Best children's savings accounts 2025

Children's savings accounts often have much more generous headline interest rates than adult accounts. However, they sometimes come with caveats, such as relatively small maximum deposits, so make sure the account works for your circumstances before you apply.

The age range of children that a bank or building society is willing to accept can also vary, so check whether your child is the right age for the account.

This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the terms and conditions of the savings account provider before committing to any financial products. Please note that minimum and maximum deposit amounts vary, even across products with the same rate, so check the full details before you opt for a new account.

Best children's easy-access savings accounts compared

If you want your child to be actively involved in managing their own money, an easy-access account is the obvious choice. As the name suggests, you or your child can add and withdraw money at any time.

But what you gain in flexibility you often lose in interest, with rates tending to be variable and often (although not always) lower than those of regular savers and fixed-rate accounts.

Still, these accounts are ideal if your child wants to save their pocket money for a specific treat.

The table shows the best instant-access children's savings accounts available, ordered by rate. 

Providers are fully covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), and the accounts are available nationally. It's worth checking the rates paid by smaller building societies in your area to see if they can do any better.

Best children's regular savings accounts

Regular savings accounts tend to pay the best rates, but access is limited and you're required to pay in money each month.

Most pay a fixed rate of interest, so the rate won't change during the term. But if the rate is variable, the lender could move it up or down at any time.

Banks sometimes reduce the interest rate if you miss a monthly payment, but none of the accounts in our table do this.

Best children's fixed-rate savings accounts

Fixed-rate savings accounts, also known as bonds, require you to tie your money up for a specific term - typically between one and five years.

Withdrawals are generally not permitted at all, and providers that do allow you to take money out will charge a penalty.

Usually, the reward for this inflexibility is a higher interest rate, but there are only a handful of fixed-rate accounts for children on the market, and these can currently be beaten by the best easy-access accounts or regular savers.

Equally, some adult fixed-rate accounts are open to savers of any age, so there may be better returns available.

How do children's savings accounts work?

Children's savings accounts generally work in the same way as adult ones. However, you'll need to check with individual providers to see how each account can be opened and managed.

Usually, a child's parent or legal guardian will need to either open the account themselves or accompany their child during the process, but the child may be able to manage the account themselves as they get older.

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Is it better to save into a Junior Isa instead?

You may prefer to make the most of your child's tax-free Junior Isa allowance every year (£9,000 in 2025-26).

Isas are an excellent way to keep savings tax-free in the long term. Junior Isa money is locked away until the child turns 18 - at which point it converts to an adult Isa and the child has full control over the money.

However, in most cases, your child won't pay tax on savings anyway, so it makes sense to check rates across the market.

• Find out more in our guide to the best Junior cash Isas.

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Do children pay tax on savings?

Theoretically, yes, but children are entitled to income tax allowances - including the new personal savings allowance - just like adults.

That means, for the 2025-26 tax year, children will only pay tax if they earn more than £18,570 a year - made up of the £12,570 personal allowance, the £5,000 starting rate for savings and the £1,000 personal savings allowance.

One word of warning is that money given by parents and guardians and saved in a non-Isa account is taxable if it generates interest of more than £100 a year (per parent). This won't apply to gifts from other family members.

We explain the tax children pay on their savings, and the parents' '£100 rule' in our children and income tax guide.

Are there bank accounts for children?

Current accounts aimed at children are another useful tool for developing money-management skills and can be opened from the age of six.

Many come with the option of giving the child a debit card or cash card. Some also pay interest on balances, but rates tend to be lower than those on top savings accounts.

• Find out more in our guide to the best children's bank accounts.

 About our savings provider research

Our research is based on a survey of 6,008 UK adults who hold a personal savings account in August 2025. Fieldwork was carried out online by Deltapoll, and the data has been weighted to be representative of people who hold a savings account.

The 'provider customer score' reflects how satisfied customers are with their provider and their likelihood to recommend it. The average score is 70%. 

Providers must have a minimum sample size of 50 for inclusion. The sample size for the 39 brands in our survey are as follows: AA (73), Aldermore (83), Atom Bank (93), Bank of Ireland UK (58), Bank of Scotland (149), Barclays Bank (971), Charter Savings Bank (80), Chase (271), Chip (63), Coventry BS (159), first direct (185), Halifax (641), HSBC (528), Kent Reliance (54), Leeds BS (63), Lloyds Bank (758), M&S Bank (84), Marcus by Goldman Sachs (120), Metro Bank (114), Moneybox (69), Monzo (236), National Savings & Investments (NS&I) (108), Nationwide BS (949), NatWest (546), Plum (59), Post Office Money (62), Revolut (142), Royal Bank of Scotland (131), Santander (591), Shawbrook Bank (51), Skipton BS (77), Starling Bank (74), Tesco Bank (154), The Co-operative Bank (97), Trading 212 (105), TSB (157), Virgin Money (158), Yorkshire Building Society (152), Zopa (91).

For the full results, check our guide to the best savings rates and providers.