Fixed Deposit Schemes are ideal opportunities for investing for a set period and gaining good returns. If you're considering a long-term investment in Fixed Deposits (FD) and are unsure whether to choose a bank or the post office, we’re here to help you. Let’s calculate returns offered by SBI and Post Office to help you find which scheme best suits your needs.

Let’s find answers to these following questions. If you invest Rs 2 lakh in SBI for 5 years, what will be the interest earnings? How does this compare to investing in a Post Office FD? 

Currently, the Post Office offers an interest rate of 7.5%, while SBI provides a return of 6.75% on FDs. Let's calculate how much profit you would earn by investing Rs 2 lakh in either SBI or the Post Office for 5 years.

SBI FDs

If you invest Rs 2 lakh in SBI for 5 years at an interest rate of 6.75%, you will earn Rs 79,500 in interest. The total amount received on maturity will be Rs 2,79,500. 

For senior citizens, SBI offers a higher interest rate of 7.25% on FDs of Rs 2 lakh for 5 years. At this rate, the total interest earned will be Rs 86,452. On maturity, senior citizens will receive a total of Rs 2,86,452.

Post Office

If you invest Rs 2 lakh in a Post Office FD for 5 years at the current interest rate of 7.5%, you will earn Rs 89,990 as interest upon maturity. Therefore, the total maturity amount will be Rs 2,89,990.

Senior citizens also receive the same amount upon maturity. In comparison to SBI's FD for 5 years, investing in the Post Office FD offers a higher profit of Rs 10,450.

Here are the interest rates for SBI's FDs:

•    For FDs more than 1 year but less than 2 years: 6.80%
•    More than 2 years but less than 3 years: 7.00%
•    More than 3 years but less than 5 years: 6.75%
•    More than 5 years but up to 10 years: 6.50%

Senior citizens receive 0.50% additional interest on these rates.

Here are the interest rates for the second FD options offered by the Post Office:

•    1-year FD: 6.00% interest rate
•    2-year FD: 7.00% interest rate
•    3-year FD: 7.10% interest rate
•    5-year FD: 7.50% interest rate