Best Savings Account

How we picked the companies to evaluate:

We evaluated over 90 financial institutions, including the largest U.S. retail banks based on assets and internet search traffic; the nation’s largest credit unions, based on assets and membership; 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:

Savings account providers are rated based on the following factors: interest rate (contributed to 30% of the rating), monthly fees (25%), distinguishing features (20%) and minimum opening deposit (25%). Also, up to 15% extra credit was given for a sign-up bonus. In case of a tie, providers were compared by category in the following order until one institution remained:
  • Banking experience.
  • Monthly fees. The threshold has been updated to give a better score to accounts that have no monthly fee as opposed to a low monthly fee.
  • Lowest minimum balance.
  • Lowest minimum balance.
  • Savings interest rate.
  • Highest new customer sign-up bonus for $15,000 or less in deposits.
  • Overall bank star rating.

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.

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