10 Best Free Checking Accounts

Chime is a mobile banking service with no overdraft fees, plus a nifty feature called SpotMe that lets qualifying customers overdraw as low as negative $100, without being charged a fee.

Interest rate: None.

Minimum deposit to open: $0.

Other pros: Chime customers can use 38,000 ATMs without fees, and also don’t have to worry about foreign transaction fees. Direct deposits can be up to two days early.

With a strong online presence and easy membership requirements, Alliant has a wider reach than most credit unions. Support for an Alliant-affiliated nonprofit is all it takes to apply for membership if you don’t fulfill other requirements.

Interest rate: 0.25%.

Minimum deposit to open: $0.

Other pros: Alliant members can access more than 80,000 surcharge-free ATMs and have up to $20 reimbursed in out-of-network ATM fees a month.

Axos Bank’s Rewards Checking has an exceptional rate and unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements.

Interest rate: Up to 1.25%.

Minimum deposit to open: $50.

Other pros: The account has no overdraft fees.

Varo’s mobile checking account has no overdraft fees, unlike many banks. Transactions that would go negative get declined instead.

Interest rate: None.

Minimum deposit to open: $0.

Other pros: Varo offers two-day early direct deposit and fee-free access to over 55,000 Allpoint ATMs worldwide. The account charges no foreign transaction fees. Varo also has a high rate on its savings account.

Ally offers interest on its free checking account as well as nationwide ATM fee reimbursements of up to $10 a month.

Interest rate: 0.10% or 0.50%, depending on balance.

Minimum deposit to open: $0.

Other pros: Ally customers have free access to thousands of Allpoint ATMs nationally.

Along with its excellent APY, Bank5 Connect provides customers with access to thousands of free ATMs and reimburses up to $15 per month for fees racked up at other banks' cash machines.

Interest rate: 0.20%.

Minimum deposit to open: $10.

Other pros: The online bank's $15 insufficient funds charge is significantly lower than many banks charge. The bank also has a high-yield savings account.

FNBO Direct, online banking division of the First National Bank of Omaha, offers a free checking account with a solid rate and extensive ATM access.

Interest rate: 0.25%.

Minimum deposit to open: $1.

Other pros: Customers have free access to 55,000 Allpoint ATMs worldwide, and the bank has a high-yield savings account.

When opening a Charles Schwab checking account, customers also get a Schwab One brokerage account. Though the checking account’s APY isn’t the highest, customers aren’t charged any monthly fees and there’s no minimum monthly balance requirement.

Interest rate: 0.03%

Minimum deposit to open: $0.

Other pros: Schwab has free unlimited ATM fee reimbursements both domestically and abroad, and debit cardholders aren’t charged foreign transaction fees. Deposits up to $250,000 are insured by the FDIC, and there are no overdraft fees.

With Discover Cashback Debit, you can get 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases monthly.

Interest rate: None.

Minimum deposit to open: $0.

Other pros: Customers have access to 60,000 fee-free ATMs.

What you should know: The only place to deposit cash is at Discover's one branch in Delaware.

Cashback Debit details from Discover: “ATM transactions, the purchase of money orders or other cash equivalents, cash over portions of point-of-sale transactions, peer-to-peer (P2P) payments (such as Apple Pay Cash), and loan payments or account funding made with your debit card are not eligible for cash back rewards. In addition, purchases made using third-party payment accounts (services such as Venmo® and PayPal™, which also provide P2P payments) may not be eligible for cash back rewards. Apple, the Apple logo and Apple Pay are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries."

The Capital One account earns interest and has a wide range of overdraft programs, including a cheap overdraft line of credit with an annual percentage rate below 15%. There are also free overdraft transfers from savings accounts and a next-day grace period, giving customers a day before being charged an overdraft fee. Or, you can stick with the default option of the bank declining any charges made without sufficient cash, without a fee.

Interest rate: 0.10%.

Minimum deposit to open: $0.

Other pros: Capital One gives customers free access to nearly 40,000 ATMs, mostly from the Allpoint network. You can also visit Capital One 360 Cafés in several cities around the country to speak with customer-service representatives.