CNBC's best free savings accounts of 2024
Affirm Savings

Affirm Savings Annual Percentage Yield (APY) 3.75% APY

Minimum balance None

Monthly fee None

Maximum transactions You can now make more than 6 withdrawals or transfers in a monthly statement period; transaction amount limits apply

Excessive transactions fee None

Overdraft fee None

Offer checking account? No

Offer ATM card? No, but offers debit card Terms apply. Pros Strong APY

No minimum balance or deposit

No monthly fees

Offers debit card for purchases

Mobile app lets you pay on the go Cons Higher APYs offered elsewhere

No option to add a checking account

Debit card not available to everyone yet and doesn't allow ATM access View More

Affirm may be known for its buy now, pay later services but it also offers a competitive savings account. Affirm Savings stands out for offering no fees and a pretty decent interest rate. The account can be accessed online or in the Affirm app available on the App Store and Google Play.

American Express® High Yield Savings Account

American Express® High Yield Savings Account Annual Percentage Yield (APY) 4.30% APY as of 4/9/2024

Minimum balance Min balance to open = $0

Monthly fee None

Maximum transactions No limits

Excessive transactions fee None

Overdraft fee None

Offer checking account? No

Offer ATM card? No

Terms apply. American Express National Bank is a Member FDIC. Pros Strong APY

No minimum balance or deposit

No monthly fees

24/7 customer support

Helpful "Tips & Tools" section on website Cons Higher APYs offered elsewhere

No option to add a checking account

No ATM access

You can't deposit a check via the mobile app View More

American Express is a leader in the credit card space and also boasts a high-yield savings account to help its loyal users grow their money. And much like the reviews on Amex's credit card products, the American Express High Yield Savings Account has positive user feedback about its high interest rate, easy transfers and good customer service.

Bask Interest Savings Account

Bask Bank Interest Savings Account Learn More Annual Percentage Yield (APY) 5.10% APY 1

Minimum balance None

Monthly fee None

Maximum transactions Up to 6 free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle

Overdraft fees N/A

Offer checking account? No

Offer ATM card? No Terms apply. Pros Strong APY

No minimum balance

No monthly fees Cons No option to add a checking account

No ATM access Learn More View More

The Bask Interest Savings Account offers one of the highest rates on this list, in addition to its no-fee platform. Frequent travelers can opt for the Bask Mileage Savings Account instead to earn American Airlines AAdvantage® miles back. With the mileage savings account, savers earn 2.5 miles for every $1 saved annually.

Capital One 360 Performance Savings™

Capital One 360 Performance Savings™ Annual Percentage Yield (APY) 4.15% APY

Minimum balance None

Monthly fee None

Maximum transactions Up to 6 free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle

Excessive transactions fee None

Overdraft fee None

Offer checking account? Yes

Offer ATM card? Yes, if have a Capital One checking account Terms apply. Pros Strong APY

No minimum balance or deposit

No monthly fees

Option to add a checking account with ATM access

Has physical branch locations, plus Capital One® Cafés

Has a top-rated mobile app

Offers mobile check deposit

Users can take advantage of free credit monitoring service Cons Higher APYs offered elsewhere View More

The Capital One 360 Performance Savings is a good choice for savers who value in-person banking. Its rate isn't the highest you'll find, but it's great for a big bank with many physical branches. Savers can also create multiple Performance Savings Accounts for each of their financial goals.

Discover® Online Savings

Discover Online Savings Account Annual Percentage Yield (APY) 4.15% APY

Minimum balance None

Monthly fee None

Maximum transactions Up to 6 free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle

Excessive transactions fee None

Overdraft fee None

Offer checking account? Yes

Offer ATM card? Yes, if have a Discover checking account Terms apply. Pros Strong APY

No minimum balance or deposit

No monthly fees

Option to add a checking account with ATM access

24/7 customer support

Offers mobile check deposits

Helpful advice through Modern Money Blog Cons Higher APYs offered elsewhere View More

The Discover® Online Savings Account offers an above-average rate along with no monthly fees. Its Modern Money Blog is a good resource for learning about managing money and other personal finance basics.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs High Yield Online Savings

Marcus by Goldman Sachs High Yield Online Savings Learn More Annual Percentage Yield (APY) 4.50%

Minimum balance None to open; $1 to earn interest

Monthly fee None

Maximum transactions At this time, there is no limit to the number of withdrawals or transfers you can make from your online savings account.

