The best high-yield savings accounts of April 2024

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.

Stashing cash in a high-yield savings account can help you reach your goals quicker. High-yield savings accounts reward you with higher interest rates than traditional savings accounts and your money grows even faster thanks to compound interest — which lets you earn interest on interest. The higher your annual percentage yield (APY), the faster your money grows and the better return you earn on your money.

The national average APY on savings accounts is just 0.47%. That's over 10 times less than the 5-plus percent APY and around 6% APY that the highest-yield savings accounts offer.

To determine which high-yield savings accounts are best, CNBC Select compared dozens of savings accounts offered by online banks, brick-and-mortar banks and large credit unions. The savings accounts selected offer an above-average APY to all customers (no matter their balance), are FDIC- or NCUA-insured, have zero monthly maintenance fees and low (or no) minimum balance requirements. (See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best high-yield savings accounts.)

Who's this for? The Western Alliance Bank Savings Account account is for anyone focused on maximizing their returns. It offers one of the highest savings rates currently available with no cap to earning this solid return.

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Who's this for? Unlike many savings accounts, LendingClub High-Yield Savings provides customers with a free ATM card and never charges any ATM fees. This makes it easy to access your savings account and withdraw money whenever you want. You can also use your funds to pay bills, send money to friends and family and make internal and external transfers.

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Who's this for? Newtek Bank Personal High Yield Savings account holders earn one of the highest savings returns with no minimum deposit required.

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Who's this for? The UFB Secure Savings is ideal for anyone who wants to earn one of the highest returns and get ATM access. Although there are no physical branches, customers get a free ATM card — and even the potential to earn more interest on their savings with a UFB checking account.

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Who's this for? The Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings account stands out for its convenient withdrawal options. Synchrony Bank offers an optional ATM card to its savings account holders. You can access your money by ATM, wire transfer (up to three free per statement cycle) or through an electronic transfer to or from accounts you have at other banks.

Though you are limited to six free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle, Synchrony Bank allows you to conduct unlimited transactions at an ATM. The bank won't charge an ATM fee, but the ATM provider may. For these charges, Synchrony Bank refunds ATM fees in the U.S. up to $5 per statement cycle.

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Who's this for? Marcus by Goldman Sachs High Yield Online Savings offers no fees whatsoever, no minimum deposit requirement and easy mobile access. It's the most straightforward savings account to use when all you want to do is grow your money with zero conditions attached.

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Who's this for? Cardholders of the Mango Prepaid Mastercard^® (issued by Metropolitan Commercial Bank) have access to a savings feature where they can earn up to 6.00% APY on up to $2,500 by meeting two requirements:

1. Make a minimum deposit of $25 and have that minimum balance at the end of the month
2. Make signature purchases of $1,500 or more on the Mango Prepaid Mastercard each month

For savers that max their balance to $2,500, that's $150 in interest earnings in a year. The APY thereafter is a low 0.10% over $2,500 — which at that point we'd recommend shifting any other savings beyond the $2,500 to another high-yield savings account like the ones on this list.

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Who's this for? The SoFi Checkings and Savings account stands out for offering a valuable welcome bonus after you set up direct deposit payments: Earn $50 when setting up a direct deposit of $1,000 to $4,999.99 and earn $300 when setting up a direct deposit of $5,000 or more.

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Who's this for? Ally is a good choice for anyone looking to do all their banking in one place. While the Ally Savings Account is a solid high-yield account on its own, account holders can enjoy even more benefits if they also have an Ally Bank Spending Account (Ally's checking account product). An Ally checking and savings account gives you access to over 43,000 free Allpoint ATMs, making it easy to withdraw cash when you need to. If you only have an Ally savings account, you won't have access to a debit card. Ally also reimburses out-of-network ATM fees up to $10 per month.

Not all online banks also offer a checking account option. Saving your money with a bank that doesn't offer a checking account means you would have to transfer your money between banks, which could take a couple of days.

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Who's this for? If you're a frequent traveler, you can opt for the Bask Bank Mileage Savings Account to earn American Airlines AAdvantage^® miles back instead of interest. With the mileage savings account, you'll earn 2.5 miles for every $1 saved annually. You can use these miles for flights on American Airlines or any of its 20+ partner airlines. So, you can effectively fund your next vacation without any spending.

If you want to maximize your interest-earning potential, consider Bask Bank. The Bask Bank Interest Savings Account offers a respectable 5.10% APY to all savings account holders.

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Who's this for? With the Varo Savings Account, savers get access to two programs that automatically transfer money from their Varo bank account to their savings account: Save Your Pay®, which automatically transfers a percentage of their paycheck into their savings, and Save Your Change, which rounds up checking account transactions to the nearest dollar and transfers the difference to savings.

