Here's How Much $10,000 Would Earn in a 6-Month CD Right Now

Certificates of deposit (CDs) don't pay quite as much as they did last year, when APYs of over 5.00% were fairly easy to find. That said, today's best CD rates are still over 4.00%.

Six-month CDs offer some of the highest APYs available right now -- up to 4.50% in some cases. As far as guaranteed returns go, that's pretty tempting.

Want to earn a 4.1% APY for the next two years? Click here to open a 24-month CD with Discover.

Still, CDs may or may not be the best place for your money.

Our Picks for the Best High-Yield Savings Accounts of 2025

Product	APY	Min. to Earn
American Express® High Yield Savings Member FDIC. APY 3.70% Rate info 3.70% annual percentage yield as of April 16, 2025. Terms apply. Min. to earn $0 Open Account for American Express® High Yield Savings On American Express's Secure Website. Member FDIC.	3.70% Rate info 3.70% annual percentage yield as of April 16, 2025. Terms apply.	$0	Open Account for American Express® High Yield Savings On American Express's Secure Website.
CIT Platinum Savings Member FDIC. APY 4.10% APY for balances of $5,000 or more Rate info 4.10% APY for balances of $5,000 or more; otherwise, 0.25% APY Min. to earn $100 to open account, $5,000+ for max APY Open Account for CIT Platinum Savings On CIT's Secure Website. Member FDIC.	4.10% APY for balances of $5,000 or more Rate info 4.10% APY for balances of $5,000 or more; otherwise, 0.25% APY	$100 to open account, $5,000+ for max APY	Open Account for CIT Platinum Savings On CIT's Secure Website.
Barclays Tiered Savings Member FDIC. APY 4.10% Rate info Balances less than $250,000 earn 4.10%, and balances greater than $250,000 earn 4.30%. Min. to earn $0 Open Account for Barclays Tiered Savings On Barclays' Secure Website. Member FDIC.	4.10% Rate info Balances less than $250,000 earn 4.10%, and balances greater than $250,000 earn 4.30%.	$0	Open Account for Barclays Tiered Savings On Barclays' Secure Website.

Here's how much a 6-month CD could earn you now -- and why you might want to consider some alternatives.

How much would $10,000 earn in a 6-month CD now?

Since CD rates vary from bank to bank, we'll look at a few different options and see how much a $10,000 deposit would earn:

• The average 6-month CD rate of 1.64% (according to the FDIC)
• A competitive rate of 3.80%
• A top-tier rate of 4.50%

As you can see, your APY makes a big difference. It pays to shop around for the highest 6-month CD rate you can find.

Should you open a 6-month CD?

There are worse places to put your money now, but you may have better options, too.

CDs lock up your money for the duration of the term. If you cash them out before their maturity date, you'll typically sacrifice some of the interest. (Some CDs come with no early withdrawal penalty, but they also typically pay lower rates.)

Meanwhile, savings accounts allow you to deposit, withdraw, and transfer money at any time. And the best high-yield savings accounts currently have APYs of up to 4.50% -- the same rate as the best 6-month CDs.

The only benefit of a 6-month CD over a high-yield savings account is that a CD's APY is guaranteed, while a bank account's APY can change at any time. But it's unlikely that your savings account APY will change dramatically in the next six months -- and it could even go up a little.

Want to earn 10 times the national average savings APY? Check out our list of the best high-yield savings accounts and start putting your money to work.

And if what you really need is growth, rather than safety, then you may want to invest in stocks through a brokerage account. Over the long term, the stock market has grown much faster than any CD. In the past six months alone, the S&P 500 Index -- a group of 500 companies that make up over half the market cap of the U.S. stock market -- has gone up 13%. That's nearly three times the return you would have earned with a 6-month CD.

Stock market returns are not guaranteed, and short-term losses are bound to happen from time to time. But buying stocks and holding them for the long term has proven time and again to be one of the best ways for ordinary investors to grow their wealth.