
|
 |
£1 |
Yes |
No |
Why I like Trading 212: Trading 212’s cash ISA offers the highest easy-access interest rate, before promos, in the U.K. at 4.9%, with a sleek app that lets you track daily interest earnings in real time.
Interest rate: Investing app Trading 212 launched a cash ISA in May 2024. The current interest rate of 4.9% is the highest of any U.K. provider, making it one of the best cash ISAs in my view.
Account type: Trading 212 offers an easy-access cash ISA, meaning you can withdraw your money or transfer your account at any time. The ISA is also flexible — meaning that if you withdraw money and put it back in during the same tax year then your overall allowance won't be reduced.
Trading 212 does not offer fixed-rate cash ISAs, which means there is no guarantee the interest rate will remain at this high amount. The rate is likely to drop if the Bank of England reduces the U.K. base interest rate again. Still, Trading 212’s cash ISA is currently the best-paying easy-access cash ISA available.
Account features: It’s easy to open an account or to transfer a cash ISA from another provider. The Trading 212 app is great, making it easy to keep track of your money. I like the fact you can see your daily earnings through interest whenever you open the app. You can also view your account on the Trading 212 website. Some providers are app-only.
If you are saving for the long-term, then Trading 212’s stocks and shares ISA may be a better fit for you. Trading 212’s stocks and shares ISA also pays 4.9% interest on any uninvested cash, so you can still earn interest on money not currently invested in the stock market. Explore more about its other offerings by reading my full review of Trading 212.
High interest rate and flexible ISA - XTB
| Company |
Overall Rating |
Minimum Deposit |
ISA |
SIPP |
 XTB
|
|
£0 |
Yes |
No |
Why I like XTB: XTB’s ISA pays 4.50% on uninvested cash in its stocks and shares ISA, combining high interest with flexible access and the option to invest in thousands of global stocks and ETFs.
Interest rate: XTB launched its ISA in December 2024 and, like Trading 212, is offering a generous interest rate of 4.50% to attract new savers and investors. Interest is calculated daily and paid monthly into your XTB ISA.
Account type: XTB’s ISA is a stocks and shares ISA, not a standalone cash ISA. But you earn 4.50% interest on cash sitting uninvested in the account, so it can be treated like a cash ISA. This interest rate is not fixed, so it can change at any time, depending on what the Bank of England base rate does. The XTB ISA is flexible, meaning you can take money out and put it back in without affecting your overall annual £20,000 ISA allowance. You must already have an XTB general investment account before you can open an ISA.
Account features: You can view your XTB ISA easily on the mobile app or website. Through the ISA, you can invest in more than 3,000 individual shares worldwide and 700 ETFs, where you can access a wide number of company shares instead of having to choose your own. If you don’t want to invest all or some of your money, you’ll still earn 4.50% on the uninvested cash.
Check out the investment platform's other features in my full review of XTB.
High interest rate for the first year - Plum
| Company |
Overall Rating |
Minimum Deposit |
ISA |
SIPP |
 Plum
|
|
£1 |
Yes |
Yes |
Why I like Plum: Plum’s cash ISA leads with a 5.06% rate for the first year, making it a top short-term option, though the rate drops after 12 months.
Interest rate: Plum’s easy-access cash ISA offers a market-leading 5.06% interest rate, although this drops to 3.79% after 12 months. If you have less than £100 in Plum’s cash ISA then the interest you’ll receive drops to 2.5%. It also drops to 2.5% if you make four withdrawals.
Account type: One point to note is that Plum’s cash ISA is not flexible, meaning withdrawals that are paid back in during the same tax year may not be allowed if you have already maxed out your £20,000 ISA allowance for the year.
Account features: Plum’s cash ISA accepts transfers in from other providers. However, you’ll get a lower interest rate of 3.79% rather than the top rate of 5.06%. Plum is a money management app that aims to help you save, invest, and manage your budget. Plum also has plans to soon launch a cash Lifetime ISA.
FAQs
Can I make withdrawals from a cash ISA?
Yes, you can make withdrawals from a cash ISA any time you like if you have an easy-access cash ISA.
If you have a fixed cash ISA, you can only withdraw money after a specified time or you’ll pay a penalty. Fixed-rate cash ISAs are where you agree to lock your money in an account for typically one, two, or five years in exchange for a guaranteed interest rate across that time.
What is the difference between a cash ISA and a savings account?
