MagnifyMoney 
Some savings accounts are designed to provide the best possible interest rates on the balance. These high-yield savings accounts are often featured by online-only banks and credit unions, which may have fewer physical branch locations and banking services than traditional banks.
Why trust us: MagnifyMoney is a free service providing information on bank accounts and other financial products since 2014. We maintain editorial independence to ensure that readers will be presented with the best possible recommendations. Read our methodology for choosing the best high-yield savings accounts.
| Account | High-yield savings APY | Minimum deposit to open an account |
|---|---|---|
| BrioDirect High-Yield Savings | 2.15% on balances $25 and up | $25 |
| Quontic Bank High Yield Savings | 1.85% on all balances | $100 |
| UFB Direct Savings | 2.15% on all balances | $0 |
| Bread Savings High-Yield Savings | 1.65% on balances $100 and up | $100 |
| First Foundation Bank Online Savings | 2.02% on all balances | $1,000 |
| Bask Bank Interest Savings | 2.02% on all balances | $0 |
| Prime Alliance Personal Savings | 1.55% on all balances | $0 |
| SoFi Checking and Savings | 1.80% on all balances with direct deposit, otherwise 0.90% | $0 |
BrioDirect High-Yield Savings |
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APY: 2.15% on balances $25 and up BrioDirect is a division of Webster Bank. The BrioDirect High-Yield Savings account offers 2.15% APY on balances $25 and up, with no monthly fee. Account holders can access their money via BrioDirect’s mobile app, which has a 4.9-star rating in the Apple App Store and a 5-star rating in the Google Play Store; although there are very few reviews. |
Quontic Bank High Yield Savings |
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APY: 1.85% on all balances Quontic is an online-only bank that offers a solid 1.85% APY on all balances in its High Yield Savings account. Quontic also offers a few checking accounts, including a Bitcoin Rewards Checking account, and CDs. Opening a High Yield Savings account requires a $100 deposit, and there are no monthly service fees or overdraft fees. |
UFB Direct Savings |
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APY: 1.81% on all balances UFB Direct is an online-only bank that offers FDIC-insured banking products such as high-yield savings accounts and money market accounts. They also offer a variety of home loans to meet unique mortgage-related needs. For the UFB Direct Savings account, you can earn 1.81% APY on all balances with no monthly fees and no minimum deposit. Access your account via online banking, SMS banking and mobile deposit. For those who sign up, the bank offers a complimentary ATM card and free transfers between direct deposit accounts. |
Bread Savings High-Yield Savings |
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APY: 2.15% on all balances of $100 and up Bread Savings is a product of Comenity Capital Bank, which is a part of Bread Financial. This online-only bank is FDIC-insured and offers a competitive 2.15% APY on all balances $100 and up. On top of no monthly or hidden fees, interest is accrued and compounded daily. After your initial $100 deposit to open your online high-yield savings account, you can make unlimited deposits via mobile check capture and ACH transfer. Bread Savings also offers competitive rates on CDs. |
First Foundation Bank Online Savings |
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APY: 1.65% on all balances up to $5 million This First Foundation Bank Online Savings account is tailor-made for new First Foundation customers — meaning this account cannot be funded through existing First Foundation Bank accounts. After depositing the minimum requirement of $1,000 into this high-yield savings account, you can earn 1.65% APY on all balances up to $5 million. There are no monthly service charges or transaction fees. |
Bask Bank Interest Savings |
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APY: 2.02% on all balances Bask Bank is a division of Texas Capital Bank, a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-insured institution. Bask has a partnership with American Airlines: customers who save in a Bask Mileage Savings Account earn an AAdvantage mile for each dollar, a creative way to earn airline miles. The Mileage Savings and Interest Savings accounts are the only products offered under the Bask Bank label. Interest Savings pays 1.50% on all balances. Money can be transferred between accounts easily if a customer opens both. |
Prime Alliance Personal Savings |
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APY: 1.55% on all balances Read more: Prime Alliance Bank began in Utah as a community bank, but expanded into national services in 2004. It offers both a mobile app and online platform for its savings account. There are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements, and accounts earn 1.55% on all balances. Unlike some other high-yield savings accounts, interest posts and compounds on a quarterly schedule, which may lead to marginally lower yields than accounts with the same APY that compound daily. |
SoFi Checking and Savings |
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APY: 1.80% on all balances with direct deposit, otherwise 0.90% SoFi Bank specializes in student loans, but the bank also offers SoFi Checking and Savings, which includes some of the same features as a paired checking and savings account. SoFi Checking and Savings offers 1.80% on all balances as long as you have a direct deposit set up (even if you don’t, you’ll earn 1.00%). Beyond the strong interest rate, you can also earn a cash sign-up bonus, receive your paycheck a few days early and use a network of over 55,000 ATMs. |
Savings accounts are a type of deposit account designed to store money and earn interest. A “high-yield” account doesn’t necessarily have different features than a standard savings account (which comes with some withdrawal limits) but they tend to offer better interest rates on the balance.
