Top CD rates today: March 31, 2025 | Highest APY remains 4.50%

CD rates remain competitive, with short-term CDs offering annual percentage yields (APYs) in the mid 4 percent range. This is slightly lower than the 5 percent rates seen in early 2024. Longer-term CDs, such as three- to five-year terms, have stabilized in the low 4 percent range following gradual declines influenced by Federal Reserve rate cuts in late 2024.

Today's leading APY across CD terms remains 4.50 percent. This yield is offered on a three-month CD term from Bask Bank and a six-month CD term from Bread Savings. Bask requires a minimum deposit of $1,000, and Bread Savings requires $1,500.

The table below shows top CD rates for the most common terms, as well as national averages and the amount you can earn in interest with a $5,000 deposit.

Today's CD rates by term

Note: Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown are as of March 31, 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.

Locking in a CD rate now could benefit you down the line

An upside of putting your funds into a guaranteed-rate CD is you’ll continue to earn the fixed APY for its entire term, even if the bank lowers the yields on new CDs it issues in the meantime. Rates on competitive CDs are currently outpacing inflation, which is currently at a rate of 2.8 percent.

In 2024, the Fed cut its benchmark rate in September, November and December, for a total of a full percentage point, or 100 basis points. In 2025, however, officials have held the federal funds rate at its current target range of 4.25 to 4.5 percent. It remains to be seen whether policymakers will choose to lower rates further in 2025. The next rate-setting meeting is scheduled for May 7, 2025.

What the current interest rate environment means for CDs

Recent federal funds rate changes: The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate three times in 2024, and the federal funds rate currently stands at a target range of 4.25-4.5 percent. Prior to these rate cuts, the Fed had gradually raised rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023, and rates stood at a 23-year high leading up to the September 2024 cut. Officials then decided at their January and March 2025 rate-setting meetings to leave the benchmark rate untouched.  

What this means for deposit accounts such as CDs: Yields on competitive savings accounts and CDs tend to move in lockstep with the Fed’s interest rate moves. As such, many banks increase their yields when the Fed raises rates, and they lower yields when the federal funds rate drops. The Fed’s previous rate cuts spurred decreases in CD APYs, although officials' current holding pattern could mean an overall stabilization in CD rates.

Prior to the September 2024 rate cut, the Fed had held rates steady since July 2023. Meanwhile, top CD APYs peaked in late 2023 and have since been decreasing gradually, as illustrated below.

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 may potentially 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.