Barclays 3.99% tracker vs Santander 4.52% two-year fix – which mortgage should homebuyers choose?

by Aaron Strutt

Sep 10 2026

Homebuyers looking for the most competitively priced mortgage rates currently available have a choice of thousands, but two of the lowest are the Barclays 3.99% tracker mortgage and Santander’s 4.52% two-year fixed rate.

The Barclays deal clearly has the lower starting rate, but repayments rise if the Bank of England increases the Bank Rate. Santander’s mortgage is more expensive initially, although borrowers get certainty because their monthly repayments are fixed for two years.

For buyers deciding whether to fix or track, the difference between the two rates is significant, especially if you are looking for a larger mortgage loan.

Barclays 3.99% tracker mortgage

Barclays is offering one of the most competitively priced tracker mortgages currently available.

The 3.99% tracker is available to eligible Barclays Premier customers earning more than £75,000, subject to the lender’s full mortgage and Premier Banking criteria.

Because the mortgage tracks Bank Rate, the interest rate can move up or down during the tracker period.

One of the attractions of Barclays tracker mortgage is flexibility as the product does not have any early repayment charges. Barclays also offers its Switch & Fix facility, allowing eligible tracker borrowers to move onto a fixed mortgage if they become concerned about rising rates. Applicants need a 40% deposit to qualify, and the maximum loan size is £2 million. The arrangement fee is £999.

At the current 3.99% rate, borrowers start substantially below Santander’s 4.52% fixed rate.

Santander 4.52% two-year fixed mortgage

Santander currently offers a 4.52% two-year fixed mortgage for home movers with a 40% deposit, with a £1,499 product fee. This is also one of the most competitively priced fixed mortgage rates currently available unless you earn over £100,000, and it is available for mortgages up to £2 million. 

The main benefit is certainty. Regardless of what happens to the Bank of England base rate or financial markets during the fixed period, the mortgage rate remains at 4.52%.

That can be particularly valuable for homebuyers who want predictable monthly payments after moving into a new property. The Santander rate has 2% early repayment charges in the first year and 1% in the second year.

How much could the two mortgages cost?

Based on a £500,000 repayment mortgage over 30 years, the approximate payments would be:

At their current rates, the Barclays tracker would therefore cost around £155 less each month, or roughly £3,700 less over two years, assuming the tracker rate did not change. This is unlikely over a period of two years.

How far would Bank Rate need to rise?

The starting difference between the two mortgages is 0.53 percentage points.

If the Barclays tracker moved broadly in line with Bank Rate:

• A 0.25% increase would take the tracker to around 4.24%

• A 0.50% increase would take it to around 4.49%

• A rise of approximately 0.55% would take the tracker above Santander’s current 4.52% fixed rate

This means Bank Rate could rise by around half a percentage point before the headline Barclays tracker rate became more expensive than Santander’s fix.

That does not necessarily mean the tracker will always be cheaper, because Bank Rate could rise further and fixed mortgage rates available in the future could also become more expensive. 

The Bank of England is set to hold rates this month, according to Arbuthnot Latham, but is fully priced to hike by year-end given the underlying inflationary pressures, with speculation growing around fiscal policy ahead of next month’s Budget given the constraints of the UK's public finances and high levels of government debt across the world. The European Central Bank has raised interest rates to 2.5% and warned that the risk of higher inflation over the next year has risen following renewed fighting in the Middle East.

Should homebuyers take the tracker or the fix?

For borrowers who have sufficient disposable income to cope with changing monthly payments, the Barclays 3.99% tracker could be particularly attractive. It offers a substantially lower starting rate and greater flexibility.

The Santander 4.52% fixed rate may suit buyers who prefer certainty, particularly where mortgage payments already represent a significant proportion of their monthly expenditure.

Neither mortgage is automatically the best choice for every borrower. Income, deposit size, loan amount, employment structure, credit history and property type can all affect which lender offers the best mortgage.

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "There is a lot of choice in the mortgage market at the moment, with a range of different fixes and tracker rates, but the acceptance criteria vary quite wildly between the banks and building societies. Most people are taking two- or five-year fixes, but trackers are still very popular. Barclays offers up to six times salary mortgages while Santander offers up to 5.5 times salary and has a really good part interest-only and part capital-repayment policy."

ARPC Representative examples

Representative example: A capital and interest mortgage of £400,000 payable over 30 years, initially on a variable rate basis at 3.99% for two years and then on the lender's 5.74% standard variable rate for the remaining 28 years. The 3.99% rate would require 24 monthly repayments of £1,912.12 followed by 336 payments of £2,314.85 The total amount repayable would be £823,911.48. This amount is illustrative and may vary, made up of the loan amount, plus interest (£417,154.85) and £999 (product fee), £80 (final repayment charge), £25 (completion fee). The overall cost for comparison is 5.6% APRC representative.

Representative example: A capital and interest mortgage of £400,000 payable over 30 years, initially on a 4.52% fix until 2 December 2028 on a standard variable rate of 6.50% for the remaining 28 years would require 25 payments of £2,037.36 followed by 335 monthly repayments of £2,509.05. The total amount repayable would be £891,875.50. This amount is illustrative and may vary, made up of the loan amount, plus interest (£492,065.01) and £1,499 (product fee), £225 (final repayment charge), £35 (completion fee). The overall cost for comparison is 6.4% APRC representative.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a mortgage, book a consultation, or complete our mortgage questionnaire. 

The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change. It is for general information purposes and is not advice.

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