Update, October 11, 2026: This post first ran in June, when the Fed was on hold and short CDs paid more than long ones. Both facts changed. On September 16 the Fed raised its target range to 3.75 to 4%, and the minutes released October 7 say most officials think another increase "would likely be appropriate by year end." The curve has also tipped back: top five-year CDs now pay a bit more than one-year CDs. Every rate below has been refreshed against October data. The verdict hasn't changed: shop the rate, and keep the term short.
If you have cash you won't touch for a year, your own bank is probably the worst place to put it. The average one-year CD pays 1.73%. The best ones pay about 4.5%. Same federally insured deposit, same one-year wait, more than double the return.
A CD, or certificate of deposit, locks your money for a set term in exchange for a fixed rate. The catch is the early-withdrawal penalty: pull the money out before the term ends and you give up some interest. That's the trade. In return, you get a guaranteed rate that doesn't drift down the way a savings account can.
Here's what the banks are counting on. The FDIC's national rate for a 12-month CD is 1.73%. The three-year sits at 1.36% and the five-year at 1.38%. Those averages are dragged down by big branch banks paying next to nothing, because they know most people open a CD where they already bank. Meanwhile Popular Direct lists 4.50% on a one-year, and Curinos data shows EagleBank and BTG Pactual Bank at 4.45%. The gap isn't a reward for risk. It's a reward for shopping.
Top one-year CDs pay about 4.5% APY. The FDIC's national average pays 1.73%. The difference is just which bank you pick.
Run it on $25,000. At the 1.73% average, you earn about $433 in a year. At 4.50%, you earn about $1,125. That's roughly $690 a year for the work of opening an account somewhere better. Real money.
Now the term. In June, short CDs paid more than long ones, so the five-year was an easy pass. That's no longer true at the top of the market. Popular Direct pays 4.50% for one year, 4.85% for three and 5.00% for five. So the bank will now pay you half a point to lock up four extra years.
Is that worth it? On $25,000, half a point is $125 a year. And the Fed just raised rates on September 16, with most officials expecting another hike by year end. Lock five years today and you're betting that's the last good rate you'll see for a while. The Fed is telling you it may not be. That's the bank's bet, not yours.
So here's the move. If this is cash you genuinely won't need for a year, open a top-rate one-year CD, not the one your checking bank offers. Compare current rates on our best savings accounts list first. If you might need some of it sooner, keep that slice in a high-yield savings account instead, where there's no penalty, and run the numbers through our savings calculator. If you want both certainty and access, split the money into CDs that mature at different dates, a ladder, so a piece frees up every few months and can roll into whatever rates look like then.
Ranking
Our top-rated CDs right now
Top certificate of deposit rates across terms.
| Rank | Company | Best for | Key stat | Score | Apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcus by Goldman SachsMarcus High-Yield CD | Best CD overall | Up to 4.40% APY on 12-month and longer CDs (October 2026) | 8.7/10 | |
| 2 |  DiscoverCD | Existing customers only | Not accepting new applications (October 2026) | 8.5/10 | |
| 3 | SynchronyBank CD | Best no-minimum CD | Up to 4.00% APY across terms, 3.75% APY on 5-year (September 2026) | 8.4/10 |
One honest caveat: the Fed's own statement says inflation "remains elevated." A 4.5% CD is a tool for safety and certainty, not for getting rich. But a guaranteed 4.5% beats a guaranteed 1.73% every time, and it beats your bank betting you won't look.
How Candid Yak makes money. Some of the products we write about pay us if you apply or sign up through our links. That never changes our verdict, our rankings, or the numbers in this article. We call a bad deal a bad deal whether it pays us or not. Some brands shown in our comparison tools are placeholder examples while we finalize partner agreements, and we label them as such.