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March 1, 2026   |   Best Buy

Best free business bank accounts

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Find a free business bank account for your business type

A business bank account is a separate bank account from your personal one that you maintain just for your business. These accounts are more tailored to business banking, so you can integrate accounting tools, make invoices and categorise your expenses. Some accounts are limited to certain types of businesses, so you’ll need to check that your business is eligible to have an account with your chosen bank.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

Best free business accounts

Business Bank Accounts
Sponsored

ANNA Pay As You Go

Customer rating 4.7/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    0.95% fee on cash deposits
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    0.95% fee on money paid in (except from your own accounts)
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? No
  • Cash withdrawals Unlimited free withdrawals
  • Integration with accounting tools Share access with your accountant or sync with accounting software
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible companies Registered limited companies, Limited Liability Partnerships or sole traders
View Deal

Monzo Lite

Customer rating 4.9/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    £1 per deposit
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    £0
  • Access Online or via app
  • Cash deposits £1 per deposit at any UK PayPoint or Post Office
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals Withdraw up to £1,000 per day
  • Integration with accounting tools Not available - Integration only available with Monzo Pro and above
  • Invoicing tools No
  • Eligible companies Sole traders and registered limited companies
View Deal

Tide Free Business Account

Customer rating 4.7/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    0.5% (min £2.50) at Post Office, 3% at PayPoint
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    Free transfers in/out for 12 months
£100 welcome bonus
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals £1 per withdrawal
  • Transfers Transfers cost 20p per transfer after a 12 month promotional period
  • Integration with accounting tools Connect your own accounting software or export transactions to share with your accountant for free
  • Invoicing tools Yes - send 3 per month free
  • Offer details Get £100 in cash when you open a Tide Business Account and spend £1,000 within 60 days of account opening. Use the code BCA100 when you sign up.
  • Eligible businesses Registered limited companies or sole traders
View Deal

Starling Bank Business Account

Customer rating 4.9/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    0.7% (min £3)
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    £0
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals 6 free withdrawals per day up to a maximum of £300
  • Integration with accounting tools Can be connected to accounting software
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible companies Limited companies, Limited Liability Partnerships or sole traders
View Deal

Mettle Business Bank Account

Customer rating 4.9/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    £0
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    £0
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals Free
  • Integration with accounting tools Access to FreeAgent and connect to other accounting software
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible businesses Sole traders and limited companies with no more than two owners

Zempler Bank (formerly Cashplus) Business Go

Customer rating 4.9/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    0.55% (min £4)
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    Free to receive, send for free three times each month, 35p afterwards
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals £2 per withdrawal
  • Card issuing fee £9.95 one-off fee
  • Integration with accounting tools Connect your chosen accounting software
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible businesses Sole traders and limited companies
View Deal

Virgin Money M Account for Business

Customer rating 3.6/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    £0.90 fee per £100
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    £0
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals £0.90 fee per £100 withdrawn. Withdraw up to £700 per day.
  • Integration with accounting tools Can be connected to accounting software
  • Invoicing tools No
  • Cashback 0.25% cashback on debit card purchases
  • Offer details You can get 3 months of Xero or Quickbooks for free with a Virgin Money business account.
  • Eligible companies For businesses with an annual turnover of less than £1m

SumUp Business Account

Customer rating 3.9/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    Not available
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    £0
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Cash withdrawals 3 free per month, 2% thereafter
  • Integration with accounting tools Can be connected to accounting sotware
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible companies Sole traders or limited companies

Countingup Business Bank Account

Customer rating 4.9/5
  • Monthly fee
    £3-£18 per month
  • Cash deposit fee
    Post Office: 0.5% (£2 min) / PayPoint: 3%
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    30p
3 months free & free accounting tools
  • Access Via app
  • FSCS Protected? No
  • Cash withdrawals £1 per withdrawal
  • Integration with accounting tools Fully integrated accounting tools
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible businesses Sole traders or registered limited companies
  • Fee details After the 3 month free trial, you'll pay a monthly fee depending on how much you deposit each month. Deposits up to £750: £3 per month; Deposits up to £7,500: £9 per month; Deposits over £7,500: £18 per month

Amaiz Business Bank Account

Customer rating 4.6/5
  • Monthly fee
    £0
  • Cash deposit fee
    Not available
  • Fee for transfers in/out
    Free (FPS transactions)
  • Access Online or via app
  • FSCS Protected? No
  • Cash withdrawals Unlimited free withdrawals
  • Integration with accounting tools No
  • Invoicing tools Yes
  • Eligible businesses For companies of all sizes and risk categories

Do you need a business bank account?

If you’re a sole trader or just earning extra via a side hustle then you don’t need to have a specialist business bank account. You can make do with a standard (and free) personal account.

You don’t have to use the same one you bank with day-to-day. It’s generally best to separate your business money from your personal cash, so it’s best to open a new account — it’s up to you whether you stick with the same bank you use for your personal banking or try a different one. Keeping them separate will be useful when it comes to doing your tax return and working out which purchases were business-related.

But, if you are part of a Limited Company then you’ll have to have a specific business account.

What to look out for when searching for a business bank account

When choosing a business bank account there will be a few differences from regular bank accounts that you’ll want to consider.

Fees

You’ll be more likely to come across fees with these bank accounts. We’ve shown the free accounts above, although this refers to whether there’s a monthly fee. The other fees you might come across include:

  • Initial set-up fee
  • Cash deposit fees
  • Cash withdrawal fees
  • Transaction fees
  • Fees for payments in
  • Fees for transfers out

It’s important to consider what your business is likely going to need. For example, if you take a lot of cash payments, you might be more interested in getting free cash deposits, while a company that doesn’t handle cash much wouldn’t be bothered about cash deposits.

Eligibility

Some accounts aren’t available for all businesses. If you have a Limited Liability Partnership, for example, you’ll have fewer choices when it comes to business bank accounts. Check out “eligible companies” in further details above for an overview. You’ll also want to double-check with the bank directly. Generally speaking, sole traders and limited companies should be eligible for all of the accounts above, although there are often excluded business types.

Cash deposits

Many of the business bank accounts listed above are digital banks, which means there isn’t a high street branch for you to deposit cash into your account, however, most of them will let you deposit cash at the Post Office or using PayPoint. Some have associations with high-street banks — for example, Mettle is owned by NatWest so you can pay in cash at NatWest branches.

Integration

A lot of business bank accounts offer integration with accounting software like Xero or Quickbooks. Or, they’ll offer the option to export your transactions to give your accountant or upload them into your chosen software. If you don’t have accounting software, you probably wouldn’t need this, although it may be useful in the future.

Some business bank accounts come with a free trial of accounting software. While this is worthwhile if you think you’ll need accounting software, remember to cancel it if you don’t think it’s something you’ll need.

February 26, 2026   |   Articles

Cancel Sky and Virgin TV subscriptions and save hundreds

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If you’re still paying for premium pay-TV via satellite or cable you’re paying too much.

Switching away from Sky TV, Virgin Media or EE TV to streaming alternatives can save you £100s of pounds – and you can still keep the exact same channels.

You’ll also get the added flexibility of choosing what you want to pay for and when. And you can even keep recording most channels if you want.

In this article I’ve shared why you shouldn’t be worried about ditching Sky, and how to watch the alternatives (such as NOW TV) on your TV.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

How much Sky TV costs

Sky TV isn’t cheap. From 1 April 2026 Sky Ultimate package costs £24 a month for new customers and could go up to a massive £55 a month if you add in Sports and Cinema, coming in at £660 a year. This is on a 24-month contract, where prices will likely go up each April.

You might even be paying another £35 a month if you add on things like Kids channels, UHD viewing and multiroom. That’s potentially £90 a month and £1,080 a year.

But that’s for newbies… existing customers paying full price will see a huge increase. Ultimate, Cinema and Sports will add up to £87 a month (£1,044 a year), and with the extras like HD and skipping ads it’s £122 a month (£1,464 a year).

The Sky Essentials plan would save some money each month, though you’d only get Sky Atlantic, Netflix and Discovery+, losing all the other Sky-only channels.

I’ve also not included broadband costs here as you can easily shop around for deals elsewhere – there’s no need to get it direct from Sky or Virgin.

Initial price per monthFull price per month
Basic package
Sky Essential (inc Netflix w/ Ads)£15*£21
Sky Ultimate (inc Netflix w/ Ads, Disney+ w/ Ads, HBO Max w/ Ads & Hayu)£24*£37**
Add-ons
Sky Sports£20*£33
Sky Cinema (incl Paramount+ w/ Ads)£11*£17
Sky Kids£8£8
Sky UD Ultra£6£6
Sky Whole Home (1 device)£15£15
Skip ads£6£6
*initial 24 month contract price, otherwise 31 day rolling contract ** estimated price from 1 April

Sky Ultimate now comes with included streaming services

The big change from March 2026 is the addition of HBO Max and Disney+ to the Sky Ultimate package, with Hayu arriving in July.

