Best High-Yield CDs [2025]: Safety + Guaranteed Returns

You want your money to grow as much as possible, but you might not be willing to risk losing it in the stock market or another investment. One solution? A high-yield certificate of deposit (CD).

With a high-yield CD, you can lock in a higher-than-usual annual percentage yield (APY) for months or even years.

While the average APYs for all CDs are quite low, ranging from 0.23%-1.70% (as of 9/15/25), we've found banks, companies, and credit unions offering rates of 4.00% APY or more. Plus, many of the best CDs have low deposit requirements and multiple terms to choose from.

To identify the best high-yield CDs, we analyzed dozens of top CDs from banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions as well as financial technology companies (fintechs).

To narrow down the list, we looked only at CDs with the highest interest rates and offering the best yields relative to their terms. Once we found the CDs with the best earning potential, we analyzed each certificate of deposit based on the following factors.

• Minimum deposit requirements
• Variety of terms to choose from
• Deposit and withdrawal flexibility
• Early withdrawal penalties
• Interest compounding and crediting schedules

The CDs with the best interest rates, as well as the highest scores based on the factors we considered, ranked highest. We did not research all high-yield CDs available, and some of the accounts on this list are current or past FinanceBuzz partners.

Pros

• Potentially higher APYs than savings accounts: CDs often have much higher APYs than the best savings accounts and even the best money market accounts.
• Very low risk: When you invest in stocks or bonds, you risk losing money to market changes. But CDs offer guaranteed returns, so your money won't lose value.
• Multiple term options: CDs offer terms between one month and 10 years, so you should be able to find one that works for your timeline.

Cons

• Higher deposit requirements: To open a high-yield CD, you typically need to deposit at least $500. If you're tight on cash, this could be a barrier to getting one.
• Limited cash access: CD funds usually can't be touched before a term is up. If you need to cash out early, you'll forfeit interest in the form of early withdrawal penalty fees.
• Inflation risk: The biggest risk with CDs is that you won't earn a high enough rate of return to offset inflation. If the APY isn't high enough, your balance might not keep up.

With online-only Marcus by Goldman Sachs, you can choose from high-yield CDs with terms ranging from six months to six years (the longest term of any CDs on our list), and you only need $500 to open one. Unlike institutions that only offer one type of CD, Marcus offers traditional high-yield CDs as well as no-penalty CDs and rate-bump CDs, offering you flexibility. No-penalty CDs let you make withdrawals during your CD's term without paying penalty fees, and rate-bump CDs give you the option to increase your rate if a bank raises its APYs for new CDs.

That said, Marcus has somewhat high early withdrawal penalty fees for its longer terms. If you have a CD with a term of five or six years, you'll forfeit 270 days of interest. The online bank also has few lengths to choose from for its no-penalty CDs, only offering them in terms of seven, 11, or 13 months.

Learn more in our Marcus by Goldman Sachs review

If you do all of your banking online or with your phone like me, Bread Financial could be a great choice. It has a highly-rated mobile app that you can use to open a new CD and fund your account in minutes. Plus, it boasts some of the highest rates available across the board, even when the market fluctuates and CD rates go with it.

That said, Bread Financial does have a higher minimum deposit requirement of $1,500. It also has substantial penalty fees for early withdrawals on longer CD terms. You could lose up to a full year of interest, so it's only best for you if you have other money saved beyond what you want to deposit into a CD (and know for sure you're not going to need to cash out before your term is up).

Connexus is a credit union, so it technically offers share certificates rather than CDs. Its share certificates always have market-beating rates, and the credit union also has jumbo CDs for deposits of $100,000 or more. It offers bump-up CDs, called "rate-bump" CDs elsewhere as well, so you can take advantage of rate increases one time during your term.

Connexus's promotional rates apply the highest APYs to select CD terms, such as seven-month certificates, that aren't always available. Check these out before you consider the institution's standard CDs to see if the timelines work for you.

To open a share certificate with Connexus, you must join the credit union (which requires a $5 savings account deposit), and Connexus requires a high minimum deposit of $5,000.

LendingClub is well-known for its personal loans, but the online bank also offers several banking products worth considering. This includes checking accounts, savings accounts, and CDs. With LendingClub, you can open a CD with just $500 and earn a higher APY than you'd receive with many big banks.

LendingClub stands out for offering two ways to handle your interest: You can opt for your interest to compound and be credited back to the CD, which is the default for most CDs, or you can send your earnings directly to an eligible LendingClub bank account. You might choose the latter if you want to access some of your earnings early as a form of passive income.

This company's CD terms are comparatively limited with only six options, and the highest APYs can often be for unusual terms. Other CD terms have much lower rates.

Learn more in our LendingClub review

Synchrony Bank is one of the few banks that doesn't require a minimum deposit to open a CD, so it's a good choice for you if you're working with a tight budget and don't have a lot of money to save yet. And, while many banks offer their highest APYs on select terms (currently on CDs shorter than 12 months), Synchrony Bank often offers high rates on longer terms as well.

Synchrony Bank provides one term each for its no-penalty and bump-up CDs. You can choose an 11-month term for no-penalty CDs and a 24-month term for bump-up CDs.

Learn more in our Synchrony Bank review

E*TRADE allows customers to open individual or joint CDs, making it a good option for couples who want to open a CD together. While many banks offer the choice to open CDs jointly, E*TRADE CDs could be better for joint decision-making because they're more flexible than other CDs. They don't have an account minimum, so you don't need tons of cash to get started, and they offer a 10-day rate guarantee. If rates change in the first 10 days after you've opened your account, you'll automatically lock in the higher rate.

On the downside, E*TRADE doesn't offer non-standard CD options, such as no-penalty or bump-up CDs. Its best APYs can also be lower than those offered by some other banks.

Learn more in our E*TRADE review

If you need more liquidity and flexibility than a CD provides, a high-yield savings account could be a smart alternative. You can earn a much higher-than-average APY and still have easy access to your cash.

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SoFi Checking and Savings Benefits

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Besides standard CDs, which have fixed rates and terms as short as a few days or as long as 10 years, there are several other types of CDs. Five of the most common CD types include:

Your money is locked into a CD for the length of its term. If you withdraw or close the CD before its maturity date, you'll have to pay a penalty. The amount of this early withdrawal penalty varies by financial institution and CD term, but it can be steep. For example, a CD with a term of six months may have a penalty of 90 days' interest. A CD with a longer term, such as five years, you may have to forfeit six months of interest or more.

Because of these penalties, you should only deposit money into a CD that you won't need to cover your bills. If you're unsure or simply want the peace of mind of some added flexibility, consider a no-penalty CD or a strategy called "CD laddering."

With a CD ladder, you open several smaller CDs with varying terms and staggered maturity dates. For example, you might have a 24-month CD, a 12-month CD, and a six-month CD. This way, you can periodically access your cash as your CDs mature, improving your liquidity.

How do you open a CD?

You can usually open a CD online, by phone, or in person at a local bank branch. You'll need a deposit that meets the CD's minimum requirements and a form of identification like a driver's license.

What happens when a CD matures?

When a CD matures, you can withdraw the funds in the account, roll it over into a new CD, or transfer it to another account. Typically, you have a limited window of time to make a decision before the bank will automatically renew the CD for the same term. This window is referred to as a "grace period" and tends to be around 10 days.

What's the difference between high-yield CDs and savings accounts?

A high-yield CD requires you to leave your money untouched for the life of the CD. Otherwise, you'll pay penalties. A savings account can be more flexible, but the APYs on savings accounts fluctuate.

If you need more flexibility, consider a high-yield savings account instead.