Junior Cash ISA Rates Compared: Where to Open One in 2026

Junior Cash ISAs are one of the few savings products where the big banks are so far off the pace it's almost funny. Lloyds and Halifax pay 2.35% on a child's ISA. A handful of building societies you may never have heard of pay 3.85%. That's not a rounding error: over 18 years of £100 a month it's the difference between roughly £27,100 and £31,500 for your child.

I've got a three-year-old and I went through this exercise properly, so this is the guide I wish had existed. Every rate below is from DepositScout's Junior ISA comparison, checked 5 October 2026, and the table updates itself when anything moves.

Junior Cash ISA rates compared

Rates as of today, from our live table. Every account is FSCS protected up to £120,000 in the child's name.

The rules in two minutes

• Allowance: £9,000 per child per tax year in 2026/27, and the government has said it stays at £9,000 until at least April 2031. It's completely separate from your own £20,000 adult ISA allowance.

• Who can open it: a parent or legal guardian, for any UK-resident child under 18. Anyone can pay in once it's open: grandparents, godparents, the lot.

• Whose money it is: the child's, from day one. It's locked until they turn 18, and not even you can take it out before then except in the most extreme circumstances. From 16 they can manage the account themselves, but still can't withdraw.

• At 18: it becomes an adult ISA in their name, tax-free status intact, and they get full control. That's the bit some parents find alarming. It's also the point of the product.

• One of each: a child can have one Junior Cash ISA and one Junior Stocks & Shares ISA at any time. Both share the £9,000. Opening a second cash JISA with another provider isn't allowed; you transfer instead.

• Transfers: free and unlimited between providers. If your child's JISA is sitting at 2.35%, you can move it to 3.85% without touching the allowance.

• Child Trust Funds: if your child was born between September 2002 and January 2011 they may have a CTF rather than a JISA. You can transfer it into a JISA and usually should, because CTF rates are generally worse.

• Tax: none, ever, on the interest. And unlike an ordinary children's savings account, the "£100 rule" that taxes parents on interest from money they gave their child doesn't apply inside a JISA.

Where to open one in 2026

If you want to do it online tonight

Beverley Building Society and Leek Building Society both pay 3.85% and take applications online from £1. You'll need the child's birth certificate details and your own ID. Danske Bank is a touch lower at 3.75% with a £25 minimum, and NS&I's Junior ISA at 3.70% is the one I'd point you to if you'd rather have a Treasury-backed name and a slick app. CMC Invest pays 3.56%, pays interest monthly, and is the pick if you'd like cash and stocks & shares JISAs under one roof.

If you don't mind a branch or the post

Skipton (3.80%), Coventry, Vernon and Nottingham (all 3.75%) are competitive but need a branch visit or a postal application. Stafford's 3.76% needs £1,000 to open. None of these is worth the hassle over Beverley or Leek unless you're already a member and value walking in.

If you want to lock in a rate

You mostly can't. Fixed-rate Junior Cash ISAs barely exist at the moment, which is a reasonable reflection of a market where the Bank of England has held at 3.75% and the next move is still argued over. Variable it is. Review the rate once a year and transfer if it slips.

Cash or stocks and shares? The honest answer for an 18-year horizon

This is a guide about cash rates, so I'll keep this short and straight. If your child is three and the money isn't needed for 15 years, history says a Junior Stocks & Shares ISA in a cheap global tracker will very probably beat 3.85% cash, and by a wide margin. If your child is 14 and the money is for a car at 18, cash is the sensible home. Many parents split the difference: cash JISA for the gifts and birthday money they'd be upset to lose, investment JISA for the long-term monthly amount. There's nothing wrong with that.

What I'd avoid is leaving an 18-year pot in a 2.35% high-street JISA because it was convenient at the time. That's the one decision that reliably costs thousands.

What £100 a month actually becomes

Paying in £100 a month from birth to 18, with interest compounding annually and the rate held constant:

• At 3.85% (Beverley, Leek): about £31,500, of which £21,600 is your money and £9,900 is interest.

• At 3.70% (NS&I): about £31,000.

• At 2.35% (Lloyds, Halifax): about £27,100.

Fill the whole £9,000 allowance every year at 3.85% and you're looking at roughly £236,000 at 18, of which £74,000 is interest. Rates won't stay still for 18 years, obviously, but the gap between the best and worst providers has been stubbornly consistent for a decade and that's the bit you control. You can model other amounts in the ISA calculator.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Junior Cash ISA rate right now?

3.85% from Beverley Building Society and Leek Building Society, both available online from £1, as of 5 October 2026. The live table above shows the current top rates.

How much can I pay into a Junior ISA in 2026/27?

£9,000 per child per tax year, across cash and stocks & shares JISAs combined. It doesn't affect your own £20,000 adult allowance.

Can I withdraw money from my child's Junior ISA?

No. The money is the child's and is locked until their 18th birthday. The only exceptions are terminal illness or death.

Can grandparents open a Junior ISA?

They can't open one, but they can pay into one a parent has opened. Most providers let you share the account details for exactly this.

Can my child have a Junior Cash ISA and a Junior Stocks & Shares ISA?

Yes, one of each, sharing the same £9,000 allowance.

What happens when my child turns 18?

The JISA automatically converts to an adult ISA in their name. The money is theirs to spend, save or move. If they do nothing it carries on earning tax-free interest at whatever rate the provider pays adults, which is usually worth checking.

Is a Junior ISA better than a children's savings account?

For money that's definitely going to stay put until 18, yes: the rates are comparable or better, the interest is tax-free, and there's no parental "£100 rule". If you might need to dip into the money, a children's easy access account is the better tool because a JISA will not give it back.