The best 6-month CD rates of August 2026: Earn up to 5.0% APY

A six-month CD is a good option if you want to lock in a healthy return but are worried you might need access to your money sooner rather than later. The best 6-month CDs currently offer APYs of 4% or higher, compared with a 1.38% national average for six-month certificates.

We compared CDs from more than 40 banks, credit unions and online institutions to find the ones with the best rates for terms of six months (or close to it). We also considered deposit requirements, early withdrawal fees, customer service, digital experience and other factors.

Currently, the best rates are with California Coast Credit Union, which offers a 5.00% APY on its five-month Take 5 certificate, and DR Bank, which lists a 4.30% APY with only a $500 minimum deposit.

CDs and rates are accurate as of Aug. 10, 2026. For more on how we made our picks,read our methodology.

APYs listed in this article are current as of the time of publication. CNBC Select will update as changes are made public.

A certificate of deposit, or CD, is a savings account that pays a fixed interest rate for a set period, usually between three months and five years, although there are CDs with terms of 10 years or longer.

With a standard CD, you can only deposit funds at the beginning of the term. There may be a minimum deposit requirement (usually $500 or $1,000).

Withdrawing funds before the CD matures typically means paying an early withdrawal penalty, calculated as a certain number of days’ worth of earned interest (dividends) on the amount withdrawn. If the penalty exceeds the interest you’ve earned, your bank may take the remaining balance from your principal.

When theCD matures, you can access your principal and accrued interest or roll the money over into a new CD. If you do nothing, most banks will auto-renew your CD at the rate offered at maturity.

Unlike savings accounts, CDs don’t usually have monthly fees and rates are locked in the day you open the account. That’s beneficial if you open an account before rates drop. But if rates rise, you’ll miss out on higher earnings.

To pick the right CD, start by looking for banks that offer a six-month term. From there, consider these other factors:

• APYs: Shop banks, credit unions and online institutions to find the best rate.
• Minimum deposit: Minimum deposits can range from$100 to $10,000, with $500 the most common amount. (Jumbo CDs can require as much as $100,000 or more.) Some institutions, including E*TRADE, have CDs with no minimum deposit requirement.
• Early withdrawal penalty: See what the fee is if you take your money out early. It might be worth a slightly lower APY if you have more flexibility.
• Compounding interest: See whether interest compounds daily or monthly.
• Customer service: Does the bank have physical branches for in-person banking or robust digital banking features?
• FDIC or NCUA insurance: Only open an account at a bank or credit union with deposits that are federally insured up to at least $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category.

• Traditional CD: A standard CD with a fixed interest rate and a set term. You agree to leave your money untouched until maturity to avoid early withdrawal penalties.
• High-yield CD: A CD offering a higher-than-average return.
• No-penalty CD: Lets you withdraw your money before the term ends without facing an early withdrawal fee, usually after a short lock-in period.
• Bump-up (or step-up) CD: Allows you to request a higher rate once (or sometimes more) during the term if the bank’s CD rates increase.
• Add-on CD: Lets you deposit more money into the CD after opening it — helpful if you want to build your balance over time without opening multiple CDs.
• Jumbo CD: In exchange for a higher rate, jumbo CDs require a larger minimum deposit (often $50,000 to $100,000).
• Brokered CD: Sold through brokerage firms instead of directly from a bank. They can offer competitive rates but may be riskier if sold on the secondary market.
• IRA CD: A CD held inside an individual retirement account, giving you the safety of a CD with the tax advantages of an IRA.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every CD review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of savings products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

To determine the best six-month CDs,CNBC Selectcompared certificates of deposit from more than 40 banks, credit unions and online financial institutions. We prioritized accounts offering the highest APYs, but also evaluated each using the following criteria:

• Minimum opening deposit:Accounts with low or no minimum deposit requirements were given more weight.
• CD types: Banks that offered no-penalty, bump-up and other account types in addition to standard CDs were given more weight.
• Early withdrawal penalty:We compared penalty policies and gave preference to CDs with less restrictive terms.
• Deposit insurance:We only considered CDs offered by banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or credit unions insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). We also considered whether institutions offered expanded FDIC insurance through deposit sweep programs.
• Customer experience:We considered a bank’s mobile banking offers and customer support hours, and reviewed the overall ease of managing an account.
• Branch availability: We considered whether an institution had physical branches for savers to conduct in-person banking.
• Additional banking services: We considered whether an institution also offered checking and savings accounts, personal loans, mortgages, investments and other financial products.

We also considered CNBC Select audience data when available, such as general demographics and engagement with our content and tools.