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Have you won a premium bond prize in October 2026?
Search for your NS&I numbers in our premium bond prize-checker table
Matthew is an award-winning journalist, specialising in savings, tax and insurance.
Two premium bond holders have each won £1m in October's National Savings & Investments (NS&I) prize draw.
The jackpot winners are from Somerset and East Sussex. Plus, 96 other winners were picked for the next-best prize of £100,000.
If you didn't become a millionaire this month, you may still have struck it lucky with a smaller prize. You can check whether your numbers came up by using our table.
October's premium bond winners
A lucky winner from Somerset bought the first winning bond (681KK770541) and is part of a total holding of £16,000. The winner bought the bond in July this year.
The second winner, from East Sussex, bought their bond (331QY484133) in May 2018. They have a total holding of £50,000.
Which? is sent the details of the premium bond jackpot winners, alongside the prize draw data, the day before full results are made available to all premium bond holders via the app and online.
Check if you've won a prize this month
You can use our tables below to check whether you've won a prize worth £1,000 or more. You can search by region or enter your premium bond numbers.
These tables contain a lot of information, so the numbers may take a bit longer to load:
Prizes worth between £10,000 and £1m
Source: NS&I.
Prizes worth between £1,000 and £5,000
Source: NS&I.
There were 6,546,849 premium bond prizes paid out in the October 2026 draw, totalling £498,378,775. There were 96 prizes worth £100,000, but plenty of smaller cash rewards were also up for grabs – 6,523,373 were worth £500 or less.
- Find out more: best savings accounts 2026.
What are the odds of winning?
The odds of winning any prize currently stand at 21,000:1. This means that, on average, one prize would be expected for every 21,000 £1 bonds entered in a monthly draw.
However, this doesn't mean you're guaranteed a prize for every 21,000 bonds entered, and each eligible £1 bond has an equal chance of being picked.
The prize fund rate, which is 4.35%, is different from an interest rate on a savings account. It reflects the average return across all premium bonds, but individual returns depend on whether – and how much – you win. So you could earn more than 4.35%, less than this, or nothing at all.
- Find out more: should you get premium bonds?
Are there ways to improve your chances?
Some people believe newer bonds make you luckier. Although recent bonds win more often, that’s simply because more of them are in circulation.
Sales surged after the top prize rose to £1m in 1994, and low interest rates have encouraged more people to put their money into premium bonds instead of other savings products. Two increases to the prize fund rate in 2022 may also have prompted more purchases.
Older bond numbers are more likely to have already been picked as jackpot winners, as they’ve been entered into more draws over the years.
Ultimately, there’s only one guaranteed way to boost your chances: buy more bonds. The more you invest, the greater your odds of taking home a prize.
- Find out more: what is NS&I?
Are you better off with a savings account?
Unlike premium bonds, savings and Isa accounts offer guaranteed interest on your deposits.
Many savings products let you open with less than £1,000, so they may be a better option for people who don't have a huge lump sum to invest.
This table shows the top rates for fixed-term and instant-access cash Isas and savings accounts. Results are ordered by term and exclude products that restrict opening or withdrawals.
| Instant access | Cahoot | Cahoot Sunny Day Saver | 5% (a) | n/a | £1 | Internet | Monthly, yearly |
| Instant access cash Isa | RECOMMENDED PROVIDER Charter Savings Bank | Easy Access Cash Isa | 4.26% | 82% | £1 | Internet | Monthly, anniversary |
| One-year fixed rate | Union Bank of India (UK) Ltd | Union Premier Bond | 5.12% | n/a | £1,000 | Internet | On maturity |
| One-year fixed rate cash Isa | OakNorth Bank | Fixed Rate Cash Isa | 4.91% | n/a | £1 | Internet, mobile app | Monthly |
| Two-year fixed rate | OakNorth Bank | Fixed Term Savings Account | 5.15% | n/a | £1 | Internet, mobile app | On maturity (compounded annually) |
| Two-year fixed rate cash Isa | Tandem Bank | Fixed Rate Cash Isa | 5.03% | n/a | £0 | Mobile app | Monthly |
| Three-year fixed rate | Thisbank | Fixed-Term Savings Account | 5.18% | n/a | £100 | Internet, mobile app | Yearly |
| Three-year fixed rate cash Isa | Tandem Bank | Fixed Rate Cash Isa | 5.04% | n/a | £0 | Mobile app | Monthly |
| Four-year fixed rate | RECOMMENDED PROVIDER Aldermore | 4 Year Fixed Rate Account | 5.17% | 74% | £1,000 | Internet | Monthly, yearly |
| Four-year fixed rate cash Isa | UBL UK | 4 Year Fixed Rate Cash Isa | 3.91% | n/a | £2,000 | Branch, internet, mobile app, postal | Monthly, quarterly, anniversary, on maturity |
| Five-year fixed rate | DF Capital | 5 Year Fixed Deposit | 5.35% | n/a | £1,000 | Internet | Yearly or on maturity |
| Five-year fixed rate cash Isa | Shawbrook Bank | 5 Year Fixed Rate Cash Isa | 5.25% | 65% | £1,000 | Internet | Monthly, anniversary |
Table notes: rates sourced from Moneyfacts on 1 October 2026. (a) The Sunny Day Saver account offers 5% AER on balances up to £3,000 for 12 months, after which funds transfer to a Cahoot Savings account at 1%. Provider customer score is based on savers' overall satisfaction with the brand and how likely they are to recommend it to others. n/a means the sample size was too small for us to generate a provider score.
Compare savings accounts
Find the right savings account for you using the service provided by Experian Ltd
Compare and chooseWhat about NS&I savings?
NS&I does offer a range of savings and Isa accounts. However, its top rates tend to be lower than those offered by competitors.
One of NS&I's main advantages, however, is that HM Treasury backs the funds, so your money is 100% secure.
Other banks and building societies are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), up to £120,000 per person, per institution (meaning some brands share protection).
With NS&I you’re fully protected up to the maximum deposit limit on the account. For the Direct Saver instant-access account, that’s up to £2m.
- Find out more: FSCS and how it protects your savings.
NS&I to repay millions after bereavement failures
In March 2026, it was revealed that NS&I is expected to pay back hundreds of millions of pounds to the families of customers who have died.
This follows an error in processing bereavement claims that failed to identify all NS&I products linked to some customers. Around 37,500 bereavement cases are thought to be affected, with missing payments estimated to total up to £476m.
This meant that some savings and premium bond prizes weren't paid out or were delayed, leaving families waiting for money owed to estates.
NS&I has now published its delivery plan. It's currently contacting affected estates about reimbursement and compensation. Payments will begin shortly after the letters are sent and received.
- Find out more: NS&I bereavement failures: what you need to know.
