Best CD Rates

Eight online CD programs compared on rates and minimums, each rate with its date, plus the early-withdrawal penalty where the bank states it, how.

By Michael Hewitt, Founder & Editor-in-Chief. Updated October 12, 2026.

Certificates of deposit are the one savings product where locking money away is the point: you trade access for a fixed rate at an FDIC-insured bank that cannot be cut mid-term the way high-yield savings APYs can. This guide compares eight online CD programs on the rates and minimums each bank or marketplace published, with the penalty where the bank states one. We read the pages on October 12, 2026, except CIT's, which we last read on July 1, 2026. CD rates change often, so every figure carries its date and the table links to the bank's or marketplace's own page.

CD vs. High-Yield Savings in 2026

The question is not which pays more today. The 12-month CDs we read in October 2026 pay between 4.00% and 4.50% APY, and the highest flat savings rates we read pay about 4.00% to 4.20%, so the two sit close together. The question is what happens next. Savings APYs float and can be cut at any time; a CD's rate is contractual for the term. If you expect rates to drift lower, a 12 to 24 month CD preserves today's yield; if you need the money accessible, a savings account's liquidity is worth the risk of cuts.

• Match the term to a real date: money for a house closing in 14 months belongs in a 12-month CD, not a 5-year one.
• Early-withdrawal penalties are the product's teeth, and they differ: Barclays charges 90 days of interest on terms of 24 months or less and 180 days on longer terms, Capital One 3 months of interest on terms of 12 months or less and 6 months on longer ones, Bank of Utah 91 or 180 days. Know the schedule before funding.
• A ladder (splitting across 6, 12, 18, and 24-month terms) keeps a rung maturing regularly so you are never fully locked in or fully exposed to reinvestment risk.
• No-penalty CDs and Treasury bills are the two alternatives to price: CIT Bank lists a no-penalty 11-month CD, and Treasury interest is exempt from state income tax.
• FDIC insurance to $250K per depositor, per bank, covers the banks in this guide. For the Sallie Mae Bank CDs opened through Raisin it depends on conditions Raisin lists, so read them before you fund. Never buy an uninsured 'CD alternative.'

Eight Online CD Programs Compared

Each row shows the rate for the term named, the date the bank printed beside it or the date we read it, and the minimum. The order follows our review composite, which weighs the 12-month rate most heavily and then the penalty, the minimum and how clearly the bank states its terms. Confirm the live rate on each bank's page before you fund.

1. Barclays Bank CDs: No-minimum CD ladders
2. Bank of Utah CDs: Short-to-medium ladders
3. Capital One 360 CDs: No-minimum CDs from a large bank
4. CIT Bank CDs: Savers who want a competitive rate they can exit early
5. Sallie Mae Bank CD through Raisin: A 14-month term opened through a marketplace
6. Valley Direct CDs: A short CD from a large bank with a low minimum
7. Community Savings CDs: Savers choosing the 6-, 12-, 24- or 36-month term
8. Quontic CDs: A 12- or 24-month term at a $500 minimum

How to Build a Simple CD Ladder

A ladder removes the two ways CD buyers hurt themselves: locking everything long right before rates rise, or keeping everything short and reinvesting at falling rates. Split the money across staggered maturities and roll each rung into a new long-term CD as it matures.

• Example with $20K: $5K each into 6, 12, 18, and 24-month CDs. Every 6 months a rung matures; roll it into a new 24-month at whatever rates then offer.
• Keep the emergency fund out of the ladder entirely; that money belongs in high-yield savings where withdrawal costs nothing.
• At maturity you get a short grace period (10 days at Capital One and Bank of Utah) to move money before it auto-renews at whatever rate the bank then pays. Calendar it.
• Compare the after-tax math against Treasury bills at the same maturities; T-bill interest skips state income tax, which beats a same-rate CD in high-tax states.

Key Takeaways

• The 12-month CDs we read in October 2026 pay 4.00% to 4.50% APY, and the highest flat savings rates we read pay about 4.00% to 4.20%.
• Barclays' $0 minimum and 4.50% 12-month rate lead the table; Bank of Utah pays 4.35% on 18 months; Capital One's 4.40% 11-month CD is a limited-time offer.
• Penalties differ by bank, from one month of interest on a 91-day term to six months, and Quontic, Valley and the Sallie Mae Bank CDs on Raisin do not print the schedule beside the rate; read it before funding, not after.
• Several of these banks print their rate date in a footnote or not beside the rate at all, so each figure here carries the date we read it.
• Ladder staggered terms instead of guessing rate direction once.