Chip vs Moneybox: rates, fees and how they save for you

The quick verdict

Pick Chip if you want easy access savings you can dip into whenever you like, a Cash ISA without a withdrawal limit, or the £50 referral bonus. Chip’s Instant Access Account pays 3.51% AER for 12 months, then 3.00% AER and lets you withdraw as often as you want.

Pick Moneybox if you mainly want a Cash ISA you will leave alone, you like the simplicity of round-ups, or you already use Moneybox for other products. Its Cash ISA headline is a touch higher than Chip’s for the first 12 months, and savings-only customers pay no fees at all.

Both are apps that place your money with partner banks, and both are covered by the FSCS on those deposits.

Chip and Moneybox side by side

Chip figures come from Chip’s own account and pricing pages. Moneybox figures come from its Simple Saver page, Cash ISA page and fees page, checked on 16 October 2026. Moneybox blocks automated checks, so its pages were read in a browser.

Rates are variable. New-customer boosts last 12 months, then the standard rate applies. Eligibility criteria apply. The £50 is for people who have never held a Chip account, who deposit £1,000 into an eligible account and keep at least £1,000 there for 90 days in a row.

Easy access rates: Chip is ahead

Chip pays more on easy access savings, and with fewer strings. Chip’s Instant Access Account pays 3.51% AER for 12 months, then 3.00% AER. It is a variable tracker, so its standard rate moves with the Bank of England’s Bank Rate. Chip’s Easy Access Saver pays 3.81% AER for 12 months, then 3.50% AER, in exchange for 3 penalty-free withdrawals in a 12-month period.

Moneybox’s Simple Saver pays 2.40% AER variable. That rises to 3.40% with its reward rate, which needs a balance in another qualifying Moneybox account, such as its Cash ISA. There is no 12-month boost, so the rate does not drop at the anniversary.

So the comparison depends on what else you hold. On its own, the Simple Saver’s 2.40% is lower than even Chip’s Instant Access standard rate of 3.00% AER. With the reward rate, Moneybox’s 3.40% is lower than Chip’s boosted 3.51% and higher than Chip’s standard rate, but you have to open and fund a second Moneybox product to get it.

On £10,000 for a year, that is roughly £351 at Chip’s boosted Instant Access rate, £340 at Moneybox’s reward rate and £240 at its base rate. Our savings interest calculator runs the numbers for your own balance, including the year after Chip’s boost ends.

Cash ISA rates: close, with different rules

Moneybox edges the headline in year one; Chip is more flexible, and its standard rate is higher than Moneybox’s afterwards. Chip’s Smart Cash ISA pays 4.68% AER for 12 months, then 3.50% AER. It is a flexible ISA with unlimited withdrawals.

Moneybox’s Cash ISA pays 4.72% AER variable for 12 months, then 3.45%, which includes a 1.27% bonus for 12 months from opening. It needs £500 to open, and Moneybox says the rate falls to the lower rate for the rest of the year after four or more withdrawals, or if you drop below £500.

Moneybox also has an Open Access Cash ISA with unlimited withdrawals. It pays 3.80% AER variable, including a 0.55% bonus for 12 months, which works out at about 3.25% once the bonus ends. That is the fairer like-for-like with Chip’s Smart Cash ISA, and Chip’s rate is higher than it in year one.

Simple illustration: today’s variable rates held for two years, a steady £10,000 balance and every bonus condition met. Rates will change.

Both have an annual ISA allowance of £20,000 to share across all your ISAs this tax year. For more ISA options, see our best Cash ISA apps comparison, and for how bonus rates fall away, our guide to introductory bonus rates.

Withdrawals

This is where Chip clearly wins. Chip’s Instant Access Account has unlimited withdrawals with no penalty. Its Smart Cash ISA has unlimited withdrawals too, and because it is flexible you can put money back in the same tax year without using more allowance.

