Best-Of Awards 2025 Methodologies
Best Bank
How we picked the companies to evaluate:

We evaluated nearly 80 banks, including the largest U.S. retail banks based on assets and internet search traffic, and other notable and/or emerging players in the industry. We rated them on criteria including annual percentage yields, minimum balances, fees, digital experience and more. Some of the providers are NerdWallet partners, but this did not influence our selection of the winner.

How we chose the winner:
The winning institution was the bank with the highest overall rating in our research. In case of a tie, banks were compared by category in the following order until one institution remained: Banking experience, including factors such as ease of website use, branch availability, customer service hours, chat support, mobile app ratings and regulatory penalties.
  • Savings account.
  • Overdraft fees.
  • Certificates of deposit.
  • How we verified our data:
    NerdWallet writers and editors confirmed fees, rates, policies and other key features on each financial institution’s website. If an institution’s website was missing information, we contacted a representative directly for confirmation.