The Best 2-Year CD Rates (April 2024) - Doughroller (2024)

A 2-year CD may be ideal for those with short-term cash needs. It may also be suited for those who do not want to take on the interest rate risk of longer-term CDs and other fixed-income investments. Below we list the best 2-year CD rates in our database, ordered from highest APY to lowest.

Note that you may find better rates with alternative account types. For example,online savings accountsorno-penalty CDsmay offer higher yields.

Editor’s Pick

While it doesn’t have a full two-year term, the Discover® Bank, Member FDIC 18-Month CD offers a strong APY of 4.40%. Discover Bank requires a $2,500 minimum deposit (which is reasonable) and also offers other deposit products with competitive interest rates.

• Current APY – 4.40%
• Minimum Deposit Requirement – $2,500
• Early Withdrawal Penalty – 6 months of simple interest

The Rest of the Best 2-Year CD Rates

1. Credit Human

Certificate of Deposit

Member NCUA

APY

5.30%

Term

18-23 Months

Min. Deposit

$500

Our Rating: 4.6

★★★★★☆

Apply Now

Pros

• No fees
• Excellent rate

Cons

• Requires $500 min. deposit
• Early withdrawal penalty

Early Withdrawal Penalty

270 days of simple interest

Min. Opening Balance

$500

Credit Human is pretty unique in the way they offer CDs. For this CD you can choose a term anywhere between 18 and 23 months and the rate you see applies to any term within that range. This gives you excellent flexibility to build a CD ladder month-to-month with an excellent APY.

Credit Human charges a high early withdrawal penalty of 270 days simple interest.

2. Skyla Credit Union

Certificate of Deposit

Member NCUA

APY

3.80%

Term

24 Months

Min. Deposit

$500

Our Rating: 4.5

★★★★★☆

Apply Now

Pros

• No fees
• Excellent rate

Cons

• Early withdrawal penalty
• $500 deposit requirement

Early Withdrawal Penalty

2% of principal

Min. Opening Balance

$500

The 2-year CD from Skyla Credit Union offers a high interest rate and low deposit requirement. If you have at least $50,000 to deposit, you can open a jumbo CD for an even higher rate.

When you close your CD early, Skyla charges a 2% of principal withdrawal fee. This means you could leave the bank with less money than you started. Bottom line, try to avoid closing your CD early.

3. American First Credit Union via Raisin

Certificate of Deposit

Member NCUA

APY

4.50%

Term

24 Months

Min. Deposit

$1

Our Rating: 4.6

★★★★★☆

Apply Now

Pros

• No fees
• Excellent rate
• $1 minimum deposit

Cons

• Early withdrawal penalty

Early Withdrawal Penalty

365 days of simple interest

Min. Opening Balance

$1

American First Credit Union offers a terrific APY on their 2-year CD via Raisin. The minimum deposit is only $1.

365 days of simple interest is a big early withdrawal penalty. Make sure when you open a 2-year CD with American First Credit Union, emergency cash is available if needed.

4. Prime Alliance Bank

Certificate of Deposit

Member FDIC

APY

4.50%

Term

24 Months

Min. Deposit

$500

Our Rating: 4.7

★★★★★☆

Apply Now

Pros

• No fees
• Excellent rate

Cons

• Requires $500 min. deposit
• Early withdrawal penalty

Early Withdrawal Penalty

90 days of simple interest

Min. Opening Balance

$500

Prime Alliance Bank ranks very high because it’s strong in all three important categories. High interest rate, low required deposit and best of all, only a 90-day simple interest penalty for early withdrawals.

The 2-year CD is pretty excellent and it’s hard to find a flaw with Prime Alliance here.

