Best High Yield Savings Accounts According CompareAccounts™
By: Conor Keenan, AWMA® | Updated: October 28, 2026
Accredited Wealth Management Advisor® designee with 10+ years covering banking & investing. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Reuters & Yahoo Finance.
Editorial Independence: Opinions, recommendations, and reviews are our own. Partner commissions help keep our site free. They do not influence our editorial content.
Best for a cash bonus with qualifying direct deposit
With qualifying activities.
- $0 minimum to open
- Limited Time Offer: +1.10% boost to 4.40% for up to six months. Terms apply.8
- Bonus Offer: Earn $50 or $400 with direct deposit, terms apply1
- No monthly service fees3
SoFi Bank, N.A., Member FDIC
Best for a familiar brand with no minimum balance
- $0 minimum to earn APY1
- $0 minimum to open2
- 24/7 customer service
- Backed by the World-Class Service & Reliability of American Express®
Member FDIC
Good for higher balances
Earn the advertised APY on balances of $5,000 or more.
- $5,000 balance for advertised APY
- No monthly service fees
- Mobile app and online banking
- Remote check deposit and easy transfers
- Terms apply
Member FDIC
Best for no minimum balance or monthly fees
Interest compounded daily.
- $0 minimum initial deposit
- No monthly fees
- Trusted Fortune 500 Bank with Nationwide Reach Serving Millions of Customers
- Optional ATM card and reimburses up to $5 per month in out-of-network ATM fees.
Best for online savings with no monthly balance requirement
No minimum monthly balance is required.
- $100 minimum opening deposit
- No monthly service fees
- Mobile app and online banking
- Remote check deposit and easy transfers
Member FDIC
Best for high APY and bonus offer
Lock in this high rate for 90 days from funds posting
- $1 minimum to open
- No account fees
- 90-Day Rate Lock APY: 4.30%
- Post Lock APY: 4.00%
- Individual and joint accounts available
- U.S.-based customer service
- Ranked #1 Best Bank in Arizona – Forbes 2026
- $25K+ Deposit? Earn between $100 - $1,000 cash bonus with promo code STACK
- Raisin Platform exclusive offer; terms apply, see site for details
Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC
Best for a very low opening deposit through Raisin
Available nationwide through the Raisin platform.
- $1 minimum initial deposit
- No monthly fees
- Interest compounded daily
- Established in 1901; terms apply
Member FDIC
Included as a traditional-savings comparison
Substantially below the high-yield accounts above.
- $300 balance to avoid the service fee
- Monthly service fee up to $5
- Limit of six withdrawals per statement period
- Withdrawal overage fees up to $15 per month
To recap our recommendations.
Best Savings Accounts According To CompareAccounts™
SoFi® Checking and Savings: 4.40% APY & Earn up to $400 with qualifying activities
American Express® High Yield Savings Account: 3.20% APY as of October 28, 2026
CIT Bank® Savings Connect Account: 3.65% APY
CIT Bank® Platinum Savings Account: 3.75% APY
What to Look for in a High-Yield Savings Account
It's always wise to compare your options when opening a new savings account. Small differences in interest rates and fees can quickly add up over time, especially if you're keeping a large balance in savings.
Here are the top features to look for and compare:
1. Interest Rate
The interest rate of a savings account is one of its most important features. However, a very high interest rate can get completely wiped out by monthly fees.
Although your main goal may be a higher interest rate, be sure to focus on low and better yet, no monthly fee accounts. Other important features of your savings account include the required initial deposit, minimum balance required, and how you access your money.
2. Monthly Fees
Monthly fees can destroy your return. You should avoid them like the plague. That’s why we recommend you focus on no monthly fee savings accounts to maximize your return.
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 important with any account. Some high yield savings accounts allow you to transfer funds out of the account as often as you’d like, while others place limits on the number of outgoing transfers you can perform per month.
Additionally, some banks will issue a debit card for your high yield savings account, although that is more common for checking accounts.
We recommend to not focus on the debit card aspect too much and instead ask yourself “how often will I need to pull money from my savings?” We believe that savings should be left alone, until really needed, in order take advantage of compound interest.
Although a limit of 6 out going transfers sounds low, if you need to pull money out more often than that, we’d recommend putting those funds into a checking account instead.
Once you understand the main features to compare — including interest rates, monthly fees, opening deposit requirements, minimum balance rules, transfer limits, and access to your money — it becomes much easier to compare specific banks. Our savings bank account reviews break down popular savings accounts by APY, fees, balance requirements, account access, digital banking tools, and overall value, so you can choose a savings account that fits your goals.
*National Savings Rate Average as published by FDIC
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STILL COMPARING?
A cash bonus.
A savings boost.
Explore SoFi Checking and Savings.
with Direct Deposit①
with Eligible Direct Deposit
Limited Time Offer: +1.10% boost on new accounts with Eligible Direct Deposit.
① Bonus eligibility and Direct Deposit requirements apply. APY is variable. See SoFi for full offer terms.