The difference is that interest earned in a cash ISA is tax-free. You will not have to worry about income tax.
With an ordinary savings account, you can earn up to £1,000 a year in interest before 20% income tax is due if you are a basic-rate taxpayer. This is known as the Personal Savings Allowance. Higher-rate taxpayers earning more than £50,270 a year can earn up to £500 in interest before income tax of 40% is due on interest above this. Additional rate taxpayers don’t get any Personal Savings Allowance so they will be paying 45% tax on interest earned from savings not held in an ISA.
ISAs should therefore be prioritised if you have a high level of cash savings and could go over the Personal Savings Allowance. You can pay up to £20,000 into ISAs each tax year.
How many cash ISAs can I have?
You can have as many as you would like. It used to be the case that you could only pay into one cash ISA each tax year, but new rules as of April 2024 mean you can now pay into multiple ISAs of the same type each year.
Can I have two different cash ISAs with different providers?
Yes, you can hold and pay into cash ISAs with different providers. The only limitation is that you can not go over the £20,000 annual ISA allowance overall.
Can you transfer stocks and shares to a cash ISA?
Yes, you can transfer a stocks and shares ISA to a cash ISA if you want to reduce your exposure to the stock market. To keep the money in the ISA wrapper, request a transfer rather than withdrawing money from your account and then paying it into a cash ISA.
To do so, go to the website of the cash ISA provider you want and fill in a transfer form. You can transfer all or only part of your savings. You can also transfer from stocks and shares ISA to a cash ISA with the same provider if they offer both – such as Hargreaves Lansdown. Your investments will have to be sold before the transfer, so the process can take a few weeks.
How much can I put into a cash ISA?
There are no overall limits on how much can be held in cash ISAs. However, there is a cap of £20,000 that can be paid into ISAs each year.
Are cash ISAs tax-free?
Yes, cash ISAs are completely tax-free which is their main appeal. Do be aware that there is always the chance that tax rules may change in the future.
When is the best time to open a cash ISA?
Any time that works for you! Ideally make sure you have maxed out your ISA savings as much as you can before the end of the tax year (5 April) as any unused allowance can’t be carried over to the next tax year.
Cash ISAs are typically for those who may need access to savings within the next few years and who don’t want to risk stock market uncertainty. If you’re saving for the long-term – five years plus – a stocks and shares ISA may be more suitable as there is typically a better chance of growth outpacing inflation.
Why you should trust us
Elizabeth Anderson has been a financial journalist for more than a decade. She’s written for major national newspapers, contributed to corporate reports and research, and reviewed dozens of share dealing platforms, SIPP providers, ISAs, and brokerage firms. Elizabeth started her career at Bloomberg and has worked for the BBC, The Telegraph, The Times and the i newspaper. She is passionate about helping people understand finance and investing. A keen investor herself, Elizabeth invests through general dealing accounts, ISAs and several SIPPs.
Steven Hatzakis is a well-known finance writer with 25+ years of experience in the foreign exchange and financial markets. He is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for Reink Media Group, leading research efforts for ForexBrokers.com since 2016. He has served as a registered commodity futures representative for domestic and internationally-regulated brokerages. Steven holds a Series III license in the US as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA).
All content on UK.StockBrokers.com is handwritten by a writer, fact-checked by a member of our research team, and edited and published by an editor. Our ratings, rankings, and opinions are entirely our own, and the result of our extensive research and decades of collective experience covering the U.K. brokerage industry.
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How we tested
At UK.StockBrokers.com, our online broker reviews are based on our collected quantitative data as well as the observations and qualified opinions of our expert researchers. Each year we publish tens of thousands of words of research and collect hundreds of data points while testing brokerage firms, share dealing platforms, SIPP providers, ISA providers, and other financial service providers relevant to U.K. investors.
Mobile testing is conducted on modern devices that run the most up-to-date operating systems available:
- For Apple, we use MacBook Pro laptops running the latest version of and the iPhone 15 running the latest version of iOS.
- For Android, we use the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra devices running Android OS 14.
All websites and web-based platforms are tested using the latest version of the Google Chrome browser.
Our researchers thoroughly test a wide range of key features, such as the availability and quality of trading platforms for web, desktop, and mobile, charting, real-time and streaming quotes, and educational resources – among other important variables. We also evaluate the overall design of the mobile experience, and look for a fluid user experience moving between mobile and desktop platforms.
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