5. Marcus by Goldman Sachs

Certificate of Deposit

Member FDIC

APY

4.20%

Term

24 Months

Min. Deposit

$500

Our Rating: 4.5

★★★★★☆

Apply Now

Pros

• No fees
• Excellent rate

Cons

• Early withdrawal penalty
• $500 deposit requirement

Early Withdrawal Penalty

180 days of simple interest

Min. Opening Balance

$500

Marcus by Goldman Sachs is a terrific online bank and it offers a strong interest rate with just about every other deposit and loan product you can imagine.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs charges an early withdrawal penalty of 180 days simple interest. Close your CD in the first six months and you’ll walk away with principal only.

Highest 2-Year CD Rates by APY

In addition to the CDs we’ve highlighted above, we also track more than 100 other 2-year CD rates. Below you will find them listed in order of highest to lowest.

122 Results

How We Chose the Best 2-Year CDs

When comparing CDs, there are three important things to consider before making your deposit.

1. Interest Rate (APY)– First and foremost, before opening a CD, you must take into consideration the interest rate. Every CD on our featured list offers an interest rate that falls in the top 5% of all 2-year CDs nationwide. Depending on the amount of money you play to deposit, there may be no tangible difference between a 5.00% APY and a 4.85% APY so there are two additional things we’ve considered.
2. Early Withdrawal Penalty– 2-year CDs with similar interest rates could differ greatly in their early withdrawal penalties. We’ve considered these penalties when creating our list and made sure that all featured CDs charge equal to or less than one year’s worth of simple interest if you close the CD early.
3. Minimum Deposit Requirement– Last but not least, we’ve looked at CDs that require a small deposit minimum. It can be frustrating to find a two-year CD with an excellent rate only to learn you need $50,000 to deposit. The smaller the minimum deposit requirement, the better.

Banks we included in our review are as follows: Affirm, Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, All America Bank, Alliant Credit Union, Ally Bank, Amalgamated Bank, America First Credit Union, American Express National Bank, Andrews Federal Credit Union, Associated Bank, Axos Bank, Bank of America, Bank of the West, Bank5 Connect, Bank7, Barclays, Bask Bank, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, BMO, BMO Alto, Boeing Employees Credit Union, Bread Savings, Capital One, Carver Federal Savings Bank, Charles Schwab Bank, Chase, Chime, CIBC U.S., CIT Bank, Citibank, Citizens, Citizens Bank, City First Bank, Climate First Bank, Commerce Bank, Community First Credit Union of Florida, ConnectOne Bank, Connexus Credit Union, Consumers Credit Union, Credit Human Federal Credit Union, Current, Delta Community Credit Union, Discover Bank, E*TRADE, EverBank (formerly TIAA Bank), Fifth Third Bank, First Foundation, First National Bank, First Tech Federal Credit Union, Flagstar Bank, FNBO Direct, GO2bank, GreenState Credit Union, Golden 1 Credit Union, Greenwood, Hope Credit Union, Huntington Bank, Industrial Bank, Ivy Bank, KeyBank, Lake Michigan Credit Union, LendingClub Bank, Liberty Bank, Live Oak Bank, M&T Bank, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, mph.Bank, Nationwide (by Axos), Navy Federal Credit Union, NBKC, One, OneUnited Bank, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, PNC, Ponce Bank, Popular Direct, Quontic Bank, Regions Bank, Revolut, Salem Five Direct, Sallie Mae Bank, Santander Bank, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, Security Service Federal Credit Union, Securityplus Federal Credit Union, Self-Help Credit Union, Service Credit Union, Skyla Credit Union, SoFi, State Employees’ Credit Union of North Carolina, Suncoast Credit Union, Synchrony Bank, TAB Bank, TD Bank, Truist Bank, U.S. Bank, UFB Direct, Union Bank, Upgrade, USAA Bank, Varo, Vio Bank, Wells Fargo, Western Alliance Bank and Zynlo Bank.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Final Thought on the Best 2-Year CDs

When I open a CD, I almost always choose one-year and two-year terms. CDs of this length have the benefit of having slightly higher interest rates than savings accounts and your money is not locked up for a very long time.

A two-year CD is a smart investment in most financial situations. Pay close attention to both the interest rate and the early withdrawal penalty, as those two factors are what distinguish good CDs from bad ones.