Even in an environment of low interest rates, high-yield accounts are built to pay out the best possible rates. Often, the financial institutions that offer those types of accounts tend to pare down the rest of their services, including those for in-person banking, in order to boost interest rates and limit fees.
Currently, the average rate on a savings account is just 0.08%, and the best high-yield accounts identified by MagnifyMoney earn at least 10 times that amount. If your primary goal with a savings account is to earn the best possible interest rate, a high-yield account offered by an online-only bank, fintech or credit union is probably a better option than the savings accounts offered at the largest banks.
Interest accrues to savings accounts on a regular compounding schedule. On a daily, monthly or even quarterly basis, banks will pay the interest earned on a savings account balance into the account. That account will then start earning interest according to the new balance.
For example, if an account earns 1.00% APY on a $10,000 balance over the course of a year, it will start earning 1.00% APY on a balance of $10,100 at the start of the next year (as long as no money was deposited or withdrawn during that time).
Some financial institutions set certain conditions for earning the top APY, such as requiring a direct deposit from an employer, though generally savings accounts don’t have those requirements. However, some financial institutions offer tiered or blended APY rates, meaning that different balances earn different interest rates. Be sure to check whether the advertised APY will actually apply before opening an account.
Beyond the interest rate offered on a high-yield savings account, there are some other factors to consider when choosing which account is best for you:
Ultimately, there are considerations that go beyond the interest rate when you’re deciding which high-yield savings account to open. If you think you might have more unique banking needs, be sure to check which features are available with a financial institution and their savings account offerings.
Using information from DepositAccounts, which surveys more than 11,000 banks and credit unions, we sourced a list of the best high-yield savings rates for balances of $15,000. These accounts are all available nationwide and have reasonable minimum balance requirements. Each institution also has FDIC or NCUA insurance.
There is nothing inherently unsafe about a high-yield savings account. As long as you make sure you’re depositing your money into an FDIC-insured bank or NCUA-insured credit union, your money will be insured up to legal amounts in case your institution fails.
You may also want to double check an institution’s security measures before signing up for an account. Check whether their website and information is protected by encryption and firewalls. Reputable institutions will also include anti-virus and anti-fraud measures. Other protections include biometric logins (fingerprints or face match), two-factor verification and security questions.
There is often not much difference between high-interest savings accounts and money market accounts. A money market account is a type of savings account that also tends to have higher rates than traditional savings accounts.
Some money market accounts set themselves apart by offering a debit or ATM card and/or check-writing capabilities. These accounts offer further accessibility to your money. However, money market accounts still fall under the six-limit “convenient” transaction requirement, like regular savings accounts.
High-yield savings accounts are taxed like regular savings accounts. However, your earnings from a high-interest savings account are more likely to be taxed, as you are more likely to be earning more in that account than a traditional low-rate account.
Savings account earnings are taxed. Typically, if you made $10 or more in interest, your institution should send you and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) a copy of Form 1099-INT, which details the interest you’ve earned in a year. Even if you don’t receive that form, the IRS will, and they will expect you to report your interest income on your tax return.
If you earn $1,500 or more in interest income in a year, you will also need to detail those sources of income on Schedule B of Form 1040.
Thanks to the Federal Reserve’s Regulation D, you can withdraw up to six times per statement cycle from a high-yield savings account, like any other savings account. This includes pre-authorized and automatic withdrawals and transfers, and transfers made by debit card, check or other similar ways. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those limits are currently waived, but banks still may choose to enforce them.
You can get around this limit by performing “less convenient” withdrawals, like those made in person at the bank or ATM. Exceptions to the rule also include withdrawals and transfers requested by mail and those initiated over the phone if you receive the withdrawal as a mailed check.
Online banks don’t incur the costs of maintaining brick-and-mortar branches. These costs include rent, building maintenance, staff salaries and the cost of keeping physical cash safe. Without these expenses weighing them down, online banks reap big savings — savings they then pass on to their customers in the form of high interest rates.
Alex Cook