Here’s what these extras would cost if you bought them separately (which of course you can do at any time). Like with the included Netflix, the HBO and Disney subscriptions are the basic ones which include adverts and other restrictions. You can pay the price difference to upgrade any or all of these if you wish.

SubscriptionIncluded tier valueStandard costPremium cost
HBO Max£4.99£9.99 (£5 to upgrade)£14.99 (£10 to upgrade)
Disney+£5.99£9.99 (so £4 to upgrade)£14.99 (£9 to upgrade)
Hayu£5.99N/AN/A
Netflix£5.99£12.99 (so £7 to upgrade)£18.99 (so £13 to upgrade)

The three new services add up to £16.97 of value, so with Netflix Basic the total streaming part of the package is £22.96 a month. That means you’re paying only £1.04 for all the Sky channels at the introduction price, though it jumps up to £14.04 for those out of contract.

Is Sky worth the cost?

To accommodate the new streaming passes, prices have gone up by only £2 so at first sight, Sky could actually be really good value for money. But is it?

If you’ve just let your bill roll over to full price, and add on some or all of the extras, then it’s a huge amount to pay each month. And as I’ve shared below, it’s possible to get the same or similar for less.

But hopefully you’re not paying full price. £24 for all those channels and subscriptions as a new customer isn’t bad at all. And since Sky and Virgin are notoriously easy to haggle with and freebies are often thrown in – especially if you bundle your TV packages with your broadband and even your mobile phone, you will hopefully be paying something similar.

But the big question is, do you actually want or need all the channels and those four streaming services? And if you do, would you actually want them for the minimum 24 month contract you’re entering into for the lower price?

And what about other streamers, such as Prime Video and Apple TV, or the upgrades to get rid of ads on the included ones? You’ll need to pay extra for these on top, pushing your bill up.

If the answer is you’re happy to have less to watch at any one time, rotating through the streamers as and when, then you absolutely can pay less over the year by ditching the long pay TV contracts. I think you could be saving between at least £200 and £430 a year, more if you’re paying Sky’s full price.

Cancelling Sky TV

Make sure you are out of contract. It could be that you have different dates for TV and other bundled packages such as broadband or phones. If so, make sure you know what the effect of cancelling your TV could have on the price of those services.

If you have any time left to run you’ll be charged an early exit fee, which will pretty much be all the money you owe until that contract is due to end. 

If you’re not out of contract for a while, make a note in your diary a month before it’s due to end to start the cancellation process in motion.

When you’re ready to cancel, you can phone Sky or use a live chat function. To leave Sky TV you need to give 31 days notice, so you’ll still pay for a month (and receive the channels) in that time.

When the service ends you’ll need to return your Sky Q or Sky Stream equipment – so you won’t be able to keep using them for other services.

How to watch free channels (including BBC, C4 & more)

The most watched TV channels are BBC, ITV and Channel 4. These are all available via Freeview. For free. And there are plenty more, including U&Dave, Dmax, Really, Food Network, HGTV, Quest and Yesterday.

Importantly you don’t need Sky to watch these. Most can get these by connecting their TV to an external aerial. If you don’t have one you can try indoor aerials which might work. Or, something called Freesat will connect to your satellite dish. You may need a separate box to connect.

And you can of course catch them live or on catch up via streaming apps on your TV such as BBC iPlayer, Channel4+, ITVx, Freeview Play and so on.

For a more traditional programme guide (EPG) experience when live viewing these channels, check out the live tab on devices like Amazon’s Fire TV (you’ll still actually watch in each broadcasters’ own app).

If you’re happy to focus mainly on these channels then you’re saving a grand a year, if not more.

How to record without Sky or Virgin

The downside with moving away from traditional Sky or Virgin is you lose your recording box.

If that’s essential to your viewing, you can buy a Freeview or Freesat box to record Freeview channels. This can cost between £165 (like the Manhattan T4-R) and £250. Sounds like a lot, but if that was to last you for four years (which it really should, if not longer), that £165 costs you £41 a year. Even when you factor that in, you’re still saving money versus Sky or Virgin.

Though I’d challenge you whether you actually need this feature. If you already watch most things on catch-up you can probably do without a box.

Even if you really hate adverts on the likes of Channel 4 or ITV, you can pay £3.99 and £5.99 a month respectively for their ad-free streaming services. Do this as and when there’s something you want to watch (rather than every month), it’ll be cheaper than buying a new box.

How to watch major Sky channels elsewhere

There are actually only a handful of channels not available to watch via Freeview. These are mainly the Sky channels (eg One, Atlantic, Comedy, Witness etc) and a few others such as U&Gold, Discovery and Nat Geo. But even these can be watched without Sky or Virgin and at a far lower price.

NOW (formally NOW TV) is the main player here. It’s actually owned by Sky and allows you to watch most of the above channels and more via your broadband connection. There are also options for Sky Cinema, Sports and Hayu (reality). I’ve written in more detail about NOW TV in my review here.

The main differences to Sky’s packages are Entertainment includes Kids and HBO Max (TV only, not movies), but not Netflix, Disney or Hayu. Meanwhile Cinema does not have Paramount+ nor the two free Vue tickets you get direct from Sky. It does however have the HBO Max movies.

You also have a single add-on bundle with NOW to cover advert skipping, better quality picture and sound and multi-room, rather than separate additions with Sky.

The great thing is you’ll be paying on a monthly basis rather than on a long contract so you can ditch it at anytime, though new introductory offers now require a 12-month minimum term.

Personally I prefer to pay full price for the first month, and then bring the prices down even more by going through the cancellation process each month. Doing this usually results in a lower price offered, often without a minimum term.

Full price per monthTypical new customer offerTypical cancellation offer
Entertainment (incl HBO Max)£9.99£4.99*£2.99-£4.99
Sports£34.99£26*£18-£25
Cinema£9.99£2.99-£4.99
Hayu£5.99
Add on
Boost (HD, no ads and 2 x streams)£6£2
Boost Ultra (4k, no ads and 4 x streams)£9£6
* 12 months contract

Sky vs DIY package: price difference

If you’re looking at Sky Ultimate vs NOW, price wise, it’s most fair to compare exact like for like.

If you got Entertainment, Sports, Cinema and Boost a full price from NOW it’d add up to £59.97. Along with separate subs for Netflix with Adverts, Disney+ with Adverts, Hayu, Paramount+ with Adverts and Discovery+, you’d pay another £24.94. That’s a total of £86.92 a month, or £1,043.

Full price for these via Sky – so Ultimate (with Netflix, Disney, Hayu, HBO Max and Discovery+), Sports, Cinema (with Paramount+), Kids, Multi-room, Ad skipping and Ultra HD – would total £1,464 a year. So that’s £421 more expensive.

A reduced Sky price, based on new customers, for the same package, adds up to £1,080 a year. So you may be able to haggle something similar.

However, there are three key differences. One, it’s possible to get lower NOW and prices, so the difference will be bigger. There are also plenty of deals throughout the year for the other streaming services, with the exception of Netflix.

Next, you don’t need and probably don’t want all the extras all the time. By paying for just one or two of these at any time, you’re looking at £20 a month at most (unless you add Sports). That’s £240 a year, if not less! A huge saving.

Finally Sky will lock you in to two years, and prices are likely to increase during that time which you’ll have to pay. Since most NOW and streaming prices are 31-day contacts, you can ditch them when you don’t want or can’t afford them.

How to watch other channels from Sky

The other major mainstream channels you might want to keep that aren’t on Freeview or NOW TV are probably Discovery and TLC. Both are available from Discovery+ (£3.99 a month) or as an Amazon channel (you’ll also need Prime).

TNT Sport is also available as a monthly pass at £30.99 a month. That might be more than what you pay for the channels elsewhere, but combining it with the other savings should bring the overall cost down.

Indian channels such as are also available to stream, with Zee TV costing £7.99 a month and Hotstar (including UtSav) at £5.99.

When Sky or Virgin might be better value

There are a few exceptions though when paying for TV via Sky or Virgin could work out either better value or just a better user experience.

If you watch a lot of sport

Though occasional viewers can get a day pass for Sky Sports on NOW TV, the month pass comes in at £34.99. There are often deals that bring the price down to around £25 for a month, sometimes £20.

