A hryvnia deposit pays 12.63 % on average, a currency one 1.07 %. The gap is almost twelvefold - but the dollar can get dearer, and then everything flips. Let's work out exactly where the line runs, and how far the exchange rate has to climb before the currency deposit catches up.
Where the figures come from
The rates and the exchange rate come from the official website of the National Bank of Ukraine:
- 12.63 % - the average rate on new hryvnia deposits of households for up to a year, 1.07 %
- on currency ones (dollar and euro together), for August 2026 (NBU financial sector statistics);
- 44.99 ₴/$ - the official NBU rate on 5 October 2026 (NBU exchange rates), rounded to 45 ₴/$ for simplicity;
- 10 % - hryvnia inflation over the past year according to the NBU (October 2026), 3.4 % - dollar inflation according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (August 2026).
These are market averages. A particular bank may well offer a different rate - higher or lower - so put your own bank's offer into the calculator.
The setup
The same money for one year: 450 000 ₴ or $10 000.
- Hryvnia deposit: 12.63 % a year, monthly capitalization, 23 % tax.
- Dollar deposit: 1.07 % a year, monthly capitalization, 23 % tax.
The tax is the same: interest on a currency deposit is taxed the same way - 18 % personal income tax plus the 5 % military levy.
One year later
| Figure | Hryvnia, 12.63 % | Dollar, 1.07 % |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit | 450 000 ₴ | $10 000 |
| Tax | 13 671 ₴ | $25 |
| Net profit | 45 767 ₴ | $83 |
| Balance after a year | 495 767 ₴ | $10 083 |
The hryvnia deposit earned 10.2 % after tax, the dollar one 0.8 %. But the two numbers cannot be compared directly: the dollars still have to be converted back at whatever the rate is a year from now.
What the dollar has to cost
Divide the hryvnia result by the dollar one: 495 767 ₴ / $10 083 = 49.17 ₴/$. That is the break-even rate.
- If a dollar costs less than 49.17 ₴ a year from now, the hryvnia deposit wins.
- If it costs more, the dollar deposit does.
From 45 ₴ that is a 9.3 % rise in a year. Here is the dollar deposit in hryvnias at different rates:
| Rate in a year | Dollar deposit in hryvnias | Versus hryvnia |
|---|---|---|
| 44 ₴/$ | 443 639 ₴ | −52 128 ₴ |
| 46 ₴/$ | 463 804 ₴ | −31 963 ₴ |
| 48 ₴/$ | 483 970 ₴ | −11 798 ₴ |
| 50 ₴/$ | 504 135 ₴ | +8 368 ₴ |
| 52 ₴/$ | 524 300 ₴ | +28 533 ₴ |
So the dollar wins only when the rate rises by more than the gap between the net rates. If the rate stands still, the currency deposit brings in 42 thousand less.
A one-line rule
The net effective rate of the hryvnia deposit is 10.17 %, of the dollar one 0.83 %. The break-even devaluation is roughly their ratio: 1.1017 / 1.0083 ≈ 1.093 - the same 9.3 % a year.
Over a longer term the threshold does not go away, it compounds: for the dollar deposit to catch up over three years, the rate has to reach 58.71 ₴/$ - the same 9.3 % every year.
Your bank's rate changes everything
The average is only a guide. If a bank pays, say, 4.25 % on a dollar deposit, the same deposit grows to $10 332 in a year and the threshold drops to 47.98 ₴/$ - only +6.6 % on the rate. Likewise, a hryvnia offer above the average raises it. So compare actual offers, not averages.
What else matters
- The exchange spread. You buy dollars at the selling rate and sell them at the buying rate. The gap is a loss the dollar deposit has to earn back on top, so the real threshold is higher than 49.17 ₴.
- Inflation in its own currency. Hryvnia inflation over the past year is 10 % (NBU, October 2026), and the average rate after tax barely beats it: in today's money the deposit is worth 450 697 ₴, a real gain of 0.2 %. Dollar inflation is lower - 3.4 % (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 2026) - but the rate is lower still: $10 083 in a year is $9 751 of today's money, a real loss of 2.5 %.
- The deposit guarantee covers both kinds of deposit, within the same limit in hryvnia terms.
- What the money is for. If future spending will be in dollars - studies, travel, imported goods - a dollar deposit protects you from the very risk that applies to you, even when the hryvnia one earns more.
The takeaway
- Rates in different currencies are never compared on their own - only together with the expected exchange rate.
- The break-even is the hryvnia balance in a year divided by the dollar balance: at the NBU averages it is 49.17 ₴/$, or +9.3 % on the rate.
- A particular bank's offer can shift the threshold by several percent - work out your own.
- The exchange spread raises the threshold, and each currency's inflation decides what is left in real terms.
- A sensible compromise is to keep part in hryvnias for the rate and part in dollars for protection.
Work out both in the calculator: the hryvnia deposit, the dollar deposit or right away both side by side in the scenario comparison. Put in your bank's rates and your own view of the exchange rate - and the threshold becomes yours.