9 Best Online Checking Accounts

Chime is a mobile-only banking service that has no overdraft fees, plus a feature that lets certain customers overdraw as much as negative $100 without a fee.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: In addition to its consumer-friendly overdraft program, Chime has two automatic savings programs. One lets you round up every debit card transaction to the nearest dollar and automatically transfer the difference to your Chime Savings account. The other allows you to choose a percentage of your paycheck that automatically gets transferred into savings.

Other pros: Chime doesn’t charge overdraft fees or require a minimum balance. Customers can use over 38,000 free ATMs through two networks, MoneyPass and Visa Plus Alliance, and can receive their direct deposit up to two days early. If you need to write a check, Chime has a free online feature that creates and mails one on your behalf.

Radius Bank is an online bank with a Rewards Checking account that combines a competitive interest rate and cash-back rewards. It also offers unlimited ATM fee reimbursements, a rare perk, and up to two-day early direct deposit.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: You can earn 1% cash back on Radius debit card transactions that are either online or require a signature. And the interest rate has two tiers, 0.10% and 0.15% annual percentage yield, depending on your account balance.

Other pros: Radius belongs to the surcharge-free NYCE and MoneyPass ATM networks, and it doesn’t charge out-of-network ATM fees.

Unlike most credit unions, Alliant makes it easy to apply for membership and take advantage of its interest checking and high-quality digital tools. If you don’t meet its other eligibility requirements, you can qualify by supporting an Alliant-affiliated nonprofit at no cost to you.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: 0.25% APY. To be eligible for this rate, you must opt out of paper statements and make at least one electronic deposit to your account each month.

Other pros: You’ll have access to over 80,000 surcharge-free ATMs and up to $20 monthly in out-of-network ATM fee refunds.

Like some other Axos Bank checking accounts, the Rewards Checking has great perks: no overdraft fees and no monthly fees, plus domestic ATM fee reimbursements.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: With Rewards Checking, you also can earn up to 1.25% APY, but you'll have to jump through a couple of hoops.

Other pros: Axos also has a CashBack Checking rewards program that gives you 1% cash back on debit card transactions that require your signature, if you keep at least $1,500 as the average daily balance. If your account falls below that, you earn 0.50% cash back instead.

Varo Bank is a mobile banking app with an online banking account that doesn’t charge monthly fees and a savings account with a competitive rate.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: The Varo banking account is a particularly good deal: With no foreign transaction fees and an international ATM network (including 55,000 Allpoint ATMs in the U.S. and abroad), it’s among the best deals for international travelers.

Other pros: Spend most of your time stateside? Varo is still a solid deal. It doesn’t charge monthly service fees or overdraft fees.

Ally is an online-only bank with a no-fee checking account with a notable rate and a high-yield savings account. And Ally reimburses up to $10 in out-of-network ATM fees monthly.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: Ally’s Interest Checking has a rate of 0.10% APY for balances below $15,000; 0.50% APY for balances of $15,000 and above.

Other pros: Ally has more than 43,000 surcharge-free Allpoint ATMs, highly rated mobile apps and exceptional customer service. You can contact Ally via phone, real-time chat, messaging and Twitter. You can pair your Ally checking with its savings account, which is among the accounts with the highest yields.

The checking account at Bank5 Connect, online branch of Massachusetts-based Bank Five, has a high rate and ATM fee reimbursements of up to $15 per month.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: The rate for High-Interest Checking is 0.20% APY and the minimum to earn interest is $100.

Other pros: Account perks include free checks and no ATM fees by the bank. Bank5 Connect also has a highly rated savings account.

Discover Bank’s checking account lets you earn cash back on certain purchases, and you’ll also have access to 60,000 free ATMs.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: With Discover’s Cashback Debit account, you’ll get 1% cash back on qualifying debit card purchases of up to $3,000 a month.

Other pros: Discover also has a top-rated high-yield online savings account.

What you should know: There is only one physical branch location, in Greenwood, Delaware, so national customers have to be OK with not having face-to-face customer service.

The company says: “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."

Capital One’s checking account earns interest and has some of the most consumer-friendly overdraft programs.

Monthly fee: None.

Special features: The checking rate is 0.10% APY for any balance. There are four overdraft options, including free transfers from a savings account and a one-day grace period for overdrafts. The most noteworthy is a no-fee overdraft line of credit with a low APR, in which paying interest on an overdrawn amount tends to be cheaper than average bank overdraft fees.

Other pros: 360 Checking account holders have free access to over 39,000 ATMs nationwide, either branded as Allpoint or Capital One, and a handful of Capital One locations. The bank’s mobile app is highly rated as well.