But if you know you are going to want and watch the main sports channels every week AND you want tojust Sky Atlantic and Netflix with Adverts via the Sky Essentials package, you might be better off with Sky or Virgin.

The cost for Sky Essentials (£15 a month as a new customer) and Sports (£20 as a new customer) would add up to £35 a month.

However, don’t forget you are tied into a long contract.

If you don’t have great broadband

On-demand streaming does require decent broadband, so you will probably want to look at upgrading to fibre if you don’t already have it. If that’s not possible – especially in rural areas – then you might need to stick with Sky (not Sky Stream) or Virgin Media for your TV.

Read next

February 25, 2026   |   Deals

Spotify music streaming deals (February 2026)

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The latest free trials, vouchers, discounted annual passes and hacks to save money on Spotify.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

How much does Spotify cost?

Following a price increase in October 2025, Premium prices all went up by £1 or £2.

PlanPremium Monthly price
Individual£12.99
Duo£17.99
Family£21.99
Student£5.99

New Spotify customer deals

A couple of times a year there tends to be a new customer deal offering three months for 99p. When these come about I’ll list them below. Otherwise, new customers can always get one month for free.

Four months free Spotify with Just Eat

New customers can get four months free via Just Eat until 28 February 2026. You can cancel anytime or pay £12.99 once the free trial ends.

Get four months of Spotify

Three months free for new customers

New Spotify customers can get three months of Premium for free. Make sure you set a calendar reminder to cancel if you don’t want to pay once it’s up.

Get three months free

Three months free Spotify via H&M

New subscribers can get three months free if you apply via the free H&M membership.

Head to the H&M app and in the offer section of your H&M account you’ll need to generate a code to trigger the free Spotify trial.

You need to redeem the offer by 5 November 2026.

This isn’t open to current subscribers, and remember to cancel the subscription if you don’t want to pay full price, as it’ll renew at £12.99 per month after three months.

Get three months of Spotify

One month free Spotify

If there isn’t an increased offer, when you go direct to Spotify new customers can get usually one month for free.

Get one month free Spotify Premium

Previous Spotify customer deals

These offers for ex-customers are rare, but still appear from time to time.

Four months free Premium if you’ve not tried it before (ended)

New Premium customers and those who haven’t tried it before can get four months until 31 December 2025. You can cancel anytime or pay £12.99 once the free trial ends.

Get four months of Spotify

Two months for £6.50 (ended)

This “welcome back” offer gets you two months of Premium for the cost of half of one month. This one runs 17 November to 31 December 2025.

It’s for those who had a Spotify Premium account but cancelled it more than 30 days ago. But if you’ve used one of these offers in the last 24 months, you won’t be eligible this time.

Look out for an email offering you this, or you can also log in and see if the offer is displayed in your account. It’s for the individual Premium account only, not Duo, Student or Family.

We usually see it run two or three times a year, usually April, August and November.

Here are the previous dates from recent offers to give you an idea of when it might return.

  • 17 November to 31 December 2015
  • Mid August to 22 September 2025 (for those who cancelled before mid July 2025)
  • Mid April to 19 May 2025 (for those who cancelled before mid March 2025)
  • End of November – 31 December 2024 (for those who cancelled before November 2024)
  • Mid August to 17 September 2024 (for those who cancelled prior to 12 July 2024)
  • Mid April to 14 May 2024 (for those who cancelled before 18 March 2024)
  • Mid January – 14 February 2024 (for those who cancelled before 1 Jan 2024)
  • 27 November – 31 December 2023 (for those who cancelled before 27 October 2023)
  • August to 12 September 2023 (for those who cancelled before 16 July 2023)
  • 21 April – 16 May 2023 (for those who cancelled before 19 March 2023)
  • 29 November – 31 December 2022 (for those who cancelled before 28 October 2022)
  • August/September 2022 (for those who cancelled before mid-May 2022)
  • April – 19 May 2022 (for those who cancelled before 14 March 2022)

Existing Spotify customer deals

You don’t need to pay full price for Spotify as an existing customer. Here are my top ways to save.

12 months of Spotify Premium for the price of nine (ish)

This is a decent deal from Currys for existing Spotify Premium customers. It’ll cost you £120 rather than £155.88, so you’ll get almost three months free based on the new prices.

You can it as a digital or physical gift card that is sent in the post. Frustratingly you can’t use gift cards with Family, Duo or Student accounts. It also won’t work on Basic plans.

You can stack this with an existing gift card, or buy one now to add at a later date, though you can’t have more than 18 months of credit on your account at any time.

Buy a year of Spotify at Currys

Downgrade to Spotify Basic

This new, slightly cheaper, version of Spotify started in May 2024 but seems to have disappeared.

However if you see it in your account, you get everything that Premium offers such as offline listening (downloads) and no-adverts, but you do sacrifice audiobooks. Not all users will be able to get this, so you’ll need to check your accounts to find out. Here’s everything you need to know about Spotify Basic.

Shared Spotify subscription deals

If you live with others who pay for their own Spotify Premium you can save cash by combining them via a Duo or Family plan.

Here’s the breakdown per month per person, with annual costs per person in brackets.

Plan1 person2 people3 people4 people5 people6 people
Premium£12.99 (£155.88)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A
Duo£17.99 (£215.88)£9 (£107.94)N/AN/AN/AN/A
Family£21.99 (£265.88)£12 (£144)£7.33 (£87.96)£5.50 (£66)£4.40 (£52.80)£3.67 (£43.98)
Monthly cost per person on each plan (annual in brackets)

Spotify Family for £21.99 a month and get six accounts

A decent option if there are three or more of you with your own Spotify accounts. Subscribe to a Family pass and you can pay £21.99 all in. So the more of you, the cheaper it gets. You can share with two people but the Duo option will work out cheaper.

Get Spotify Family

Spotify Duo – £17.99 a month for two

Duo is the best option for two people living at the same address, and this is the one we use.

You’ll pay £17.99 a month for Spotify Duo, so £4 cheaper than the family option (£50sh less a year), or £8 less than two standard Premium accounts (£96 total less a year). You will be asked to verify your address.

Get Spotify Duo

Save on Apple Music

Here are ways to save on Apple Music streaming including free trials and offers.

Save on Tidal, Amazon, Deezer & more

Here are more music streaming free trials and offers if you fancy changing from Spotify.

February 25, 2026   |   Articles

Energy price cap to drop by 7% from April 2026

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The average household will pay £1,641 a year, and this change applies to everyone

The energy price cap is going down by a huge 7%, dropping by £117 per year, and taking monthly bills down by around £10 per month. This usually only applies to those who are on a standard tariff, but due to changes made in the 2025 budget to green levies, the prices will also go down for those on a fixed rate.

Here’s what you need to know about the cap and how much you’ll pay.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

How the energy cap works

The energy price cap is a limit set every three months by Ofgem, the government’s energy regulator. It restricts how much an energy company can charge customers.

The cap applies to the price of your gas and electricity on your energy company’s default or standard variable rates. These basically can go up and down whenever the energy company likes. With the cap, the energy companies have to make sure their tariffs aren’t higher than the set rate.

Despite its name, it’s not a maximum amount that you can pay for your energy. Instead, the prices set on the cap are the maximum price per unit of energy you use. Ofgem announces the figure as an annual price, as you probably don’t have a clue how many kWh of energy your family uses. 

Because of this, the quoted “cap” (£1,641) is an annual price based on a typical household. If you use more energy, you’ll pay more than the cap every year. Use less, and you’ll pay less.

There are separate caps for gas and electricity, and each cap is also made up of a standing charge (a set amount each day, regardless of whether you use any energy) and a usage charge. 

The cap will also vary depending on where you live in the UK. Prepayment caps used to always be a little higher, although this recently changed. The new energy price cap also applies to those with a prepayment meter. 

Crucially, if you’re on a fixed-rate deal, then the cap doesn’t apply and the price you pay won’t change until that fix ends.

What is the new energy price cap?

The latest announcement is a drop to the price cap from 1 April until 30 June 2026.

The new cap for a “household with average use” is £1,641 a year. This is down by about £117, or 7% from the current rate.

If you break it down to each actual unit cost, the average caps are:

 Energy price cap per unit and standing charge 1 January to 31 March 2026Energy price cap per unit and standing charge 1 April to 30 June 2026
Electricity27.69 pence per kWh
54.75 pence daily standing charge		24.67 pence per kWh
57.2 pence daily standing charge
Gas5.93 pence per kWh
35.09 pence daily standing charge		5.74 pence per kWh
29.09 pence daily standing charge
Source: Ofgem

This does vary based on where you live, though the Ofgem website has a full breakdown of the regional caps for all standing charges and units.

