RateZip Data · Deposits
The Savings Gap: what the big banks pay you, and what everyone else does
By Paul Knag, Founder, RateZip ·
As of October 16, 2026, Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo pay an average of 0.02% APY on savings. The best online savings rate RateZip tracks, CIT Bank, pays 4.25% APY. That is a 423 basis point gap. On a $50,000 balance it works out to $2,115 of forgone interest in a single year.
The number usually quoted for “the average savings account” blends thousands of institutions and arrives weeks late. This page measures something different and more useful: the gap an actual shopper faces today, comparing posted rates captured on the same day. RateZip has tracked both sides every day since July 16, 2026 — 91 days — and the gap has not closed once.
Current gap
423 bps
October 16, 2026
Big-bank average
0.02%
3 branch banks
Top online APY
4.25%
CIT Bank
Average gap tracked
413 bps
91 days
What each big bank posts today
| Bank | Posted savings APY | Gap vs top online |
|---|---|---|
| Bank of America | 0.04% | 421 bps |
| Chase | 0.01% | 424 bps |
| Wells Fargo | 0.01% | 424 bps |
| CIT Bank (top tracked online) | 4.25% | — |
Posted rates captured October 16, 2026 from 3 tracked online banks plus the branch banks above. Big banks often quote higher rates on relationship or premium tiers that require other accounts or large balances; the figures here are the standard posted savings rate.
What the gap costs in year one
| Balance | At 0.02% (big bank) | At 4.25% (top online) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $2 | $425 | $423 |
| $25,000 | $5 | $1,063 | $1,058 |
| $50,000 | $10 | $2,125 | $2,115 |
Simple interest on a static balance, before taxes. Illustrative only — actual earnings depend on compounding, balance changes, and rate changes during the year.
The gap, day by day
Widest reading: 423 bps on September 28, 2026. Narrowest: 408 bps on July 22, 2026. The table below shows the most recent readings; the full series covers 91 days.
| Date | Top online APY | Big-bank average | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 16, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
| October 15, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
| October 14, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
| October 13, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
| October 12, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
| October 11, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
| October 10, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
| October 9, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
| October 8, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
| October 7, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
| October 6, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
| October 5, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
| October 4, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
| October 3, 2026 | 4.25% | 0.02% | 423 bps |
Questions people ask
How much more do online banks pay than big banks on savings?
As of October 16, 2026, the top online savings account RateZip tracks pays 4.25% APY while Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo average 0.02% APY - a gap of 423 basis points. Over the 91 days RateZip has tracked both sides daily, the gap has averaged 413 basis points and has never closed below 408.
How much interest am I losing by keeping savings at a big bank?
On a $10,000 balance, a big-bank savings account earns about $2 in year one versus $425 at the top tracked online rate - a difference of $423. On a $25,000 balance, a big-bank savings account earns about $5 in year one versus $1,063 at the top tracked online rate - a difference of $1,058. On a $50,000 balance, a big-bank savings account earns about $10 in year one versus $2,125 at the top tracked online rate - a difference of $2,115. Figures are simple interest on a static balance, before taxes, and are illustrative.
Why do big banks pay so little on savings?
Branch-network banks fund themselves largely from checking and savings deposits that customers leave in place for convenience, so they have little competitive pressure to price up. Online banks have no branch overhead and must win deposits on rate alone, so they price near the short-term rate environment. That structural difference, not a temporary promotion, is why the gap in RateZip's tracking has persisted every single day it has been measured.
Is the savings gap getting wider or narrower?
Across RateZip's daily tracking since July 16, 2026, the gap peaked at 423 basis points on September 28, 2026 and was narrowest at 408 basis points on July 22, 2026. It currently sits at 423 basis points.
Methodology
RateZip snapshots the publicly posted savings APYs on its own deposit tables every hour. For each day we take each bank's highest posted savings APY, average the three branch-network banks we carry as editorial comparison rows (Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo), and compare that average with the highest APY among all other tracked banks on the same day. Days on which any of the three branch-network banks was not captured are excluded, so the megabank average is always over the same three banks and a missed scrape can never read as a narrower gap. Because both sides come from the same day's snapshot, the gap never mixes as-of dates. Year-one dollar figures are simple interest on a static balance, before taxes, and are illustrative only.
Current rates for every tracked bank, with 16 years of history, are on the RateZip Rate Index. Weekly notes on which banks moved are in Rate Moves.
Free to cite with attribution to RateZip and a link to this page.