You can find the offers from our partners below, followed by 12 big banks and their savings and CD rates.

Which Big Banks Pay the Best Savings and CD Rates?

Of the roughly 30 largest banks (ranked by total domestic deposits), you can see 12 below that currently offer at least one competitive savings or CD rate, ranging from 4.00% to 5.50% APY. Note, however, that rates can go up or down on any given day, so what you see here may or may not still be available when you're shopping around.

Best Rates at Big Banks
Size Rank	Bank	Savings Account	6M CD (5-9M)	1Y CD (10-14M)	2Y CD (15-20M)	3Y CD	5Y CD
1			4.50%
2			5.00%	4.50%
3			4.75%
4		4.45%	5.25%
8		4.35%	4.35%	5.25%	4.40%	4.30%	4.10%
9		4.50%	5.25%	5.50%	4.85%	4.40%	4.10%
12		5.10%	5.50%	5.50%	4.75%	4.60%	4.60%
20		4.35%	5.05%	5.25%		4.25%	4.10%
24		4.35%		5.00%	4.50%
26			4.50%	5.00%
27		4.35%	5.30%	5.20%	4.40%	4.30%	4.00%
31		4.75%	5.30%	5.30%	4.40%	4.30%	4.00%
	Top nationwide rate from smaller institutions	5.50%	5.75%	5.64%	5.39%	5.23%	4.89%

Empty cells in the table indicate the bank does not offer an even mildly competitive rate for that product. For example, Chase Savings currently pays 0.01% APY on its savings account. And aside from its 9–11 month CD offering 4.50% APY, the rest of Chase's CDs pay 3.00% or less.

Who Pays More—Big Banks or Small Banks?

Some of the very biggest banks—like Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo—often pay very little on their savings accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs). That's because their name recognition tends to garner plenty of consumer deposits, so these banks are not as hungry for your funds as smaller institutions are.

Some savings account rates at these banking behemoths are just barely above zero. So, moving your money to a savings account or CD at one of these giant banks without first doing your homework could cost you dearly. Small to medium-sized banks and credit unions with limited name recognition have to work much harder to attract consumer deposits. Offering high savings and CD rates is one way they can capture the market's attention, and as a result, smaller institutions consistently hold the top spots in our daily rankings. In between, you can find some big-name players that pay reasonably competitive savings and/or CD rates—if you look carefully. While you won't earn the highest nationwide APY, you can still earn many times the national average with a brand-name bank if you take a little time to shop around.

You Can Earn the Most of All at Small to Medium-Sized Banks and Credit Unions

Want to earn a truly nation-leading rate instead? You can do that by relaxing your requirement on how big or recognizable the institution is. Investopedia tracks over 100 banks and credit unions that offer high-yield savings accounts to customers nationwide, and about 200 that offer nationally available CDs. So the 30 largest banks are just a thin slice of the options out there.

If depositing your money in one of these smaller institutions feels riskier, rest assured that it isn't. FDIC insurance applies equally to all member banks. So if the smaller bank you're considering is an FDIC member, your deposits are just as safe at that bank as at an exceptionally large one.

The same holds true for credit unions—if they're a member of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), they too offer the same federal insurance protection on your deposits that FDIC coverage provides.

Being willing to bank at a medium-sized or even small institution rewards you with the opportunity to earn the highest rates available—and our daily rankings make it easy to see which institutions are paying the highest savings account rates and the highest CD rates on any given business day. Right now, you can earn up to 5.50% APY on a nationally available savings account, and up to 5.75% APY with the highest-paying CDs.

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.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states. 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.