How to actually compare two savings accounts
The headline rate is the least reliable part of the comparison. Look at how the rate is structured, what triggers it, and how it can change.
Meridians Money Desk
Published 11 June 2026 · Updated 5 July 2026 · 6 min read
FinanceThe short answer
- A single advertised rate can hide introductory bonuses, balance tiers and conditions that quietly lower what you actually earn.
- Check how and when the rate can change, and whether withdrawals or minimum balances affect it.
- Confirm the money is held at a genuinely separate licensed institution for deposit-protection purposes.
- Compare the effective annual rate under your real balance and behaviour, not the number on the poster.
Savings accounts are marketed on one number, and that number is the part most likely to mislead. A useful comparison ignores the poster and reconstructs what you would actually earn.
Read the structure, not the rate
An advertised rate frequently combines a base rate with a time-limited bonus, or applies only to part of your balance, or requires conditions such as a minimum monthly deposit or no withdrawals. Two accounts with the same headline number can pay very differently once these are applied to your real balance.
- Introductory bonus: what is the rate after it expires, and when does that happen?
- Balance tiers: does the top rate apply to your whole balance or only a band of it?
- Conditions: are withdrawals, minimum balances or linked accounts required to keep the rate?
- Variability: can the provider change the rate at will, and how are you notified?
Once you have the real post-condition rate for your balance at each option, the comparison becomes simple. Getting to that number is the whole job.
Sources
Every factual claim above is traceable to these documents. Check them — that is why they are here.
- Deposit insurance — coverage basicsFDIC (United States)
- Consumer guidance on savings and bankingUS Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
About this byline
Meridians Money Desk is an editorial desk at Meridians, not an individual. A desk byline means the article was produced and fact-checked to that desk's published standards. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy.
Sponsored
Paid placement · not editorial
Kestrel Bank · Everyday banking
An account that pays attention.
Instant transfers, clear fees and support answered by people. Deposit protection applies. Sponsored modules are produced outside our editorial desks and are always labelled.
Open an account →
Kestrel BankWhy am I seeing this? · Demonstration creative from a fictional advertiser. Advertising never influences our journalism.
How deposit protection works — and the gaps people assume aren't there
7 min read · 21 June 2026
Instant payments: what changes when a transfer has to arrive in ten seconds
7 min read · 2 June 2026
The Meridians Brief
One considered email a week
What changed, what it costs you, and what to do about it — from the Meridians desks. No sponsored picks disguised as recommendations.
Sign-up opens with our launch issue. Nothing is sent or stored yet.