11 best CD rates of July 2024 (up to 5.30% APY)

Editor’s Note: APYs listed in this article are up-to-date as of the time of publication. They may fluctuate (up or down) as the Fed rate changes. CNBC Select will update as changes are made public.

CDs are a type of savings account where you earn a fixed rate of interest over a fixed period, also known as a CD term. You can’t access your funds until the CD term ends. If you need more of an incentive not to touch your savings, a CD can be a smart move. At the end of the term, you receive your original deposit plus the accrued interest you earned.

To determine the top CDs, CNBC Select ranked those that offer above-average APYs and a range of CD terms; some banks even offer different CD types, like a CD where you can raise your APY or a CD where you can withdraw penalty-free. All banks on this list are FDIC- or NCUA-insured. (See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best CD accounts.)

Alliant Credit Union offers CD terms ranging from three months to 60 months, earning up to 5.20% APY. There’s a $1,000 minimum deposit required for all CDs. Alliant also offers jumbo CDs where you can earn higher rates with deposits of $75,000 or more. Although Alliant is a credit union, membership is open to anyone. You can become a member for free by signing up as an Alliant Credit Union Foundation digital inclusion advocate and Alliant will make the one-time $5 contribution to the foundation on your behalf.

CD terms offered

3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 60 months

Monthly fee

None if you select eStatements

Early withdrawal penalty fee

• For CD term of 17 months or less, penalty is number of days the certificate is open, up to 90 days
• For CD term of 18 to 23 months, penalty is number of days the certificate is open, up to 120 days
• For CD term of 24 to 48 or 60 months, penalty is number of days the certificate is open, up to 180 days
• For during 7-day grace period for new certificates, penalty is 7 days (no dividends are earned), a penalty will be applied from the principal balance

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Ally Bank offers High Yield CDs, Raise Your Rate CDs (get a higher rate when rates increase), No Penalty CDs (withdraw penalty-free) and IRA CDs (save for retirement). CD term lengths range from three months to five years, and you can earn up to 4.50% APY. Ally compounds interest daily, and there is no minimum deposit to open an account.

Ally is an online-only bank that offers a range of highly-rated financial products, including everything from checking and savings accounts, to trading platforms, personal loans and mortgage refinancing. The bank has an easy-to-use mobile app and 24/7 live customer service available over the phone, through online chat or on the app.

CD terms offered

3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, 36 months, 60 months

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

High Yield CDs and Raise Your Rate CDs have early withdrawal penalties that vary based on your CD term. With the No Penalty CD, withdraw all your money any time after the first 6 days following the date you funded the account and keep the interest earned with no penalty.

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Barclays offers traditional CDs with term lengths ranging from 12 months to 60 months, and you can earn up to 5.00% APY. Barclays compounds interest daily, and none of its CDs have a minimum deposit requirement.

Barclays is a brick-and-mortar bank in the U.K. with online banking available across the U.S.

CD terms offered

6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 60 months

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

A penalty may be charged for early withdrawal.

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With BMO Alto, you can access CD terms ranging from six months to 60 months, earning up to 5.15% APY. There’s no minimum balance or minimum deposit requirement, and interest is paid monthly.

CD terms offered

6 months, 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 60 months

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

An early withdrawal of principal before maturity will cost an early withdrawal penalty. The penalty is calculated using the interest rate applicable to the CD at the time of early withdrawal. If the amount of the penalty exceeds the amount of your accrued and unpaid interest, then a reduction of principal would be required to pay the penalty:

• 11 months or less: You’ll be charged 90 days interest
• 12 months or more: You’ll be charged 180 days interest

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Bread Savings offers traditional CDs with term lengths ranging from one year to five years, and you can earn up to 5.25% APY. Whereas the other banks on this list have no minimums and no monthly fees, Bread Savings requires a $1,500 minimum opening deposit. There are no monthly maintenance fees.

