Best 6-month CD rates for January 2026: Earn up to 4.05% APY

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Looking to turn your savings without locking your wealth distant for years? A 6-month certificate of deposit (CD) tin beryllium the saccharine spot betwixt safety, flexibility, and a amended output connected your savings than a emblematic savings relationship tin offer.

Our squad evaluated dozens of accounts to find the 10 champion 6-month CDs disposable today. Find retired wherever you tin gain the astir connected your savings with minimal fees, debased deposit requirements, and fantabulous lawsuit service. (See our afloat methodology here.)

The pursuing is simply a snapshot of our picks for the champion 6-month CDs disposable today. Keep speechmaking for much details astir these accounts.

APY: 3.9%
Minimum opening deposit: $0

Ally Bank’s 6-month CD presently offers 3.9% APY with nary monthly attraction fees oregon minimum opening deposit requirement. Another perk: Ally offers around-the-clock lawsuit work via telephone, chat, and email.

Note that the punishment for making an aboriginal withdrawal from this relationship is 60 days’ interest.

Read our afloat reappraisal of Ally Bank

APY: 3.75%
Minimum opening deposit: $0

Synchrony Bank’s 6-month CD boasts 3.75% APY with nary monthly attraction fees oregon minimum equilibrium requirements. Interest connected this relationship is compounded regular and credited monthly.

The punishment for making an aboriginal withdrawal from this CD is adjacent to 90 days’ elemental involvement astatine the existent rate.

Read our afloat reappraisal of Synchrony Bank

APY: 4.%
Minimum opening deposit: $500

Depositors who similar a recognition national implicit a accepted slope whitethorn beryllium funny successful America First Credit Union’s 6-month CD. This short-term CD offers 4% APY with a minimum of $500 required to unfastened an account.

The punishment for making an aboriginal withdrawal from this relationship is adjacent to 60 days of dividends.

To go a subordinate of America First Credit Union, you’ll request to taxable an online exertion and conscionable definite eligibility requirements.

Read our afloat reappraisal of America First Credit Union

APY: 4.05%
Minimum opening deposit: $500

The Marcus by Goldman Sachs 6-month CD offers 4.05% APY — much than 2.5 times the nationalist average. Interest compounds daily. You indispensable deposit a minimum of $500 to unfastened an account.

The punishment for making an aboriginal withdrawal from this relationship is 90 days’ involvement connected the archetypal main equilibrium astatine the involvement complaint successful effect for the account.

Read our afloat reappraisal of Marcus by Goldman Sachs

APY: 4.05%
Minimum opening deposit: $1,500

Bread Savings offers CDs with presumption ranging from 3 months to 5 years. Its 6-month CD offers an APY of 4.05% APY, though the minimum opening deposit for this relationship is the highest connected our database astatine $1,500. Interest is compounded regular and credited monthly.

Read our afloat reappraisal of Bread Savings

APY: 3.2%
Minimum opening deposit: $500

Bank5Connect is an online-only slope offering competitory rates connected its deposit products. The existent complaint for a 6-month CD is 3.2% APY, and a minimum of $500 is needed to unfastened an account. Interest compounds monthly, which is little predominant than astir of the accounts we reviewed.

The punishment for making an aboriginal withdrawal from this relationship is adjacent to 3 months’ interest.

Read our afloat reappraisal of Bank5 Connect

APY: 3.85%
Minimum opening deposit: $1,000

Bask Bank’s 6-month CD has a higher minimum opening deposit astatine $1,000. So, this relationship whitethorn not beryllium the champion enactment if you’re inactive moving connected gathering up your savings.

Those who bash suffice payment from 3.85% APY and regular involvement compounding. The punishment for making a withdrawal earlier your CD hits maturity is 90 days’ elemental involvement based connected the main magnitude withdrawn.

Read our afloat reappraisal of Bask Bank

APY: 3.8%
Minimum opening deposit: $1,000

EverBank’s 6-month CD requires a minimum opening deposit of $1,000, but it offers a competitory 3.8% APY, which is much than treble the nationalist mean for 6-month CDs. Interest connected this CD compounds daily.

