The Ally high-yield savings account offers a competitive APY with no minimum opening deposit
- Ally's online high-yield savings account is known for its competitive APY, ease of use, and affordability.
- The account is ideal for people who don't mind doing all their banking online and who want to open their savings and checking accounts at the same institution.
- Ally doesn't charge monthly service fees, and it doesn't require an opening deposit or a minimum account balance.
- You may find a higher APY with another bank, but Ally is known for consistently providing competitive rates even when the federal funds rate decreases.
- See Business Insider's picks for the best high-yield savings accounts »
Ally Financial is a banking institution known for operating entirely online and for providing loans and deposit accounts. Its high-yield savings account is praised for offering competitive rates for savers and an easy-to-use online interface.
The Ally savings account makes it easy to save for different goals, and it doesn't require an initial deposit or minimum account balance. You also don't have to pay monthly service fees.
Ally ranks as our top pick for the best high-yield savings account overall. Find out whether it's the best match for you.
Should you open an Ally high-yield savings account?
Ally could be a good fit regardless of how much you're able to save every month. Some high-yield savings accounts offer a better interest rate if your balance is higher, but Ally offers one rate to all customers, so it doesn't favor people with more money.
Ally doesn't require an opening deposit or a minimum account balance, and there's no monthly service fee. Some banks charge a monthly fee but allow you to opt out by keeping a certain amount in savings. Again, Ally doesn't show preference to people who can save more money - no one pays monthly fees.
If you prefer to do all your banking with one institution, Ally could be a good fit. You can also open a checking account with Ally, and you may decide to save with a money market account or CD.
Finally, this account is good for savers who don't have a problem banking digitally. There are no physical branch locations, so if you're happy doing everything online, through an app, or over the phone, you may find Ally is right for you.
The pros of Ally's high-yield savings account
It offers a competitive APY
Ally currently offers a 1.50% APY on its savings account. High-yield savings account rates fluctuate along with the federal funds rate, but unlike some banks, Ally is known for providing relatively high rates even when the federal funds rate drops.
Some banks offer higher APYs for higher account balances, but Ally's rate is consistent regardless of your balance. This makes Ally a good match for people who can't save a ton of money right off the bat.
Ally shows projections of how much you could save based on your current saving habits and compounded interest. Its graphics show that a 1.50% APY can make a huge difference, especially when compared to the average savings account rate of 0.09%.
You don't need a certain amount of money to open an account
There is no minimum deposit to open an Ally account, and it doesn't require a minimum account balance.
Of course, the higher your account balance, the more money you'll earn in interest. But Ally offers the same rate to every customer regardless of your balance.
You won't pay service fees
Many savings accounts charge monthly fees and allow you to avoid them by setting up direct deposits or maintaining a minimum balance. Ally doesn't make you jump through hoops, though - you won't pay any service fees.
It's easy to save for different goals
You can set up various Ally savings accounts and assign them nicknames, such as "Emergency Savings" or "Travel Fund."
You don't have to set up completely separate accounts to save for different goals, though. You can open up to 10 "buckets" under one savings account. Have a designated fund for each savings goal so you can track them all in one place.
Its mobile app is easy to use
Ally's app has received positive reviews for being useful and simple to navigate, and it has features other banking apps lack. You can use your app to do everything from depositing a check to locating the closest in-network ATM.
You can link to an Ally checking account
Along with its high-yield savings account, Ally offers CDs, money market accounts, and checking accounts. Many banks offer multiple types of savings accounts, but not all offer checking accounts.
When you save with a bank that doesn't offer a checking account, transferring money from your savings to checking account (or vice-versa) can be inconvenient. You'd have to transfer money between your Ally account and an external bank. These transfers can take up to several days, while transfers from one Ally account to another takes just minutes.
You have affordable ATM access
Federal law only allows you to withdraw money from your savings account up to six times per month, regardless of which institution you bank with. But if you do want to withdraw cash from your savings account, Ally makes it affordable to do so.
As an Ally customer, you have free access to over 43,000 Allpoint® ATMs across the United States. Ally won't charge a fee if you use an ATM outside of this network, but the ATM provider might.
If you are charged by the ATM provider, Ally will reimburse you up to $10 per month in ATM fees.
