Key Takeaways
- Though the top savings account rates have drifted down from a two-decade high in 2024, you can still earn a 5.00% APY on your cash.
- Three online accounts—one checking and two savings—offer that top rate if you can jump through a hoop or two.
- The easiest option requires that direct deposits of at least $2,000 hit your account each month.
- The other two accounts have stipulations such as a required second account at the bank, meeting a 10,000-steps-a-day goal, and earning the high APY only on a balance up to $5,000.
- But don’t fret if these won’t work for you—you can still earn a stellar 4.60% with the top no-strings savings account.
The full article continues below these offers from our partners.
Earn 5% by Jumping Through Some Hoops—or 4.60% With No Strings Attached
Whether you’re socking away to an emergency fund or shifting some of your savings from investments to cash, especially given the market’s current tariff turmoil, you need to earn a competitive rate on the money in your bank accounts. Specifically, if you earn less than the inflation rate, your savings will become less valuable over time.
Fortunately, the rate you can earn with a high-yield savings account is currently very high, pushed up to 20-year record levels in 2024 by the Fed’s aggressive rate-hike campaign of 2022–2023. Today’s leading savings account rate is slightly down from those days, but it’s still possible to earn in the mid-4% to 5% range on your cash.
Where you fall in that range, however, depends on how willing you are to meet some special requirements. Right now, the three highest rates in our daily ranking of the best high-yield savings accounts require you to check off one or more special boxes. If you’re able and willing to do that, you can earn 5.00% APY on your balance.
If you don’t meet the requirements or don’t want to be bothered, you can still earn an excellent 4.60% APY from Pibank. With no monthly fees or minimum requirements for opening deposits or ongoing balances, Pibank offers the highest no-strings savings rate in the country.
For those interested in boosting to a 5% rate, here are your three options.
Option #1 – For Those Who Can Set Up Direct Deposit
Yes, this article is about your savings. But sometimes a checking account is so flexible that you can essentially use it like a savings account. That’s the case with mph.bank’s “Free Account” which pays a 5.00% annual percentage yield (APY) on balances up to a remarkable $50,000. The only requirement is that direct deposits totaling at least $2,000 hit your account every statement cycle (multiple deposits can be summed to reach the $2,000 threshold, as long as they occur within the same month).
This account charges no monthly fees, offers Zelle and mobile check deposit, and does not require a minimum opening deposit or ongoing balance requirements, making it a truly free account. While mph.bank is an online-only bank, it is owned and operated by the brick-and-mortar Liberty Savings Bank.
Important
Our roundup of the best high-interest checking accounts does include some options that pay more than mph’s 5.00%. However, all but one of them require you to make 12–15 debit purchases each month to earn their high rate, and the other only pays its high rate on up to a $10,000 balance. If you want to keep a larger balance but don’t want to use a debit card, mph.bank stands out.
Option #2 – For Those Who Are Physically Active Every Day
One of the more unique bank accounts in terms of requirements to earn bonus status is Fitness Bank. As its name implies, it focuses its perks on those who can meet healthy “step goals” every day. Right now, it’s paying a 5.00% APY on its Ultra Savings Account. Though it does not cap the balance on which you can earn 5.00%, it does have two specific requirements for earning that top rate:
- You must have an accompanying Elite Checking Account at Fitness Bank and must keep your average daily balance in that account at or above $5,000.
- You must have an average daily step count for the month of at least 10,000 steps (or 7, 500 steps if you’re age 65 or older).
You do not need to own a wearable device to qualify for this account, but you must be able to install Fitness Bank’s step tracker app on a smart phone. Fitness Bank is an online operation of Affinity Bank, a physical bank based in Covington, Georgia.
Option #3 – For Those Looking to Keep a Small Balance
If you don’t want to hold a large balance in savings, Varo Bank is another option. It, too, offers 5.00%, but only on balances up to $5,000. In addition, it requires you to have at least $1,000 in monthly direct deposits to earn that top rate.
If you simply need a place to receive your paycheck and don’t have a lot of extra savings, Varo’s 5.00% account could work for you. But if you can save more than $5,000, you’re likely better off with one of the 5.00% options above, or a slightly lower rate from a no-strings account in our ranking of the best nationwide savings accounts.
Daily Rankings of the Best CDs and Savings Accounts
We update these rankings every business day to give you the best deposit rates available:
Important
Note that the “top rates” quoted here are the highest nationally available rates Investopedia has identified in its daily rate research on hundreds of banks and credit unions. This is much different than the national average, which includes all banks offering a CD with that term, including many large banks that pay a pittance in interest. Thus, the national averages are always quite low, while the top rates you can unearth by shopping around are often 5, 10, or even 15 times higher.
How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates
Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account’s minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000. It also cannot specify a maximum deposit amount that’s below $5,000.
Banks must be available in at least 40 states to qualify as nationally available. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don’t meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don’t live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.
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