Which Type of Savings Account Is Best for You? Here's What You Need to Know (2024)

While there are several different types of savings accounts, the three most common are the deposit account, the money market account, and the certificate of deposit. Each one starts with the same basic premise: give your money to the bank and in return the money will earn interest.

But each type of savings account benefits you in different ways. You may earn more interest from one than another. Others may allow you to access the money more easily, which is called liquidity. The savings account that's right for you will depend on your specific situation.

1. Deposit Savings Accounts

Deposit savings accounts, also called transactional savings accounts, are the simplest way to store your money in a bank or credit union and receive interest for doing so. These types of savings accounts can be typically opened with a small minimum deposit, and you can avoid paying minimum deposit fees as long as you maintain it.

Transactional savings accounts also have high liquidity. You can easily transfer the money to a checking account or use it to make preauthorized bill payments. While you're limited by federal regulations to making just six transactions a month, in-person and ATM withdrawals aren't counted. So, in the case of an emergency, this account may be best to have.

You can link a deposit savings account to the debit card associated with your checking account, although many savings accounts also come with an ATM card.

Because of this increased liquidity, transactional savings accounts usually clock in at the lowest interest rates, often expressed as the annual percentage yield, or APY. You may be able to get higher interest rates by opening the account with an online bank instead of a brick-and-mortar one, but the APY is unlikely to crack 2 percent per year. Learn more about the pros and cons of online banks here.

2. Money Market Accounts

Money market accounts are like deposit accounts in that you deposit money into them and the money gains interest. However, they could require a much larger initial deposit, and you could be charged fees if the balance dips below a minimum amount. The upside is that the best money market account interest rates can often exceed 2 percent.

Money market accounts have one important advantage over transactional savings accounts: they allow you to write checks against the balance. The six-transaction limit also applies to money market accounts, inclusive of check writing.

Because of the potentially higher interest rates and enhanced liquidity, money market accounts make great emergency funds if you can afford the initial deposit. Learn more about high-yield savings accounts here.

3. Certificates of Deposit

Certificates of deposit (CDs) have the lowest liquidity but the highest interest rates. To save money in a CD, you purchase one for a maturation period, sometimes called a "duration" or "term." The maturation period can last just a few months to 10 years, with longer terms yielding higher interest. The best CD interest rates hover between 2.5and 3 percent.

You can withdraw from the CD before it is has matured, but you could incur hefty fees. If using the CD as an emergency or rainy-day fund, choose a shorter duration.

At the end of the duration, if you don't withdraw the money, then the bank or credit union holding the funds will reinvest them into a new CD for the same term. (You typically have a grace period before this happens, in case you forgot about the CD.)

Reinvesting the money into a new CD allows the interest to compound, so you earn money on the value of the original deposit plus the interest it earned over the maturation period.

This article originally appeared on Policygeniusand was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.