When you invest money, your capital is at risk. Investments can go down as well as up in value, so you could get back less than you put in. A rule of thumb is to hang on to your investments for at least five years to give them the best chance of providing the returns you are hoping for.

Chip vs Plum

Updated On: Jul 4, 2022
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Most of the companies featured here are our partners, who pay us to include them in our articles. These payments influence which companies we write about and where and how they appear on a page. However, they do not influence our opinions. Our product reviews remain honest, independent, and unbiased.
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Chip vs Plum - Which is better

Below, we compare two popular money management apps - Chip and Plum.‍


Chip estimates how much spare change you can afford to set aside, then it automatically saves or invests it for you, whereas Plum automates your deposits and investments, analyses your spending, and automatically switches your utilities.


Use the tabs below to learn more about the differences between Chip and Plum.

Chip LogoPlum Logo

Chip - Save up or invest your spare change automatically

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Automatic Deposits

  • Chip analyses your bank transactions to identify spare change, then automatically saves that spare change for you.
  • By adjusting the save level, you can decide whether you want to take things at a steady pace or go full speed ahead and save money faster.
  • Review and tweak each auto-save before Chip moves your money. You can even skip a save altogether. Chip's technology will learn from your tweaks and adjust your future saves to fit.
  • Chip has some fun deposit features such as Payday Put Away and Save Streaks.
  • You can access up to a 0.7% easy-access savings rate and withdraw your money anytime.

Automatic Investments

  • Please note: As with all investments, your capital is at risk.
  • Coming soon - Investment funds powered by the largest investment manager in the world, BlackRock. 
  • You'll have access to Cautious, Balanced, and Adventurous - three BlackRock investment funds representing various fund ranges that have been operating for almost a decade. 
  • The BlackRock Adventurous fund, which boasts annual average returns of 8% can have up to 85% invested equities, whilst the BlackRock Cautious fund can have a maximum of 35%.
  • You can invest either through a Stocks and Shares ISA or a General Investment Account (GIA).

Other Features

Goal Setting

  • Create and track your goals. Keep on track with your goals and save up for the things you really want to do.
  • You can set up to three goals and allocate your auto-saves between them. For example, you could set up a long, medium, and short term goal, like; 1) a new handbag, 2) a holiday, and 3) a home deposit.

How much does Chip cost?

It’s free to download the app and get started with Chip.

Then, Chip has two subscription plans to choose from:
‍
Chip
Cost: Free
‍Top Features: Earn up to 0.7% AER; FSCS-eligible savings account; Interest paid every day; Withdraw any time; Automatic savings; Access three basic investment funds; Annual platform fee of 0.5%.
‍
Chip X
Cost: £3 per month;
‍Top Features: Everything in Chip; Stocks & Shares ISA; Ethical  and clean energy funds; Emerging markets funds; Actively managed funds; Annual platform fee of 0.25%.‍

Is Chip regulated by the FCA?

Yes, to carry out payment services activities.

Does Chip connect to my bank account?

Yes, for Chip to automatically save for you, you need to connect Chip to your bank.

Is Chip safe?

Chip is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to carry out payment services activities. Chip is not a bank, so the money held in your Chip Saving Account is powered by a UK registered bank, ClearBank, and funds held there are eligible for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This means your money is protected up to a maximum of £85,000. Your investments are also FSCS eligible, so you can rest assured that you can claim your money back if Chip were to go out of business.

Can you withdraw money from Chip?

You can withdraw at any time and get your money back in your bank account on the same day. Sometimes it takes up to 2 - 3 working days.

Does Chip have a promo code?

No.

How do I get the app?

Visit Chip’s website here.

Plum - Automate your deposits and investments; Analyse your spending; Switch utilities

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Automatic Deposits

  • Plum calculates how much you can afford to set aside and automatically stashes it away for you.
  • The app shows you an overview of your finances and analyses your spending to help you keep track of your money.
  • Plum has some fun deposit features - Round Ups, Pay Days, 52-Week Saving Challenge, and Rainy Day Savings Rule. With the Rainy Days Savings Rule, Plum will set aside extra cash automatically, based on how many days it was forecast to rain in the area where you live over the course of the previous week.
  • If you feel the app is putting away too much or too little, you can always adjust the amount.


