10 best free savings accounts for stashing your cash

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Editor's Note: APYs listed in this article are up-to-date as of the time of publication. They may fluctuate (up or down) as the Fed rate changes. CNBC Select will update as changes are made public.

A key feature to look out for when shopping for a savings account is no banking fees. After all, that takes away from the money you can save.

CNBC Select researched FDIC-insured savings accounts that offer no fees whatsoever — zero monthly maintenance fees, zero excessive transaction fees, zero overdraft fees, zero insufficient / non-sufficient funds fees, plus zero minimum deposits or balances required to save and grow your money. Essentially, we wanted to pinpoint only savings accounts that don't call for any extra dollars needed.

If you care most about stashing your cash with no strings attached, check out the below no-fee savings accounts. (See our methodology for more information on how we chose the best free savings accounts.)

Who's this for? The Discover Online Savings offers an above-average rate along with no fees and excellent customer service.

Standout benefits: Discover's U.S.-based banking specialists can be reached 24 hours a day. Its Modern Money blog is also a good resource for learning about managing money and other personal finance basics.

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Who's this for? The Capital One 360 Performance Savings is a good choice for savers who value in-person banking as it's the only one on this list with multiple physical branches.

Standout benefits: Its rate isn't the highest you'll find, but the Capital One savings option is great for a brick-and-mortar bank. Savers can also create multiple Performance Savings Accounts for each of their financial goals.

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Who's this for? With Marcus by Goldman Sachs High Yield Online Savings, savers earn a solid APY for no fees.

Standout benefits: Marcus offers a user-friendly mobile banking app that allows savers to track their savings goals and see how much interest they've earned over the year.

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Who's this for? The Bask Interest Savings Account offers one of the highest rates on this list, in addition to its no-fee platform.

Standout benefits: Frequent travelers can opt for the Bask Mileage Savings Account instead to earn American Airlines AAdvantage® miles back. With the mileage savings account, savers earn 2.5 miles for every $1 saved annually.

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Who's this for? The Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account is a standard choice for saving cash with a high return and no fees.

Standout benefits: Sallie Mae offers a free mobile text banking service (though your wireless carrier may charge normal text or data usage fees) that lets customers retrieve information about their accounts using text messaging. However, it stands out most for its private student loan offerings.

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Who's this for? With SoFi Checking and Savings, savers also have access to a checking account and can earn a solid APY on their savings, plus interest on their checking balance, by just setting up direct deposit.

Standout benefits: SoFi's FDIC insurance coverage exceeds the limit that other banks on this list offer on their savings accounts. New individual checking and savings members receive FDIC insurance up to $2 million instead of the standard $250,000.

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Who's this for? The Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings is another standard no-fee savings option with a good APY.

Standout benefits: Synchrony offers savings customers ATM access, which other accounts on this list do not unless you sign up for the bank's checking account. Synchrony savers can get an ATM card to easily access their cash for free at any ATM displaying the Plus or Accel logos. Plus, Synchrony Bank refunds up to $5 per statement cycle in domestic ATM fees charged by other financial institutions.

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Who's this for? American Express is a leader in the credit card space and also boasts the American Express® High Yield Savings Account to help its loyal users grow their money.

Standout benefits: Much like Amex credit cards, the American Express High Yield Savings Account receives positive feedback thanks to its above-average rates, easy transfers and good customer service. Amex's website also offers a helpful "Tips & Tools" section with educational resources and strategies to help you save. 

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Who's this for? MySavingsDirect has a more limited website, so this is for those who don't need much from or interact much with their bank.

Standout benefits: We included the MySavingsDirect MySavings Account on this list because it offers no fees and no minimums, along with a higher interest rate than most accounts here.

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Who's this for? Affirm may be known for its buy now, pay later services but its savings account stands out for offering no fees and a decent interest rate.

Standout benefits: The Affirm Money Account can be accessed online or in the Affirm app available on the App Store and Google Play. No minimum balance is required to open an account.

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Discover is best known as a credit card issuer but also offers online banking, home equity loans, student loans and personal loans.

APY

4.25% APY

Withdrawal limit

6 per statement cycle

Checking account option?

Yes

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Capital One is a big-name bank that offers everything from credit cards to bank accounts, auto loans and business banking.

APY

4.25% APY

Withdrawal limit

6 per statement cycle, but currently not enforced

Checking account option?

Yes

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Marcus is the consumer banking arm of Goldman Sachs and stands out for its savings products like its high-yield account, CDs and investment portfolios.

APY

4.40% APY

Withdrawal limit

None

Checking account option?

