If you’re looking for a way to get a competitive return on your savings without locking up your money for years, an 18-month CD might be your best bet. This medium-term option offers higher interest rates than most savings accounts and gives you more flexibility than long-term CDs.

If you don’t know where to start, don’t worry – we’ve done the research for you. Our team analyzed dozens of accounts to find the 10 best 18-month CDs, focusing on high yields, low fees, and easy-to-meet deposit requirements. (See our full methodology here.)

The following is a snapshot of our picks for the best 18-month CDs available today. Read on for more details about these accounts.

Ally’s 18-month CD topped our list with a competitive 3.6% APY rate and no minimum opening deposit requirement. Interest is compounded daily.

Early withdrawals before the CD matures incur a fee equal to 60 days of interest.

Read our full Ally Bank review

Synchrony Bank 18-month CD offers a competitive 3.8% APY with no minimum opening deposit. Making an early withdrawal from this account incurs a 180-day simple interest penalty.

Read our full Synchrony Bank review

The Goldman Sachs Marcus 18-month CD offers 4% APY and requires a minimum deposit of $500. Interest is compounded daily.

Making an early withdrawal from this account carries a penalty equal to 180 days of interest on the original principal balance at the prevailing CD interest rate.

Read our full review of Goldman Sachs’ Marcus

Account details

Limelight Bank 18 Month CD offers an impressive rate of 3.85% with a minimum deposit of $1,000. Interest is compounded daily and paid quarterly.

Live Oak Bank 18-month CD offers a competitive 3.7% APY and daily compound interest. This account also has the highest minimum opening deposit on our list at $2,500.

The early withdrawal penalty for this account is equal to 90 days of simple interest.

America First Credit Union 18 Month CD offers 3.95% APY and requires a minimum opening deposit of $500. Dividends are compounded and credited monthly.

The penalty for early withdrawal from this account is equal to 180 days of dividends.

Read our full America First Credit Union review

Bank5Connect 18 month CD requires a minimum opening deposit of $500 and offers 3.5% APY. Interest compounded monthly. The penalty for early termination is six months’ interest.

Read our full Bank5 Connect review

Bask Bank 18 month CD offers a competitive 3.75% APY with a minimum opening deposit of $1,000. The penalty for making an early withdrawal from this account is equal to 180 days of interest based on the principal amount withdrawn.

Read our full Bask Bank review

TAB Bank 18 month CD has a rate of 3.87% APY with interest compounded daily. The minimum opening deposit for this account is $1,000.

The penalty for early withdrawals is equal to 180 days of interest on the amount withdrawn.

Read our full TAB Bank review

The Bread Savings 18 month CD offers 3.75% APY, although the minimum opening deposit for this account is on the higher end of $1,500. Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.

Read our full Bread Savings review

The amount of interest you can expect to earn on an 18-month CD depends on how much you deposit, your CD’s interest rate, and how often your CD’s interest will be compounded.

Right now, the most competitive CD rates on the market are as high as 4%. So, let’s say you deposit $1,000 into an 18-month CD at 4% APY. If the interest is compounded monthly, you’ll earn about $60 in interest at the end of your CD term.

An 18-month CD can be a worthwhile investment if you can get a favorable rate and know you won’t have to access the funds during that time period. If you have a specific goal and timeline in mind, using a CD to grow your savings can be a smart strategy.

Read more: Understanding CD Terms: How Long Should You Lock Up Your Money?

Our rating system, carefully collected and reviewed by our personal finance experts, consisted of over 300 data points for federally insured CDs with 18-month terms. We used this data to compile our list of the best CDs.

We evaluated these accounts based on several key metrics, including annual percentage return, minimum opening deposit, compounding frequency, and more.

Accounts on our list could score a maximum of 25 points across all metrics. Here’s a closer look at the categories we considered:

• Annual Percentage Yield (APY): Accounts with higher APYs were rewarded with more points than those with lower APYs. Please note that the rates in our list are current at the time of publication, but are subject to change at any time.

• Minimum opening deposit: Many CDs require a minimum deposit to open an account. Accounts with minimal or no deposit requirements were ranked more favorably than those with higher opening deposit requirements.

• Composition frequency: Compounding can occur daily, monthly, quarterly, or even annually. We awarded more points to accounts that accrued interest frequently.

• Customer Service Contact Methods: Our team awarded one point for each contact method available to customers (phone, email, chat).

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