Click here to learn more about Plum's automatic deposits.

Automatic Investments

  • Please note: As with all investments, your capital is at risk.
  • When you subscribe to Plum Plus or Plum Pro (from £1 a month), you can choose to invest your money in a variety of funds.
  • Plum calculates how much you can afford to set aside and invests that amount automatically.
  • You choose your investments based on what matters to you. For example, you could choose to invest in emerging markets as well as technology, ethical, American, British or European companies.
  • The risk level of each portfolio is shown with the 'chilli emoji' - and it goes up to 8 chillies.
  • Money is invested in funds provided by established fund managers such as Vanguard and Legal & General.
  • You can invest either through a Stocks and Shares ISA or a General Investment Account (GIA).


Minimum ISA Deposit: £1

Charges
Subscription Fee: £1 per month (first month free)‍
Annual Investment Cost: 0.48% (average)
‍Trading Fee: £0‍
Exit Fee: £0

Click here to learn more about Plum's automatic investments.

Other Features

Automatic Utility Switch‍

  • Plum identifies if you're overpaying on bills and can switch you to a better supplier automatically.  ️
  • By referencing your outgoings against, e.g. utility tariffs in your area, the app ensures that you're not overpaying for things like gas or electricity.
  • Click here to learn more about Plum's automatic utility switch.
    ‍

Personal Pension (beta)

  • Please note: As with all investments, your capital is at risk. You usually can't access the money in your pension pot until you are 55 years old (increases to 57 in 2028), when you can take 25% as a tax-free lump sum.
  • Plum recently launched a public beta of its automatic pension product. Click here to learn more about the Plum Pension.
  • The Self-invested Personal Pension (SIPP) allows you to consolidate existing pensions in one place and invest in a choice of risk-managed or diversified global funds.
  • Plum calculates how much you can afford to set aside and stashes that amount in your pension automatically.
  • You can invest your pension savings based on your current age and target retirement date.


Personal Pension Charges
Subscription Fee: £0 (you do not need to subscribe to Plum Plus or Plum Pro to use the pension product)
‍Product Provider Fee: 0.45% per year
‍Fund Management Fee: 0.25% per year (average)
‍

Money Maximiser (beta)

  • Money maximiser is a new feature from Plum that allows you to save money into an easy access interest account for as long as possible.
  • Money maximiser will also regularly calculate any upcoming bills and expenses to transfer what’s needed back to your linked bank account each week.
  • Click here to learn more about Money Maximiser.

How much does Plum cost?

It’s free to download the app, set money aside using automatic deposits and Round Ups, withdraw as often as you like, and switch your bills with Plum.
‍
If you're interested in automatic investments or want to earn interest on your savings, Plum Plus or Plum Pro might be for you.
‍
Plum Plus: £1/month (first month free)
‍Plum Pro: £2.99/month (first month free)

Is Plum regulated by the FCA?

Yes, to carry out payment services activities.

Does Plum connect to my bank account?

Yes, to personalise the amount Plum puts aside for you. Plum also uses the information on your incomings and outgoings to identify when you are being overcharged on utility bills. The app requires read-only access to your bank account through open banking.

Is Plum safe?

Your money is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to a maximum of £85,000. This means you can get your money back if Plum were to go bust. Note that the FSCS does not cover losses arising from the performance of any of your investments.

Can you withdraw money from Plum?

You can withdraw at any time, but it takes around 7 working days to sell your investments on your behalf and transfer the money back to your Plum account.

Does Plum have a Referral Scheme?

Yes. Earn £15 for every three successful referrals. Download the app and use the 'invite' tab in the Plum app to share your referral code.

How do I get the app?

Visit Plum's website here.

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