Best 4% interest savings accounts of April 2026

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.

The best returns we’re seeing on high-yield savings accounts today is around 4% annual percentage yield (APY). If your sole focus is to maximize your savings, these are the accounts to consider. See our methodology below for more information on how we created this list.

Who’s this for? The Western Alliance Bank High-Yield Savings Account offers a competitive APY, one of the highest we found, and requires just a $1 minimum deposit to open an account.

Standout benefits: There’s no cap to earning the high APY and there are no monthly fees.

Who’s this for? For those savers on the go, UFB Portfolio Savings stands out for offering its users a free ATM card.

Standout benefits: Along with an ATM card, UFB Portfolio savers get a high APY on all balance tiers with no cap, no monthly fees and no minimum deposit requirement. Add a UFB Freedom Checking account and meet checking account qualifications to get an additional APY on savings.

Who’s this for? The LendingClub LevelUp Savings offers a healthy APY, on top of zero monthly fees and no minimum requirements, making it the best choice for no fees.

Standout benefits: On top of the LevelUp Savings, accountholders should also consider the LevelUp Checking account, which offers 1% unlimited cash back on qualified purchases with your debit card.

Who’s this for? There’s no minimum deposit to open a Newtek Bank Personal High Yield Savings.

Standout benefits: Newtek savers earn a respectable APY with a minimum balance requirement of just $0.01 to earn interest, and no monthly fees. There’s no cap on how much interest you can earn with this APY.

Who’s this for? Laurel Road offers the best of both a savings and checking account: a high-yield savings and and a rewards checking.

Standout benefits: Laurel Road High Yield Savings offers a solid APY, with no caps, no minimums required and zero monthly fees. Plus, account holders of the Laurel Road Loyalty Checking^SM can earn up to $20 cash reward for every month they make qualifying ACH direct deposits during their first 12 months, and $10 for every month after that, for as long as their account is open. There’s currently a $100 welcome bonus, too.

Who’s this for? We like the Panacea High-Yield Savings Account for being accessible: Account holders can make unlimited withdrawals each month from their savings. This bank is especially ideal for those in the health care industry, like doctors and their families.

Standout benefits: Anyone can open Panacea’s High-Yield Savings Account with a minimum $25 deposit. There are zero monthly fees.

Who’s this for? For those who need tools to help them save more, online bank Varo offers two programs that automatically transfer money from their checking account to their savings account: 1) Save Your Pay, which transfers a percentage of the account holder’s paycheck into their savings, and 2) Save Your Change, which rounds up the account holder’s checking account transactions to the nearest dollar and transfers the difference to their savings.

Standout benefits: The Varo Savings Account has no monthly fees and users can qualify to earn an attractive APY on balances up to $5,000 by meeting two requirements:

1. Receive $1,000 or more in direct deposits per month
2. End the month with a positive balance in both their Varo Bank Account and Varo Savings Account

For savers that max their balance to $5,000, that’s $250 in interest earnings in a year. Varo savers earn a lower APY on any additional balance over $5,000, and there is no minimum balance required to earn this APY.

When choosing a 4% APY savings account, be mindful of the fine print. Banks tout above-average APYs that often come with caveats.

Typical conditions might include a cap to how much you can earn the high APY on; for instance, earning 4% APY but only on a balance up to $1,000. This can limit your interest earnings so you really can only maximize your savings so much.

Another condition may be requiring a high minimum deposit to open a 4% APY account or to earn interest. Just make sure that the minimum is an amount you were planning to put into a savings account originally.

To apply for a 4% APY savings account, go to the website of the account you wish to open. Most savings accounts take not even 10 minutes to apply and just require a government-issued ID like a passport or driver’s license, Social Security number, address, contact information, date of birth and a checking account routing number to deposit money.

This list is a good place to begin your search for a high-yield savings account offering one of the most attractive returns on your cash. You can’t go wrong with any of these accounts when it comes to earning a good return as they are all in the ballpark range around 4% APY, give or take. Navigate the varying rates by focusing on what else is most important to you — maybe it’s an account with easy access to your cash, one with an ATM card or one that has tools to help you save more.

If a 4% savings account isn’t for you, consider other savings vehicles that offer competitive returns, like CDs or money market accounts — the former rewards you with a fixed rate for locking up your funds for a fixed amount of time and the latter offers checking account privileges so you can more easily access your funds.

If you’re willing to take on some risk, you can also invest in the market through low-cost index funds, which diversify your money across all different companies. Though the market offers more risk, there are potentially better returns.

CDs

If locking your money away for a set time sounds doable, CDs could be a smart move. They offer a fixed interest rate, so you know exactly what you’ll earn while your funds grow safely without any surprises.

Money market accounts

Money market accounts give you the best of both worlds: better interest than a regular savings account, plus some checking account perks, like limited check-writing. It’s a flexible way to keep your money working while staying accessible.

Index funds

If you’re open to a bit of risk for the chance of higher returns, index funds are worth considering. They spread your money across many companies, so you’re not betting on just one. You can invest in them easily through online brokerages or retirement accounts. While the market can be unpredictable, the long-term rewards can be much better.

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 savings account review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of banking 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 5% savings accounts.

To determine which interest savings accounts made this list, CNBC Select compared dozens of U.S. savings accounts offered by online and brick-and-mortar banks, including large credit unions. We narrowed down our picks by only considering those savings accounts that offer an APY of around 5% (at minimum 4.50% APY), along with low (or no) minimum balance requirements. Some banks offer around a 5% APY but only up to a cap; in these cases, we didn’t include those that limited the high APY to a balance of $1,000 or less. We also took into consideration the fallback APY offered once the balance limit to earn the high APY is reached.

All of the accounts included on this list are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor. Note that the rates and fee structures for interest savings accounts are not guaranteed forever; they are subject to change without notice and they often fluctuate in accordance with the Fed rate. Your earnings depend on any associated fees and the balance you have in your interest savings account. To open an account, most banks and institutions require a deposit of new money, meaning you can’t transfer the money you already had in an account at that bank.

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