Standout Online Savings Accounts
The best online savings accounts offer high interest rates while being a safe place to park your money. Because online banks don’t have the expense of maintaining branches, they can offer high-interest savings paying many times higher than the national average of 0.41%*. To make the search easier, we created this shortlist of standout picks from our partners. Check out the offers, from our partners, and start earning interest today.
Standout Online Savings Accounts From Our Partners
| Bank/institution | NerdWallet rating | APY | Bonus | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
4.5/5 | 3.80% With $0 min. balance for APY | $300 Earn up to $300 with direct deposit. Terms apply. | Learn moreat SoFi Bank, N.A., Member FDIC | |
 American Express® High Yield Savings Account Learn moreat American Express National Bank, Member FDIC | 4.5/5 | 3.70% With $0 min. balance for APY | N/A | Learn moreat American Express National Bank, Member FDIC |
5.0/5 | 4.30% With $5,000 min. balance for APY | N/A | Learn moreat CIT Bank, Member FDIC | |
4.1/5 | 3.75% With $0 min. balance for APY | $200 Requirements to qualify | Learn moreat Discover® Bank, Member FDIC |
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Building an emergency fund
Emergency funds don’t get enough credit. They’re useful to literally everyone and protect you from falling into debt when life happens. Think: blown transmission, a surprise vet bill or even losing a job. Experts recommend having 3-6 months of living expenses in your fund. And because the money needs to be available at last notice — but might sit around for quite a while — a high-interest savings account is one of the best accounts you can use.
Why online banks dominate the list
The two most important factors for virtually every bank-shopper are APYs and maintenance fees (since they have the biggest impact on your bottom line). And, as it happens, online banks are offering massive APYs — as much as 6x the average APY** — plus, they also offer rock-bottom maintenance fees.
**6x more interest based on the national average annual percentage yield ("APY") of 0.41% (as reported by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as of October 6, 2021) as compared to online banks with interest-bearing savings account APYs of 0.40% or more. Estimated annual earnings result assumes principal and interest remain on deposit for one year and interest rates and APY do not change. Estimated annual earnings are for informational purposes only. Interest rates and APY are subject to change and specific results cannot be guaranteed.
*The national average annual percentage yield ("APY") is listed as 0.41% as reported by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as of October 6, 2021.
To recap our selections...
NerdWallet's Standout Online Savings Accounts- SoFi Checking and Savings: 3.80% APY
- American Express® High Yield Savings Account: 3.70% APY
- CIT Bank Platinum Savings: 4.30% APY
- Discover® Online Savings: 3.75% APY