Best Savings Accounts in France (2026)

Two things changed for French savers in 2026, and they pull in opposite directions.

Rates turned back up. The European Central Bank raised its deposit facility rate to 2.50% on 16 September 2026 after cutting it to 2.25% in June, and the Livret A went from 1.50% to 1.70% on 1 August. Taxes went up too: the flat tax on savings interest rose from 30% to 31.4% on 1 January 2026, after social contributions were lifted from 17.2% to 18.6%. A gross rate is worth less than it was a year ago.

You can find many savings account (comptes d’épargne) options in France, and they fall into two broad categories:

1. Fixed-term savings accounts (comptes à terme);
2. Flexible, instant-access savings accounts (livrets).

In this article we go through the best savings accounts available in the French market, covering interest rates, management fees, amounts and conditions, and we explain what you need to open one.

One warning before the tables: many of the headline rates below are promotional, paid for a few months on a capped amount and then dropping to a much lower base rate. We show both figures wherever the provider publishes them, and further down we work out what each one actually pays over a full year after tax. The answer is not what the headlines suggest.

Best flexible savings accounts (livrets) in France

Flexible savings accounts, or comptes sur livrets, are instant-access accounts. The regulated ones, such as the Livret A, are set by the French state: they are tax-free, the rate is identical at every bank, and the ceilings are low.

Alongside them, banks and fintechs offer their own accounts, often called “super livrets”, with promotional rates that beat the regulated products for a few months. These are taxable. Here is how the promotional offers compare:

What a promotional livret actually pays

A headline of 5.00% for four months is not a 5.00% return. Once the promotion ends the balance falls to the base rate for the remaining eight months, and the whole thing is then taxed at 31.4%. The Livret A, by contrast, is exempt, so its 1.70% is already a net figure.

Here is what each offer in the table above works out to over a full year, assuming you hold the balance for twelve months and stay under the promotional cap:

The gap narrows sharply. A 5.00% headline ends up at 1.88% net, barely ahead of a tax-free Livret A at 1.70%, and that is before you account for the Livret A staying at its rate indefinitely while the boosted livret drops to 1.60%. The promotional accounts make sense for money above your Livret A ceiling of €22,950, or if you are willing to move the balance again when the offer ends.

Best fixed-term savings accounts (comptes à terme) in France

Fixed-term accounts, or comptes à terme (CAT), hold your money for a set period and pay a fixed rate in return. Because the rate is locked at the outset, they behave differently from a livret: a promotional livret drops back after a few months, while a CAT keeps paying what you agreed for the whole term.

That cuts both ways now. Locking in during the cuts of 2025 and early 2026 protected savers who did it, but a long term fixed just before the September 2026 increase is stuck below the current market. Note too that most of these providers now pay more at 12 or 24 months than at 6, which was not the case a year ago.

Flexible savings accounts (comptes sur livrets) reviewed

1. Regulated livrets: Livret A, LDDS, Livret Jeune and LEP

These are savings products regulated by the state, with rates set by the government and relatively low ceilings. The conditions are identical at every bank, so there is nothing to shop around for: a Livret A pays the same at BNP, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale, BoursoBank or Hello bank!.

Their advantage is tax: the interest is exempt from income tax and social contributions, which is not true of any of the promotional accounts above. That exemption is worth more since January 2026, when the flat tax on everything else rose to 31.4%. When comparing a regulated livret with a taxable super livret, remember the taxable one is quoted gross.

On 1 August 2026 the Livret A and the LDDS rose from 1.50% to 1.70%, while the LEP held at 2.50%.

2. Non-regulated livrets

Here the banks set the rates, the fees and the conditions, which leaves room for promotional offers and competition. These accounts are called boosted or super livrets and are available at traditional banks, online banks and fintechs. The interest is taxable.

The pattern to watch is always the same: a high rate for three to twelve months, capped at a certain balance, followed by a base rate that is usually well below the regulated livrets. Work out the blended return over a full year before deciding, as we did above, and note the date the promotion ends.

Fortuneo Livret+

Fortuneo, a subsidiary of Arkéa Direct Bank, has operated in the French market since 2000, offering loans, cards and savings accounts. Its flexible savings account is the Livret+, and it currently carries the highest promotional rate in our comparison.

Key features:

• 5.00% gross for the first 4 months
• The promotional rate applies up to €100,000
• After the 4 months, and on anything above €100,000, the base rate is 1.60%
• Blended over a full year that is 2.73% gross, or 1.88% net of the flat tax
• Valid for a first Livret+ opening only, one per person, under an offer running from 24 August to 30 September 2026
• Reserved for adults, with a 14-day legal withdrawal period
• Free account maintenance
• Deposits up to €100,000 are covered by the Fonds de Garantie des Dépôts et de Résolution

Distingo Bank Livret d’épargne

Distingo Bank is a subsidiary of Banque Stellantis France, formerly PSA Banque. It operates online in the French market and offers the Livret Distingo, with more than 230,000 customers.

