Here’s How Much Interest $10K, $50K, or $100K Can Earn You in a High-Yield Savings Account

Banks do far more than serve as a repository for your hard-earned cash. Depending on the bank, they can do quite a bit more — starting with helping you grow your wealth.

Whether you're searching for a new bank with better benefits or curious to know how much you could make by leaving your cash untouched in a high-interest account, keep reading. 

We'll show you exactly how much your savings can earn at the right bank with the right interest rate.

Interest earned in one year at a rate of 0.01%: $1

For better or worse, big banks typically don't have to jockey for new customers. The name recognition alone of a national bank is enough of a draw that big banks don't have much incentive to offer competitive perks like high-yield savings accounts.

As a result, many big banks offer interest rates as low as 0.01%. If you have $10,000 in savings, you'll earn $1 a year (based on a simple interest calculation, not compounding interest). 

Worse, many big banks charge a monthly or yearly savings account maintenance fee — so storing your savings in a low-interest savings account with a big bank could lose you money.

Interest earned in one year at the current national average rate of 0.46%: $46

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is the independent federal agency that backs bank account deposits and oversees banks and credit unions. 

The FDIC also calculates monthly interest rate caps for banking products, which include savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and interest checking accounts.

For March 2024, the FDIC monthly rate cap for savings accounts is 0.46%. If you deposit $10,000 in an account with that interest rate, you'll earn $46 in one year.

Again, this is a simple interest calculation. If your savings account earns compound interest (and most do), your interest also earns interest. Whether your interest compounds monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually impacts the amount of interest you'll earn.

Interest earned in one year at the competitive rate of 4.00%: $400

Many non-traditional, new, or online banks use high-yield savings (and even checking) accounts to get new customers interested in their banking services. 

While 4.00% is considered a competitive rate — especially compared to almost comically low big-bank rates — it's entirely possible to find high-yield savings accounts with even higher rates.

Of course, you should carefully vet banking options to ensure you choose the best bank for you, not just the bank with the highest interest rate.

If you open a high-interest savings account with a rate of 4.00%, deposit $10,000, and don't touch that money for an entire year, you'll earn $400 worth of simple interest on your principal deposit (about $408 if compounded daily).

Featured high-yield savings accounts

5.0

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.

2026 AWARD WINNER Best Online Checking

Earn Up to $400 When You Set Up Direct Deposit

Limited-Time Offer: Earn a $50 or $400 bonus with eligible direct deposit and up to 4.00% APY on Savings (3.10% APY² <p>New and existing Checking and Savings members who have not previously enrolled in Direct Deposit with SoFi are eligible to earn a cash bonus of either $50 (with at least $1,000 total Eligible Direct Deposits&nbsp;received within 25 calendar days of your first Eligible Direct Deposit of $1 or more) OR $400 (with at least $5,000 total Eligible Direct Deposits received within 25 calendar days of your first Eligible Direct&nbsp;Deposit of $1 or more). Cash bonus amount will be based on the total amount of Eligible Direct Deposit received within 25 calendar days of your first Eligible Direct Deposit of $1 or more. If you have satisfied the Eligible Direct Deposit requirements but have not received a cash bonus in&nbsp;your Checking account, please contact us at 855-456-7634 with the details of your Eligible Direct Deposit. Direct Deposit Promotion begins on 5/15/2026 and will be available through 12/31/26. See full bonus and annual percentage yield (APY) terms at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sofi.com/banking/checking-offer/">sofi.com/banking/checking-offer/</a></p> with +0.90% APY Boost) for up to 6 months on new accounts. Terms Apply.⁴ <p>Earn up to 4.00% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on one SoFi Savings account with a 0.90% APY Boost (added to the 3.10% APY as of 5/28/26) for up to 6 months. Open your first SoFi&nbsp;Checking and Savings account and receive eligible direct deposits OR qualifying deposits of $5,000 every 31 days by 12/31/26. Rates are variable, subject to change. Terms apply at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sofi.com/banking/#4">sofi.com/banking#4</a>. SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.</p> FDIC Insured.⁵ <p><b style="font-family: Rubik, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, sans-serif;">SoFi Bank is a member FDIC and does not provide more than $250,000 of FDIC insurance per depositor per legal category of account ownership, as described in the FDIC’s regulations.&nbsp;Any additional FDIC insurance is provided by the SoFi Insured Deposit Program. Deposits may be insured up to $3M through participation in the program. See full terms at&nbsp;<a href="http://sofi.com/banking/fdic/sidpterms">SoFi.com/banking/fdic/sidpterms</a>. See list of participating banks at <a href="http://sofi.com/banking/fdic/participatingbanks">SoFi.com/banking/fdic/participatingbanks</a>.</b></p>