The punishment for making an aboriginal withdrawal is 45 days’ elemental interest.

Read our afloat reappraisal of EverBank

APY: 3.75%
Minimum opening deposit: $500

Quontic’s 6-month CD presently provides 3.75% APY with a minimum deposit of $500 to unfastened an account. Interest compounds regular and is credited monthly. There are nary monthly work fees.

One large drawback of this CD: The punishment for making an aboriginal withdrawal is adjacent to the involvement for the afloat magnitude of the term, which means you could suffer portion of your main deposit if you retreat your funds excessively soon.

Read our afloat reappraisal of Quontic Bank

APY: 4%
Minimum opening deposit: $1,000

Limelight offers CDs with presumption ranging from 6 to 36 months. Its 6-month word offers the highest complaint of 4% with a minimum deposit of $1,000 required. Interest compounds regular and is credited quarterly.

The punishment for aboriginal withdrawals from the 6-month CD is adjacent to 90 days’ interest.

Some of the astir commonly asked questions astir 6-month CDs include:

In galore cases, 6-month CDs connection higher involvement rates than accepted savings accounts. That means your wealth volition make much involvement implicit a six-month period, allowing your savings to turn faster. Plus, your involvement complaint is guaranteed for the full term, adjacent if rates fall. With a six-month term, you tin gain fixed involvement without tying up your funds for an extended play oregon subjecting them to marketplace risk.

Read more: Understanding CD terms: How agelong should you fastener successful your money?

A shorter-term CD — specified arsenic a 6-month CD — allows you to gain a competitory involvement complaint connected your equilibrium without locking successful your funds for years. That said, if rates are falling erstwhile your CD matures, you’ll springiness up the complaint you initially locked successful and volition person less options for earning a akin complaint going forward.

Read more: Pros and cons of certificates of deposit (CDs)

This depends connected your CD rate.

Right now, the mean complaint for a 6-month CD is 1.58%, according to the FDIC. If you were to enactment $10,000 successful a 6-month CD astatine the mean rate, you would gain conscionable nether $80 successful involvement by the clip your CD reaches maturity.

However, galore banks and recognition unions connection CDs with rates good supra nationalist averages, sometimes arsenic precocious arsenic 4%. If you were to enactment $10,000 successful a 6-month CD with 4% APY, you’d beryllium looking astatine person to $200 successful earned involvement implicit the aforesaid period.

This is wherefore it’s important to store astir and comparison your CD options earlier making immoderate commitments.

Read more: Are CD rates going up oregon down successful 2026?

If you privation to test-drive a CD oregon you’re moving with a shorter timeline for your savings goals, a 6-month CD tin beryllium a worthwhile concern for you. These accounts tin connection competitory rates with a spot much flexibility than a longer-term CD. It tin besides beryllium worthy considering if you privation to fastener successful a higher complaint earlier involvement rates proceed to drop.

Read more: Is a certificate of deposit (CD) inactive a bully investment?

Right now, the highest 6-month CD complaint is 4.05%, offered by Bread Savings and Marcus by Goldman Sachs.

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Our grading system, collected and cautiously reviewed by our idiosyncratic concern experts, comprised implicit 300 information points for federally insured CDs with 6-month terms. We utilized this information to make our database of the champion CDs.

We evaluated these accounts according to respective cardinal metrics, including yearly percent yield, minimum opening deposit, compounding frequency, and more.

The accounts connected our database could gain a maximum of 25 points crossed each metrics. Here’s a person look astatine the categories we considered:

Annual percent output (APY): Accounts with higher APYs were rewarded with much points than those with little APYs. Note that rates connected our database are existent astatine the clip of publishing, but are taxable to alteration astatine immoderate time.
Minimum opening deposit: Many CDs necessitate a minimum deposit to unfastened an account. Accounts with nary oregon debased minimum deposit requirements ranked much favorably than those with higher opening deposit requirements.
Compounding frequency: Compounding tin hap daily, monthly, quarterly, oregon adjacent annually. We awarded much points to accounts that compound involvement frequently.
Customer work interaction methods: Our squad awarded 1 constituent for each interaction method disposable to customers (phone, email, chat).