Moneybox’s Simple Saver allows one withdrawal a month, paid next working day. That is not true instant access: if you need money twice in one month, the second withdrawal has to wait. The standard Moneybox Cash ISA penalises a fourth withdrawal in a year by cutting the rate.

Chip has its own limited account. The Easy Access Saver gives 3 penalty-free withdrawals in a 12-month period; from the fourth, the rate drops by 2.10% AER. Our page on Chip Instant Access vs Easy Access explains which suits whom.

Who holds your money and FSCS protection

Both use FSCS-protected partner banks. Chip savings are held with ClearBank and eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person, shared across all your money at ClearBank. Chip’s Smart Cash ISA is spread across a panel of UK banks including Barclays, Lloyds and HSBC.

Moneybox’s FSCS page says the Simple Saver is held with Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and Santander Financial Services, and its Cash ISAs with a panel that includes Nationwide, HSBC, Barclays and NatWest, with no more than half at any one bank. Cover is £120,000 per person per partner bank, and counts any money you hold directly with that bank. Moneybox adds that it claims on your behalf, which can take up to three months.

A panel can stretch your protection further than a single bank, as long as you do not already have big balances with the same banks. Chip’s Instant Access, Easy Access and Prize Savings share one limit at ClearBank. Read is Chip safe? for how that limit works in practice.

Fees

For savers, Moneybox is free and Chip is free unless you autosave. Moneybox says there is no fee for savings-only customers. Its monthly fee applies only if you hold an investment product, so a savings-only customer pays nothing.

Chip’s Basic plan is free. Autosave is charged at 45p per autosave, while recurring deposits are free on both plans. ChipX costs £5.99 every 28 days or £65.05 a year and includes unlimited autosaves. If autosave ran 3 times a week on Basic, the fees would come to about £70.20 a year. Our ChipX calculator shows whether paying for ChipX would be cheaper for you.

Autosave versus round-ups

Different philosophies. Moneybox’s round-ups take the spare change from your card spending, for example 40p on a £2.60 coffee, and add it to your Moneybox. Its Payday boost adds a set amount when you get paid. You always know why money moved.

Chip’s autosave looks at your connected current account and moves small amounts it calculates you can spare. You can adjust how much it saves or pause it. It can save more than round-ups would, because it is not tied to what you spend, but on the free plan it is charged at 45p per autosave.

For a fuller explanation of both methods, read how Chip autosave works.

Sign-up offers

Chip has a published referral bonus; Moneybox does not. At Chip, you and the person who referred you each get £50 when you deposit £1,000 or more into the Smart Cash ISA, the Instant Access Account or the Prize Savings Account, and keep at least £1,000 there for 90 days in a row. Note that if your balance drops below £1,000 at any point, the 90-day countdown starts again from zero. The Easy Access Saver does not count, and you must have never held a Chip account before. Everything has to be done within 120 days, and the bonus is paid at Chip's discretion.

Moneybox’s promotional terms cover offers shown in the app, but there is no public referral amount. Its Cash ISA bonus rate is effectively its sign-up incentive. We have no Moneybox referral link.

Where Moneybox wins

We earn from Chip referrals, so here is where Moneybox is honestly the better pick:

• No fees for savers. Round-ups and payday saving cost nothing extra if you only save, while Chip charges per autosave on its free plan.
• A slightly higher headline Cash ISA. 4.72% for 12 months is higher than Chip’s 4.68%, if you can keep £500 in and make fewer than four withdrawals.
• Round-ups you can follow. Saving the change from each payment is easy to understand and to budget for.
• A wider product range. Moneybox also offers a Lifetime ISA, which Chip’s savings range does not include.
• A broad ISA bank panel. With a cap on how much sits at any one bank, a large ISA is spread out.
• You have had Chip before. Chip’s referral bonus is only for new customers. See Chip alternatives.

Who should choose which

Still deciding? Our best savings apps page compares Chip and Moneybox with Plum, Trading 212, Monzo and Chase.