Best 6-Month CD Rates of July 2024: APYs up to 5.48%

Best 6-Month CDs Rates

A six-month CD is a safe investment that guarantees a fixed rate on your short-term savings until your CD matures. 

We at the MarketWatch Guides team bring you the country’s best CD rates based on data from Curinos, a research firm that compiles information from over 3,600 banks each day. We’ve also thoroughly researched the best six-month CDs at over 100 financial institutions. We focused on six-month CDs with high APYs, low minimum deposit requirements and high scores in our banking reviews (read more in our rating methodology).

Our picks for the banks with the best six-month CD rates are:

• Synchrony Bank (4.80% APY)
• Marcus by Goldman Sachs (5.10% APY)
• BMO Alto (5.15% APY)
• Bask Bank (5.35% APY)

To provide you with a personal look at these CDs, researchers with the MarketWatch Guides team opened accounts with our top recommended institutions. In this article, we offer you our first-hand experiences with the application process and customer service of each bank.

Whether you’re looking for the top rate available in the U.S. or a great deal with a leading bank, we’ve got you covered. Our picks for the best six-month CD rates have competitive APYs and are available across the country.

Rates accurate as of July 2, 2024.

Highest 6-Month CD Rates Today

The table below includes the highest six-month CD rates available today.

How To Find the Best 6-Month CD Rate

When you’re looking for the best six-month CD, you may be tempted to choose the financial institutions with the highest interest rate — in fact, according to our recent MarketWatch Guides CD survey, this was the number one reason people gave for choosing their CD provider. However, there should be more involved in choosing your CD than just a high APY. You should also consider factors such as:

• Minimum balance: Be aware that some institutions have much higher minimum balance requirements than others. While some banks have a $0 minimum deposit for a six-month CD, others have minimum deposits of $1,000 or even $2,500. In our MarketWatch Guides CD survey, over 24% of respondents chose a CD provider for its low minimum deposit requirement.
• Customer service: Make sure the financial institution you choose can answer any questions you have quickly and accurately. Beware of institutions that don’t have a phone number or a mobile app, as this could make it harder for you to get information about your CD if you have a question.
• Rollovers: It’s also important to know what happens to your money when your CD matures. Many banks will roll your money into a new CD, but often at a lower interest rate than you were getting previously. Some banks will stop the interest on your CD but leave it in your account unless you proactively open a new CD or transfer it.
• Type of CD: If you might need to withdraw your money before the six months are up, consider a no-penalty CD. These usually sacrifice a few percentage points of interest for the possibility of withdrawing your money early without a penalty.

Is Now the Right Time to Buy a 6-Month CD?

According to the financial experts we interviewed, now is a good time to open a six-month CD. This term length often has the most favorable rates, higher than longer-term CDs. 

“While CDs with shorter maturities tend to pay lower rates of interest, currently, short-term CDs are priced higher than long-term CDs,” said Anand Talwar, head of deposits and president at the Ally Invest Group of Ally Financial.

Over this past year, the six-month CD rates we track from online banks and credit unions have increased and held relatively steady for the last few months – though experts predict rates could drop later in the year, given the Federal Reserve’s indication it plans to cut interest rates several times in 2024. However, at the Fed’s Wednesday meeting, no immediate changes were made.

“The best time to invest in a CD is when interest rates are higher, purchase a CD with a predetermined rate of return and lock in that rate until maturity. “

– Rob Williams, managing director of Wealth Management at Charles Schwab

Below is a glance at average CD rate trends over the past decade.

>> Related: Learn more about historical CD rates.

How Do 6-Month CDs Work?

When you open a six-month CD, you typically deposit a lump sum for six months, and your money earns a guaranteed APY that can sometimes beat other types of bank accounts.  While the nation’s average interest rate for six-month CDs is 1.79%, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), our recommendations all offer more than three times that rate.

If you commit to a six-month CD, you can’t withdraw your money early or you’ll usually pay a penalty (unless you opened a penalty-free CD with a lower interest rate). You can, however, usually withdraw the interest on your CD early. Our CD survey showed that while 19% withdrew the interest on their CD early, a full 64% kept their full CD amount invested until the maturity date.

>> Related: Learn more about how CDs work.

How Much Can You Earn With a 6-Month CD?

When you open a six-month CD, your rate will be expressed as an APY, but you won’t earn a year’s worth of interest during a term this short. Because your money will only earn interest for six months, not a full year, you’ll likely earn just under half of the APY when your CD matures (depending on how your interest is compounded).

For example, on a six-month CD with a $1,000 balance at a 5.00% APY, you can expect to earn just under $25 in interest, not $50.  The median CD amount  in our survey was $10,800, so at 5.00% APY for six months, you would earn $266.71.

