I have a bit of cash.

I was thinking today if it is better to place that cash in either 1 account or 2 accounts....

my reason for this is if accounts generate interest monthly or annually it would be greater in the monthly account...

or is the headline gross APR 4.98 always including how they would add the interest anyway?

anyone able to unravel this for me...

APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate, so you should always look at this figure to compare like for like.

It doesn't matter when the interest is paid, but if its paid annually the gross interest figure should be the same as te APR. If it is monthly, the gross figure is less than the APR as interest is earnt on the interest once its paid.

Hope that helps.

I think you mean AER rather than APR. Which is the annual earnings rate. It is used as a comparitor between different accounts to make sense of the way interest is accrued and added. It is, when understood and used correctly, the best way to compare accounts which may pay interest at different intervals. (eg yearly v.s monthly). It is, though, a somewhat confusing measure and can be misleading.

Best advise I can give is go into your bank(s)/building society and ask. (Ask as many as you can, shop around)!!

Your question is perhaps lacking in enough detail to answer fully. There would be a difference between if you are going to make one large deposit and leave it there for a good while, or make additions or withdrawls from the account(s) as you go.

Hope this helps.