Standout Online Savings Accounts
The best online savings accounts offer high interest rates while being a great place to park your money. Because online banks don’t have the expense of maintaining branches, they can offer high-interest savings paying many times higher than the national average of 0.46%*. To make the search easier, we created this shortlist of standout picks from our partners. Check out the offers, from our partners, and start earning interest today.
The best online savings accounts offer high interest rates while being a great place to park your money. Because online banks don’t have the expense of maintaining branches, they can offer high-interest savings paying many times higher than the national average of 0.46%*. To make the search easier, we created this shortlist of standout picks from our partners. Check out the offers, from our partners, and start earning interest today.
Standout Online Savings Accounts From Our Partners
Bank/institution | NerdWallet rating | APY | Bonus | Learn more |
---|---|---|---|---|
⏰ LTO SoFi Checking and Savings Learn more at SoFi Bank, N.A., Member FDIC | 4.60% With $0 min. balance for APY | $400 Limited-time offer Up to $300 cash and $100 in rewards points. Terms apply. | Learn more at SoFi Bank, N.A., Member FDIC | |
American Express® High Yield Savings Account Learn more at American Express National Bank, Member FDIC | 4.30% With $1 min. balance for APY | N/A | Learn more at American Express National Bank, Member FDIC | |
Barclays Online Savings Account Learn more at Barclays, Member FDIC | 4.35% With $0 min. balance for APY | $200 Requirements to qualify | Learn more at Barclays, Member FDIC |
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Wealthfront Cash Account
Monthly fee
APY
With $1 min. balance for APY
Bonus
Requirements to qualify
at Wealthfront
Fidelity IRA
Fees
no account fees to open a Fidelity retail IRA
Account minimum
Promotion
no promotion available at this time
on Fidelity's website
Interactive Brokers IBKR Lite
Fees
per trade
Account minimum
Promotion
no promotion available at this time
on Interactive Brokers' website
⏰ Limited-time offer
Limited-time offer
Don’t miss out on a bigger bonus
Get a NerdWallet-exclusive bonus of up to $400 when you open an account and hit $5,000 in direct deposits within 25 days after your first one. That’s $100 more than SoFi’s normal $300 bonus! Select "Learn More" to get started. Expires 4/22/24. Terms apply.
4.30%
With $1 min. balance for APY
N/A
4.35%
With $0 min. balance for APY
$200
Requirements to qualify
Building an emergency fund
Emergency funds don’t get enough credit. They’re useful to literally everyone and protect you from falling into debt when life happens. Think: blown transmission, a surprise vet bill or even losing a job. Experts recommend having 3-6 months of living expenses in your fund. And because the money needs to be available at last notice — but might sit around for quite a while — a high-interest savings account is one of the best accounts you can use.
Why online banks dominate the list
The two most important factors for virtually every bank-shopper are APYs and maintenance fees (since they have the biggest impact on your bottom line). And, as it happens, online banks are offering massive APYs — as much as 11x the average APY** — plus, they also offer rock-bottom maintenance fees.
*The national average annual percentage yield ("APY") is listed as 0.46% as reported by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as of April 15, 2024.
**10x more interest based on the national average annual percentage yield ("APY") of 0.46% (as reported by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as of April 15, 2024) as compared to online banks with interest-bearing savings account APYs of 0.40% or more. Estimated annual earnings result assumes principal and interest remain on deposit for one year and interest rates and APY do not change. Estimated annual earnings are for informational purposes only. Interest rates and APY are subject to change and specific results cannot be guaranteed.
To recap our selections...
NerdWallet's Standout Online Savings Accounts
- SoFi Checking and Savings: 4.60% APY
- American Express® High Yield Savings Account: 4.30% APY
- Barclays Online Savings Account: 4.35% APY