Almost 28% of our survey respondents, over half of whom took out a CD in the last two years, earned an annual APY of 5.00% or more on their six-month certificate of deposit.

“If you’re looking for a stable investment that can provide guaranteed returns, CDs can be a great addition to other assets you have in your investment portfolio, such as stocks and bonds,” said Mary Hines Droesch, head of consumer and small business products at Bank of America.

>> Related: Learn more about CD ladders.

Factors To Consider When Choosing a 6-Month CD

To pick the right six-month CD, consider the following factors:

• Financial institution: Consider the reputation, customer service experience and financial products the credit union or bank offers. Ensure it also has National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) or FDIC insurance to protect CD deposits up to $250,000. Almost half of our survey respondents used a traditional bank to open a CD, followed by 21% who used an online bank.
• CD term: Make sure a six-month term is the right fit. You might prefer a shorter term for quicker cash access or a somewhat longer term for a better rate. In our survey, 28% of people chose their CD term based on when they needed access to their money.
• Interest rates: Compare rates and compounding schedules across financial institutions. Research any rate guarantees and variable-rate CD features as well.
• CD types: Check for special six-month CDs that might better fit your needs, such as no-penalty, rate-bump, IRA or education CDs. One in five respondents in our survey chose a CD provider based on the specialty CDs it provided.
• Minimum opening deposit and minimum balance: You’ll need enough money to meet the account’s minimum deposit and minimum balance requirements.
• Early withdrawal penalties: Check how much (or whether) the bank charges if you withdraw interest or principal before your CD’s term ends.
• Special features: You might consider banks that let you make additional deposits in CDs, provide loyalty awards when you renew your CD or offer savings tools in your online account.

In our MarketWatch Guides CD survey, two of the top reasons survey respondents chose to open a CD were to take advantage of high interest rates and savings goals.

>> Related: Learn more about the best CD rates.

Alternatives to 6-Month CDs

While six-month CDs are safe short-term investments that currently pay attractive interest rates, their downside is that you often can’t access your money before your CD matures without paying a penalty. Here are some alternatives to a six-month CD you may want to consider:

High-Yield Savings Accounts (HYSAs)

High yield savings accounts pay interest rates similar to CDs and allow you to withdraw your money at any time. But because HYSAs have variable rates, if interest rates drop, your account will pay less interest. Almost 43% of our CD survey respondents considered an HYSA before opening a CD.

Money Market Accounts (MMAs)

Money market accounts pay interest rates that are competitive with HYSAs and CDs, and they may allow you to write checks and use a debit card. If you want a deposit account with flexibility and a high interest rate, a money market account could be a strong choice. More than 33% of our CD survey respondents considered an MMA before they opened a CD.

Bonds

Bond yields are currently very high, and bonds can be resold if you need your money before your bond matures. However, some bonds have more risk than CDs, as companies could default on their bonds and not repay you. Bonds are also generally sold in increments of $1,000, so if you need to invest less, a CD might be a better choice. Bonds were also a popular consideration for those in our survey — nearly 23% of respondents considered bonds before ultimately opening a CD.

1-Year CD

While six-month CDs are currently paying high interest rates, you may get a lower rate when you renew your CD. One-year CD rates are currently very competitive, and if you can live without your funds for an entire year, you’ll lock your rate in for longer. Respondents in our CD survey told us that the interest rate mattered the most when considering the term of their CD.

6-Month CD Rates: FAQs

Methodology

Our team researched more than 100 of the country’s largest and most prominent financial institutions, collecting information on each provider’s account options, fees, rates, terms and customer experience. We then scored each firm based on the data points and metrics that matter most to potential customers. Read our full methodology.

For our list of the best six-month CD rates, we selected the highest-scoring financial institutions in our review of CDs. These banks and credit unions provide CD products available to customers throughout the U.S. and earn high scores for offering low or no minimum opening deposit and competitive yields on six-month terms.

For the account opening process with these CDs, we opened each account with the necessary minimum deposit and measured the speed and thoroughness of the account opening process, ease of use of the account website, speed of our deposit to fund the account, rewards and features available to account holders, and our experience with customer service chat and phone options.

• Savings and money market accounts (35% of total score): The best scores go to banks, loans and fintech companies with high interest rates and low or no fees or minimum opening deposits.
• Checking accounts (30% of total score): High marks are given to those with multiple accounts and minimal fees, plus benefits such as reward programs and mobile check deposit.
• Certificates of deposit (20% of total score): Top-rated financial institutions have low or no minimum opening deposits, as well as a variety of term options and specialty CDs for flexibility.
• Banking experience and access (15% of total score): Providers that excel in this category have large branch and ATM networks and multiple checking and savings accounts, and they earn more points for offering CDs and money market accounts.

*Data accurate at time of publication

**Rates accurate as of June 27, 2024