Best inflation-beating savings accounts – could your money be working harder?

Inflation remained at 3% in the 12 months to February, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

While the figure was in line with analyst expectations, it was far overshadowed by new forecasts that inflation will soar in 2026 following the Iran war and the disruption it is causing to the global economy.

Before the war, which started on 28 February, most forecasters thought that price growth would continue slowing in 2026 and reach around the Bank of England’s 2% target in the second quarter of the year.

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However, due to the economic impact of the war, almost all forecasts now expect inflation to rise again in 2026.

With inflation projected to increase, it is especially important to ensure your savings are held in high interest savings accounts.

So long as the interest rate you earn is higher than the rate of inflation, your money will grow in real terms.

However, not all savings accounts on the market offer rates that guarantee real-terms growth. Some have interest rates below the level of inflation, meaning the value of your savings will slowly erode away in real terms.

We look at how you can protect your savings from inflation, and which savings accounts offer inflation-busting rates.

Are your savings keeping up with inflation?

Put simply, inflation measures how much the overall level of prices for goods and services consumed by households has increased in a set period of time.

Whether inflation is at the 2% target or much higher, any level above 0% will mean your money is losing value in real terms. The only thing that changes is how fast this happens.

One way to stop your money slowly eroding in value is to put your cash into a savings account that has an interest rate above the current level of inflation.

The latest data from Moneyfacts shows the average interest rate for a savings account is 3.41%, which is higher than February’s inflation reading.

Over the entire market, 1,703 savings accounts beat inflation, including 178 easy access, 147 notice accounts, 168 variable rate ISAs, 385 fixed rate ISAs and 825 fixed rate savers, according to Moneyfacts.

The data shows the average savings account will grow your money faster than inflation in the year to February.

However, as the latest official inflation data does not include the impact of the Iran war on price growth, it is difficult to say whether this will continue to be the case in the year to come.

The Bank of England (BoE) currently predicts inflation to increase from March onwards and reach an average of 3.5% in the third quarter of the year.

If their prediction is correct, then the average interest rate on a savings account will be lower than inflation, meaning your money will erode in real terms.

The best way to protect against this is to ensure your savings are in an account with the best rate possible.

The top easy-access savings account on the market right now is Chase’s Saver With Boosted Rate, which pays an interest rate of 4.5%, inclusive of a 2.25% boost for 12 months. It beats February’s inflation reading by 1.5 percentage points, and the BoE’s prediction by one percentage point.

To get the deal, you must be a new Chase current account customer and open the saver within 31 days of opening your account. You can put a maximum of £3 million into the savings account with withdrawals allowed.

Be aware that the 2.25% boost will expire after 12 months, meaning your interest rate will tumble down to just 2.25% after a year, assuming the variable underlying rate hasn't changed.

But that isn’t the only option. We look at the best savings accounts currently on the market which can help you beat inflation.

Each of the accounts listed below currently have the highest rate on the market for someone saving £10,000 and are all FSCS-protected, according to Moneyfacts.

Which are the best savings accounts to beat inflation?

Best easy-access savings accounts

Best easy-access cash ISAs

Best one-year fixed savings accounts

Best one-year fixed cash ISAs