Bread Savings is an online-only bank and is a product of Comenity Capital Bank, which is part of Bread Financial. Customer service is available over the phone seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. CT on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT on weekends and most holidays.

CD terms offered

1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

• For terms shorter than 1 year, the penalty is 90 days simple interest
• For terms 12 months to 3 years, the penalty is 180 days simple interest
• For terms 4 years and up, the penalty is 365 days simple interest

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LendingClub offers CD terms ranging from six months to five years and you can earn up to 5.15% APY. There’s a $2,500 minimum required to open a CD account and you can deposit up to $250,000.

CD terms offered

6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 36 months, 60 months

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

• For terms 1 year or less, the penalty is 90 days simple interest
• For terms greater than 1 year, the penalty is 180 days simple interest

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Marcus by Goldman Sachs offers High-Yield CDs, Rate Bump CDs (get a higher rate) and No-Penalty CDs (withdraw penalty-free). CD term lengths range from six months to six years, and you can earn up to 5.10% APY. Marcus by Goldman Sachs has a $500 minimum deposit requirement, but there are no monthly maintenance fees.

Marcus is an online-only division of Goldman Sachs. The bank’s U.S.-based contact center is open 24/7 for live customer support over the phone or through online chat.

CD terms offered

6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 6 years

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

If you withdraw the balance of entire principal amount from your CD account before maturity, you’ll be charged an early withdrawal penalty based on the term of your CD and the principal (except in the case of a No-Penalty CD). Here’s how early withdrawal penalties are calculated:

• Less than 1 year: 90 days interest on the original principal balance at the interest rate in effect for the CD
• 1 year to 5 years: 180 days interest on the original principal balance at the interest rate in effect for the CD
• More than 5 years: 270 days interest on the original principal balance at the interest rate in effect for the CD

Early Withdrawal Penalty = Interest Rate ÷ 365 (or 366) × Penalty Days × Original Principal Balance

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Popular Direct has CD terms of three months to 60 months, offering up to 5.30% APY. There’s a $10,000 minimum deposit requirement to open a CD account.

CD terms offered

3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 60 months

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

• For terms less than 91 days: The fee is 89 days simple interest
• For terms equal to or greater than 91 days but less than 12 months: The fee is 120 days simple interest
• For terms equal to or greater than 12 months but less than 36 months: The fee is 270 days simple interest
• For terms equal to or greater than 36 months but less than 60 months: The fee is 365 days simple interest
• For terms equal to or greater than 60 months: The fee is 730 days simple interest

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Quontic Bank offers traditional CDs with term lengths ranging from six months to five years, and you can earn up to 5.05% APY. Its CDs have a $500 minimum deposit requirement and no monthly maintenance fees.

Quontic is an online-only bank and a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), which supports economically disadvantaged communities nationwide.

CD terms offered

6 months, 24 months, 36 months, 60 months

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

Withdrawals before the maturity date are subject to penalties.

• For time deposits up to 12 months, the penalty will be equal to the interest for the full length of the stated term
• For time deposits 12 months to under 24 months, the penalty equals one year interest
• For time deposits 24 months and over, the penalty equals two years interest.
• If the accrued interest exceeds the penalty amount, the excess accrued interest over the penalty amount will be paid to you.
• If the accrued interest is less than the penalty amount, a reduction of the principal balance may result.

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Synchrony Bank offers traditional CDs, a Bump-Up CD (get a higher rate), a No-Penalty CD (withdraw penalty-free) and an IRA CD (save for retirement). CD term lengths range from three months to 60 months, and you can earn up to 5.15% APY.

Synchrony is an online-only bank so there are no physical branch locations. However, all deposit accounts are FDIC-insured and its customer service line is available seven days a week by phone or online chat, as well as 24/7 through its app. In addition to CDs, Synchrony Bank offers high-yield savings and money market accounts, as well as credit cards.

