Is ChipX worth it? The maths for savers

Is ChipX worth it? The short answer

For a saver, ChipX is worth it only if Chip autosaves for you a lot. On the free Basic plan, each autosave costs £0.45. ChipX removes that charge, but costs £5.99 every 28 days. Do the division and the monthly plan breaks even at 13.3 autosaves every 28 days.

Everything else a saver needs is on the free plan already: the same savings accounts, the same rates and free recurring deposits. If you want to plug in your own numbers, the ChipX calculator does the sums for you.

What does ChipX cost?

ChipX is £5.99 every 28 days on monthly billing, or £65.05 a year if you pay for the year up front.

The detail that catches people out is “every 28 days”. A year has 365 days, which is just over 13 periods of 28 days, so on monthly billing you make 13 payments a year, not 12. That works out at:

• Monthly billing: 13 × £5.99 = £77.87 a year.
• Annual billing: £65.05 a year, which is about £5.00 per 28 days.
• Difference: paying annually saves £12.82 a year, if you are sure you will keep it.

Chip’s pricing page says you are charged from the day you upgrade, then in 28-day cycles from that day. It also describes the annual option as a lower price every 28 days; the total you pay for the year is the £65.05 a year figure above.

For context, other apps also put their best features behind paid plans. Plum’s plans are Basic free; Plus £3.99, Boost £7.99, Max £14.99 a month (Plum’s own pages disagree on the Max price), and Monzo’s are Free; Extra £3, Perks £9, Max from £19 a month. The difference is that on Plum and Monzo the paid plans change the savings rate you get, while on Chip they do not.

What ChipX adds for savers

For savings, the one thing ChipX changes on Chip’s pricing page is autosave: unlimited autosaves instead of 45p per autosave.

Here is what stays the same on both plans:

• The savings accounts and rates. Instant Access pays 3.51% AER (variable tracker) for 12 months, then 3.00% AER, and the Smart Cash ISA pays 4.68% AER (variable tracker) for 12 months, then 3.50% AER, whichever plan you are on. Chip’s pricing page lists no rate difference between plans. Our page on Chip interest rates has every account.
• Recurring deposits. Recurring deposits are free on both plans.
• Manual deposits and withdrawals. You can move money in and out by hand on either plan.

The rest of what ChipX offers relates to investing: Chip lists a 0% platform fee on ChipX against a fee on Basic, and wider access to its investment platform. Chip’s investment accounts are a Stocks and Shares ISA, a General Investment Account and a pension. With investments, your capital is at risk. This site covers savings only, so we leave those features out of the maths below.

The break-even point for savers

Monthly ChipX pays for itself at 14 or more autosaves every 28 days; annual ChipX at 12 or more.

The sum is simple: divide what ChipX costs by what each autosave would cost on Basic.

• Monthly billing: £5.99 ÷ £0.45 = 13.31 autosaves per 28 days. So at 13 saves Basic is still cheaper, and from 14 ChipX wins.
• Annual billing: £5.00 ÷ £0.45 = 11.12 autosaves per 28 days, or about 145 a year. From 12 saves per 28 days, annual ChipX is cheaper.

Put another way: if Chip autosaves for you roughly every other day or more, ChipX starts to make sense. If it saves once or twice a week, the free plan with the per-save fee costs less.

Cost by number of autosaves

This table compares a year on Basic, paying £0.45 per autosave, with a year of ChipX. ChipX costs £77.87 a year on monthly billing or £65.05 on annual billing, whatever the number of saves.

Two things this table cannot show. First, autosave frequency is not fixed: it moves with your spending and your setting, so a month of 20 saves might be followed by a month of 8. Second, the cheapest option assumes you want autosave at all. If you would be just as happy with a fixed transfer, both columns lose to the free option below.

Three savers, worked through

The right plan depends on how you save, not how much. Three made-up examples show how the numbers play out over a 28-day period.

• The light autosaver. Chip makes 6 autosaves in 28 days. On Basic that costs £2.70, against £5.99 for ChipX. Basic is cheaper by £3.29 every period, or £42.77 over a year.
• The busy autosaver. Chip makes 20 autosaves in 28 days. On Basic that costs £9, so monthly ChipX saves £3.01 a period, or £39.13 over a year. Annual billing would save a little more.
• The planner. Autosave is off and a recurring deposit moves a set amount every payday. On Basic that costs nothing at all, so ChipX would only add cost.

Most people sit somewhere between the first and the third. The busy autosaver is the case ChipX is built for, and even then, turning autosave down a notch might bring the count below the break-even and make the question go away.

Questions to ask before you upgrade

• How many autosaves did Chip make for me last month? This is the number everything else depends on. Below 12 per 28 days, stay on Basic.
• Would a fixed recurring deposit do the same job? If you already know roughly what you can save each month, a recurring deposit is free and more predictable.
• Will my autosave pattern last? If you have just raised your setting or had a good month, the count may drop back. Wait a month or two before paying annually.
• Am I paying for features I will not use? If you only save, most of what ChipX includes beyond autosave is not for you.
• Is the interest worth more than the fees? On £1,000 at Chip’s standard Instant Access rate of 3.00% AER, a year’s interest is about £30. A year of monthly ChipX is £77.87. On a small balance, either fee can take a big bite out of what you earn.

The free alternative: recurring deposits

If cost is the worry, switch most of your saving to recurring deposits, which are free on both plans.

A recurring deposit moves a fixed amount on a schedule you choose, such as £50 a week or £200 on payday. There is no per-transfer fee. You lose the “Chip decides for me” part of autosave, but you keep the habit, which is the part that does most of the work.

A sensible middle ground for many savers on the free plan:

• Set a recurring deposit for the amount you know you can afford each month.
• Keep autosave on a low setting, so it only steps in occasionally and the fees stay small.
• Pause autosave in expensive months.

Our Chip autosave guide explains how to tune and pause it, and how to keep it from pushing your current account too low. For how autosave compares across apps, see how autosave apps work.

The free trial and cancelling

Chip offers a 28-day free trial, and you can downgrade at any time. Chip’s pricing page says you change plan from the Profile tab, under Your membership and then View plans. If you downgrade, you stay on ChipX until the end of your current 28-day window.

If you do try it, use the trial as a measuring exercise: leave your autosave setting where it would normally be, then count the saves at the end. If the count is below 14, downgrade before you are charged. Chip’s page also says that anyone holding ChipX-only investment options has to sell those before downgrading; that does not apply if you only save.

Verdict: is ChipX worth it for savers?

Stay on Basic if Chip autosaves for you fewer than 14 times every 28 days, or if you are happy to use recurring deposits. That will be most savers.

Consider ChipX if Chip saves for you most days and you want to keep it that way. Choose annual billing only once the trial and a month or two of saves have shown the frequency is steady.

Either way, the plan does not change the savings rates. For the full picture of the app, read our Chip review. If Chip’s fee model does not suit you, our Chip alternatives page covers apps with free round-ups. And if you join, our Chip referral code page explains the £50 bonus: you must never have held a Chip account, the Easy Access Saver does not count, and £1,000 must stay in an eligible account for 90 days in a row, or the countdown restarts.