A 3-month CD may be ideal for those with short-term cash needs. It may also be suited for those who do not want to take on the risk that interest rates could rise in the near term.

Below you will find the best 3-month CDs and we’ve also included a couple that have 4-month terms. If you’re considering a CD ladder, using a few of the unusual term lengths will help your liquidity so they’re highly recommended.

No-penalty | 3-Month | 6-Month | 12-Month | 2-year | 3-year | 4-year | 5-year

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The Best 3-Month CD Rates

1. The State Exchange Bank

state exchange bank

Certificate of Deposit

Member FDIC

APY

5.45%

Term

4 Months

Min. Deposit

$1

Our Rating: 4.8

★★★★

Pros


  • No fees
  • Excellent rate
  • $1 minimum deposit

Cons


  • Early withdrawal penalty

Early Withdrawal Penalty

90 days of simple interest

Min. Opening Balance

$1

State Exchange Bank includes one of the best 3-month CD rates available with only a $1 minimum deposit amount. They also offer a variety of other CD terms with competitive interest rates.

If you close your CD before it matures, you will give up every penny of interest earned.

2. Western Alliance Bank

western alliance bank

Certificate of Deposit

Member FDIC

APY

5.51%

Term

3 Months

Min. Deposit

$1

Our Rating: 4.7

★★★★

Pros


  • No fees
  • Excellent rate
  • $1 minimum deposit

Cons


  • Early withdrawal penalty

Early Withdrawal Penalty

90 days of simple interest

Min. Opening Balance

$1

Western Alliance offers a 3-month CD with only a $1 minimum deposit requirement and a very high-interest rate. When laddering, you’ll also find a 6-month CD from Western Alliance that does even better on interest.

Western Alliance is another bank that will penalize you for all of the interest earned if you decide to close your 3-month CD early.

3. Signature Federal Credit Union

signature FCU

Certificate of Deposit

Member FDIC

APY

5.55%

Term

3 Months

Min. Deposit

$500

Our Rating: 4.7

★★★★

Pros


  • No fees
  • Excellent rate

Cons


  • Early withdrawal penalty
  • $500 minimum deposit

Early Withdrawal Penalty

45 days of simple interest

Min. Opening Balance

$500

Signature Federal CU offers a terrific rate on its 3-month CD and also allows you a bit of wiggle room on the early withdrawal penalty. Instead of charging the industry standard 90 days of simple interest, SFCU will take 45 days of simple interest.

To open a CD, a $500 minimum deposit is required.

4. Ponce Bank

ponce bank

Certificate of Deposit

Member FDIC

APY

5.40%

Term

3 Months

Min. Deposit

$1

Our Rating: 4.6

★★★★

Pros


  • No fees
  • Excellent rate
  • $1 minimum deposit

Cons


  • Early withdrawal penalty

Early Withdrawal Penalty

90 days of simple interest

Min. Opening Balance

$1

Ponce Bank offers a wide variety of CD terms, including this 3-month CD with a high APY. There are no fees when opening a new CD with Ponce Bank and the minimum deposit is just $1.

When closing your 3-month CD early, you will incur a penalty of 90 days of simple interest. This means you’re walking away with only your initial deposit in hand.

5. Mission Valley Bank (No Penalty)

mission valley bank

Certificate of Deposit

Member FDIC

APY

5.35%

Term

3 Months

Min. Deposit

$1

Our Rating: 4.6

★★★★

Pros


  • No fees
  • Excellent rate
  • $1 minimum deposit
  • No early withdrawal penalty

Cons


Early Withdrawal Penalty

No Penalty

Min. Opening Balance

$1

Our first no-penalty CD to make the list, Mission Valley offers a high interest rate with just a $1 minimum deposit. The best feature is that if you have to close your CD early, you will not incur an interest penalty.

Compared to others on this list, the rate could be a touch higher but hard to complain when there is no interest penalty.

