Plum vs Chip: Which Auto-Savings App Saves You More?

The honest answer to Plum vs Chip depends on one thing most comparison pages skate over: how each app charges you for the auto-saving that is supposed to be the whole point. Both apps watch your spending and quietly move money into savings on your behalf, and both have grown from simple savers into broader money apps. Where they part company is cost, control and how much extra they try to do. I have used both the way a normal saver would, and this is where each one actually wins.

If you want the wider field rather than a head-to-head, our pick of the best round-up and auto-savings apps in the UK sets these two against Moneybox and the rest.

How each app saves for you

Plum and Chip work on the same basic idea. You link your current account through Open Banking, the app studies your incoming and outgoing money, and every few days it calculates an amount it reckons you will not miss and tucks it away. You can layer on round-ups, fixed recurring deposits and one-off top-ups on top of that automatic nudge.

In practice the algorithms feel similar. Both are good at finding small sums you would otherwise have spent. The difference is the surrounding app. Plum tries to be a full money hub, with budgeting, spending breakdowns, bill splitting and an investing arm sitting alongside the saving. Chip is deliberately leaner: it keeps the focus on saving and a smaller set of accounts, and long-term users tend to praise it for staying out of the way.

If you want one app that handles budgeting and investing as well as saving, Plum has the broader toolkit. If you find busy apps off-putting and just want money moved into a decent savings account without fuss, Chip’s simplicity is a feature, not a shortcoming.

The fee that changes the maths

This is the single most important line in the whole Plum vs Chip decision, so do the sum for yourself rather than trusting either app’s marketing.

Chip’s free plan now charges a small fee every time the app auto-saves for you. It is a matter of pence per save, but if Chip is squirreling money away several times a week, those charges stack up over a year and eat into the interest you earn. You can soften the blow by leaning on round-ups and recurring deposits you set yourself, which are not hit the same way, or by moving to the paid ChipX subscription, which removes the per-save fee.

Plum’s basic tier lets you auto-save for free, and its paid tiers (Plus, Pro and Max) unlock higher interest boosts, more investing options and extra features rather than charging you to save. So for a casual saver who wants pure hands-off auto-saving at no cost, Plum’s free version is usually the cheaper starting point. For someone who runs larger balances or wants Chip’s investment range, the subscription maths can flip the other way.

Treat any specific fee or rate you read elsewhere as a snapshot. Both apps change their pricing, so check the current terms on each app’s own pages before you decide.

Savings and ISA accounts

Both apps put your money into interest-paying accounts rather than letting it sit idle, and both offer a Cash ISA so your interest can be sheltered from tax up to your annual £20,000 ISA allowance.

Rates move constantly and often carry a 12-month introductory bonus that drops to a lower ongoing rate, so the headline figure you see advertised is rarely the rate you keep. The practical advice is the same for either app: find the live rate on the provider’s own savings pages, check whether it is a bonus or the standing rate, and compare it against a plain easy-access account from a bank. An app is only worth using if the convenience does not cost you meaningful interest.

For a wider look at where this money should live, see our guide to where to keep your emergency fund.

Is your money safe with either?

Neither Plum nor Chip is a bank. They are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and your saved money sits in accounts provided by partner banks, which is where the protection comes from. When your cash is held in an FSCS-protected savings account or ISA, it is covered up to £85,000 per banking licence, in the same way as money in a high-street account. You can confirm any provider’s status on the FSCS bank and savings checker.

The detail worth checking is which bank actually holds your money in each account, because the £85,000 limit is per banking licence, not per app. If you already hold a large balance with the same underlying bank, you could unknowingly push past the protected limit.

Plum vs Chip: which should you pick?

Choose Plum if you want one app that saves, budgets and invests, and you want hands-off auto-saving without a per-save fee on the free tier. It rewards people who will actually use the wider toolkit.

Choose Chip if you prefer a simpler, calmer app focused on saving, you are comfortable using round-ups and recurring deposits to avoid the auto-save fee, or you want access to its investment range through ChipX.

For most people starting out who simply want money moved into savings automatically and cheaply, Plum’s free tier edges it. For savers who value a clean, single-purpose app and will set up their own regular deposits, Chip is the more comfortable home. Either way, the app is the nudge; the interest rate and the fee are what decide whether it is worth keeping.

If you are still weighing options, read our full Is Plum worth it review and Chip app review before you commit.

Frequently asked questions

Is Plum or Chip cheaper for auto-saving? For pure automatic saving at no cost, Plum’s free basic tier is usually cheaper, because Chip’s free plan charges a small fee on each auto-save. Chip becomes more competitive if you set up your own recurring deposits or pay for ChipX, which removes that fee.

Do Plum and Chip pay interest on your savings? Yes. Both move your money into interest-paying savings accounts and Cash ISAs provided by partner banks, rather than leaving it idle. Rates change often and may include a temporary bonus, so always check the live rate before relying on a quoted figure.

Is my money FSCS protected with Plum and Chip? When your cash sits in an FSCS-protected savings account or ISA behind either app, it is covered up to £85,000 per banking licence. The apps themselves are not banks; the protection comes from the partner bank holding your money.

Can I use both Plum and Chip at the same time? Yes, there is nothing stopping you running both, though most people find one auto-saver is enough. Using two can split your savings across more banking licences, but it also doubles the apps and fees you have to keep track of.

Which app is better for beginners? Chip’s simpler, single-purpose design tends to suit complete beginners who only want to save. Plum suits people who also want budgeting and investing in the same place and do not mind a busier app.