Top CD rates today: March 27, 2025 | Lock in up to 4.50% APY
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Key takeaways
- Today's highest CD rate across terms is 4.50 percent APY, offered on three- and six-month CDs.
- Highest CD rates on some terms are at least triple the national averages.
- The Federal Reserve has held its benchmark rate steady in 2025, and competitive APYs remain higher than they’ve been in decades, outside the current rate cycle.
As we approach the end of March, top rates on certificates of deposit (CDs) continue to hold steady. In fact, we at Bankrate have only seen one decrease in the highest CD rates this month, and February only saw four rate drops altogether. The overall stability in competitive CD annual percentage yields (APYs) may be due to the Federal Reserve leaving its benchmark rate untouched so far in 2025, including on March 19.
Right now, the highest APY across CD terms is 4.50 percent, and it’s offered on terms of three and six months. Longer terms of one to five years are earning top APYs from 4.15-4.40 percent.
Bankrate’s table below shows the highest yields offered on widely available CDs, by term. It also lists national average CD rates and how much you’d earn for each term with a $5,000 investment.
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% | 1.77% | $111 |
| 9-month | Bask Bank | 4.40% | N/A | $164 |
| 1-year | Bask Bank | 4.40% | 1.85% | $220 |
| 18-month | TAB Bank | 4.16% | 2.13% | $315 |
| 2-year | Popular Direct | 4.15% | 1.62% | $424 |
| 3-year | America First Credit Union | 4.15% | 1.54% | $649 |
| 4-year | America First Credit Union | 4.20% | 1.71% | $894 |
| 5-year | SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union | 4.25% | 1.55% | $1,157 |
Note: Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown are as of March 27, 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.
What banks offer the highest-paying CDs?
As seen in our table above, all of the top-paying CDs are available from banks and credit unions that operate mostly or entirely online. Online-only financial institutions are known for offering higher yields than big brick-and-mortar banks. Common reasons for this are:
- Relatively new online-only banks may pay highly competitive yields as a way to attract customers. (Conversely, established brick-and-mortar banks that don’t have a strong need for new deposits generally don’t offer high APYs.)
- Financial institutions operating entirely online don’t bear the cost of maintaining branches, and some may pass along the savings to customers through higher yields.
Whether or not they maintain branches, credit unions are commonly a source of high yields. This is because they’re not-for-profit institutions, so profits are distributed to members through dividends.
Recent trends in top CD rates
Competitive CD APYs trended downward throughout 2024 and are decreasing so far in 2025. For example, the highest one-year CD APY at the start of January 2024 was 5.66 percent, whereas it was 4.40 percent on March 27, 2025. Among the popular terms Bankrate monitors for this page, all rates saw steeper declines in the second half of 2024, as compared to the first half.
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.