Key features:

• 4.50% for the first 3 months, then 2.00%
• The promotional rate applies up to €200,000
• Blended over a full year that is 2.62% gross, or 1.80% net, before the bonus
• An €80 welcome bonus, plus a referral bonus of €80 for each side
• Offer running until 30 October 2026
• The 2.00% base rate is the highest of the boosted livrets here, which matters more than the headline if you leave the money in place
• Free account maintenance
• Deposits up to €100,000 are guaranteed by the Fonds de Garantie des Dépôts et de Résolution

Trading 212

Trading 212 is a London-based fintech that lets you invest in more than 10,000 stocks and ETFs through a simple mobile app, and pays interest on the cash sitting in your investment account. Trading 212 EU GmbH is the entity serving clients in France.

Key features:

• 4.20% on euro balances as a promotional variable rate for 4 months from activation, for new Invest clients only
• The promotional campaign runs from 16 September to 2 November 2026
• The promotional rate is the ECB deposit facility rate plus a fixed markup that stays the same for your promotional period
• After the promotional period, the standard variable rate applies, currently 2.50% on EUR
• Blended over a full year that is 3.07% gross, or 2.10% net of the flat tax
• Interest is paid daily, with no minimum, and you can withdraw at any time
• Other currencies are also remunerated, including 3.55% on GBP and 3.30% on USD
• No commissions on stocks and ETFs. Other fees may apply. See terms and fees
• You must opt into the Interest Sharing Programme within 10 calendar days of opening to qualify for the promotion
• Rates can change without prior notice

Monabanq Livret d’Épargne

Monabanq is a subsidiary of the French banking group Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale and has been a 100% online bank in the French market since 2006. Its offer is the longest promotional period at a rate of 3%, but it is also the one with the steepest drop afterwards.

Key features:

• 3.00% for 12 months, which makes 2.06% net of the flat tax
• The promotional rate applies up to €150,000
• The base rate afterwards is 0.80%, less than half the Livret A, so plan to move the money when the year is up
• Reserved for holders of a Monabanq current account, so you need to open the bank account first
• One Livret d’Épargne per customer, and holders of a Rentabilis account are not eligible
• Offer running until 30 October 2026
• Free account maintenance
• Deposits up to €100,000 are guaranteed by the Fonds de Garantie des Dépôts et de Résolution

BforBank Livret Bfor+

BforBank is the online bank of the Crédit Agricole group. Established in 2009, it offers a range of financial products, including the Livret Bfor+. It pairs the longest promotional period with the highest cap in this comparison, which makes it the one to look at for a large balance.

Key features:

• 2.80% gross for 12 months, which makes 1.92% net of the flat tax
• The promotional rate applies up to €300,000, the highest cap in our comparison
• The base rate afterwards is 1.20%, in force since 16 August 2026
• First opening only, one account per person, with the current offer running to 30 September 2026
• Minimum €10 to open and to keep the account
• Free account maintenance
• Deposits up to €100,000 are guaranteed by the Fonds de Garantie des Dépôts et de Résolution

Trade Republic

Trade Republic is a German online broker holding a full ECB banking licence, giving access to over 9,000 stocks, ETFs, crypto and derivatives. You can start with €1 and buy fractional shares. It is supervised by BaFin and the Bundesbank.

Key features:

• 2.50% as the standard rate, on all uninvested cash, for new and existing clients alike, with no cap
• 3.00% for new clients as a promotional rate, capped at €50,000 and shown as 3.04% TAE where interest is paid monthly
• The rate tracks the ECB deposit facility rate, so it moves when the ECB moves. It rose from 2.25% to 2.50% after the September 2026 increase
• No minimum, free account maintenance
• Interest accrues daily and is paid monthly
• Cash is protected up to €100,000 under the German deposit guarantee scheme
• Rates can change without prior notice

Klarna livret d’épargne

Klarna Bank AB is a Swedish bank better known for its payment products, and it distributes savings accounts in France through the Raisin platform. Its instant-access livret pays more than the Livret A on a gross basis, with no promotional period to expire, which makes it an option for money you want to leave alone.

Key features:

• 2.03% on the instant-access livret, with no promotional window and no end date
• Minimum €500 and maximum €100,000
• Free account maintenance
• Deposits are covered by the Swedish deposit guarantee scheme up to SEK 1,150,000, paid in euros
• The cover is in Swedish kronor, so the euro amount you would receive depends on the exchange rate at the time
• Klarna does not withhold French tax, so you declare the interest yourself

Lightyear

Lightyear is a European investment app operating through Lightyear Europe AS, authorised and regulated by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA, licence number 4.1-1/31).