Ally provides strong customer service
Ally customer support is available 24/7. You can call a representative or chat with a real person online or through your app.
The cons of Ally's high-yield savings account
You may find a higher APY elsewhere
While Ally does offer a competitive APY, it isn't the highest out there. Remember that interest rates fluctuate, though, so while another bank may offer the highest rate today, it may not necessarily be the best next week.
You'll pay an excess withdrawal fee
By law, all banking institutions must limit customers to six transactions per month from their savings accounts.
Some banks will charge you a fee each time you exceed this limit. Others won't charge you but will close your account if you surpass the six-transaction limit, say, three times in 12 months.
Ally will charge you $10 each time you exceed six monthly transactions. A $10 charge isn't uncommon, but it could be annoying if you only go over the limit once or twice in a year. In this case, you'd end up paying Ally $10 or $20, whereas you wouldn't face any penalties for just a couple slip-ups with some other banks.
There aren't any brick and mortar locations
If being able to walk into your bank and speak with an employee is an important part of the banking experience for you, then Ally may not be the best fit. There are no physical locations, so you'll have to deal with everything online, through the app, or over the phone.
Ally savings account features
Setting up an Ally savings account online is relatively quick and easy. It will take a few business days for any money you transfer from an external bank account to show up in your Ally account.
Ally doesn't require an opening deposit or a minimum account balance. You don't have to pay a monthly service charge, either.
Every member receives a 1.50% APY, which is compounded daily and paid monthly. Over time, the interest rate will increase or decrease along with the federal funds rate, but this is the case with all high-yield savings accounts. There are two important things to remember about Ally's APY:
- Every saver earns the same APY, regardless of your account balance
- Ally is known for offering a fairly competitive rate even as APYs fluctuate
With Ally, you can split your savings up into different "buckets" within one savings account. This makes it easy to save for various goals without opening multiple savings accounts.
Individual Ally accounts are FDIC insured for up to $250,000, and joint accounts are insured for up to $500,000.
How does Ally compare to similar high-yield savings accounts?
Ally vs. Discover Bank
Like Ally, Discover Bank is a solid option for bankers who want to keep all their deposits at one institution. You can open a high-yield savings account, CD, money market account, and checking account with Discover.
Discover is also similar to Ally in that it doesn't require an initial deposit or minimum account balance, and it doesn't charge a monthly fee. The two banks offer comparable interest rates on their high-yield savings accounts.
Unlike Ally, Discover doesn't charge a fee for exceeding the federal transaction limit of six times per month. If you exceed the withdrawal limit too many times in 12 months, Discover will suspend your account.
Discover does offer free ATM access, but if an out-of-service ATM provider charges you a fee, Discover doesn't reimburse fees like Ally does.
Ally vs. Marcus by Goldman Sachs
Neither Ally nor Marcus by Goldman Sachs requires an opening deposit or minimum account balance, and neither charges a monthly fee. Both banks' websites and mobile apps are praised by users for being easy to use.
Marcus' APY is higher than Ally's right now, but remember that might not always be the case. Marcus does not provide you with the ability to deposit checks digitally, so if you receive paper checks regularly, you'd have to deposit them at a separate institution and transfer the funds to your Marcus account.
Ally vs. Capital One 360 Performance Savings
The Capital One 360 Performance Savings account offers a lot of the benefits Ally does - a competitive APY, mobile check deposits, no monthly fees, and no minimum deposits or balances. One benefit of Capital One is that it comes with physical branches. If you like the sound of Ally but want to bank face-to-face, you may prefer Capital One.
Unlike Ally, Capital One does not reimburse out-of-network ATM fees. Its customer service also isn't as accessible as Ally's - you can only contact the bank by calling customer support between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. ET.
- More savings and retirement coverage
- How to retire early
- The best high-yield savings accounts right now
- The banks with the best CD rates
- When to save money in high-yield savings
Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Personal Finance Insider team. We occasionally highlight financial products and services that can help you make smarter decisions with your money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to adopt a certain investment strategy. What you decide to do with your money is up to you. If you take action based on one of our recommendations, we get a small share of the revenue from our commerce partners. This does not influence whether we feature a financial product or service. We operate independently from our advertising sales team.