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Best Way to Build a CD Ladder
By: Conor Keenan Last updated April 18, 2025
Conor Keenan, co-founder of CompareAccounts, is a notable personal finance expert with work seen in Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, MSN & Yahoo Finance.
Editorial Independence: Our opinions, reviews, and recommendations are our own and not influenced by financial institutions or partners. Partner commissions keep our site free, but our content remains independent and is not commissioned by any partner or financial institution.
Building a CD ladder can be a daughting task. Thankfully, the problem of managing multiple accounts, across different instutions and different maturity dates has been solved.
Enter the Raisin Platform. Through one secure login, you’ll gain access to 40+ insured banks & credit unions.
Sign up with confidence knowing that you’ll receive $250,000 of insurance coverage per institution, per individual, and be able to manage your savings with a single login for all of your CDs.
See our step by step guide to building your CD ladder below and open your account today!
Step 1: Short Term CDs
The first step is to select the short term CDs for your ladder. We recommend a 3 month CD for liquidity, and a 6 month CD for the next rung in your ladder.
APY
4.25%
3 Month Term
- High Yield CD
- Term: 3 Month
- 4.25% APY
- Min. initial deposit: $1
- FDIC Insured up to $250,000
- No Monthly Fees
- 24 /7 Access to Funds
- Certified Community Development Financial Institution
- Interest Compounded Daily
- See Site for Details
On Raisin's Secure Site for
Ponce Bank, FDIC Insured
APY
4.30%
6 Month Term
- High-Yield CD
- Min. initial deposit: $1
- Term: 6 Months
- 4.30% APY
- FDIC Insured up to $250,000
- No Monthly Fees
- Interest Compounded Daily
- Ranked #1 Top-Performing Large Bank with Assets $50 Billion and Above in 2021, 2022, & 2023 by American Banker
- Exclusive Offer Powered by The Raisin Platform
- See Site for Details
On Raisin's Secure Site for Western Alliance Bank,
FDIC Insured
Step 2: Medium Term CDs
The second step is to select the medium term CDs for your ladder. We recommend a 9 month CD and a 12 month CD for the next rungs in your ladder.
APY
5.20%
9 Month Term
- High Yield CD
- Min. initial deposit: $1
- Term: 9 Months
- 5.20% APY
- FDIC Insured up to $250,000
- No Monthly Fees
- Interest Compounded Daily
- Lemmata Gives Back Through Charitable Donations
- Exclusive Offer Powered by The Raisin Platform
- See Site for Details
On Raisin's Secure Site for
Lemmata Savings Bank,
FDIC Insured
APY
5.51%
12 Month Term
- High Yield CD
- Min. initial deposit: $1
- Term: 12 Months
- 5.51% APY
- FDIC Insured up to $250,000
- No Monthly Fees
- Interest Compounded Daily
- Listed previously by Forbes as the #1 Best Bank in America
- Exclusive Offer Powered by The Raisin Platform
- See Site for Details
On Raisin's Secure Site for
Pacific Western Bank,
FDIC Insured
Step 3: Longer Term CDs
The third step is to select the longer term CDs for your ladder. We recommend a 15 month CD and a 18 month CD for the next rungs in your ladder.
APY
3.55%
15 Month Term
- High Yield Certificate of Deposit
- Term: 15 Months
- 3.55% APY
- Min. initial deposit: $1
- Blue FCU is Federally Insured by NCUA, the National Credit Union Administration
- NCUA Insured up to $250,000
- No Monthly Fees
- 24 /7 Online Access to Funds
- 2.0x National Avg. APY
- Interest Compounded Daily
- Blue FCU Has Served Its Members for Over 70 Years
- See Site for Details
On Raisin's Secure Site for Blue FCU, NCUA Insured
Step 4: Congratulations
The final step is to congratulate yourself on accomplishing something that used to take days, or weeks, in a matter of minutes. Take a bow, you’ve earned it.
To recap our recommendations.
Best Certificate of Deposits According To CompareAccounts™
Ponce Bank® Certificate of Deposit Account: 4.25% APY - 3 Month Term
Western Alliance Bank® High-Yield CD: 4.30% APY - 6 Month Term - Earn $250 with Promo Code: GET250
Lemmata Savings Bank Certificate of Deposit: 5.20% APY - 9 Month Term
Pacific Western Bank Certificate of Deposit: 5.51% APY - 12 Month Term
Blue Federal Credit Union Certificate of Deposit Account: 3.55% APY - 15 Month Term
Customers Also Viewed These High-Yield Savings Accounts
Best For: High APY Interest Rates
Western Alliance Bank offers 4.25% APY exclusively through the Raisin Platform.
This APY is substantially higher than what you’ll find at most brick-and-mortar banks and even most online banks.
In addition to this high APY, Western Alliance offers $0 monthly maintenance fees, unlimited withdrawals, and is insured by the FDIC for up to $250,000 per depositor.
Customer service is located in New York, NY and is available via email and phone. You'll have online access to your funds 24/7.
Western Alliance Bank is consistenly ranked among the top banks. The bank has over $80 Billion in Assets and were ranked #1 top-performing large bank with assets greater than $50 billion in 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024 by American Banker. Serving clients across the country wherever business happens.
Limited Time Offer: New customers can earn a $75 bonus for $10K, $250 bonus for $25K, or $500 bonus for $50K deposited or more. Use promo code BOOST at sign-up.
See Raisin's Secure Site for Western Alliance Bank For More Details.
What to Look for in a Certificate of Deposit Account
It’s always wise to compare your options when opening a new certificate of deposit account.
Small differences in interest rates and fees can quickly add up over time, especially if you’re keeping a large balance in the account.
Here are the top features to look for and compare:
1. Interest Rate
The interest rate of a certificate of deposit is one of its most important features. However, a very high interest rate can get completely wiped out if you have to pay a penalty fee because you need to withdrawl your funds before the term is complete.
Besides interest rate, term length is the second most important factor. Other important features of your certificate of deposit account include the required initial deposit, and minimum balance required.
2. Term Length
Most banks will charge you what’s called a “penalty fee” for withdrawing your funds before the term length has been completed.
This means, that if you open a 12-month CD, but withdraw your funds within 6 months, then you’ll pay a penalty fee.
Therefore, you need to decide when you’ll need these funds again.
For any term less than a year, we recommend a high-yield savings account.
If this is your first CD account, we recommend starting with a 12 – 15 month term.
If you’ve opened a CD account in the past, then you choose which term is right for you and your unique situation.
3. Required Initial Deposit
Initial deposit is another important factor when deciding to open up a certificate of deposit. Most banks require at least a $500 initial deposit to open a CD account.
While others require much more than $500 to open the account.
Again, because the initial deposit is in the hundreds if not thousands, we recommend you open a high-yield savings account if you need these funds within a year.
*National Savings Rate Average as published by FDIC
Before You Go, Don't Miss This High Yield CD
3 Month Term
APY
4.25%
On Raisin's Secure Site for Ponce Bank,
FDIC Insured