Its Savings product is not a bank deposit: your money goes into a money market fund managed by BlackRock, the BlackRock ICS Euro Liquidity Fund, and the yield tracks ECB rate trends. No deposit guarantee applies, and capital is at risk. The €20,000 investor compensation covers the failure of the firm, not losses on the fund.

Key features:

• 2.42% APY on euro balances after Lightyear’s 0.10% annual fee, tracking ECB rate trends
• No minimum and no maximum, from €1 upwards
• No account maintenance fee, with the fund fee taken from the interest rather than the capital
• Daily interest accrual, accessible at any time
• A money market fund rather than a deposit, so no deposit guarantee and capital at risk
• Rates can change without prior notice
• Offers a free share worth up to €100 with our promo code INVESTINGINTHEWEB

Wise

Wise, formerly TransferWise, is a UK-based financial technology company best known for low-cost international transfers. You can hold your money as cash, in stocks, or in its interest option, where funds go into a money market fund run with BlackRock holding short-term government-backed instruments, with the return passed on to you. This is not a bank deposit, so no deposit guarantee scheme applies.

Key features:

• 2.02% on euro balances after the 0.26% annual fee, with no time limit
• Wise also pays 3.32% on GBP and 3.44% on USD, useful if you hold several currencies
• Interest accrues daily and is paid monthly, so it compounds
• No restrictions or limits on the amount
• The rate is variable and capital is at risk
• Not covered by a deposit guarantee scheme, though Wise applies safeguarding arrangements to customer funds

Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers is a well-known broker serving retail and institutional investors, and it pays interest automatically on uninvested cash in your account, with no separate savings product to activate.

Key features:

• 1.878% on euro balances above €10,000 on an IBKR Pro account, calculated as the benchmark rate minus 0.5%
• No interest at all on the first €10,000. On a €15,000 balance only €5,000 earns interest, so the effective rate is around 0.63%
• On an IBKR Lite account the rate is 0.878%, the benchmark minus 1.5%
• Free account maintenance, no maximum balance
• Interest accrues daily and is paid monthly
• Not a bank deposit, so no deposit guarantee scheme applies
• Rates are tiered and change with market benchmarks

Fixed-term savings accounts (comptes à terme) reviewed

There is a wide range of fixed-term accounts in France, available to residents and non-residents. Banks compete for deposits by offering higher rates on longer terms, though as the table above shows, that is not always true: some providers pay less at 18 months than at 12, so check the whole curve rather than assuming longer is better.

Terms run from one month to five years, with different conditions for each period. One rule applies almost everywhere: break the term early and you lose most or all of the interest.

Klarna fixed-term savings account

Klarna Bank AB, the Swedish bank, offers savings products in the French market through the Raisin platform, and currently leads our comparison across every term from 6 months upwards.

Key features:

• 2.41% for 6 months and 2.81% for 12 months
• 2.92% for 18 months and 2.96% for 24 months, so the curve rewards a longer commitment
• Shorter terms pay much less: 1.66% for 3 months and 2.28% for 9 months
• Klarna also offers an instant-access livret at 2.03%
• Minimum €500, maximum €100,000
• Free account maintenance
• Cover comes from the Swedish scheme, up to SEK 1,150,000 paid in euros, so the euro value of the protection moves with the exchange rate
• No access to your funds before the end of the term

BoursoBank fixed-term savings account

BoursoBank, formerly Boursorama, is a French online bank founded in 1995 and a subsidiary of Société Générale. It offers current accounts, savings accounts, cards, loans and mortgages. Its CAT range is short, with nothing beyond 12 months.

Key features:

• 2.40% gross for 6 months
• 2.50% gross for 12 months, with no longer terms offered
• Minimum €5,000, no maximum, and no further payments in during the term
• You need an active BoursoBank account, and you can hold up to 6 fixed-term accounts at once
• No opening, management or closing fees
• Withdraw before maturity and no interest at all is paid, which is stricter than a reduced rate
• At maturity the capital and interest move automatically to a Livret Bourso+ or your main account
• Deposits up to €100,000 are guaranteed by the Fonds de Garantie des Dépôts et de Résolution

Distingo fixed-term savings account

Alongside its livret, Distingo offers fixed-term accounts to holders of a Livret Distingo, with rates announced upfront and a single deposit at opening. The entry point is the lowest here, at €1,000.