Why is this energy price cap announcement different?

The April price cap is a little different to the usual one, as this time, everyone will benefit. This is due to an announcement in the 2025 budget that bills would be slashed by £150 per year, by ending the funding for the Energy Company Obligation scheme and removing 75% of costs for the Renewables Obligation scheme from energy bills.

The reduction isn’t £150 as it’s also considered the usual changes to the energy price cap.

What is the new average monthly energy bill?

Despite Ofgem attempting to present the information in a way we understand, the total annual cap figure isn’t always the easiest to comprehend – especially since our energy use changes throughout the year, but this cap only applies to three months.

At the same time, it’s not a flat increase to all bills as there could be different percentage changes to standing charges and unit rates.

So we think it’s easier to understand the price cap when you view it as a monthly direct debit. Your energy company calculates this by taking the predicted cost for a year based on your previous energy usage and dividing it by 12. It’s not 100% accurate, but it’s a handy comparison.

As the cap is down by £117 per year, that makes it around £9.75 less each month. The average monthly bill will be £137.

What is the current energy price cap?

The current price cap (1 January to 31 March) is £1,758 a year, based on the average household. This is with the newer typical use figures.

When will the new prices start?

This new energy price cap will come into play on 1 April 2026 and will remain in place until 30 June 2026.

How much will you pay under the new energy price cap?

Remember, the price cap figures are based on average use. If you use more than this average you’ll pay more, if you use less, you’ll pay less. Plus, it can vary regionally, so you’ll need to check where you live to see exactly what it’ll be for you.

If you want to get a rough, quick idea, you can subtract 7% from what you pay at the moment. This doesn’t take into account the balance between unit and standing charges, or whether you’ve got an accurate direct debit set-up, but it could give you a sense of how much it’ll be.

Will you pay more or less money with the new energy price cap?

If you’re on a variable tariff

Broadly, anyone on a standard tariff will be charged less per unit of energy from 1 April 2026. Of course, the bill itself will be based on your actual energy use. 

If you’re on a prepayment meter

There is no longer a significant premium for those with prepayment meters. You can see the cap for your region on the Ofgem website.

If you’re already on a fixed tariff

If you’re fixed on a tariff, your prices usually don’t change when the price cap changes. That’s because you’ve already agreed on a price per unit of energy for a fixed length of time with your energy supplier, usually 12 months.

However, in this instance, the prices will fall for everyone. This is because of an end of funding for the Energy Company Obligation scheme and removing 75% of costs for the Renewables Obligation scheme from energy bills.

Should you fix your energy?

We’ve seen more fixed deals returning to the market in the last couple of years, and right now, the cheapest 18-month fix is more than 14% lower than the cap. The price of these tariffs depends on where you live, but it’s still worth checking them out to see if you’ll save.

You’ll be comparing prices based on the price cap now, rather than April’s one, so this means your savings will be 7% more, so make sure you consider that.

If you go for one of these, bear in mind that some will charge an exit fee if you want to swap suppliers before the end of the term.

There are also some tariffs that track at below the cap, so you’ll always pay less – but not necessarily less than a fix.

Of course, these can change, so it’s worth using a comparison site to see what rates are available.

Will bills go up again?

The current predictions are that the price cap could see a rise in July, but a lot can change in that time.  

When is the next price cap change?

The price cap is reviewed every three months (before October 2022, it was every six months).

The price cap will next change on 1 July 2026. After this, it’ll change again on 1 October 2026, a change that will be announced in August 2026.

Price cap announcements & changes

  • Announcement by 27 May 2026 for 1 July 2026 change
  • Announcement by 26 August 2026 for 1 October 2026 change

How you can reduce your bill

Paying by direct debit will reduce your bills, so it’s well worth doing this.

Otherwise, it’s hard to do much to reduce what you spend on energy other than by using less energy. The standing charges will still apply, and bills will still be sky-high, but cutting back on gas and electricity will mean you pay less.

It’s worth giving accurate meter readings if you’re not on a smart meter. This will mean you’re more likely to have an accurate direct debit on current use, rather than what you used last year, and it stops you from falling into debt on your energy account. Your energy firm will probably not change this automatically, so you might need to ask.

Don’t forget, a direct debit averages the spend out over the year, so you should hope to overpay in the summer and underpay in the winter to help even out your bills.

How has the price cap changed?

As you can see, the really big changes have happened since October 2021. Before this, the average direct debit was under £100, so even with recent cuts, we’re still paying more, and even more on top if you had been saving with a lower fixed-rate deal.

These are the energy price caps going back to 2019, we’ve roughly adjusted them for the new typical use figures. You can see the historical price caps with the old figures below.

DateCost per year with new typical use figuresEPG & grantsAverage monthly billChange (+/-)
April to June 2026£1,641N/A£137-7%
January to March 2026£1758N/A£146+0.2%
October to December 2025£1755N/A£146+2%
July to September 2025£1,720N/A£143-7%
April to June 2025£1,849N/A£154+6.4%
January to April 2025 £1,738N/A£145+1.2%
October to December 2024£1,717N/A£143+9.5%
July to September 2024£1,568N/A£131-7.2%
April to June 2024£1,690£3,000 EPG£141-12.34%
January to March 2024£1,928£3,000 EPG£161+5.13%
October to December 2023£1,834£3,000 EPG£153-7.95%
July to September 2023£1,992£3,000 EPG£166-17.04%
April to June 2023£3,151£2,402 EPG£200+50.33%
January to March 2023£4,110£2,402 EPG & £67/m grant£1330.00%
October to December 2022£3,409£2,402 EPG & £67/m grant£133-15.62%
April to September 2022£1,893£158+54.35%
October 2021 to March 2022£1,227£102+12.21%
April to September 2021£1,093£91+9.21%
October 2020 to March 2021£1,001£83-7.46%
April to September 2020£1,082£90-4.50%
October 2019 to March 2020£1,133£94-5.98%
April to September 2019£1,205£100+10.29%
January to March 2019£1,092£91
Estimated costs, due to the change in the typical domestic consumption

Historical energy price caps

These are the energy price caps from before the typical use figures changed. This change made it difficult for us to compare new caps with the old ones, so we’ve converted the old price caps into ones with the new typical figures above.

DateMax annual bill for a typical householdAverage monthly direct debitChange +/-
October to December 2023£1,923 price cap / (£3,000 EPG)£160.25-7%
July to September 2023£2,074 price cap / (£3,000 EPG)£173– 17%
April to June 2023£2,500 EPG / (£3,280 price cap)£208 (£273.33 without EPG)+ 19% (-23.3%)
January to March 2023£2,100 (£2,500 EPG – £400 grant) / (£4,279 price cap)£175 (£356.58 without EPG and grant)+ 0% (20.5%)
October to December 2022£2,100 (£2,500 EPG – £400 grant) / (£3,549 price cap)£175 (£295.75 without EPG)+ 8%(+80%)
April to September 2022£1,971 price cap£162.25+54%
October 2021 to March 2022£1,277 price cap£106.42+12%
April to September 2021£1,138 price cap£94.83+9%
October 2020 to March 2021£1,042 price cap£86.83-7.5%
April to September 2020£1,126 price cap£93.83-4.5%
October 2019 to March 2020£1,179 price cap£98.25-6%
April to September 2019£1,254 price cap£104.50+10.2%
January to March 2019£1,137 price cap£94.75

Read next

February 25, 2026   |   Articles

The best ways to save and invest for grandchildren

Written by

If you want to put money aside for your grandchildren, or your parents want to save some money for your kids, Rebecca Goodman explains what you need to know first to get the best deals.

Giving money to grandchildren, either as a lump sum or regular payments, might not be the most exciting present in the world, but it can be invaluable to them (and your children). The money can be used for just about anything – from paying for university, a first car, or even to put towards a house deposit. 

There are lots of ways to save and invest for grandchildren, and how you do it will depend on when you want the child to access the money, how much you plan to give, and the tax implications. Here we discuss the options available.

We explain all you need to know.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

What is the best way to save money for grandchildren?

How you choose to save money for grandchildren will depend on your circumstances and there are lots of options available. A good way to decide is by looking at when you would like the child to be able to access the money. 

