The 20 Best Savings Accounts of 2022

By Gabrielle Olya

January 19, 2022

HAKINMHAN / iStock.com

Whether you’re saving for a particular goal or building up an emergency fund, putting your money in a savings account can keep your funds accessible and secure, while also growing through accrued interest. But with so many options available, it can be hard to know where to put your money.

GOBankingRates’ Top Picks: Best Checking Accounts of 2022
And More: Best CD Accounts of 2022

To determine the best available savings accounts (some of which are from our partners), GOBankingRates ranked nearly 80 bank and credit union accounts based on a number of factors including:

• Total assets
• Number of branch locations
• Minimum deposit to open an account
• Monthly fee
• Minimum deposit needed to avoid monthly fee
• Minimum balance needed to earn interest
• APY
• Average mobile app rating

Here’s a look at GOBankingRates’ Best Savings Accounts of 2022.

Our Best Savings Account

Sallie Mae Bank's SmartyPig Account

Why it stands out: Its SmartyPig Account offers a nice annual percentage yield of 0.70%. On top of that, it comes with no minimum balance and no monthly fee. It also offers other perks such as rewards for referring others.

Pros:

• No minimum balance to avoid fees
• No monthly fee
• 0.70% APY
• Earn a $10 reward for every friend you refer who opens a SmartyPig account, sets a goal, and contributes to it.

Cons:

• Online only

What to look for: This account comes with no minimum deposit, no monthly fee and no minimum balance to avoid fees. With this savings account, you'll earn an APY of 0.70%.You can also earn a reward for every friend you refer who opens a SmartyPig account, sets and goal and contributes to it.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW

More of the Best Savings Accounts 2022

Axos Bank: High Yield Savings

Why it stands out: Its High Yield Savings Account comes with a competitive 0.61% APY, with interest compounded daily, making this a nice account to earn money on.

Pros:

• No minimum balance to avoid fees
• No monthly fee
• 0.61% APY
• Free ATM card
• Suite of digital money management tools

Cons:

• $250 minimum deposit to open account

What to look for: You'll have a minimum deposit requirement of $250 with this account, but no monthly fee. You'll earn an APY of 0.61% here, with interest compounded daily, and receive a free ATM card as well.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW

Chime: High Yield Savings

Why it stands out: Chime's¹ High Yield Chime Savings account has an APY of 0.50% and comes with no fees, keeping it competitive with other savings account options.

Pros:

• No minimum balance to avoid fees
• No monthly fee
• 0.50% APY

Cons:

• Online-only

What to look for: Chime's savings account offers a competitive APY of 0.50%. It also is competitive in regards to fees as it comes with no fees, including no overdraft fee and no monthly fee.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW

How To Choose a Savings Account

A savings account is usually a simple parking place for money that’s being accumulated toward a goal, such as an emergency fund or a vacation. As such, savings accounts don’t necessarily need all of the bells and whistles that other accounts might offer. What you should really look for in a savings account is security, a high yield, no fees and easy access to your funds.

Since most savings accounts have the same Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insurance and many charge no fees, the deciding factor might come down to two simple acronyms: APY and ATM. You’ll want an account with a high APY, and you’ll also want an account that doesn’t charge fees to access your funds at an ATM. It’s up to you to decide which of these is a priority, but they are not mutually exclusive. Many of the accounts on this list offer both high yields and no ATM fees, so your search might be shorter than you think.

FAQs About Savings Accounts

Here are the answers to some common questions about savings accounts.

What Is the Difference Between a Savings Account and a Money Market Account?

Savings accounts and money market accounts are both places to hold your money, but they serve different purposes and typically offer different terms.

Money market accounts are generally designed to be more accessible, and they often come with check-writing capabilities. Money market accounts also typically pay higher yields than savings accounts but might require higher minimum balances. Savings accounts are for customers who may not require frequent access to their funds but want to earn the highest yields available, preferably in a no-fee wrapper.

What Are the Advantages of Savings Accounts?

Advantages of savings accounts can include the following:

• Access to cash via ATMs: Some savings accounts offer you access to your cash anywhere in the world via an ATM network.
• Access to online and mobile banking: The vast majority of modern savings accounts offer the ability to check your account information via your smartphone or the web.
• FDIC insurance: Savings accounts are insured by the FDIC for up to $250,000 per covered bank.

What Are the Disadvantages of Savings Accounts?

In some cases, a savings account may not be the best type of account for your needs. These are some of the disadvantages of savings accounts you should take into consideration:

• Not particularly liquid: Although you can usually access your savings account via an ATM, certain savings account transactions — including pre-authorized, automatic, check or debit card transactions — are limited to six withdrawals per month by federal law.
• Accounts generally have some type of fees: Most modern online savings accounts don’t charge monthly maintenance fees, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely free of fees. Most still have fees for certain transactions, such as wire transfers, overdrafts or out-of-network ATM transactions.
• ATM withdrawal limitations: If you’re withdrawing money from your savings account at an ATM, you may only be able to access a few hundred dollars per day, depending on the rules of your particular bank. If you’re banking at an online-only institution, you won’t even be able to go into a branch to take out additional funds.
• May have minimum balance requirements to avoid monthly fees: Although there are many banks that offer free savings accounts, they might come with restrictions. You may need to maintain a certain minimum balance to keep your account “free” — or even keep your account open at all.

More From GOBankingRates

• One-Third of People Have $100 or Less in Their Checking Accounts, Survey Shows — Here’s How Much Experts Say You Should Actually Have
• See GOBankingRates’ Best Online Banks of 2022
• Easy Things You Can Do To Start Preparing for Retirement Now
• 16 Effective Tips and Tricks To Help You Save Money In 2022

Dawn Alcott and John Csiszar contributed to the reporting for this article.

¹Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by, and debit card issued by, The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC.

Methodology: 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), (4), (5) and (6) were weighed 1.5 times, factor (2) was weighted 2 times, and factor (7) was weighted 4 times. All data is up to date as of Jan. 3, 2022. Rates and fees are subject to change.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by American Express. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone and have not been endorsed by American Express.

About the Author

Gabrielle Olya

Gabrielle joined GOBankingRates in 2017 and brings with her a decade of experience in the journalism industry. Before joining the team, she was a staff writer-reporter for People Magazine and People.com. Her work has also appeared on E! Online, Us Weekly, Patch, Sweety High and Discover Los Angeles, and she has been featured on “Good Morning America” as a celebrity news expert.