Best fixed-term deposits in 2026
The best offers pay more than double the market average, but almost all require being a new customer or bringing money in from outside, and none of them lasts: on renewal CGD drops to 0.25% and Santander to 0.01%. We compared CGD, Santander, Banco CTT and ActivoBank in each bank’s official rate leaflet.
Independent: we earn no commission on any product listed on this page. The ranking follows only the criteria below.
Verdict: which to choose
Best rate
3.00% gross over 90 days, the highest rate here, but only for customers who opened an ActivoBank account in the preceding 90 days, and capped at €10,000.
Best for larger amounts
2.50% gross over 12 months and up to €150,000, fifteen times the cap on the best rate: the option for savers with a lot to place, in exchange for €5,000 of new money.
Best high rate with a low minimum
2.50% gross over 12 months from €250, against the €5,000 the other 2.5% offer demands, but only for savers who have never been a CGD customer.
Best without a new-money condition
At 2.500% in September 2026, state-guaranteed, with no new-money condition and from €10: the most flexible alternative to a deposit.
Most accessible
The rate is low (1.00%), but €100 is enough and you can withdraw at any time, useful for a short term without locking up much money.
Side-by-side comparison
| Product | Gross rate | Term | Minimum | Access condition | Protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depósito a Prazo Novos Clientes AB | 3.00% | 90 days | €500 | New customers only | FGD up to €100,000 |
| DP Novos Montantes | 2.50% | 12 months | €5,000 | New money | FGD up to €100,000 |
| Depósito Caixa +Valor | 2.50% | 12 months | €250 | New customers only | FGD up to €100,000 |
 Certificados de Aforro Série F | 2.500% (Sep 2026) | Up to 15 years | €10 | None | State guarantee |
| Depósito Dinheiro Novo | 2.25% | 30 days | €10,000 | New money | FGD up to €100,000 |
| Depósito Poupança | 1.05% | 3, 6 or 12 months | €15,000 | None | FGD up to €100,000 |
| Depósito a Prazo Banco CTT | 1.00% | 1 to 12 months | €100 | Existing customers | FGD up to €100,000 |
How we ranked these
The ranking is not the result of any commercial agreement. We verified every rate against the bank’s own official page (several comparison sites publish out-of-date figures) and assessed them against these criteria:
- Gross rate (TANB): the published gross annual rate, before the 28% tax on interest.
- Access conditions: does it require "new money"? Is it limited to new customers? What is the minimum?
- Term and liquidity: how long the money is locked up, and what you lose by withdrawing early.
- Renewal rate: what the deposit pays once the initial term ends and it rolls over by itself.
- Protection: Deposit Guarantee Fund cover (€100,000 per depositor per bank) or a State guarantee.
- Transparency: are the terms published in the product’s official disclosure, without needing a simulation or a salesperson?
Product-by-product analysis
Depósito a Prazo Novos Clientes AB
ActivoBank
Bank supervised by the Bank of Portugal · covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund
Best for: Savers who have just opened an ActivoBank account and want the highest rate available, for an amount up to €10,000.
- Gross rate
- 3.00%
- Term
- 90 days
- Minimum
- €500
- Access condition
- New customers only
- Protection
- FGD up to €100,000
Strengths
- A 3.00% gross rate, the highest in this comparison
- A minimum of just €500, the lowest of any deposit compared here
- A short 90-day term, without locking the money up for a year
- Covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund up to €100,000 per depositor
Weaknesses
- New customers only: it requires an ActivoBank account opened in the previous 90 days, so existing customers cannot access it
- A €10,000 maximum and one deposit per customer, which caps the absolute interest severely
- It renews automatically at the much lower Standard Deposit rate, so you must act once the 90 days are up
- No top-ups, and early withdrawal forfeits all interest
DP Novos Montantes
Banco CTT
Bank supervised by the Bank of Portugal · covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund
Best for: Savers moving money from another bank who can lock up at least €5,000 for 12 months.
- Gross rate
- 2.50%
- Term
- 12 months
- Minimum
- €5,000
- Access condition
- New money
- Protection
- FGD up to €100,000
Strengths
- A 2.50% gross rate, the highest that does not require being a new customer
- 12-month term, with a ceiling as high as €150,000
- Covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund up to €100,000 per depositor
Weaknesses
- Requires new money: only funds transferred in the previous 30 days that increase your holdings at the bank qualify
- A €5,000 minimum
- Early withdrawal forfeits all interest on the amount withdrawn
- It renews automatically for the same term, but at whatever rate is in the tariff on the renewal date, which is not the campaign rate
Depósito Caixa +Valor
CGD
Caixa Geral de Depósitos, SA · bank supervised by the Bank of Portugal · covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund
Best for: Savers who have never held a CGD account and want a high rate without locking up thousands: €250 is enough.
- Gross rate
- 2.50%
- Term
- 12 months
- Minimum
- €250
- Access condition
- New customers only
- Protection
- FGD up to €100,000
Strengths
- A 2.50% gross rate over 12 months, just behind ActivoBank’s 3.00% and level with Banco CTT’s offer
- A €250 minimum, twenty times less than the other 2.5% offer in this comparison
- A €50,000 ceiling, five times that of the highest rate in the table
- Covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund up to €100,000 per depositor
Weaknesses
- Exclusive to new personal customers: only for savers who have never been CGD customers, or who are customers with no relationship with the bank, and who open a euro current account from 1 July 2026 with new money
- On the first renewal and every one after it the rate falls to 0.25%, a tenth of the headline: you must act once the 12 months are up
- Early withdrawal is allowed at any time, but with total forfeiture of accrued interest on the amount withdrawn
- Neither the amount withdrawn nor what stays behind may fall below the minimum subscription
Certificados de Aforro Série F
IGCP (Portuguese Treasury and Debt Management Agency)
Portuguese State product · capital fully guaranteed by the State
Best for: Savers who want a competitive rate with no new-money conditions, a State guarantee, and freedom to start small.