6. Dow Credit Union

dow credit union

Certificate of Deposit

Member FDIC

APY

5.65%

Term

3 Months

Min. Deposit

$500

Our Rating: 4.5

★★★★

Pros


  • No fees
  • Excellent rate

Cons


  • Early withdrawal penalty
  • $500 minimum deposit

Early Withdrawal Penalty

90 days of simple interest

Min. Opening Balance

$500

Dow Credit Union comes in with one of the highest APYs we could find and while it has a small barrier of a $500 minimum deposit, the interest rate is just too strong to ignore.

Closing your Dow CU 3-month CD early means losing up to 90 days of simple interest.

7. Ponce Bank (No Penalty)

ponce bank

Certificate of Deposit

Member FDIC

APY

5.30%

Term

4 Months

Min. Deposit

$1

Our Rating: 4.5

★★★★

Pros


  • No fees
  • Excellent rate
  • $1 minimum deposit
  • No early withdrawal penalty

Cons


Early Withdrawal Penalty

No penalty

Min. Opening Balance

$1

This is our second Ponce Bank CD to make the list of the best 3-month CD rates; this one is four months in length and is a no-penalty CD. When you compare it to the 3-month Ponce CD, you’ll see you sacrifice a touch of interest for the security of a no-penalty CD.

There’s very little not to like here; the Ponce 4-month No Penalty CD is an excellent investment choice.

8. Teachers Federal Credit Union

teachers FCU

Certificate of Deposit

Member FDIC

APY

4.50%

Term

3 Months

Min. Deposit

$1,000

Our Rating: 4.2

★★★★

Pros


  • No fees
  • Strong rate

Cons


  • Early withdrawal penalty
  • $1,000 minimum deposit

Early Withdrawal Penalty

90 days of simple interest

Min. Opening Balance

$1,000

Teachers Federal Credit Union closes out our best 3-month CD list with an overall good offer. When opening a new account with TFCU, you can earn a cash bonus of up to $1,000.

The $1,000 minimum deposit requirement is a bit higher than others on our list and the standard 90-day simple interest penalty applies.

Highest 3-Month CD Rates by APY

After reviewing more than 100 short-term CD rates, these were the five best rates we could find.

BankMinimum DepositAnnual Percentage Yield
TotalDirectBank$25,0005.66%
Bayer Heritage FCU$1005.65%
Dow Credit Union$5005.65%
BECU$5005.60%
Signature FCU$5005.55%

How We Chose the Best 3-Month CDs

When looking at banks and credit unions that offer 3-month CDs, there were two primary factors taken into account to determine which ones made our list, and which ones did not.

  1. Interest Rate (APY) – The biggest selling point of a short-term CD is the interest rate. You’ll find all of the rates on our list in the top 5% of all 3-month CDs nationwide including the absolute best rates we could find regardless of any other CD features.
  2. Minimum Deposit Requirement – When looking at the best interest rates, some banks require jumbo-size deposits in order to secure the best APY. We’ve avoided any bank that requires a large deposit barrier.

We would also normally consider the early withdrawal penalty when looking for the best CDs, however, because the term is so short, the penalty is nearly the same for every CD listed. Every bank above is also FDIC insured up to the $250,000 per depositor maximum.