  • If you want them to be able to use the money before they turn 18, a children’s savings account is usually your best bet. These accounts can be opened by the child (at a certain age), by a parent or guardian, or sometimes by a grandparent (although they may need parent or guardian’s approval).
  • You may want to wait until the child is 18 to access the money, and in this case you could use a Junior ISA – either with cash or invested in stocks and shares. 
  • If you’re looking at a longer timeframe, you could also put the money into a child’s pension – which they won’t be able to touch until they’re much older. 
  • You could also save the money in your own account and then gift it to a grandchild. This could be in a savings account, an ISA or an investment product, for example. You can give away up to £3,000 a year without it counting towards your estate and if you’re giving a higher amount, inheritance tax may only be applied if you don’t live for at least seven years. You can also give smaller, regular, sums away which are exempt from inheritance tax.

The easy-access option: a children’s saving account

A children’s savings account allows you to put money away for a grandchild and they will be able to access this at a certain age. Most accounts allow children to withdraw money and may provide a debit card so they can pay for things. These easy-access accounts pay a variable rate of interest and money can usually be withdrawn at any point without a penalty.

There are also regular savings accounts for children which tend to pay a higher rate of interest. Much like adult accounts, you are often limited to how much you can put in each month, and withdrawals may not be allowed during the first year.

Specific children’s savings accounts can usually be set up with a parent or guardian’s approval, and grandparents can contribute to these as long as they have the account details.

Grandparents can also open accounts in some cases for children. You may need the parent or guardian’s approval to open an account for a child but this depends on the account and the provider. Some accounts can be opened without parental approval, but proof of the child’s ID, such as a photo of their passport, is usually required.

What is the best savings account for a grandchild?

The best savings account for a grandchild will be one that pays a decent amount of interest, allows you to put away the amount you want to, and one which suits yours (and the grandchild’s) needs when it comes to access.

Some of the best children’s savings accounts, based on the amount of interest paid, which can be opened by a grandparent include the following (you may need permission from the parent to do this):

Kent Reliance Demelza children’s savings account (4.18% AER variable)

  • Min £10 / max £25,000
  • Under 18 years old only
  • Open it in branch or via post

The Family BS Junior Saver (2) (3.35% AER variable on up to £3,000 saved, 3.6% on £3,000 to £25,000)

  • Min £1
  • Under 17 years old only
  • Open it in branch or via post

Yorkshire BS Children’s Saver (3.55% AER variable on up to £100,000 saved)

  • Min £1
  • Under 17 years old only
  • Open it in branch or via post

Halifax Kids’ Saver (2.25% AER variable on up to £5,000 saved, 0.75% on £5,000+)

  • Min £1
  • Under 15 years old only
  • Open in a branch or online

Some of the best easy-access children’s savings accounts (which grandparents can pay into but may need to be opened by a parent or guardian) include:

Nationwide FlexOne Saver (5% AER variable on up to £5,000 saved)

  • For 11-17-year-olds
  • Requires a FlexOne current account
  • Can get a Visa debit or a cash card

HSBC MySavings (4% AER variable on up to £3,000 saved / 1.2% above this)

  • Min £10
  • Ages 7 to 17
  • Debit card from 11
  • Can be opened online if parent/guardian has HSBC account, otherwise in branch only

And here are some of the best regular savings accounts for children:

Halifax Kids’ Monthly Saver (5.5% AER fixed for one year on up to £100 saved monthly)

  • Min £10
  • Under 15 year olds only 
  • Withdrawals not allowed (but account can be closed early without a penalty)
  • Can be opened online or in a branch  

Principality BS 3 Year Children’s Regular Saver (4% AER fixed for three years on up to £100 saved monthly)

  • Min £1
  • Under 15 year olds only 
  • Withdrawals not allowed (but account can be closed early without a penalty)
  • Can be opened in a branch or by post

Saffron BS Children’s Regular Saver (Issue 2) (3.95% AER variable on up to £100 saved monthly)

  • Min £1 
  • Under 17 year olds only
  • Withdrawals allowed
  • Can be opened in a branch or by post

What is the best ISA for grandchildren?

There are also a range of cash Junior ISAs for children, which come with additional tax benefits. Junior ISAs can only be opened by a parent or guardian, but a grandparent can pay money into one. 

Up to £9,000 can be put into a Junior ISA every tax year and any interest you earn is tax free. The money can’t be accessed until the child turns 18, so they’re a nice way to build up a little nest egg.   

Here are some of the best cash JISAs right now.

Best Cash Junior ISAs

Family Building Society Junior ISA

Customer rating 4.7/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.85%
  • Minimum
    £1
  • Account opening
    Branch or via post
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Allow transfers in Yes

Leek Building Society Junior ISA

Customer rating 4.9/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.85%
  • Minimum
    £1
  • Account opening
    Branch or via post
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Allows transfers in? Yes

Coventry Building Society Junior ISA

Customer rating 4.2/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.75%
  • Minimum
    £1
  • Account opening
    Branch or via post
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Allows transfers in? Yes

Loughborough Building Society Junior ISA

Customer rating 4.9/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.75%
  • Minimum
    £1
  • Account opening
    Branch or via post
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Allows transfers in? Yes

Danske Bank UK Junior ISA

Customer rating 4.2/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.75%
  • Minimum
    £25
  • Account opening
    Branch or via phone
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Allows transfers in? Yes

NS&I Junior ISA

Customer rating 2.9/5
  • AER (variable)
    3.55%
  • Minimum
    £1
  • Account opening
    Online
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Allows transfers in? Yes

The best investment options: Junior ISAs

You can also choose an investment ISA for a grandchild, with a stocks and shares Junior ISA. These work in the same way as a cash Junior ISA but as you’re investing your money, the returns are likely to be a lot higher but you also take on the risk of the stock market and returns are never guaranteed.  

As investing is designed for the long term, a stocks and shares Junior ISA could be a good option, as you may have an 18-year period where the money could potentially rise. Here are some of the best accounts available right now.

Best Junior Stocks & Shares ISAs
Sponsored

interactive investor Junior Stocks & Shares ISA

Customer rating 4.2/5
Editor's comment
“
You need to have the Investor plan to open a Junior ISA, but this covers as many Junior ISAs as you need, so you can have as many open as you have children.
  • Annual fee
    £11.99 per month (Investor plan)
  • Investment styles
    DIY or ready-made
  • Minimum deposit
    £25 per month
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Transfer in existing ISA? Yes
  • Interest on uninvested cash 1.51%
  • Trading fee £3.99
  • Foreign exchange fee 1.50%
  • Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees between 0.03% and 1.5%
  • Note on fees You need to have the Investor plan to open a Junior ISA, but this covers as many Junior ISAs as you need, so you can have as many open as you have children.
View Deal
Our top pick

Hargreaves Lansdown Junior Stocks & Shares ISA

Customer rating 4.6/5
  • Annual fee
    0%
  • Investment styles
    DIY or ready-made
  • Minimum deposit
    £100 or £25 per month
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Transfer in existing ISAs? Yes
  • Fund fees If you invest in ready-made portfolios or funds, you'll still need to pay fund fees depending on which portfolio you choose.
  • Interest on uninvested cash 2.53%
  • Ready-made portfolios available 4 risk-based portfolios
View Deal

Vanguard Junior Stocks & Shares ISA

Customer rating 4.6/5
  • Annual fee
    0.15% (max £375 per year)
  • Investment styles
    DIY or ready-made
  • Minimum deposit
    £100 per month or £500
Sells its own funds only
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Transfer in existing ISA? Yes
  • Interest on uninvested cash 2.35%
  • Fund fees When you invest in funds you'll also have to pay fund fees between 0.06% and 0.79%

AJ Bell Junior Stocks & Shares ISA

Customer rating 4.4/5
  • Annual fee
    0.25%
  • Investment styles
    DIY or ready-made
  • Minimum deposit
    £25 per month or £500
  • FSCS Protected? Yes
  • Transfer in existing ISA? Yes
  • Interest on uninvested cash 2.07% up to £10,000
  • Trading fee Shares - £5, Funds - £1.50
  • Foreign exchange fee 0.75%
  • Fund fees If you invest in funds, you'll have to pay fund fees between 0.04% and 1.16%
View Deal

The long-term option: Junior pensions

If you’re looking for a very long-term savings plan for a grandchild, you could open a pension for them. While it may sound like a long way off, there is currently a big gap between the amount many people have saved, and the sums they require for a decent standard of living when they retire. So, if you would like to build up a little nest egg for a grandchild to supplement or replace their income when they stop working, a pension is one option.

A Junior Self-Invested Personal Pension (or Junior SIPP) can be opened by a parent or guardian for a child as soon as they are born and grandparents can contribute. 

It is usually managed by the parent or guardian, until the child turns 18. 

The annual allowance for the 2025/2026 tax year is £3,600. Thanks to the tax benefits of a pension, this means £2,800 can be put into the account this tax year and this will be topped up by the government by 20%. 