Key features:

• 2.35% for 1 year, 2.40% for 2 years and 2.50% for 3 years
• Requires an existing Livret Distingo, held in sole name by an adult
• Minimum €1,000, maximum €100,000
• The deposit is made once at opening and cannot be topped up
• Free account maintenance
• Funds are locked for the full term, and an early withdrawal closes the account
• Deposits up to €100,000 are guaranteed by the Fonds de Garantie des Dépôts et de Résolution

Younited fixed-term savings account

Formerly Younited Credit, this is a fully online bank and lending platform founded in 2009, specialising in consumer loans. Its fixed-term deposits are distributed through the Raisin platform, and unlike several rivals its curve improves steadily with the term.

Key features:

• 2.20% for 1 year and 2.25% for 18 months
• 2.30% for 2 years, rising to 2.35% at 3 years, 2.40% at 4 years and 2.50% at 5 years
• Minimum €2,000, maximum €100,000
• Free account maintenance
• Deposits up to €100,000 are guaranteed by the French Fonds de Garantie des Dépôts et de Résolution
• No access to your funds before the end of the term

Monabanq fixed-term savings account

Monabanq is a French online bank serving individual customers through a digital platform. Its fixed-term account is structured differently from the others here: the rate steps up each year rather than staying flat, so the headline only applies if you go the full distance.

Key features:

• A progressive rate over 5 years, reaching up to 4.00% in the fifth year
• The average annual actuarial rate across the 5 years is 2.92%, which is the number to compare against the others
• Minimum €3,000, maximum €150,000
• Reserved for Monabanq account holders
• Withdrawals are allowed at any time without penalty, but the rate applied drops to the level reached for the years completed
• No opening, file or withdrawal fees
• Deposits up to €100,000 are guaranteed by the Fonds de Garantie des Dépôts et de Résolution

How savings interest is taxed in France

Interest from a non-regulated livret or a compte à terme is taxed by default under the prélèvement forfaitaire unique, the flat tax. It rose from 30% to 31.4% on 1 January 2026, because social contributions on investment income went from 17.2% to 18.6% when the CSG was lifted from 9.2% to 10.6%. The 12.8% income tax component did not change.

That 1.4-point increase applies to every taxable account in this article, and it is why a gross rate needs converting before you compare it with a Livret A:

Three things follow from this.

The regulated livrets are exempt. The Livret A, the LDDS, the Livret Jeune and the LEP pay no income tax and no social contributions, so their rates are already net. A Livret A at 1.70% beats a taxable account paying anything below 2.48% gross.

You can opt for the income tax scale instead. If your marginal rate is 0% or 11%, the barème progressif may work out cheaper than the flat tax. The option is global, so it applies to all your investment income for the year, and you choose it when filing.

Foreign providers do not withhold for you. Klarna, Trade Republic, Lightyear and Wise do not apply French tax at source, so the interest arrives gross and you declare it yourself. Accounts held abroad also have to be reported on form 3916 with your return, whatever the balance.

How to open a savings account in France

A savings account in France can be opened online or in a branch. Many people prefer online banks for the speed: doing it in person can mean weeks of waiting for an appointment and a lot of paperwork. The steps are broadly these:

1. Choose your bank or provider: don’t limit yourself to traditional banks, since online banks often offer better conditions. If you go with a traditional bank, book the appointment in advance.

2. Gather the required documents: these vary, but generally include:

• A valid identity document (passport or national ID card)
• Proof of address (utility bill, rental agreement or bank statement)
• Proof of income (recent pay slips, tax documents or an employment contract)

3. Apply online or at the branch: with some banks you can start online and finish in person.

4. Complete the application with your personal details and the information required for the account type you want.

5. Review and sign the contract after reading the terms carefully, in particular the term, the rate, the date any promotional rate ends and the fees.

6. Wait for the account to be opened and for your details to arrive (relevé d’identité bancaire).

7. Deposit funds to activate the account.

8. Manage your account through online banking, the app, or at a branch or ATM.

Two of the offers in this article, Fortuneo and BforBank, are tied to a first account opening and close on 30 September 2026, so check the current terms before you start rather than assuming the rate on this page still applies.

Final thoughts

Choosing a savings account means weighing the rate against the fees, the access and the conditions attached, and in France there are three questions worth settling first.

Is the rate promotional? Several of the best headline numbers here run for three to twelve months on a capped balance, then fall to a base rate below the Livret A. As the blended table above shows, a 5.00% headline works out at 1.88% net over a full year, against 1.70% net on a Livret A that never expires.

Is it a deposit or an investment? The banks are covered by the €100,000 deposit guarantee, though with Klarna that cover is denominated in Swedish kronor. Lightyear, Wise and Interactive Brokers are not deposits at all, which is a different kind of protection rather than a worse one.

Is it taxed? The regulated livrets are exempt. Everything else here is taxable at 31.4% since January 2026, so a gross 3% is 2.06% net. That changes several of the comparisons in this article, and it is the single biggest reason to fill your Livret A and LEP before looking at a super livret.

We hope this helps you find the savings account that fits your goals.