Best High-Yield Savings Account Rates Compared

Savings Rates by Bank

APYs from the banks' official rate pages · checked 2026-11-09

National Savings Rates Today

FDIC national rates and rate caps · October 19, 2026

How Much Does $10,000 Earn in One Year?

Bread Savings leads this comparison at 4.05% APY with a $100 minimum, which works out to about $405 a year on a $10,000 balance. The FDIC national average for savings is 0.38%, so the top account earns roughly ten times the typical rate. Savers who want no minimum balance can get 3.50% at Marcus, a gap of $55 a year on $10,000. Wells Fargo Platinum Savings requires $25,000, which rules it out for most savers. The same tests apply to any account: the APY, the balance needed to earn it, how easily you can move money in and out, and whether the account is a bank deposit covered by FDIC insurance.

How the ranking is ordered

The table is sorted by APY, highest first. Each rate comes from the bank’s own official rate page, and the snapshot shown was checked on November 9, 2026. Nothing else moves an entry up or down. Minimum balance, fees, branch access and app quality do not affect position.

Because the sort uses one number, accounts with the same APY can have different requirements. Marcus’s Online Savings Account and U.S. Bank’s Bank Smartly Savings both pay 3.50%, but Marcus has no minimum balance and U.S. Bank requires $25.

Savings APYs are variable. A bank can raise or cut its rate at any time without notice, so the order reflects the check date, not a promise about next month.

What the $10,000 column assumes

The “$10,000 earns (1 yr)” column is the deposit multiplied by the APY:

One-year interest = balance × APY

At 4.05%, that is $10,000 × 0.0405 = $405. The figure assumes three things:

• the APY stays the same for all 12 months,
• you make no deposits or withdrawals during the year, and
• interest stays in the account and compounds.

APY already includes compounding, which is why a simple multiplication gives the year’s total. The nominal interest rate on a bank’s disclosure does not, so compare APY to APY, never one bank’s APY with another’s nominal rate.

To estimate a different balance, scale linearly: $25,000 at 3.50% APY earns $875 for the year. Deposits added during the year earn only for the months they sit in the account.

Reading the rates against national benchmarks

National average (0.38% for savings). This is the FDIC’s deposit-weighted average across U.S. banks, published October 19, 2026, and it produces $38 a year on $10,000. Every account ranked above Fidelity’s 1.96% beats it by a wide margin, while Charles Schwab at 0.15%, Citi Savings at 0.05% and Bank of America Advantage Savings at 0.01% sit below it.

National rate cap (4.63% for savings). This is a regulatory ceiling, not an available offer: banks that are less than well capitalized cannot pay deposit rates significantly above market. It equals the 3.88% Treasury / fed funds yield plus 0.75 percentage point and works as a rough marker of how far above market a rate is.

Treasury / fed funds yield (3.88%). This is the benchmark short-term rate. Savings accounts near or above it, here Bread at 4.05% and Popular Direct at 3.90%, are paying close to what the bank could earn on very safe short-term assets. When the Federal Reserve moves its policy rate, online savings APYs tend to follow, though not on a fixed timetable or by the same amount.

Inflation matters too. A 4.05% APY during a year of 3% inflation leaves about a 1% gain in purchasing power before taxes.

Where the table shows real differences

Most entries differ only by rate. A few differ in ways that change who can use them.

Minimum balance

Wells Fargo Platinum Savings pays 3.25% APY with a $25,000 minimum, far above any other account in the table. Bread Savings and Popular Direct Exclusive Savings each require $100. U.S. Bank Bank Smartly Savings requires $25. Marcus, Wise, SoFi, Ally, PNC, Fidelity, Chime and Schwab have no minimum.

Three conditions need confirming before you apply. The minimum may be the amount to open the account, the amount to earn the stated APY, or both. A balance below a tier threshold can earn a lower rate, and some accounts pay a promotional rate for a limited period before reverting to a standard rate. Online savings accounts often avoid monthly fees, but each fee schedule is the place to confirm it. If you plan to keep less than the minimum, read the rate schedule first.

Online banks vs. large branch banks

The upper half of the table is mostly online banks and banking divisions without large branch networks: Bread, Popular Direct, Marcus, Ally and SoFi. Large branch banks such as Citi and Bank of America sit at the bottom, earning $5 and $1 a year on $10,000. Wells Fargo’s 3.25% product and PNC High Yield Savings at 3.15% are the branch-bank exceptions in this snapshot.

If you keep savings at a big bank for convenience, the cost of that convenience is the gap in the “$10,000 earns” column: about $400 a year between Bank of America’s rate and Bread’s, at that balance.

Bank, brokerage and fintech products

Not every entry is a standard bank savings account. The Fidelity Cash Management Account is a brokerage account rather than a bank savings product. Charles Schwab’s entry is held at Schwab Bank. Wise is a money transfer company, and its Interest feature for USD balances is a different structure from a bank deposit. Chime is a financial technology company that offers accounts through partner banks rather than as a bank itself.

These structures affect how your money is held and what protection applies. They also affect transfers: a brokerage cash account can make sense if you invest through the same firm, while a standalone online bank may be the simplest home for an emergency fund.

How to choose between entries

Rate is the first filter, not the only one. Work through these in order:

1. Match the minimum to your balance. Rule out any account whose minimum you will not meet. For most savers this removes only the $25,000 Wells Fargo product.
2. Confirm the rate applies to your full balance. Check the rate schedule for balance tiers or a promotional period.
3. Check fees. A monthly maintenance fee can erase the advantage of a higher rate on a small balance.
4. Check how money moves. Look at how long external transfers take, whether same-day transfers are available to your checking account, and any limit on monthly withdrawals. The federal six-per-month limit on savings withdrawals under Regulation D was suspended in 2020, but individual banks may still set their own limits.
5. Weigh the relationship you already have. Holding savings at the bank where you check balances daily can make transfers instant. Holding them elsewhere can reduce the temptation to spend.
6. Look at the gap, not the rank. The difference between the first and fourth entries is 0.55 percentage point, or $55 a year on $10,000. On a $2,000 balance that is $11. If a lower-ranked account fits your banking setup better, the cost may be small.

Deposit insurance and safety

For a bank savings account, safety comes from FDIC insurance, which covers deposits up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category (individual, joint, certain retirement accounts and others). No depositor has lost insured funds since the FDIC began insuring deposits in 1934.

Three points apply to any account you consider:

• Coverage is per bank, not per brand. Two online brands owned by the same chartered bank share one $250,000 limit.
• Fintech and brokerage products work differently. When a non-bank company offers an account through partner banks, coverage applies only once funds are on deposit at an insured bank, and the company’s own failure is not an insured event. Brokerage cash may sit in a sweep to program banks, a money market fund or other forms, each with different protection. SIPC coverage is not deposit insurance.
• Verify the charter yourself. The FDIC’s BankFind tool confirms whether an institution is insured and under what legal name.

If your balance exceeds $250,000, splitting it across separately chartered banks or ownership categories keeps all of it insured.

Alternatives to a high-yield savings account

Money market accounts. These are insured bank deposits, and some offer check writing or a debit card. The FDIC national average is 0.63%, slightly above the savings average.

Certificates of deposit. A CD locks in a rate for a fixed term, which protects you if rates fall but charges a penalty for early withdrawal. FDIC averages range from 0.23% for 1-month CDs to 1.76% for 12-month CDs, and the best offers run well above those averages. Compare current terms on today’s best CD rates.

Treasury bills. T-bills are short-term U.S. government debt. Interest is exempt from state and local income tax, which can favor them for residents of high-tax states, but they mature on a set date rather than being available on demand.

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