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Who's this for? Account holders of the Capital One 360 Performance Savings can get a pretty good savings rate for a brick-and-mortar bank (which usually don't offer great returns). There are no monthly fees and zero minimum deposit or balances required. A brick-and-mortar bank can be a good option for those who prefer in-person banking. Capital One has hundreds of bank branches, as well. as Capital One Cafés you can visit to chat with someone.

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Who's this for? When it comes to high-yield savings accounts offered by big-name banks, the online American Express® High Yield Savings Account stands out. The Amex High Yield Savings has an above-average APY, no minimum balance and no monthly fees.

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Minimum balance

$1 minimum deposit

Fees

Zero monthly fee or overdraft fee, the bank may charge fees for non-sufficient funds

Maximum transactions

Up to 6 transactions each month

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Minimum balance

$100 minimum deposit

Fees

Zero monthly fee or excessive transaction fee

Maximum transactions

None

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Minimum balance

$0.01 to earn interest

Fees

Zero monthly fee, excessive transactions fee or overdraft fee

Maximum transactions

Up to 6 free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle; transaction amount limits apply; withdrawals from your account can only be transferred to the original external funding source

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Minimum balance

None

Fees

Zero monthly fee, overdraft fee may be charged

Maximum transactions

Six per month

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Minimum balance

None

Fees

Zero monthly fee, excessive transactions fee or overdraft fee

Maximum transactions

Up to six free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle

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Minimum balance

None

Fees

Zero monthly fee, excessive transactions fee or overdraft fee

Maximum transactions

None

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Minimum balance

$25

Fees

Zero monthly fee, excessive transactions fee or overdraft fee

Maximum transactions

Up to six transfers out each month and transfer amounts to savings apply

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Minimum balance

None

Fees

Zero monthly fee, excessive transactions fee, offers no-fee overdraft protection

Maximum transactions

Up to six free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle and transaction amount limits apply

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Minimum balance

None

Fees

Zero monthly fee or overdraft fee, $10 per excessive transactions

Maximum transactions

None

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Minimum balance

None

Fees

Zero monthly fee

Maximum transactions

Up to six free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle

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Minimum balance

$0.01 to earn interest

Fees

Zero monthly fee, excessive transactions fee or overdraft fee

Maximum transactions

Up to six free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle

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Minimum balance

None

Fees

Zero monthly fee, excessive transactions fee or overdraft fee

Maximum transactions

Up to six free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle

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Minimum balance

None

Fees

Zero monthly fee, excessive transactions fee or overdraft fee

Maximum transactions

None

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A high-yield savings account is like a normal savings account but offers a higher interest rate, or APY, on one's cash. With a higher APY, your money grows faster as it sits in your account. Note, however, that unlike with certificates of deposit (CDs), these interest rates are variable, meaning they can go up or down at any time.

Not only does your money earn a better return in a high-yield savings account than in traditional savings, but you still have access to your cash when you need it as you would in a normal savings account. Your money in a high-yield savings account is federally insured by the FDIC or NCUA, which means that deposits up to $250,000 are protected if the bank were to suddenly collapse.

• ACH transfer: When you want to make small and frequent payments electronically (direct deposit, automated bill payments, etc.); typically always free but usually takes at least one business day to complete the transfer.
• Annual percentage yield (APY): The amount of interest an account earns in a year.
• ATM networks: ATMs can either be in-service or out-of-network, depending on which bank you have. When you make a transaction at an ATM that is outside your bank's network, then a fee will most likely be applied by both the ATM operator and your bank.
• Mobile deposit: Instead of going to the bank to deposit a check, you can use your mobile banking app to scan a photo of the check and have the funds immediately deposited into your account. It can sometimes take a day or two for the funds to be accessible.
• Wire transfer: When you want to move funds from one bank account to another and have the money available for use on the same business day; banks usually charge a fee.

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 high-yield savings account review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of banking and personal finance 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 high-yield savings accounts.

To determine which high-yield savings accounts offer the best return on your money, CNBC Select compared dozens of U.S. savings accounts offered by various financial institutions, including brick-and-mortar banks, online banks and large credit unions. Though most online banks don't have physical branches, they often offer higher APYs, lower fees and overall better benefits than national brick-and-mortar banks.

We narrowed down our ranking by only considering those savings accounts that offer an above-average interest rate, no monthly maintenance fees and low (or no) minimum balance requirements.

While the accounts we chose in this article consistently rank as having some of the highest APY rates, we also compared each savings account on a range of features, including ease of use and account accessibility, as well as factors such as insurance policies and customer reviews when available. We also considered users' deposit options and each account's compound frequency.

All accounts included on this list are FDIC- or NCUA-insured up to $250,000. Note that the rates and fee structures for high-yield savings accounts are not guaranteed forever; they are subject to change without notice and they often fluctuate per the Federal Reserve rate. Your earnings depend on any associated fees and the balance you have in your high-yield 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 Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the bank prior to publication.

*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.