The money can’t be accessed until the child reaches pension age – which is currently 55 but will rise to 57 in 2028.

Money within a pension is invested, so the longer the money is in the pot, the longer it has time to grow. This means putting money into a pension regularly, even a small amount, could potentially see the entire pot grow substantially.  

However, as it is an investment, it’s worth remembering that the amount could rise or fall and there are no guarantees.

What are the advantages of a Junior SIPP

Paying into a grandchild’s pension allows you to build up a retirement pot for them which they can use when they retire, but there are other benefits too:

  • Tax breaks: Money paid into a Junior SIPP is free from both income tax and capital gains tax
  • Pensions tax relief: The government adds 20% onto anything that goes into a Junior SIPP
  • Lower Inheritance Tax (IHT) to pay: You could lower your IHT bill by paying money into a grandchild’s Junior SIPP (although the rules around this are set to change from 6 April 2027).  

The lucky option: Premium Bonds

Premium Bonds are loved as not only are they a very safe place to save money because they’re government backed, there’s also the chance of winning the lottery each month.

While Premium Bonds don’t pay any interest, every £1 bond you buy is automatically entered in the monthly prize draw, where you could win between £25 and £1million.

The child’s parent or grandparent must open a Premium Bond account for them, and control this until they turn 16. They must also give you the details of the child’s account.  You can then buy bonds for them and each child can hold up to £50,000 in their account.   

The tax-efficient option: bare trusts

A bare trust can be set up so any money within an account legally belongs to the child. This can be set up by a grandparent although they will need to show the child’s ID.

The grandparent then acts as a trustee of the account and manages it until the child turns 18 (or 16 in Scotland).

A major benefit of using a bare trust is that any interest earned on the money within one is seen as the child’s income, so there could be no tax to pay. Gifts put into a bare trust are known as Potentially Exempt Transfers (PETs) and no inheritance tax is due on these as long as the person who gifted the money lives for at least seven years after it’s paid.  

FAQs

How do I invest for my grandchildren?

One of the best ways of investing for a grandchild is to put money into a Junior ISA, where the child can take control of the account at the age of 16 and access the funds within it by the age of 18.

If you are looking to invest over the very long term, a children’s pension is another option that has significant tax benefits.

You could also invest in your own name, and gift the money to a grandchild at a later stage, although inheritance tax may apply in some situations.

Can I open a savings account for my grandchild without a birth certificate?

You may be able to open a savings account for your grandchild without a birth certificate, but you will usually need to show a different form of ID instead. This could be a passport, for example. You may also need permission from the child’s parent or guardian to open the account. 

Do I need the parent’s permission to open an account for my grandchild?

Some savings accounts can be opened by grandparents without a parent or guardian’s permission. These are usually opened in trust but you will need to show some form of ID for the child to open the account.

What tax does a grandparent have to pay?

If a grandparent opens a savings account for a child, usually as a trustee, the money within the account is seen as the child’s and any interest earned will count towards the child’s income. But if the savings account is in the grandparent’s name, the interest earned will count as the adult’s and any tax due will be calculated based on their income. 

Can I open an investment account for my grandchild?

You may be able to open an investment account for a grandchild but this depends on the account and the provider. A Junior ISA or a Junior SIPP, for example, can only be opened by a parent or guardian but a bare trust account can be opened by anyone.

Tax benefits of investing for your grandkids

Investing for your grandchildren comes with many tax benefits. If you’re investing through a Junior ISA, for example, there is no income tax or capital gains tax to pay on the interest. If it’s a Junior SIPP you can benefit from tax breaks and the government will top up contributions by 20%, up to the annual limit, and with a bare trust the account is usually taxed as if it is the child’s so may be tax free.

The best savings accounts

Check out our list of the highest paying regular, easy-access, fixed and ethical savings accounts

Read next

February 24, 2026   |   Deals

Theatre deals and discounts

Written by

Tickets to shows may be pricey, but there are ways to save

Looking for cheap deals and discounts for theatre tickets in the West End and elsewhere? We’ll post regular sales or decent offers here.

Don’t forget to read our guide to getting cheap theatre tickets.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

Annual sales and offers

These are offers that tend to come back each year, so keep an eye out.

Official London Theatre New Year Sale (November 2025 to March 2026)

Official London Theatre holds a New Year sale semi-regularly, with some big shows at least 20% off. This year it starts officially on 25 November 2025, however if you have a Mastercard, you can take part in the Mastercard pre-sale via Priceless from 18 November.

Tickets are either £10, £20, £30, £40 or £50, with no booking fees.

This year, it’s running from 10 am on 18 November for performances until February. It’s often extended into March.

Here’s what you can get tickets to:

  • Arthur 
  • Back To The Future – The Musical 
  • Black Is The Color Of My Voice 
  • The Boy At The Back Of The Class 
  • Cabaret 
  • A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story 
  • Daniel’s Husband  
  • The Devil Wears Prada 
  • Disney’s Hercules 
  • Disney’s The Lion King 
  • The Firework Maker’s Daughter 
  • Hadestown 
  • Hamilton 
  • Harry Potter And The Cursed Child 
  • High Noon 
  • The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy 
  • Hooray For Hollywood 
  • Into The Woods 
  • Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical 
  • Kinky Boots 
  • Lost Atoms 
  • Lucie Jones: Live At The London Palladium 
  • Magic Mike Live 
  • Mamma Mia! 
  • RSC’s Matilda The Musical 
  • Les Misérables 
  • MJ The Musical 
  • Monopoly Lifesized 
  • The Mousetrap 
  • My Neighbour Totoro 
  • Oh, Mary! 
  • Oliver! 
  • Opera Locus 
    Othello 
  • The Paddington Bear Experience 
  • The Phantom Of The Opera 
  • The Play That Goes Wrong 
  • Potted Panto 
  • The Producers 
  • The Rapping Princess 
  • The Red Shoes 
  • Showstopper! The Improvised Musical  
  • Six 
  • The Snowman 
  • The Spy Who Came In From The Cold 
  • Starlight Express 
  • Stranger Things: The First Shadow 
  • Sunny Afternoon 
  • Titanique 
  • Top Hat 
  • Tutu 
  • RSC’s Twelfth Night 
  • Wicked 
  • Witness For The Prosecution 
Get tickets via Priceless
Get London Theatre tickets

London Theatre Week (February and September)

Twice a year, TodayTix and other sites offer discounts at a decent number of West End shows in an event called London Theatre Week. It runs in February and September.

During these dates, you can book to visit the theatre in the coming months for heavy discounts — prices are either £15, £25 or £35.

The dates you can get discounts on vary massively between productions, but for a lot of them, you can book for a couple of months. There are tickets to The Great Gatsby, My Neighbour Totoro, Hamilton and Hercules included in the promotion.

It’ll likely return again in August 2026.

Buy London Theatre Week tickets

Kids Theatre Week (June to September)

Kids Theatre Week runs every summer, and tickets generally become available in early June for shows in August. Tickets went on sale last year on 10 June 2025, and they tend to sell out fast, but more tend to be released to coincide with the start of the summer holidays.

You can get one free child’s ticket (and two more at half-price) at a series of West End shows when you buy one full-paying adult ticket. It’s for shows from 21 July to 31 August, not just one week. A child is anyone 17 years old and under.

Tickets are limited with big shows quickly selling out, but there are plenty of options including Hamilton, Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, Mamma Mia and kids’ shows The Lion King, Matilda The Musical and Alice in Wonderland. And keep an eye out, as more seats might be released for those popular productions.

The only thing I’d say is the adult tickets are full price so you might be better off looking at other deals if more than one adult is attending.

Get Kids Week tickets

Flash promotions & sales

These offers are special deals that we’ve spotted

Central Tickets: Get 10% extra credit with your first top-up

If you top up your Central Tickets account for the first time, you can get 10% added by Central Tickets, up to the value of £10. 

The credit in your account is used as payment for seat filling bookings you make through Central Tickets. It can’t be used on West End offer tickets (listed in a separate tab on their site).

You won’t be able to get a refund on it, and it won’t be protected if Central Tickets were to go bust, so make sure you’ll make use of the money you top up before you do so. 

Central Tickets will add up to £10, so you could get £110 worth of credit for £100. 

Read more on being a seat filler
Sign up for Central Tickets

TodayTix: up to 50% off in Boxing Day sale (ended)

TodayTix tends to run sales throughout the year and the latest is offering up to 50% off tickets in their Boxing Day sale. There’s no end date published, but I’d expect it to be until the end of January, if not early December (though the actual performances can be after these dates).

