Best Savings Accounts for Your Money

In the era of COVID-19 and online banking, competition among savings accounts has become fierce. Many banks offer free savings accounts that come with a host of features, including high interest rates.

To help consumers sort through the countless available options, GOBankingRates sorted through 4,300 points of data across 120 banks in America to identify the 20 best savings accounts of 2021, based on the following factors:

• Minimum deposit to open the savings account
• Monthly maintenance fee on the account
• Minimum balance required to avoid a fee
• Annual percentage yield

There are a lot of reasons why you might choose a bank, and each of the finalists offer an excellent mix of customer service, fees and perks that could be right for you. But here are GOBankingRates’ top 5 savings accounts of 2021 to get you started.

Why we like it: Set up automatic savings when you link a Wells Fargo checking account to your Way2Save savings, and enjoy multiple ways to waive the low monthly service fee.

Benefits

• Waive the $5 monthly fee with a $300 minimum daily balance or an automatic, recurring deposit
• Only $25 minimum deposit to open an account
• Access more than 13,000 Wells Fargo ATMs nationwide
• Get a free ATM card and/or link to your current Wells Fargo debit or ATM card

Drawbacks

• Relatively low APY

Our full review digs into why Wells Fargo is such a strong bank for this unique moment in history.

Why we like it: Goldman Sachs is one of the most well-known names in banking, and its consumer division Marcus offers a user-friendly, no-fee, high-interest savings account.

Benefits

• Backed by an industry-leading Wall Street firm
• Easy to link other bank accounts online for incoming and outgoing transfers
• One of the best savings account rates available
• No fees

Drawbacks

• No ATM card access

Explore our full review to see why this bank impressed us across multiple rankings this year.

Why we like it: Synchrony Bank offers one of the highest yields available for a savings account with no fees and not requiring a minimum deposit.

Benefits

• Easy withdrawals via ATM, online or by phone
• No fees
• No minimum balance requirements
• 24/7 online and mobile banking
• Ultra-high APY for a savings account

Drawbacks

• Subject to closure if account balance remains at $0 for more than 60 days

Synchrony Bank impressed us this year – see our full review for an analysis against competitors to find out why.

Why we like it: With absolutely no fees and an ultra-high yield of 0.60%, Citizens is a great choice for those with $5,000 or more to deposit.

• Benefits
• No fees for anything
• Easily transfer funds online, set up direct deposit or deposit checks by phone or mail
• No minimum balance

Drawbacks

• Can take 2 to 3 business days to transfer funds
• $5,000 minimum deposit to open an account

As an online-only bank, Citizens Access offers a unique mix of services. Explore them in our full review.

Why we like it: Its High Yield Savings account stands out for its 0.81% APY with no monthly fees and no minimum balance requirements.

Benefits

• Free ATM card
• Low $250 minimum deposit to open an account
• No maintenance fees
• No minimum balance requirements to earn interest
• Interest compounded daily

Drawbacks

• Online only, no branches

Axos Bank landed high on many of our rankings this year – find out why in our full review. But remember – if you’re looking for something in your region, in-person customer service or other features, every one of our finalists is a great choice and might give you exactly what you’re looking for. Be sure to review the list of top contenders.

Other Banks with Saving Account Perks: 

• Fulton Bank

More From GOBankingRates:

• These Are the Best Banks of 2021 – Did Yours Make the Cut?
• 36 Ways To Save For Your Emergency Fund and Any Unexpected Situations
• Top 100 Banks Leading the U.S. in 2021
• 35 Ways To Slash Your Car Costs

Methodology: To discover the Best Savings accounts, GOBankingRates looked at the top institutions in terms of total assets size that had available published data. To determine rankings GOBankingRates looked at the following factors: (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) number of branch locations as sourced from the FDIC; (3) minimum deposit to open an account; (4) monthly fees associated with the account; (5) minimum balance needed to avoid the fee; (6) minimum balance needed in account to earn APY; (7) savings APY; and (8) the average mobile app rating between the android and apple stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being best. Factors (1) and (6) were weighed 1.5 times, factor (2) was weighted 2 times, and factor (7) was weighted 4 times. For all Savings and Checking Account data only the basic accounts/products offered at each institution was analyzed. All data is up to date as of November 4, 2020, rates and fees subject to change.

John Csiszar contributed to the reporting for this article.