Top CD rates today: April 2, 2025 | Highest APYs range from 4.15%-4.50%

Like a savings account, a certificate of deposit (CD) is an account where you can stash some of your savings, usually risk free, and earn a nominal amount of interest. A CD differs in that it offers a fixed interest rate for the duration of its term. If you enroll in a CD at a time before interest rates fall, your CD’s rate remains the same for its term. What’s more, a CD rate can be higher than the rate on a standard savings account, although a CD usually requires that you commit your cash for the entire term, with early withdrawals resulting in a penalty.

Top rates on certificates of deposit (CDs) remain unchanged today, with the highest rate of 4.50 percent annual percentage yield (APY) offered on shorter terms of three and six months. You’ll find leading APYs that are slightly lower — between 4.15-4.40 percent — on terms between one and five years. 

Bankrate monitors the top and average rates every weekday, and you’ll find today’s top CD rates in the table below.

Today's top CD rates by term

CD term	Institution offering top APY	Highest APY	National average APY	Estimated earnings on $5,000 with top APY
3-month	Bask Bank	4.50%	1.30%	$55
6-month	Bread Savings	4.50%	1.79%	$111
9-month	Bask Bank	4.40%	N/A	$164
1-year	Bask Bank	4.40%	1.87%	$220
18-month	TAB Bank	4.16%	2.14%	$315
2-year	Popular Direct	4.15%	1.64%	$424
3-year	America First Credit Union	4.15%	1.55%	$649
4-year	America First Credit Union	4.20%	1.71%	$894
5-year	SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union	4.25%	1.56%	$1,157

Note: Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown are as of April 2, 2025. APYs for some products may vary by region.

N/A: Not available; Bankrate doesn’t track national averages for the 9-month CD term due to limited available data. Estimated earnings are based on the highest APYs and assume interest is compounded annually.

How much $10,000 could earn you in a one-year CD

If you’re comfortable locking $10,000 into a one-year CD right now, and the CD earns 4.40 percent APY, it would earn around $440 in interest by the time it matures. Bankrate’s CD calculator can help you determine how much a CD will be worth at the end of its term. Just input the CD’s APY, the term length and the amount of your opening deposit.

How inflation impacts monetary policy

After holding its key benchmark rate steady since July 2023 to combat high inflation, officials cut the federal funds rate by a combined total of one percentage point, or 100 basis points, in three recent rate-setting meetings in late 2024. The rate cuts came at a time when the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation, had been decreasing significantly from its decades-high annual rate of 9.1 percent in June 2022. In recent months, however, inflation started to tick back up, although the most recent reading showed a lower month-over-month rate of 2.8 percent. Policymakers have held the federal funds rate steady so far in 2025.

"The economy is strong overall and has made significant progress toward our goals over the past two years," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in remarks following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on March 19. "Labor market conditions are solid, and inflation has moved closer to our 2 percent longer-run goal, though it remains somewhat elevated."

The current rate of inflation is a significant factor that affects what the Fed decides to do with rates. A decrease in the federal funds rate, say close to or below the current inflation rate of 2.8 percent, can be bad for savers. Namely, it can translate to lower APYs on many CDs and savings accounts. Meanwhile, a fed rate cut can be good for borrowers as interest rates tend to decrease on loans.

CD glossary

Here are some terms you’ll likely come across when choosing a CD.

• Add-on CD: An add-on CD enables you to make additional deposits after your initial investment. This feature affords more flexibility than traditional CDs, which only allow one deposit at the beginning of the term.
• Annual percentage yield (APY): A percentage that indicates how much interest a CD earns in one year, which takes into account the effect of compounding.
• Brokered CD: A type of CD issued by a bank but sold through a brokerage firm or other financial institution.
• CD ladder: An investment strategy that involves purchasing multiple CDs with varying maturity dates to provide liquidity and take advantage of higher rates.
• Early withdrawal penalty: A fee charged if funds are withdrawn from a CD before the maturity date. Penalties often range anywhere from 90 days to 365 days’ worth of interest.
• Grace period: A specific time after the maturity date during which an account holder can make changes to the CD without penalties. A grace period typically ranges from five to 14 days.
• IRA CD: A CD that’s held within an individual retirement account.
• Minimum opening deposit: The lowest amount of money required to open a CD account, which can vary by institution. Some institutions don’t have a minimum deposit requirement.
• No-penalty CD: A type of CD that allows you to withdraw your money without facing a penalty while providing a fixed APY.
• Promotional CD: Also known as a bonus or special CD, it’s a CD with an above average APY. These may be offered by banks and credit unions as a way to obtain new customers.
• Jumbo CD: A CD that has a high minimum balance requirement, typically $100,000, sometimes as low as $95,000. This type of CD tends to offer a higher interest rate than regular CDs with the same term.
• Bump-up CD: Also known as a “raise-your-rate CD,” a bump-up CD provides savers with the option to increase the CD’s APY without having to change its term. Generally, only one rate increase is allowed during its term.

• Research methodology

  Bankrate calculates and reports the national average APYs for various CD terms. Factored into national average rates are the competitive APYs commonly offered by online banks, along with the very low rates often found at large brick-and-mortar banks.

  In June 2023, Bankrate updated its methodology that determines the national average CD rates. For the process, more than 500 banks and credit unions are now surveyed each week to generate the national averages. Among these institutions are those that are broadly available and offer high yields, as well as some of the nation’s largest banks.