CD terms offered

3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 60 months

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

There may be an early withdrawal penalty if you withdraw funds from the principal prior to the CD maturity date (the last day of the CD term). The penalty is applied to the amount of principal withdrawn (there’s no penalty on interest). For the No-Penalty CD, early withdrawals are not permitted within the first 6 days after account funding. Following that, only withdrawal of the entire balance is allowed.

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With Vio Bank, you can access CD terms of six months to 120 months and earn up to 5.25% APY. There’s a $500 minimum to open an account, and interest is compounded daily.

CD terms offered

6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 60 months, 84 months, 120 months

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

• For CD term 7 to 31 days, penalty amount is all of the interest earned on the amount being withdrawn
• For CD term 32 days to 12 months, penalty amount is 1% of the amount withdrawn, plus a $25 fee
• For CD term greater than 12 months, penalty amount is 3% of the amount withdrawn, plus a $25 fee

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Once the CD matures (when the term is over), you can get your money back, in addition to the interest earned over time, or move the money into a new CD. CD terms usually auto-renew at the rate offered at maturity if you don’t do anything.

One of the reasons you might want to consider a CD over a high-yield savings account is because savings accounts have variable APYs, and with a CD you lock in the rate the day you open the account. This can be good if you open an account when interest rates are high. It’s not so great if you open an account after the Federal Reserve slashes interest rates.

CDs typically don’t come with monthly fees and are federally insured so your money is protected, which makes them one of the safest savings vehicles.

When choosing a CD, first focus on how long you want to keep your money locked up. Pick a CD based on that length of time and the rate will follow. For example, if you want to save up for a down payment on a home in a few years, consider a longer-term CD like a three- or five-year option and then look at what banks offer rate-wise for those specific CD terms. Shorter CD terms, such as three to six-month CDs, are a good choice for beginners who want to save (and grow) their money for a short-term goal, such as a vacation.

• Fixed interest rates (a good thing when rates are high)
• Can’t touch CD funds until the term is up (a good thing so you’re not tempted to spend)
• Different CD types allow you to have options, such as bump-up CDs (for raising your rate), no-penalty CDs (for easy withdrawals), add-on CDs (for making additional contributions), jumbo CDs (for large deposits) and IRA CDs (for retirement)

Cons of CDs

• Fixed interest rates (a bad thing when rates are low or if rates go up while you’re in the middle of a CD term)
• Can’t touch CD funds until the term is up (a bad thing if you need that money)
• Early withdrawal penalty fees
• Can generally only deposit money into a CD once at the beginning of the term and can’t make additional contributions
• At times there’s a minimum deposit requirement, usually $500 and up

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 CD review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of banking and savings 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 CDs.

To determine which certificates of deposit (CDs) offer the best return on your money, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of CD accounts offered by online and brick-and-mortar banks, including large credit unions. We found that the annual percentage yield (APY) offered by online banks and credit unions far outpaced those offered by most national brick-and-mortar banks. While many credit unions have good CD options, only those that make membership widely available were considered.

When ranking the top CDs, we looked at APYs, term lengths, minimum deposit requirements, penalties for early withdrawals and ease of use. Ultimately, we favored accounts with above-average rates. All of the CDs included on this list are FDIC- or NCUA-insured up to $250,000 per person. If you are opening a joint account CD with a spouse, the insurance limit is doubled.

The rates and fee structures banks advertise for their CD accounts are not guaranteed forever. They are subject to change without notice and they often fluctuate in accordance with the Fed rate. If you open a CD account, however, you’re often locked into that APY offered at account opening for the entire term length. Your earnings depend on the CD term length, the amount you deposit, the APY offered when you opened the account and any associated fees. Generally, a larger deposit and a higher interest rate will earn you the most money. Any early withdrawals may result in penalty fees that lower your principal balance/earnings.

To open a CD account for the first time at a bank, most banks and institutions require a deposit of new money, meaning you can’t transfer money you already had in an account at that bank.

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Ally Bank is a Member FDIC.