- Gross rate
- 2.500% (Sep 2026)
- Term
- Up to 15 years
- Minimum
- €10
- Access condition
- None
- Protection
- State guarantee
Strengths
- No new-money requirement, and available from €10 (10 units of €1)
- Capital fully guaranteed by the State, without the FGD’s €100,000 ceiling
- Retention bonuses that grow over time: +0.25% (years 2–5) up to +1.75% (years 14–15)
- Redeemable from the first interest payment onwards
Weaknesses
- The rate is reset monthly: 2.500% applies to September 2026 subscriptions
- The base rate tracks 3-month Euribor and is capped at 2.50%
- A 250,000-unit limit per savings account
Depósito Dinheiro Novo
ActivoBank
Bank supervised by the Bank of Portugal · covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund
Best for: Savers who want a high rate without committing for a year: the term is just 30 days.
- Gross rate
- 2.25%
- Term
- 30 days
- Minimum
- €10,000
- Access condition
- New money
- Protection
- FGD up to €100,000
Strengths
- A 2.25% gross rate over a term of only 30 days
- Well above the market average (~1.4%) for such a short term
- Covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund up to €100,000
Weaknesses
- A promotional rate with no published end date: confirm it on the official page before subscribing
- A €10,000 minimum, and only for new money verified in the previous 30 days
- One deposit per customer; early withdrawal forfeits all interest
Depósito Poupança
Santander
Banco Santander Totta, SA · bank supervised by the Bank of Portugal · covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund
Best for: Mostly a benchmark: what a high-street bank pays an ordinary customer, with no campaign and no new-money condition.
- Gross rate
- 1.05%
- Term
- 3, 6 or 12 months
- Minimum
- €15,000
- Access condition
- None
- Protection
- FGD up to €100,000
Strengths
- It requires neither new money nor being a recent customer, unlike almost every higher rate in this table
- A choice of 3, 6 or 12-month terms, all at the same rate
- A high ceiling of €300,000, the largest in this comparison
- Covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund up to €100,000 per depositor
Weaknesses
- A 1.05% gross rate, about a third of the best offer here and below the market average
- A €15,000 minimum, the highest in the table: it asks for a lot of money to pay very little
- On renewal the rate falls to 0.40% until 30 September 2026 and to 0.01% from 1 October 2026, which is effectively nothing
- No top-ups and no compounding, and early withdrawal forfeits all unpaid interest
Depósito a Prazo Banco CTT
Banco CTT
Bank supervised by the Bank of Portugal · covered by the Deposit Guarantee Fund
Best for: Existing customers who want to park a small amount briefly, with the freedom to withdraw.
- Gross rate
- 1.00%
- Term
- 1 to 12 months
- Minimum
- €100
- Access condition
- Existing customers
- Protection
- FGD up to €100,000
Strengths
- A minimum of just €100
- Choose any term between 1 and 12 months
- Allows early withdrawal, in full or in part, at any time
Weaknesses
- A 1.00% gross rate, below the market average and a third of the best offer in this comparison
- Only for existing Banco CTT current-account holders
- Early withdrawal means losing all accrued interest
Decided which one? Run it with your own numbers:
Calculate your deposit’s interest →Frequently asked questions
What happens to the rate when the deposit renews?
Do CGD and Santander pay good deposit rates?
What is the difference between the gross and net rate?
Is my money protected?
What does "new money" mean?
Can I withdraw before the term ends?
Savings certificates or a fixed-term deposit?
Sources
- 1.DP Novos Montantes: TANB, prazo, mínimo/máximo e condição de dinheiro novo · Banco CTT · retrieved 15 Aug 2026
- 2.Taxas de juro dos Certificados de Aforro em setembro de 2026 (Série F: 2,500 %) · IGCP · retrieved 1 Sept 2026
- 3.Depósitos a prazo ActivoBank: TANB/TANL, prazos, mínimos e condições de acesso dos depósitos Dinheiro Novo e Novos Clientes AB · ActivoBank · retrieved 15 Aug 2026
- 4.Depósito a Prazo Banco CTT: TANB, prazos, mínimo e mobilização antecipada · Banco CTT · retrieved 15 Aug 2026
- 5.Ficha técnica dos Certificados de Aforro Série F (mínimo, limite, prémios de permanência) · IGCP · retrieved 28 Jul 2026
- 6.Taxas de juro e montantes de novos empréstimos e depósitos (média de mercado) · Banco de Portugal (BPstat) · retrieved 28 Jul 2026
- 7.Folheto de Taxas de Juro, secção 17.2 Depósitos a prazo: TANB do Depósito Caixa +Valor no prazo inicial e na renovação, prazo, mínimo, máximo e a condição de novos clientes (nota 6) · Caixa Geral de Depósitos · retrieved 19 Aug 2026
- 8.Folheto de Taxas de Juro, secção 17.2 Depósitos a prazo: TANB do Depósito Poupança a 3, 6 e 12 meses no prazo inicial e na renovação, mínimo, máximo e condições de mobilização · Banco Santander Totta · retrieved 19 Aug 2026