Excessive transactions fee None

Overdraft fees N/A

Offer checking account? No

Offer ATM card? No Terms apply. Pros No minimum balance (just $1 to earn interest)

No monthly fees

No limit on withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle

Easy-to-use mobile banking app

Offers no-fee personal loans Cons No option to add a checking account

No ATM access Learn More View More

With the Marcus by Goldman Sachs High Yield Online Savings, savers earn a solid APY for no fees. Marcus' mobile banking app is also popular for being user-friendly, allowing savers to track their savings goals and see how much interest they've earned over the year.

MySavingsDirect MySavings Account

MySavingsDirect MySavings Account™ Annual Percentage Yield (APY) 4.35% APY

Minimum balance None

Monthly fee None

Maximum transactions Up to 6 free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle

Excessive transactions fee None

Overdraft fee None

Offer checking account? No

Offer ATM card? No Terms apply. Pros Strong APY

No minimum balance or deposit

No monthly fees Cons No option to add a checking account

No ATM access

Website is limited

Customer reviews complain about withdrawal process View More

MySavingsDirect MySavings Account offers no fees and no minimums, along with a higher interest rate than most accounts here. The main drawback with this savings account, however, is its limited website and below-average customer reviews.

Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account

Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account Annual Percentage Yield (APY) 4.10% APY

Minimum balance None

Monthly fee None

Maximum transactions Up to 6 free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle

Excessive transactions fee None

Overdraft fee None

Offer checking account? No

Offer ATM card? No See our methodology, terms apply. Pros Strong APY

No minimum balance or deposit

No monthly fees

Offers e-deposit for depositing checks on the go

Offers mobile text banking and mobile text alerts Cons Higher APYs offered elsewhere

No option to add a checking account

No ATM access View More

Sallie Mae offers more than just student loans. The Sallie Mae High-Yield Savings Account is a standard choice for saving cash with a high return and no fees.

SoFi Checking and Savings

SoFi Checking and Savings Learn More Monthly maintenance fee $0

Minimum deposit to open $0

Minimum balance None

Annual Percentage Yield (APY) Members with direct deposit earn 4.60% APY on savings and Vaults balances and .50% APY on checking balances; members without direct deposit earn 1.20% APY on all account balances in checking and savings (including Vaults)

Free ATM network 55,000+ fee-free ATMs within the Allpoint® Network

ATM fee reimbursement None

Overdraft fee No-Fee Overdraft Coverage is available; however, SoFi requires $1,000 of monthly direct deposit inflows to unlock it

Mobile check deposit Yes Terms apply. Pros No minimum deposit to open an account

4.60% APY with direct deposit

2-day-early-paycheck automatically when you set up direct deposit

Save your change automatically with Roundups and set savings goals with Vaults

No foreign transaction fees Cons No reimbursement for out-of-network ATM fees

Not a standalone checking or savings account Learn More View More

With SoFi Checking and Savings, savers also have access to a checking account and can earn a solid APY on their savings, plus interest on their checking balance, by just setting up direct deposit. Plus, SoFi's FDIC insurance coverage exceeds the limit that other banks on this list offer on their savings accounts. New individual checking and savings members receive FDIC insurance up to $2 million instead of the standard $250,000.

Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings

Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings Learn More Annual Percentage Yield (APY) 4.75%

Minimum balance None

Monthly fee None

Maximum transactions Up to 6 free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle *The 6/statement cycle withdrawal limit is waived during the coronavirus outbreak under Regulation D

Excessive transactions fee None, but may result in account closure

Overdraft fees N/A

Offer checking account? No

Offer ATM card? Yes Terms apply. Pros Strong APY

No minimum balance

No monthly fees

Up to 6 free withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle*

Easy ATM access Cons Account could close if you make more than 6 transactions in a statement cycle

No option to add a checking account Learn More View More

Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings stands out for offering users ATM access, which other accounts on this list do not unless you sign up for the bank's checking account. Synchrony savers can get an ATM card to easily access their cash for free at any ATM displaying the Plus or Accel logos. Plus, Synchrony Bank refunds up to $5 per statement cycle in domestic ATM fees charged by other financial institutions.

FAQs Do all banks charge for savings accounts? Not all banks have savings accounts with fees attached to them. You can easily find a savings account that doesn't charge you. When shopping around, make sure to read the terms and conditions and small print so you know before signing up. Some bank accounts have ways you can get around fees, too, like waiving a monthly service charge if you opt into paperless statements. Can I open a free savings account? You can certainly open a free savings account — and this list is a good place to start. Most savings accounts take not even 10 minutes to apply and just require a government-issued ID like a passport or driver's license, Social Security number, address, contact information, date of birth and a checking account routing number to deposit money. Can I get a high yield with a free savings account? Some free savings accounts offer higher yields than others, but all at least on this list are above the national savings average. If your priority is maximizing your savings, however, check out CNBC Select's list of interest savings accounts offering around 5% APY. Sometimes, the higher interest-bearing savings accounts require minimums. Are free savings accounts FDIC-insured? There are plenty of savings accounts — free or not — that are FDIC-insured, so don't settle for one that isn't and check to make sure your bank offers FDIC coverage. (All of the savings accounts on this list have FDIC insurance coverage.) Though the FDIC protects up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank for each type of account ownership category, some financial institutions have been increasing the amount savers can insure in a single account by spreading customer deposits across multiple FDIC-insured banks. Can I get ATM access with a free savings account? Few savings accounts — let alone free ones — offer ATM access. While you usually have to open a checking account to get ATM access, the Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings offers savers an ATM card so they can easily access their cash at any ATM displaying the Plus or Accel logos. Synchrony Bank currently doesn't charge a fee to use an ATM, but the ATM owner/operator may. For these domestic ATM fees charged by other financial institutions, Synchrony will refund up to $5 per statement cycle.

Why trust CNBC Select?

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every savings review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of banking products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best savings products.

Our methodology

To determine which savings accounts made this list, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of U.S. savings accounts offered by online and brick-and-mortar banks, including large credit unions. We narrowed down our picks by only considering those savings accounts with above-average rates that offer no fees whatsoever, including zero: Monthly maintenance fees

Excessive transactions fees

Overdraft fees

Insufficient / non-sufficient funds fees Note that we did not consider wire fees since we found that most banks charge a wire fee for outgoing transfers. We then narrowed down our picks even further by only highlighting those savings accounts that currently do not require any minimum deposits to open an account or minimum balances to earn interest. Although the accounts on this list don't require you to reach certain minimums, the respective banks may close your account if it remains unfunded for a while. All of the accounts included on this list are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor, some even more. Note that the rates and fee structures for savings accounts are not guaranteed forever; they are subject to change without notice and they often fluctuate in accordance with the Fed rate. Your earnings depend on any associated fees and the balance you have in your savings account. To open an account, most banks and institutions require a deposit of new money, meaning you can't transfer the money you already had in an account at that bank. Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.

Subscribe to the CNBC Select Newsletter! Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox. Sign up here.

Information about the Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings Account has been collected independently by CNBC and has not been reviewed or provided by the bank prior to publication. *American Express National Bank is a Member FDIC. *SoFi members with direct deposit can earn up to 4.60% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum direct deposit amount required to qualify for the 4.50% APY for savings. Members without direct deposit will earn up to 1.20% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 0.50% APY on checking balances. Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 10/24/2023. There is no minimum balance requirement. Additional information can be found on the issuer's website.

Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.