Get tickets at TodayTix

Theatre Tokens gift card discounts

There are occasionally discounts such as save 10% on Theatre Tokens – the official theatre gift card that’s valid at hundreds of locations nationwide and the TKTs Booth in the West End. We’ll add them here when we spot them.

Theatre Tokens: 10% off

If you buy a Theatre Tokens gift card and use the code Tfl then you can get 10% off your purchase. These gift cards can be redeemed at over 300 theatres nationwide and don’t have an expiry date.

You can order a total of £500 worth of gift cards per household, which would get you a £50 discount.

Get 10% off

Previous offers

TodayTix: 25 shows for £25 each (expired)

Until 4 June you can book £25 tickets at 25 different West End shows via TodayTix. This includes Book of Mormon, We Will Rock You, Wizard of Oz and Punchdrunk’s Burnt City.

Book via TodayTix

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February 19, 2026   |   Articles

The best auto savings apps and hacks

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Automating savings with AI and more is an easy way to see your savings grow

Often one of the biggest barriers to putting money into savings is simply remembering to do it. So your salary comes into your current account and stays there. Some of it goes to bills, some of it to shopping and going out. And before you know it, there’s not much (or any) left to put into savings. So nothing gets saved. And this repeats month after month.

But it is possible to break that chain so some of your money goes into savings before you can spend it – and you don’t even need to do anything each month. After the initial set up, these three methods will automatically move money out of your main account into a separate account.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

Set up standing orders 

This is the simplest way to ensure you save every single month. Doing this means the money is automatically saved month after month.

You need to do three things. First, set up a separate account which is just for your savings (try for one with some kind of interest, though that’s hard right now). This doesn’t have to be a standard savings account with your current bank. It can even be a separate savings account at a different bank where it’s possible to get 7.5% with regular savers from Principality Building Society.

Then work out how much you can afford to save each month. This isn’t difficult. Just add up all your regular bills and essential outgoings such as food and petrol for a month and deduct this from how much you earn in a month. What you’ve got left is what you have to spend for the rest of the month until your next payday.

Finally, set up a standing order for that amount to come out of your current account and into your separate account on the same date every month. This is often referred to the “pay yourself first” savings method.

Personally I’d set this to be as close to payday as possible so you can’t spend the cash before you save it. If your payday tends to move when it happens on a weekend, then allow a couple of days before the standing order takes the cash. You can always change the size of the direct debit if you feel it’s too much or too little.

The best savings accounts

Check out our list of the highest paying regular, easy-access, fixed and ethical savings accounts

Use an AI app

If you’re not confident you have enough money spare each month to save at payday then there are some apps that will help save smaller amounts as the month goes on.

Once you’ve downloaded the app you need to connect it to your bank account. Doing this gives each app access to see your bank balance and monitor regular payments in and out. The apps then use smart algorithms to analyse your spending.

Now it’s the clever bit. The apps can work out how much they think you can afford to save, and transfer that money automatically to a separate account. Slowly but surely the total saved adds up. You can, of course, use one of these as well as set up standing orders in order to save that little bit more each month.

With each of these apps you have the ability to increase or decrease how much and how often you save, and well as reject a saving if you think you need to keep hold of the money. And if you change your mind it’s easy to withdraw the money back to your current account, though it might not be until the next working day, depending on the app.

I know some people worry about the safety of this but your banking data is all encrypted to keep it safe. Your money is also protected if the companies running the apps were to go bust, though not necessarily if the bank holding the cash goes under. I’m happy with the ones listed below but if you’re not comfortable with doing this then do a bit more reading to put your mind at ease.

Here are the main artificial intelligence savings apps that will automatically move money for you:

Plum

The free version is all you need for the automatic savings, though if you choose to pay more you’ll also have access to Plum Plus which comes with more investment options. The interest rate paid on its easy-access pockets is 3% for the free version.

If you put your money into these pockets, it’s held with Investec and protected up to £120,000 by FSCS.

Sprive

Sprive is an app doing the same thing, though it has one major difference – the money saved goes towards overpaying your mortgage rather than a savings account. If your mortgage rate is higher than what you can get in savings, and if you already have a substantial emergency savings fund, this could be a better option for you.

Just bear in mind once it’s in the mortgage it’s much harder to access that cash if you need it later (you’d need to remortgage and release capital). It’s also early days so not all mortgage providers can be connected.

Chip

The AI feature on Chip stopped being free to all users in mid-2022. It now charges 45p per save so I wouldn’t use this app for auto-savings.

Trigger auto-savings & savings challenges

The final form of automated savings is something I’m calling ‘triggered’ savings. Effectively, when a certain event happens your bank will move money from your main account into a separate savings pot.

Monzo and IFTT

The main bank for this is Monzo, which has a 1p savings challenge available. Sadly this year’s challenge ended on 31 January for free customers, though if you pay for a packaged Monzo account it’s available all year.

You can also connect to an app called IFTT (If This Then That). You can set up other simple savings challenges very easily, either choose from a catalogue of pre-made options or create your own.

For instance, you could use your maps app as a trigger when you visit a certain shop, or your weather app to trigger a save every time it rains. You’re limited to two free ‘applets’ with the IFTT basic plan.

Plum

The paid version of Plum also offers some of the standard ones, eg the 1p savings challenge, but I don’t think it’s worth paying extra for this.

Round up your spending automatically

The most common way to get money in your savings account without any effort is to use a “rounding up” system. When you spend money on your debit card, the bank will round up the transaction to the nearest pound, moving this spare change across to a savings account. For example, spend £3.75 and 25p will be moved over.

I rarely use this option myself as I tend to spend with my cashback cards instead, but I like the idea of small amounts adding up each time you shop. If you use your debit card a lot it could quickly build up a few quid every day or two.

More and more banks (listed below) offer this and you’ll need to opt-in for the rounding-up to happen. All work a little differently so make sure you understand how what you’re signing up to. And if your bank doesn’t offer this there are third-party apps you can try.

The pick of the bunch are probably NatWest and RBS as you’ll also earn 5.25% interest on the top ups for a year. Chase also offers a decent 5% on round-ups, though it restarts every 12 months.

What accounts offer round ups?

  • Bank of Scotland
  • Chase
  • Halifax
  • Lloyds
  • Monzo
  • Nationwide
  • Natwest
  • Revolut
  • RBS
  • Starling
  • Trading 212
  • TSB

The following also allow you to round up from spending at other banks

  • MoneyBox
  • Plum

The best auto saving apps

So there are a lot of options for auto saving, here are the ones I’d recommend:

PLUM

Focus on Plum in the first instance. It’ll be the most impactful. But move your money across to a better paying account at least every month, if not weekly.

MONZO

Finally, if you already use Monzo, then the IFTT feature has huge potential to add more to your savings. And it could be fun!

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February 12, 2026   |   Deals

Latest TopCashback deals: £20 for new members (February 2026)

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Earn extra cashback from TopCashback with these offers, including a welcome bonus

I’ve earned thousands of pounds through TopCashback and Quidco in the last 10 years – and that’s just by doing some normal shopping.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

New member sign up deals

I think the best welcome bonuses are the ones that aren’t linked to a specific retailer. These open-ended offers mean you can get cashback no matter where you shop.

There are sometimes other deals that will pay a similar amount, but they are restricted to specific retailers or require a higher minimum spend (e.g. £30). I’ll share these below if they are better than the generic offers.

You can only get one new sign-up offer.

Free £20 bonus

You can get a £20 new member bonus. You need to spend £10 via one of the retailers listed on TopCashback to get this bonus (excluding takeaways). You must go via this link or the button below.

Read the full terms and conditions when you click through. The £20 bonus ends 31 March 2026.

Sign up to TopCashback for a £20 bonus

Existing customer deals

From time to time there are special bonuses you can activate. Often it’s £2.50 when you spend a tenner, though sometimes they are higher or linked to a specific type of purchase.

£2 bonus when you spend £10 (expired)

Just for today (Friday 5 December), both new and existing TopCashback customers can get a £2 bonus when they spend £10 with any retailer through the site. The deal ends at 23.59.

If you’re not sure what to buy or don’t need anything, you can also use it with TopGiftCards. You can use this alongside the £30 sign-up offer above, so you can get a total of £32 for signing up and spending £10.

Sign up for TopCashback

£5 bonus cashback on £20 gift card spend (expired)

Members can currently get a bonus of £5 with a £20 spend on gift cards via the TopGiftCards page. This includes supermarkets, so it’s a good way to save on everyday spending rather than buying a gift card for the sake of the saving.

You’ll be able to find the offer on the home page, where you need to activate the offer.

