For the past couple of years, I’ve maintained this list of high-yield savings accounts by hand. That worked fine for a while, but savings interest rates change often, and I prefer spending my time writing about personal finance.

I looked at Bankrate and a couple of other sites that offer automated rate tables. Each of these sites is great, but I actually liked what I saw at MoneyRates. MoneyRates monitors bank rates from over 200 banks and displays top 50 highest rates. I asked them if we could work together, and they agreed, so I’ve replaced my hand-updated list of savings accounts with the table from MoneyRates (below). You can find out who’s currently offering the highest rates on savings accounts by clicking on “See Rates.”



Compare Savings & Money Market Rates

1. Money to invest:

< $10,000

Version of Original Post Below

The rates on this page are current as of 1 December 2009. Rates are low right now, but they’ll rise as the economic crisis eases. For more information about these banks, please see the 1500+ comments that follow this list.

I’ve heard a lot about online high-yield savings accounts, but I’ve never bothered to look into them. It occurred to me today that it’s ridiculous to keep my “web money” in a no-yield checking account at Wells Fargo. As my blog revenue grows, I’m throwing away money by not having my savings someplace that pays.

I did some research. I googled for “high yield savings account” and “money market account” and followed promising links (and ads) from the search results. Here are the offers that I was able to find with minimal digging. All of these accounts are FDIC insured and, unless otherwise noted, can link to other bank accounts (your local credit union, for example). CD Rates are maintained on a separate page.

Based on anecdotes from GRS readers, the first group of banks offer excellent customer service, great rates, and a good user interface:

  • Everbank Savings Account offers a 2.51% 3 month bonus rate plus a 1.77% first year APY up to $50k on their savings account. There is a $1,500 initial deposit requirement. They pledge to keep yields within the top 5% of competitive accounts according to the Bankrate.com National IndexTM of leading banks and thrifts.
  • WTDirect Savings Account offers a variable rate currently at 1.51% APY on all balances for first 60 days. Beyond that, accounts >$10,000 continue at the variable 1.51% and lower balances are adjusted to a lower variable rate. No Fees. FDIC Insured. No minimum deposit to open the account and no checking account required in order to get the high rate.
  • ING Direct Electric Orange offers up to 1.55% APY, on their Electric Orange interest checking account on high balances. They feature a web interface, free bill pay, free ATMs at 35,000+ locations and an online application. No minimum. GRS readers love ING Direct. This is the bank I chose after doing my research.
  • HSBC Direct Savings Account offers 1.35% APY, no monthly fees, web interface. $1 minimum to open. Named “best online savings account” by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance in 2006.
  • FNBO Direct Savings Account offers 1.40% APY, with no monthly fees, no minimum balances, and “no strings”. $1 minimum to open. Named best online savings account by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, December 2008. FNBO has also been rated as one of the safest of the major online banks.
  • E*TRADE Bank Savings Account offers 0.50% APY, no fees, an automatic savings plan. $1 minimum to open. My cousin loves E*TRADE, and GRS readers seem to be warming to them.


This second group of banks is also worth considering. They tend to have stiffer requirements, more hoops to jump through, or lower customer reviews:

  • Emigrant Direct Savings Account offers 1.30% APY, no fees, web interface. No minimum. GRS readers like Emigrant Direct.
  • ShoreBank Savings Account offers 1.95% APY with no monthly fees and a $1 minimum balance. ShoreBank bills itself as a community development and environmental bank. Only one star from Bankrate’s Safe & Sound rating.
  • Presidential Online Bank Savings Account offers 1.25% APY on balances up to $35,000. Balances in excess of $35,000 earn 0.75% APY. no fees, ATM access, web interface. $5,000 minimum to open.
  • Savings Square Savings Account offers 1.55% APY, no fees. $1 minimum to open. Electronic interface only. I’ve had a couple readers tell me setting up an account at Savings Square is a nightmare.
  • M&T Bank Savings Account is currently offering 0.50% APY on balances < $50,000 with a $1 minimum to open account. Online only, geographic restrictions, rate and products may vary by location. Fees can reduce earnings on the account.
  • Capital One Savings Account offers a variable rate, from 0.50% to 1.50% APY (on balances over $10k), no fees, free checks and ATM card, an automatic savings plan. $1 minimum to open. Rate is 0.50% on balances below $10,000.
  • Bank of America Savings Account offers Tiered variable interest rates (for example, $50,000 earns a 1.00% APY in their Growth Money Market Savings). May be eligible for a 0.25% interest rate bonus by setting up a monthly automatic transfer of at least $250.

You can also explore numerous bank rates blogs, such as the one at RateAPY.com, which cover different bank deals on a near-daily basis, from both local as well as national banks.

The rate of personal savings has been increasing recently, even despite low rates. A reader sent in a story about online banks last November, but that discussion was specifically about customer service. I’d like to hear from people who use one (or more) of these banks and can tell me more about the features. Which one should I choose and why?

You may also be interested to learn about rewards checking accounts. Also, Canadian readers should check out this article about Canadian high-interest savings accounts.

This article is about Choices, Odds and Ends, Savings