How much can you earn with a high-yield savings account?
Banks offer interest rates on savings accounts in order to attract deposits, which they lend out to other consumers in the form of mortgages, business loans and more.
Savings rates climbed dramatically in 2023 and early 2024 but began falling with Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2024. Rates have been relatively stable since the Fed stopped cutting rates in 2025, with the most recent decision following suit. As of September 2025, the top-paying 1% of savings accounts pay roughly 4.10%, according to DepositAccounts.com. Meanwhile, rates offered by many of the biggest brand-name banks remain far below that level. In fact, the national average rate calculated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is 0.39% as of August 18, 2025.
Just how much money is at stake? On a $10,000 investment, a 4.10% rate translates to $410 a year in interest, while a 0.39% rate is $39.
Note: Rates fluctuate frequently, so rather than searching for the highest possible rate on the date you open your account, it might make more sense to consider a bank with generally strong rates and other conveniences, such as a robust branch network and a user-friendly banking app. You can check out Buy Side’s picks for the Best High-Yield Savings Accounts.
When savings accounts aren’t just about the rate
It can take from three to 15 minutes to set up a new savings account. You’ll be asked for your Social Security number, address, email address, phone number and whether you want to make it a joint account. Many banks send a code to confirm your information, so arrange easy access to your email inbox while applying.
“High-yield savings accounts at online banks are easy to open and link to your existing checking account, so you don’t have to close any other checking or savings accounts,” says Ken Tumin, founder and editor of DepositAccounts.com. “The link allows you to electronically transfer money between your checking and high-yield savings accounts.”
Though if you’re planning to use your high-yield savings account for automatic payments such as utility bills or streaming services, you’ll have some additional setup to do after opening the account.
If you’re planning to open a high-yield savings account but still keep your current checking account, you’ll want to maintain any required minimums in both to avoid paying monthly fees and service charges. You may also want to test the amount of time it takes for money to transfer between accounts, which could be instantaneous or take several days.
Stocks, CDs and other investments to consider
A high-yield account is a good place for your short-term money needs and emergency funds, but experts say it isn’t a replacement for an investing strategy. It will likely never catch up to stock-market returns, says Tatiana Tsoir, a certified public accountant and chief executive of Linza Advisors Inc. “And even then, the financial market long-term will always beat it,” Tsoir says.
If you’re looking for a higher return on your money than what is offered by a savings account, you need to take on some risk in the form of stocks, bonds or other investments. Certificates of deposit (CDs) are another option, but they don’t earn much more and will lock up your money for a few months to a few years.
If you do open a high-yield savings account, you may find yourself enjoying a better rate and saving more than in the past.
“If you can use an automatic savings program that puts additional money in your account from a checking account, you can earn more interest on those additional deposits,” says Gabe Krajicek, chief executive of Kasasa, a financial technology company in Austin, Texas, that provides community banks with financial products.
If you’ve decided to move to a higher-yield savings account, you should “compare yields at least once a year,” says Maya Nijhawan, director of product marketing at Arc, a capital management platform, to make sure you’re still getting the best deal.