Learn More

4.7

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.

2026 AWARD WINNER Best Savings for High APYs

Openbank High Yield Savings - 3.80% APY⁶ <p>Interest Rates and Annual Percentage Yields (APYs) are accurate as of 12:01 AM ET 5/29/26. The products and rates we offer may vary between locations, are available in select markets only, and are subject to change without notice. Rate for this product will be based on the residential ZIP code entered when account is opened within online application process. This is a variable-rate account and the rate applicable may change at our discretion any time without notice. A minimum deposit of $500 is required to open a Openbank High Yield Savings account. Personal accounts only.</p> <p>Openbank is a division of Santander Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. There is a maximum of $250,000 of deposit insurance from the FDIC per depositor for each category of account ownership. Visit FDIC.gov for details. Deposits at Santander Bank, N.A., and Openbank are combined for the purposes of calculating FDIC insurance limits (FDIC Cert #29950) and are not separately insured.</p>

Earn 9x the national savings average for Savings deposit products as published on FDIC.gov.

Learn More

Interest earned in one year at a rate of 0.01%: $5

Earning $5 on a deposit of $50,000 is better than earning either nothing or $1 … but not by much, especially if you're paying a monthly service fee just to keep the account.

Interest earned in one year at the current national average rate of 0.46%: $230

There's more than one reason to leave your savings untouched for as long as possible, but one is definitely that the more money you're able to deposit, the higher your return will be. 

At a fixed rate of 0.46%, you could earn $230 in one year or over $1,000 in five years with practically no effort required.

Interest earned in one year at the competitive rate of 4.00%: $2,000

Yes, you read that right. Depositing $50,000 into a low-interest savings account earns you around $5 — but depositing that same amount into a high-yield account with a different bank nets you $2,000 in simple interest alone (about $2,040 if compounded daily).

Interest earned in one year at a rate of 0.01%: $10

The $10 of interest you earn by depositing $100,000 with a big bank demonstrates that it isn't necessarily the amount of money you save that counts — it's where and how you store that money. 

And if increasing your saving ability is one of the main things you look for in a bank, just know that you'll rarely find it with a big bank's savings account.

Interest earned in one year at the current national average rate of 0.46%: $460

$460 isn't the highest amount you could earn on a $100,000 savings deposit, but it's a respectable amount to earn over a year (especially compared to $10). 

If your current bank or credit union offers interest rates around the national average and has a series of other perks for long-term customers, sticking with that bank might be a wise choice for your financial future.

Interest earned in one year at the competitive rate of 4.00%: $4,000

$4,000 (about $4,080 if compounded daily) is an incredible amount to gain by doing nothing more than depositing cash into an account.

That's precisely why looking into a high-yield savings account with a non-traditional bank could be the smartest move you make to boost your retirement savings.

There are benefits to banking with a big bank, but a high interest rate on your savings account isn't one of them. 

No matter how much money you have in savings, it's worth looking at different high-interest account options and seeing if you can make a little extra cash. 

With the right interest rate, you can boost your bank account without spending a cent.