So I've been bouncing between HYSAs for the past few months trying to chase the best rate. Anyone have a good read on whats the best option right now? I'm seeing Ally at 4.00%, Marcus around 4.10%... is there anything better out there that I'm missing?
Currently have about $15k sitting in a Chase savings earning basically nothing. Need to move it somewhere.
This gets asked every week so I'll give the standard answer:
- Marcus (Goldman Sachs): 4.10% APY, no minimum, FDIC insured. The app is mediocre but the rate is solid.
- Ally: 4.00% APY. Best overall online banking experience IMO. Their app is actually good and customer service is decent.
- Wealthfront: 4.00% APY on their cash account. Technically not a savings account but FDIC insured through partner banks up to $8M.
- Discover: 3.90% APY. Nothing special rate-wise but it's Discover, they're not going anywhere.
Honestly at these levels the difference between 4.00% and 4.10% on $15k is like $15/year. Just pick one with a good app and stop chasing rates.
I've been with Ally for 4 years and never had an issue.
Current rates I'm tracking as of Feb 5:
Marcus: 4.10%
Ally: 4.00%
Wealthfront: 4.00%
Bread Savings (CIT): 4.05%
Discover: 3.90%
SoFi: 3.80% (requires direct deposit for this rate)
Barclays: 3.90%
Amex HYSA: 3.90%
Capital One 360: 3.80%
I update my spreadsheet weekly. Marcus has been top or near-top for 3 months straight now. Bread Savings is sneaky good if you havent looked at them.
I'll add my 2 cents -- I switched from Chase to Ally back in March 2025 and it was totally painless. Took about 3 days for the transfer to go through. The Ally app is way better than I expected honestly.
One thing to consider is whether you want buckets/goals features. Ally has these "savings buckets" that let you organize money within one account which I find really useful for like vacation fund, emergency fund, etc. Marcus doesn't have anything like that.
Rate-wise yeah Marcus is slightly higher right now but rates change all the time. 6 months ago Ally was higher. I'd prioritize the banking experience over a 0.10% difference.
Thanks everyone. Sounds like the consensus is Ally or Marcus. I think I'll go with Ally since the app sounds better and that matters to me.
@spreadsheet_dan that rate list is super helpful, thanks for maintaining that. Bookmarked.
One more question -- any reason to split between two HYSAs or just put everything in one? The FDIC limit is $250k so thats not a concern for me lol
Heads up -- Marcus just dropped to 3.95%. Checked this morning. Was 4.10% like a week ago. Anyone else see that?
Kinda annoying, that was the main reason I went with them over Ally.
SoFi is 4.00% but only with direct deposit. Without it you get like 1.00% or something garbage. So its kinda misleading when people quote that rate. Not everyone can or wants to set up direct deposit to SoFi.
Bread/CIT is at 4.25% btw. Just checked. Highest I've seen for a standard HYSA right now.
Ok real question -- does the difference between 3.95% and 4.25% actually matter to any of you? On $20k thats like... $60/year. Sixty dollars. You spend more than that on coffee in a month.
I get the impulse to optimize but at some point you gotta ask yourself if the mental energy of tracking 8 different banks is worth sixty bucks.
Updated comparison table as of Feb 17, 2026:
| Bank | APY | Min Balance | FDIC | Notes |
|-------------------|--------|-------------|---------|----------------------------------|
| Bread Savings | 4.25% | $0 | $250k | CIT rebrand, bare bones UI |
| CIT Bank | 4.15% | $5,000 | $250k | Savings Connect tier |
| SoFi | 4.00% | $0 | $2M | Requires direct deposit |
| Ally | 4.00% | $0 | $250k | Best app, buckets feature |
| Wealthfront | 4.00% | $0 | $8M | Cash account, partner banks |
| Marcus | 3.95% | $0 | $250k | Just dropped from 4.10% |
| Barclays | 3.90% | $0 | $250k | Solid, boring |
| Discover | 3.80% | $0 | $250k | Has checking + CC too |
| Amex HYSA | 3.90% | $0 | $250k | Amex ecosystem |
| Capital One 360 | 3.80% | $0 | $250k | Branch access, lower rate |
Bread/CIT is leading the pack right now. SoFi is good IF you qualify for the direct deposit rate. For no-strings-attached I'd say Ally or Wealthfront are the sweet spot of rate + experience.
Hi sorry if this is a dumb question but is Ally bank safe? Like actually safe? I have about $8k I want to move there but it feels weird putting my money in a bank that doesnt have any physical buildings. What happens if they go under? Is my money just gone?
I know everyone here seems to trust them but I'm new to all this and kinda nervous
Not a dumb question at all! Ally is FDIC insured which means the federal government guarantees your deposits up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. If Ally somehow went bankrupt tomorrow (extremely unlikely, they're one of the largest online banks) the FDIC would make sure you get your money back.
FDIC insurance has covered depositors through every bank failure since 1934. Your $8k is as safe at Ally as it is at Chase or Bank of America.
The "no physical buildings" thing is just how online banks work -- it's how they can offer higher rates. Lower overhead = better rates for you. Ally used to be GMAC Bank and has been around since 2009 in its current form.
Go for it, you'll be fine.
Gonna give the unsolicited advice nobody asked for:
Stop rate chasing. Seriously. Pick one of the top 5 HYSAs (Ally, Marcus, Bread, Wealthfront, SoFi) and park your money there. Then forget about it and focus on things that actually move the needle -- increasing your income, maxing retirement accounts, keeping expenses low.
The people on this forum (myself included sometimes) spend hours per month comparing rates that differ by 0.15% APY. That time would be better spent on literally anything else. The rate doesn't matter nearly as much as the habit of actually saving.
/rant over, carry on
ally is great tbh. switched last month after reading this thread actually. the app is really nice and transfers are fast. thanks everyone
Quick update -- just checked and Ally is still at 4.00%, Marcus is 3.90% now (dropped again), and Bread/CIT is holding at 4.25%. SoFi still 4.00% w/ direct deposit. Wealthfront 4.00%.
Honestly at this point I think bogle_or_bust is right, just pick one of the big names and forget about it. The rate differences are like $40/year on $20k.