Then, you need to make a purchase by 23:59 on 2 September 2025. You’ll get the bonus as well as any cashback earned on the purchase (rates will vary by gift card).

So for example

  • Buy a £20 Tesco gift card with 2.5% cashback
  • Receive 50p cashback
  • Get £5 bonus
  • Save £5.50 (27.5%)

And if you don’t have TopCashback yet, don’t forget you can earn an extra £20 by signing up via our link – meaning you’ll make a profit!

Sign up for TopCashback

February 11, 2026   |   Deals

Amazon vouchers & deals (February 2026)

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From Amazon vouchers and free trials of Amazon Prime to flash sales and tricks for free delivery

Let’s face it, Amazon is probably the one website that most people use pretty regularly, so it helps to have a voucher or discount stored up. Here are the best deals at the moment.

If you’re thinking of reducing how much you use Amazon, check out Andy’s article, which looks at why it can be good to cut back.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

There are some decent offers throughout the year to watch out for. You won’t be eligible for all of them but it’s worth a look.

Amazon Prime membership offers

Amazon Prime is Amazon’s big membership scheme. You can learn more in our comprehensive Amazon Prime review.

It’s worth knowing that even if you’ve had a free trial in the past, it doesn’t mean you can’t get free or cheap offers to rejoin.

30-day free Amazon Prime trial every year

You know the drill here. You get free next day delivery, Amazon Prime Instant Video, access to Amazon Prime Now and loads of other goodies. It’s normally £95 a year but you can get a free 30-day trial.

You will hopefully be able to do this every 12 months, but it’s unclear if this is guaranteed for all customers. You can always try your luck (you never know), but if you’ve not yet taken out a trial, I’d wait until you’ve got a lot of spending coming up, or a big sale such as Prime Day or Black Friday.

Get your Amazon Prime 30-day free trial

99p for one week of Amazon Prime

If you’ve previously had Amazon Prime but aren’t yet eligible again for a second free trial you might be offered a week for 99p. After this you’ll pay full price unless you cancel.

See if you can get a week of Amazon Prime for 99p

£2 off Prime via O2

If you have an O2 SIM you can now add Amazon Prime to your bill and receive a £2 discount each month. You’ll find the details here.

Get an O2 SIM

Amazon Student and 18-22 year-olds: six months free, then £47.49 a year

If you have a student card you should also be able to join Amazon Student. This is essentially Amazon Prime. You get six months free, then 12 months at half price. Amazon might ask for additional proof you are a student. You’ll get the student account for as long as you’re a student or for up to four years.

If you’re between 18 and 22 then you can get this too, but you’ll need to prove your age with a valid driving licence or passport. You can get this account until you’re 23.

Get your Amazon six month free trial

Amazon gift card and voucher offers

Prime Video: £5 credit

Amazon has relaunched a regular offer that lets selected customers get £5 credit to use for rentals or purchases on Prime VIdeo. You do not need Prime to access this.

The credit will be available for 30 days once activated.

See if you’re eligible

Snoop: £5 Amazon Voucher

Snoop is an app to help you track your spending. It also analyses your bank date to suggest ways you can save money. Right now there’s an offer to get a £5 Amazon voucher.

You must go via the link below for the offer to track.

Once you’ve downloaded the app and signed up you need to connect a bank or credit card account and stay connected until the end of the following month. The voucher will then be paid.

Join Snoop to get your £5 voucher

Free credit when you buy a gift card

This one’s worth trying even if you’ve used a similar promotion. However, you can normally only qualify once every couple of years. Check the offer is displayed when you click through. The latest offer we’ve seen offers £6 extra when you buy £60 in gift cards. 

If nothing is displayed, it could mean it’s ended or you’re not eligible. These deals are often extended or return after a short absence.

See if you’re eligible for this offer

£5 extra when you top up by £60

Similar to the gift card promotion, here you top up your Amazon account and get some extra credit added. The promo value changes often, but it’s currently £5 when you add £60.

If it is running, it’s only for people who haven’t topped up their account in the last 36 months. Again, this deal can come and go, so it’s worth checking.

Check if you can get this offer

Amazon offers

Check eligibility for promotions

You might have personalised Amazon offers. It’ll show you trials and discounts you are eligible for. However, we still think it’s worth looking at the offers above and below in case they don’t show.

£5 off £15 (for some)

From 8 January 2026 until 13 February 2026, some Amazon customers can get £5 off a £15 spend. To get it, you need to use Amazon Day delivery.

You won’t be eligible if you have used Amazon Day delivery since 8 January 2025. To get it, you need to see if you’re eligible and use the code 5AMAZONDAY5 at checkout.

Check if you can get this offer

£10 off via Amazon Haul (ended)

A new service from Amazon is called Haul, and the idea is you order specific products, largely from overseas, to get lower prices (though it’s worth asking yourself why something is so cheap via this route). It’s basically Amazon Temu.

If you spend more than £15 you’ll get free delivery, though that won’t be fast. It could take as much as two weeks if the goods are coming from abroad.

This promo saves you £10 with no minimum spend. There’s also up to £10% extra off if you spend at least £30.

Order via Amazon Haul

Prime member offers

Free Kindle book

There are lots of ways to save on Kindle books, but Prime members can also nab one of six titles every month for free via First Reads. There’s normally a mix of genres and once you pick your book you can send it to your Kindle.

See which books are on offer this month

Prime Big Deals Day 2025

This sale for Prime members takes place in October most years. It’s pretty much a carbon copy of Prime Day. As soon as we spot any early offers, we’ll share them below.

Don’t forget you’ll need to be a Prime member to get the offers – but we’ve listed deals above that’ll save you money or perhaps help you get it for free.

October’s Prime Big Deals Day sale (ended)

Amazon ran its special two-day sale for Prime Members on 7 and 8 October 2025.

This autumn deal event could offer the chance to grab a bargain ahead of Black Friday and the Christmas sales.

It’s always worth shopping around and seeing if you can get the same item for less elsewhere, or with added features. If you do buy something at Amazon and the price drops during the sale you can get a refund for the difference.

Before the actual day, the offers are mostly on Amazon’s own products and devices.

Early offers include:

  • Discounts on Echo devices – up to 54% off.
  • Ring and Blink cameras and doorbells – up to 61% off
  • Fire TV stick 4K – up to 57% off
  • Kindle – up to 29% off
  • Amazon Music Unlimited – get 4 months free (usually one month)
  • discounts on branded gift cards, including Uber, Vue and One4All – details on our gift card deals page
Shop Amazon Prime Big Deals Day Sale

Prime Day 2025

Prime Day is Amazon’s big sale just for Prime members. This year, it ran from 8 to 11 July.

It’s important to remember that not all the deals are the best price. Some are simply old stock that needs clearing, while others are often as cheap throughout the year. We’d recommend using uk.camelcamelcamel.com to see the price history before making any purchase

And don’t get caught up spending money just because there’s a sale on. If you don’t actually need it, don’t buy it.

Most offers are product-specific, and we’d encourage you to check for price matching elsewhere, especially on tech like Echo speakers and Ring doorbells.

Prime Day: 8 – 11 July 2025 (ended)

Amazon is running its special four day sale for Prime members on 8 and 11 July 2025. The summertime deal event could offer the chance to grab a bargain ahead of larger autumn sales such as Black Friday.

It’s worth shopping around and seeing if you can get the same item for less elsewhere, or with added features. If you do buy something at Amazon and the price drops during the sale you can get a refund for the difference.

As always the biggest discounts are on Amazon’s own devices, such as Kindle, Echo, Fire, Eero and Ring. If you’re new to TopCashback you can get an additional £20 bonus plus up to 2.12% back on these devices. We’ll add some here once they launch.

So far you can get:

Shop Amazon Prime Day Summer Sale

Amazon Black Friday

Black Friday 2025

The Black Friday week of deals is at the end of November, but the sale started on Thursday, 20 November this year, and they tend to carry on after.

You need to have a Prime membership to get early access to the best deals, but the 30-day free trial will give you that.

If you’re after an Amazon device (Echo, Kindle, FireTV, Eero, Ring) then this is likely to be one of the cheapest times to buy.

Amazon Black Friday week 2025

Amazon is starting its Black Friday sales a week early this year, with sales beginning on Thursday 20 November until Cyber Monday on 1 December.

Remember to use price history tools to check if something is a good price, and check you can’t get it for less elsewhere.

Some picks so far are:

Shop Black Friday week at Amazon

Amazon Business offers

Every now and then there are offers such as £50 off for new Amazon Business users. I’ll update here as and when.

It can take time to set up the account but you should be approved in around two days.

Sign up to Amazon Business

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