Starling Launches 5% Easy Saver for New Customers

Starling has raised the headline rate on its Easy Saver to 5.00% AER (4.88% gross) for new customers, up from 4.00%. The rate is variable, applies to balances up to £25,000, and includes a fixed 2.50% bonus that runs for six months. After that, you're on Starling's standard 2.50%.

What you get

• 5.00% AER variable on balances up to £25,000, made up of a 2.50% standard rate plus a 2.50% fixed bonus for six months

• 2.50% AER on anything above £25,000, up to £1m

• Unlimited withdrawals, no notice period, no penalties, no minimum deposit

• Interest paid monthly

• Up to 100 Spaces inside the account for separate goals, with interest paid on the whole balance

• FSCS protection up to £120,000 per person across all your Starling accounts

Who qualifies

The 5% is for brand-new Starling customers only. You need to open a Starling personal current account on or after 1 October 2026, then apply for the Easy Saver within 30 days. If you closed a Starling current account after 30 September 2026, you're not eligible. One Easy Saver per person, 18+, UK residents.

Existing Starling customers opening an Easy Saver now get 4.00% AER: the same 2.50% standard rate plus a 1.50% bonus, also for six months. The joint Easy Saver pays 4.00% too. Before this change the 1.50% bonus ran for 12 months, so existing customers have had their bonus window halved while new customers get the bigger rate.

The catch: over a year, it's a 3.75% account

Here's the maths on the full £25,000, assuming today's rates hold:

• Months 1 to 6 at 5.00%: roughly £625

• Months 7 to 12 at 2.50%: roughly £313

• Total: about £938, which is a blended 3.75% over 12 months

That blended figure is the one to compare against accounts whose rate lasts the full year.

How it compares

Rates as listed on DepositScout on 2 October 2026. Interest figures are simple approximations assuming rates don't move. Underlying rates are variable; Starling's and Chase's bonuses are fixed, Zopa's is variable.

A few things stand out:

• Over 12 months, Starling comes last of this group. Zopa, Monument and Chase all pay more over a full year on £25,000, because their headline rates last twice as long.

• LemFi matches the 5% headline with a higher 3.04% underlying rate and no current-account requirement. It is a money-transfer app with a savings product attached, powered by ClearBank, so it's a different proposition from a full bank.

• Tembo's 4.55% has no bonus, so nothing falls away after six months, but it caps at £20,000.

• Santander Edge Saver (6.00%) and Cahoot Sunny Day Saver (5.00%) beat or match Starling, but only on £4,000 and £3,000 respectively, and Edge needs the £3-a-month Edge current account. That's why they sit in the "up to £5,000" section of our table.

• Toggle Promo Rates off on our easy-access table and Starling's 2.50% underlying rate drops it well down the list.

Who should open it

Worth it if you're new to Starling, you want or don't mind a Starling current account, you have up to £25,000 to park, and you'll actually move the money when the bonus ends. Open in early October and the bonus runs out in early April 2027. Put it in your diary.

Not worth it if you're already a Starling customer (you'll get 4%), you've got more than £25,000 (the excess earns 2.50%), or you want a rate that holds for a full year. Chase, Zopa and Monument do that at 4.50% to 4.56%.

DepositScout verdict

A competitive headline from a bank plenty of people already want a current account with, but it's a sprint, not a marathon. Open it if the current account suits you, then set a reminder for the six-month mark and compare again.

Compare all easy-access rates · Starling on DepositScout · Set up a rate alert

Rates correct as of 2 October 2026 and subject to change, here's the latest easy-access rates from DepositScout's database.