Here’s How Much Money You Can Make With $10,000 in a High-Yield Savings Account

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A lot of people don’t give much thought to their savings accounts. They think most banks are pretty similar, and they don’t expect big returns on their savings.Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR into 2026
This credit card is not just good – it’s so exceptional that our experts use it personally. It features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, a cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee!
Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes. For a long time, they were right. But today, there are banks that pay their customers way more interest than the competition.In fact, the best high-yield savings accounts pay at least nine times the national average APY. Let’s take a look at how much a high-yield savings account could earn if you deposited $10,000 and left it alone for a period of time.Average savings account vs. high-yield savings accountThe average savings account APY is 0.41%, according to the FDIC. Meanwhile, the best high-yield savings accounts have APYs ranging from about 3.75% to 4.50%.Let’s see how much two savings accounts would grow over the years — one paying the average rate and one paying 4.00%.TimeBalance (0.41% APY)Balance (4.00% APY)Starting balance$10,000$10,0001 year$10,041$10,4005 years$10,207$12,16710 years$10,418$14,80220 years$10,853$21,911Data source: Author’s calculations.After 20 years, the high-yield savings account would have earned nearly $12,000, more than doubling the initial balance.Granted, we’re assuming that interest rates stay the same — and that’s all but guaranteed not to happen. However, if your savings are earning a low APY, then you could be robbing yourself of thousands of dollars in interest.Want to earn over nine times the national average APY? Check out our list of the best high-yield savings accounts and open a new account today.What’s the catch?So why is there such a huge difference between the APYs different banks offer? Surely the banks paying low APYs must make up for it in other ways, right?Not really.The biggest difference is that most high-yield savings accounts are offered by online-only banks — banks that don’t have any physical branches. So if you want a high APY, then you’ll probably have to forgo the option of strolling into a bank and speaking with a teller and conducting your bank business in person.That’s a small price to pay for the extra interest you can earn. On top of that, online-only banks tend to offer other perks like no overdraft fees, no maintenance fees, no account minimums, and more.Further, the best banks have websites and mobile apps that make it easy to do pretty much everything you need. You can deposit checks by uploading photos of them. You can transfer money between accounts, send money to other people, make wire transfers, and more. When you need cash, you can use a debit card linked to a checking account at the same bank.In other words, very few people need physical bank branches these days.If you’re earning a low APY, make the change ASAPWith competition more fierce than ever, banks have made it fast and easy to open new accounts. I recently opened a new high-yield savings account from our list of favorites, and within an hour I had:Opened a new accountTransferred money over from my old accountChanged my direct deposit at workChanged my automatic bill payment settingsDownloaded and signed into my new banking appAnd just like that, I was earning way more money than before.There’s no reason to settle for a low APY on your savings. If your bank is stingy, then start looking for a new bank account today. Your future self will thank you.Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR into 2026
This credit card is not just good – it’s so exceptional that our experts use it personally. It features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, a cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee!
Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes. We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
Motley Fool Money does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from Motley Fool Money is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.”}]] [[{“value”:”

A lot of people don’t give much thought to their savings accounts. They think most banks are pretty similar, and they don’t expect big returns on their savings.

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR into 2026

This credit card is not just good – it’s so exceptional that our experts use it personally. It features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, a cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee!

Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.

For a long time, they were right. But today, there are banks that pay their customers way more interest than the competition.

In fact, the best high-yield savings accounts pay at least nine times the national average APY. Let’s take a look at how much a high-yield savings account could earn if you deposited $10,000 and left it alone for a period of time.

Average savings account vs. high-yield savings account

The average savings account APY is 0.41%, according to the FDIC. Meanwhile, the best high-yield savings accounts have APYs ranging from about 3.75% to 4.50%.

Let’s see how much two savings accounts would grow over the years — one paying the average rate and one paying 4.00%.

After 20 years, the high-yield savings account would have earned nearly $12,000, more than doubling the initial balance.

Granted, we’re assuming that interest rates stay the same — and that’s all but guaranteed not to happen. However, if your savings are earning a low APY, then you could be robbing yourself of thousands of dollars in interest.

Want to earn over nine times the national average APY? Check out our list of the best high-yield savings accounts and open a new account today.

What’s the catch?

So why is there such a huge difference between the APYs different banks offer? Surely the banks paying low APYs must make up for it in other ways, right?

Not really.

The biggest difference is that most high-yield savings accounts are offered by online-only banks — banks that don’t have any physical branches. So if you want a high APY, then you’ll probably have to forgo the option of strolling into a bank and speaking with a teller and conducting your bank business in person.

That’s a small price to pay for the extra interest you can earn. On top of that, online-only banks tend to offer other perks like no overdraft fees, no maintenance fees, no account minimums, and more.

Further, the best banks have websites and mobile apps that make it easy to do pretty much everything you need. You can deposit checks by uploading photos of them. You can transfer money between accounts, send money to other people, make wire transfers, and more. When you need cash, you can use a debit card linked to a checking account at the same bank.

In other words, very few people need physical bank branches these days.

If you’re earning a low APY, make the change ASAP

With competition more fierce than ever, banks have made it fast and easy to open new accounts. I recently opened a new high-yield savings account from our list of favorites, and within an hour I had:

• Opened a new account
• Transferred money over from my old account
• Changed my direct deposit at work
• Changed my automatic bill payment settings
• Downloaded and signed into my new banking app

And just like that, I was earning way more money than before.

There’s no reason to settle for a low APY on your savings. If your bank is stingy, then start looking for a new bank account today. Your future self will thank you.

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR into 2026

This credit card is not just good – it’s so exceptional that our experts use it personally. It features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, a cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee!

Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.

We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
Motley Fool Money does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from Motley Fool Money is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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