Chip vs Monzo savings: an app or your bank?

The quick verdict

Pick Chip if you want a better rate without paying a monthly plan, and you are happy to save through a separate app. Chip connects to whichever current account you already have, and its Instant Access Account pays 3.51% AER for 12 months, then 3.00% AER. The Smart Cash ISA pays 4.68% AER for 12 months, then 3.50% AER.

Pick Monzo if you already bank with Monzo and value having everything in one app, if you want free round-ups, or if you want the certainty of a fixed-rate Cash ISA. Monzo’s savings rates rise with its paid plans, so the best rates cost a monthly fee.

Many people end up with both: a Monzo current account for spending and a savings app for the money they are putting aside. There is nothing stopping you doing that.

Chip and Monzo side by side

Chip figures come from Chip’s own account and pricing pages. Monzo figures come from its savings and ISAs page, Instant Access Cash ISA page and plans page, checked on 16 October 2026.

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.

Instant access rates

Chip pays more than Monzo’s free plan, both during the boost and after it. Chip’s Instant Access Account pays 3.51% AER for 12 months, then 3.00% AER. Monzo’s Instant Access Pot pays 2.75% AER variable on the free plan.

Monzo’s rate goes up with its plans: Extra 3.00%, Perks 3.25% and Max 3.50%. There is no new-customer boost, so the rate does not drop after a year. Pots have no minimum, hold up to £1,000,000 and pay interest monthly.

On today’s rates, Chip’s Instant Access standard rate of 3.00% AER is the same as Monzo Extra’s 3.00%, and Monzo only beats Chip’s standard rate on Perks or Max. Chip’s Easy Access Saver pays 3.81% AER for 12 months, then 3.50% AER, if you can live with 3 penalty-free withdrawals in a 12-month period.

Is Monzo Max worth it for savings alone?

Probably not, unless you hold a large balance or want Max’s other perks. Max costs from £19 a month, or £228 a year, and has a three-month minimum. Its savings rate is 0.75% higher than the free plan’s. On those numbers, you would need about £30,400 in savings before the extra interest covers the fee. Extra (£3 a month) and Perks (£9 a month) follow the same arithmetic.

On £10,000 for a year, Chip’s Instant Access pays about £351 with the boost and £300 at the standard rate. A Monzo Instant Access Pot pays about £275 on the free plan. Try your own balance in our savings interest calculator, or see every Chip rate on Chip interest rates.

Cash ISAs, including Monzo’s fixed rate

Chip pays more on a flexible ISA. Monzo offers a fixed rate, which Chip does not. Chip’s Smart Cash ISA pays 4.68% AER for 12 months, then 3.50% AER, variable and flexible.

Monzo has three ISA options, all described on its Cash ISA page:

• Instant Access Cash ISA: 2.75% to 3.50% AER variable, depending on your plan, and flexible.
• Fixed Rate Cash ISA Pot: 4.70% AER fixed for one year.
• Select Access ISA: up to 3.65% if you make 2 or fewer withdrawals a year, with a £500 minimum.

The interesting comparison is Monzo’s fixed pot against Chip’s boosted rate. In year one they are almost level: 4.70% fixed against 4.68% variable. The difference is what happens if Bank Rate moves. Chip’s Smart Cash ISA is a tracker, so its rate follows Bank Rate down or up. A fixed rate does not move, and after the year you choose what to do next. Monzo’s page does not set out, in our data, the rules for taking money out of the fixed pot early, so check those before you commit.

In year two, Chip’s standard 3.50% AER is higher than Monzo’s free-plan Instant Access ISA rate of 2.75%. On £10,000 that is about £350 against £275 a year. Both have the same £20,000 allowance this tax year. The Chip Smart Cash ISA guide covers transfers and the bank panel.

Withdrawals

Both have genuinely instant access options. Chip’s Instant Access Account has unlimited withdrawals with no penalty, and the Smart Cash ISA also has unlimited withdrawals. Withdrawals from Monzo’s Instant Access Pot are unlimited and instant, and because the pot sits next to your current account, the money is available to spend straight away.

That last point is Monzo’s real advantage. With Chip, a withdrawal goes back to your linked bank account first. Monzo’s Select Access ISA and Chip’s Easy Access Saver both reward you for withdrawing less; on Chip’s, the rate drops by 2.10% AER from the fourth withdrawal in a year. See Chip withdrawals for each account’s rules.

Protection: a bank against an app

Both are FSCS-protected up to £120,000, but the structure differs. Monzo is a bank: your Pots and Cash ISA Pots are held by Monzo Bank Limited and covered as Monzo deposits. That cover is shared with your Monzo current account balance.

Chip is an app, not a bank: your savings are held with 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. The Smart Cash ISA is spread across a panel of UK banks including Barclays, Lloyds and HSBC.

One practical upside of using both: your Monzo money and your Chip savings sit with different banks, so each gets its own £120,000 limit. Read is Chip safe? for how Chip’s arrangement works.

Plans and costs

Chip’s rates do not depend on a plan; Monzo’s do. Chip’s Basic plan is free, and its account pages show one rate per account. ChipX costs £5.99 every 28 days or £65.05 a year, mainly for unlimited autosaves. Our ChipX maths shows when it pays for itself.

Monzo’s plans are Free; Extra £3, Perks £9, Max from £19 a month. Max has a 3-month minimum and is for ages 18 to 69. The paid plans include features beyond savings, so for some people the higher savings rate is a side benefit of a plan they want anyway.

Autosave versus round-ups

Monzo’s round-ups are free; Chip’s autosave costs 45p per autosave on Basic. Monzo rounds up card payments to the nearest pound and moves the change into a Savings Pot. Its 1p Saving Challenge pays 5.00% AER on paid plans, and 0% on the free plan.

Chip’s autosave is a different idea. Instead of tracking each payment, it looks at your current account and moves amounts it thinks you can spare. You can adjust or pause it, and recurring deposits are free on both plans, so you can avoid the fee by setting a regular deposit instead. Our guide to how autosave apps work compares the methods.

Prizes

Both have a prize element. Chip’s Prize Savings Account pays no interest; instead, savers enter a monthly draw from a pool of £100,000 a month, and prizes are added as a bonus and become cash only when you withdraw your whole Prize Savings balance. Monzo’s 1p Saving Challenge includes a chance to win £10,000, with bigger levels and monthly draws on paid plans. See Chip Prize Savings for how Chip’s draw works.

Sign-up offers

Chip publishes its referral bonus; Monzo does not publish an amount. 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, you must have never held a Chip account before, and the bonus is paid at Chip's discretion.

Monzo’s refer-a-friend page describes a bonus but not its amount. Monzo’s conditions: the friend applies within 30 days of the invite and makes a first card payment within 30 days. It is a current account referral, not a savings one. We have no Monzo personal referral link.

Where Monzo wins

We earn from Chip referrals, so here is where Monzo is honestly the better option:

• Convenience. If Monzo is already your bank, savings sit one tap away from your spending money, with no extra app or login.
• A fixed-rate Cash ISA. 4.70% fixed for a year gives certainty that Chip’s variable rates cannot.
• Free round-ups. No per-save fee on any plan.
• No boost to expire. Monzo’s rates are not propped up for 12 months, so there is no drop at the anniversary.
• Higher rates on paid plans. If you pay for Perks or Max anyway, Monzo’s 3.50% on Max is higher than Chip’s Instant Access standard rate.
• You have had Chip before. Chip’s referral bonus is only for new customers. See Chip alternatives.

Who should choose which

For a wider view, our best savings apps page compares Chip and Monzo with Plum, Moneybox, Trading 212 and Chase.