Banks we included in our review are as follows: Affirm, Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, All America Bank, Alliant Credit Union, Ally Bank, Amalgamated Bank, America First Credit Union, American Express National Bank, Andrews Federal Credit Union, Associated Bank, Axos Bank, Bank of America, Bank of the West, Bank5 Connect, Bank7, Barclays, Bask Bank, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, BMO, BMO Alto, Boeing Employees Credit Union, Bread Savings, Capital One, Carver Federal Savings Bank, Charles Schwab Bank, Chase, Chime, CIBC U.S., CIT Bank, Citibank, Citizens, Citizens Bank, City First Bank, Climate First Bank, Commerce Bank, Community First Credit Union of Florida, ConnectOne Bank, Connexus Credit Union, Consumers Credit Union, Credit Human Federal Credit Union, Current, Delta Community Credit Union, Discover Bank, E*TRADE, EverBank (formerly TIAA Bank), Fifth Third Bank, First Foundation, First National Bank, First Tech Federal Credit Union, Flagstar Bank, FNBO Direct, GO2bank, GreenState Credit Union, Golden 1 Credit Union, Greenwood, Hope Credit Union, Huntington Bank, Industrial Bank, Ivy Bank, KeyBank, Lake Michigan Credit Union, LendingClub Bank, Liberty Bank, Live Oak Bank, M&T Bank, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, mph.Bank, Nationwide (by Axos), Navy Federal Credit Union, NBKC, One, OneUnited Bank, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, PNC, Ponce Bank, Popular Direct, Quontic Bank, Regions Bank, Revolut, Salem Five Direct, Sallie Mae Bank, Santander Bank, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, Security Service Federal Credit Union, Securityplus Federal Credit Union, Self-Help Credit Union, Service Credit Union, Signature Federal Credit Union, SoFi, State Employees’ Credit Union of North Carolina, State Exchange Bank, Suncoast Credit Union, Synchrony Bank, TAB Bank, TD Bank, Teachers Federal Credit Union, Truist Bank, U.S. Bank, UFB Direct, Union Bank, Upgrade, USAA Bank, Varo, Vio Bank, Wells Fargo, Western Alliance Bank and Zynlo Bank.

When Should I Open A 3-Month CD?

The best three-month CD rates are usually a little bit higher than the best savings account interest rates you can find. The difference isn’t very large but it can mean hundreds of dollars in interest if you have a lot of cash to deposit into a CD.

When choosing between a short-term CD and a savings account, it really boils down to whether or not you know the CD will reach maturity. Two points to consider:

  1. Liquidity – It’s only a term of three months but your money will be locked up for the entire time. If you’re opening a three-month CD knowing there’s a chance you may have to close it early, a savings account would be a wiser option. The early withdrawal penalty on a short-term CD is almost always all of the interest making a savings account wiser.
  2. Interest Rates – The higher the rate, the greater the return, and the best three-month CDs on our list above have stronger APYs than savings accounts. 50-100 basis points, even in the short term can mean the difference in hundreds of dollars in interest earned.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

When is the best time to open a 3-month CD?

Short-term CDs are one of the most “risk-free” investments available. Always FDIC insured, the maturity date is fast approaching so in a high-rate or low-rate environment, it’s always a good idea to park cash into a short-term CD.

Can I build a CD ladder with a 3-month CD?

Absolutely. Just as you would with a group of annual CDs (one year through five years), you can build a shorter CD ladder with CDs ranging from three months to 12 months.

The idea behind a short-term CD ladder is that a portion of your funds will become accessible every three months if needed. First, open four CDs of an equal dollar amount in terms of 3,6,9, and 12 months. As each CD matures, roll each over into new 12-month CDs.

This strategy will mean that every three months, one of your CDs matures and you can choose to roll it over again into another 12-month CD or withdraw the funds.

Final Thought on the Best 3-Month CDs

When you’re looking at the interest rates available on a 3-month CD, you’ll notice their all pretty similar. If you’re looking to deposit $10,000 (for example), the difference between a 5.55% rate and a 5.35% rate is only $5 in interest over three months.

Don’t let the choices paralyze you for a difference of a couple of bucks. After you know a 3-month CD is right for you, all of the options on our list will suit you well.

Editor’s Note: Make sure to check your local banks for the best 3-month CD rates as well. Sometimes the national brands can’t match what your bank down the street can provide.

Author

  • Rob Berger

    Rob Berger is the founder of Dough Roller and the Dough Roller Money Podcast. A former securities law attorney and Forbes deputy editor, Rob is the author of the book Retire Before Mom and Dad. He educates independent investors on his YouTube channel and at RobBerger.com.