Last updated: September 20, 2026 · Rates verified: August 11, 2026
Key takeaways
- Four of the top five high-yield savings accounts -- Newtek Bank, Forbright Bank, PiBank, LendingClub -- require no minimum deposit.
- The single highest-rate account, Newtek Bank at 4.20% APY, has no minimum deposit, verified August 10, 2026.
- CIT Bank is the one exception on this list, requiring $100 to open its 4.10% APY account.
- The top no-minimum rate is more than 11 times the 0.38% national average savings rate.
You Do Not Have to Trade Rate for Access
A common assumption is that the best rates require a meaningful deposit to unlock — in practice, among the current top five high-yield savings accounts, four require no minimum deposit at all, including the single highest-rate account on the list.
Top Accounts and Their Minimum Deposits
| Bank | APY | Minimum Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Newtek Bank | 4.20% | $0 |
| Forbright Bank | 4.15% | $0 |
| CIT Bank | 4.10% | $100 |
| PiBank | 4.10% | $0 |
| LendingClub | 4.00% | $0 |
Newtek Bank, the top-rated account at 4.20% APY, requires no minimum deposit, as verified August 10, 2026. Forbright Bank (4.15%), PiBank (4.10%), and LendingClub (4.00%) also require no minimum. The one exception on this list is CIT Bank, which asks for $100 to open its 4.10% APY account.
Starting Small Still Gets You the Top Rate
If you're opening a savings account with little or nothing to deposit up front, you're not stuck with a lower-tier rate to get there — Newtek Bank's 4.20% APY, the best rate tracked in this comparison, has no deposit minimum. That's more than 11 times the 0.38% national average savings rate, available whether you're depositing $10 or $10,000.
Minimum Deposit vs. Minimum Balance
It's worth distinguishing two separate things that sound similar: a minimum deposit is what you need to open the account, while a minimum balance requirement is what you need to maintain afterward to avoid a fee or to keep earning the advertised rate. An account with no minimum deposit can still, in principle, have a minimum balance requirement — so if you're opening an account specifically to start small, it's worth confirming both terms rather than assuming a $0 opening deposit means no ongoing balance requirement at all.
For the accounts on this list, the minimum-deposit figures shown reflect what's needed to open the account — always worth a final check on the bank's own page before funding, since terms can change and this comparison reflects a specific verification date.
Frequently asked questions
Which high-yield savings accounts have no minimum deposit?+
Do I have to accept a lower rate to avoid a minimum deposit?+
Which bank on this list does require a minimum deposit?+
How do no-minimum HYSA rates compare to the national average?+
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