Best Checking Accounts
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We believe everyone should have free access to the right information to make smart financial decisions. Although our site doesn’t showcase every financial institution and its products available we're confident in our recommendations to help guide you on your financial journey. Free of charge for you.
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- Compare our recommended checking accounts from our partners
- Checking account independent ratings & reviews
- Open your new account online – fast & secure
High Cash Back Rate
- Checking Account
- Earn up 2% Cash Back on Common Everyday Purchases
- 1% on All Other Purchases
- Earn These Rewarding Cash Back Rates with Recurring Direct Deposits of $1,000+ per Month
- No Monthly Fee
- No Overdraft Fees
- Get Reimbursed for ATM Fees
- Set Up a Recurring Direct Deposit & Get Paid Up to 2 Days Early
- U.S. Based Customer Service
- Terms & Conditions Apply
- See Site for Details
On Upgrade's Secure Site,
FDIC Insured
- Checking Account
- No. Fees. Period.
- No Monthly Fee
- No Insufficient Funds Fee
- Fee-Free Overdraft Protection
- Set Up Direct Deposit & Access Funds up to 2 Days Sooner with Early Pay
- Access 60,000+ Fee-Free ATMs
- Send Money with Zelle®
- Debit Card Cashback – Earn 1% Cash Back on up to $3,000 in Debit Card Purchases Each Month
- See Site for Details
On Discover Bank's Secure Site,
Member FDIC
- Checking Account
- Chip Enabled Debit Card
- Minimum Deposit: $100
- No Monthly Fees
- Deposit Checks via Mobile App
- Earn up to 0.25% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) with $25,000 Minimum Balance
- Terms & Conditions Apply
- See Site for Details
On CIT Bank's Secure Site,
Member FDIC
Axos Bank Account Details
- Checking Account
- Min. Balance for APY: $0
- Min. Initial Deposit: $50
- 1.25% APY
- No Monthly Fees
- No Overdraft Fees
- Unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements
- Need to switch banks? Simple, 3-step process for direct deposit.
On Axos Bank’s Secure Site,
Member FDIC
SoFi Account Details
- Checking & Savings Account
- Min. balance for APY: $0
- Min. initial deposit: $0
- 1.80% APY
- No Monthly Fees
- Access to 55,000+ fee-free ATMs within the Allpoint® Network.
On SoFi’s Secure Site,
Member FDIC
Quontic Account Details
- Checking Account
- Min. balance: $0
- Min. opening deposit: $100
- Receive up to 1.10% APY
- No Monthly or Overdraft Fees
- Transfer funds on the go with Zelle®
- Surcharge free transactions at 90,000+ ATMs Across the Nation
On Quontic Adaptive Digital Banks’s
Secure Site, Member FDIC
BMO Harris Account Details
- Checking Account
- Min. balance: $0
- Min. opening deposit: $25
- No Monthly Maintenance Fees
- Transfer funds on the go with Zelle®
- Unlimited Transactions at 40,000+ fee-free ATMs nationwide
On BMO Harris Bank’s Secure Site,
Member FDIC
To recap our recommendations.
Best Checking Accounts According To CompareAccounts™
Upgrade Rewards Checking Plus Account: Best For Direct Deposit + Debit Card Cash Back Rates
Discover® Bank Cashback Debit: Best for Online Banking Experience + Customer Service
CIT Bank® eChecking Account: Best For ATM Rebates
What to Look for in a Checking Account
It’s always wise to compare your options when opening a new checking account.
Here are the top features to look for and compare:
1. Ease of Setting Up
Your checking account should be where you setup your direct deposit and where you pay bills from. Because of this, it needs to be easy to open an account, set up your direct deposit, and set up payees to pay bills.
All of the checking accounts we recommend have these features.
2. Monthly Fees
Monthly fees can eat into your paycheck fast. You should avoid them as much as possible. That’s why we recommend you focus on no monthly fee checking accounts to keep as much as your pay check as possible.
3. Required Initial Deposit
Does the bank require a large initial deposit? Are you comfortable depositing that much right away? These days, most banks will allow you to open an account with as little as $1 or even $0 dollars.
Some banks may offer a higher yield with a higher initial deposit. You’ll just need to decide whether that higher initial deposit will be worth any increase in yield.
4. Minimum Balance Required
Minimum balance required to maintain your account is another feature to keep a close eye on.
Most of the banks we recommend do not have large minimum balance requirements, if any minimum balance requirement at all.
The accounts we do recommend that have a higher minimum required balance are usually CD accounts, which you don’t want to open unless you want to lock up your money for 6 months, 12 months or longer.
5. Accessing Your Money
Accessing your money is very important with any checking account.
Almost all of the checking accounts we recommend come with a mobile app that gives you 24/7 access to your accounts.
Additionally, banks will issue a debit card for your checking account, that you can use physically, virtually, or contactless payments through your wallet app.
6. Transferring Your Money
As important as it is to access your accounts, you’ll likely need to transfer money in and out of your checking account often.
That’s why its important to pay attention to features like transfer or peer to peer payments with Zelle®.
7. Mobile Check Deposit
If you can’t set up direct deposit, or if sometimes you get paper checks having mobile check deposit will allow you to deposit checks into your account from anywhere.
Most checking accounts we recommend comes with mobile check deposit.
8. Overdraft Fees
Things happen. Sometimes we pay a bill or make a purchase that is more than the money in our accounts. Normally, this would incur an overdraft fee, usually these fees range betwen $25 – $50.
Most of the checking accounts we recommend do not have overdraft fees, because the last thing you need when you don’t have enough money in your account is another fee to pay.
With the above in mind, now you’re more confident to choose the right checking account for you.