Best Online Savings Accounts of

How We Chose the Best High Yield Savings Accounts

If you want to maximize your money, opening a high yield savings account can be a very smart move. These accounts do exactly as their name implies: They earn a higher-than-average interest rate on deposits, enabling your savings to grow much faster than they would with a traditional savings account.

These accounts are typically offered by online banks and credit unions, which don’t have the overhead costs of brick-and-mortar facilities and are therefore able to pass extra savings along to customers in the form of higher interest rates.

But not all high yield savings accounts are the same, and unless you know what to look for—and what to look out for, you may find yourself disappointed in your choice. Our team of experts spent countless hours researching and identifying the most important considerations when choosing one of these account. We then used that criteria to narrow our search for the best options on the market today.

The Most Important Criteria

There is a lot to consider when selecting the best high yield savings account for your specific needs and financial goals. Below, we lay out the most universal and critical considerations, which we used to guide our own search.

High Yields

Obviously, one of the most appealing aspects of a high yield savings account is the higher interest rate, otherwise known as the annual percentage yield (APY). In some cases, high yield savings accounts earn as much as 10 times the rate of traditional savings accounts. Generally speaking, any bank offering an APY of four percent or higher is worth a look, so that’s where we started our search.

Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that, as with any savings account, the interest rates on high yield savings accounts are variable. So while you may secure a very high APY when you apply, it is susceptible to fluctuations—especially if the Federal Reserve changes its benchmark fund rate.

Reasonable Requirements

Many online banks have strict requirements for opening a high yield savings account—or for securing the highest APYs. With some banks, you can’t open one of these accounts unless you make a sizable minimum deposit. Others require you to maintain a minimum balance in order to continue earning the best interest rate.

If you’re comparing your options, look for online banks without strict requirements for opening an account. Our list of the best high yield savings accounts includes banks that have no—or minimal—requirements for opening and maintaining an account.

Minimal Fees & Restrictions

With some high yield savings accounts, too many fees and restrictions can offset the benefits. Some banks, for example, have monthly maintenance fees and a cap on the amount of money you can have in your account at any one time. Others enforce strict limits on withdrawals or transfers—they restrict how much you can take out or move at one time. Our researchers took all of this into account when compiling our list of the best high yield savings accounts, looking for those with no—or very minimal—fees and restrictions. 

Convenience

While high yield savings accounts promise to grow your money faster, many make you jump through hoops to actually access that money. The best options make it easy, offering remote deposit and ATM access (the very best offer fee-free access). Online banks that have user-friendly mobile apps that enable 24/7 access to your account and allow you to link your external accounts for seamless transfers are also a plus. Some online banks even enable you to automatically deposit a certain percentage of your paycheck into your savings account, a favorite feature of customers. And of course, the best options include unlimited access to friendly and knowledgable customer service representatives who can help you navigate the online banking experience.

Safety

The best way to ensure your money is safe is to make sure you use a federally insured high-interest savings bank account. Funds in these accounts are insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). If you’re using a credit union, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) has a fund that also federally insures up to $250,000 per depositor. These protect your savings if the bank or credit union dissolves. All of the high yield savings accounts on our list include these protections. If you want to check the coverage for an institution that is not on our list, you can search for it using the FDIC’s BankFind search page (for banks) or the NCUA’s research page (for credit unions).