No

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Bask Bank Bank is a fully digital bank, offering only savings accounts and CDs. In addition to the traditional Bask Interest Savings Account, it offers the Bask Mileage Savings Account, which allows savers to earn interest in the form of American Airlines AAdvantage® miles.

APY

5.10% APY

Withdrawal limit

6 per month; withdrawal dollar amount limits apply

Checking account option?

No

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Sallie Mae is big in the student loan space, but it also offers some decent savings products.

APY

4.50% APY

Withdrawal limit

None; withdrawal dollar amount limits apply

Checking account option?

No

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SoFi began as a student loan refinancing company, but its offerings have since expanded to personal loans, mortgage loans, investing, banking, insurance, credit cards, credit monitoring and more.

APY

Up to 4.60% APY

Withdrawal limit

None

Checking account option?

Yes

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Synchrony Bank is an online-only bank that offers savings products, such as a high-yield savings account, money market and CDs, plus credit cards.

APY

4.75% APY

Withdrawal limit

None; withdrawal dollar amount limits apply

Checking account option?

No, but savings accounts come with ATM card

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Many people think of credit cards when they hear American Express, but it also offers savings and checking account products, personal loans and small business accounts.

Annual Percentage Yield (APY)

4.25% APY as of 4/25/2024

Withdrawal limit

9 per month

Checking account option?

Yes

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MySavingsDirect is a division of Emigrant Bank and offers its high-yield savings account, CDs and mortgage loans through Emigrant.

APY

4.35% APY

Withdrawal limit

6 per month

Checking account option?

No

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Affirm is a big player in the buy now, pay later space that only recently added a high-yield savings account, held by partner bank Cross River Bank.

APY

4.35% APY

Withdrawal limit

None; withdrawal dollar amount limits apply

Checking account option?

No

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Opening a no-fee savings account is easy. Most savings accounts take less than 10 minutes to apply and just require a government-issued ID like a passport or driver's license, Social Security number, address, contact information, date of birth and a checking account routing number to deposit money.

To choose the best free savings account for you, consider if you value in-person banking or if you're fine with an online-only bank. This will help filter down options as most free savings accounts are online-only accounts. You can also rank options based on the highest savings APY offers, access to funds like ATM cards, FDIC insurance coverage limits, educational tools, plus other financial products that the bank offers customers like checking accounts, credit cards and loans.

Free savings account pros

• No fees whatsoever
• No minimum deposit or balance requirements
• Above-average rates
• FDIC-insured

Free savings account cons

• Higher returns offered elsewhere
• Most are provided by online-only banks, so limited in-person banking is available

When it comes to deposit accounts like checking or savings, the common fees you want to avoid include monthly maintenance or service fees, excessive transaction fees, overdraft fees, insufficient funds fees, out-of-network ATM fees, wire transfer fees and early account closing fees.

An alternative to one of the free savings accounts on this list is a high-yield savings account that avoids many of the common fees mentioned above, while honoring a higher return. For example, the UFB Secure Savings, one of CNBC Select's top high-yield savings accounts, offers above 5% APY on any savings balance, as well as no monthly maintenance or service fees, no minimum deposit or balance requirement, option to add a checking account, overdraft protection and a free ATM card with unlimited withdrawals.

Every dollar counts when you're building up savings, which is why opening a free, no-fee savings account can be a smart idea for just about anyone's banking needs.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every savings account review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of banking products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best free savings accounts.

To determine which savings accounts made this list, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of U.S. savings accounts offered by online and brick-and-mortar banks, including large credit unions. We narrowed down our picks by only considering those savings accounts with above-average rates that offer no fees whatsoever, including zero:

• Monthly maintenance fees
• Excessive transactions fees
• Overdraft fees
• Insufficient / non-sufficient funds fees

Note that we did not consider wire fees since we found that most banks charge a wire fee for outgoing transfers.

We then narrowed our picks even further by only highlighting those savings accounts that currently do not require any minimum deposits to open an account or minimum balances to earn interest. Although the accounts on this list don't require you to reach certain minimums, the respective banks may close your account if it remains unfunded for a while.

All of the accounts included on this list are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor, some even more. Note that the rates and fee structures for savings accounts are not guaranteed forever; they are subject to change without notice and they often fluctuate per the Fed rate. Your earnings depend on any associated fees and the balance you have in your savings account. To open an account, most banks and institutions require a deposit of new money, meaning you can't transfer the money you already had in an account at that bank.

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Information about the Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings Account has been collected independently by CNBC and has not been reviewed or provided by the bank prior to publication. *American Express National Bank is a Member FDIC.

* SoFi members with direct deposit can earn up to 4.60% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum direct deposit amount required to qualify for the 4.60% APY for savings. Members without direct deposit will earn up to 1.20% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 12/12/23. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found at http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.