$25,000 short-term CD vs. $25,000 high-yield savings account: Which will earn more this year?

MoneyWatch: Managing Your Money $25,000 short-term CD vs. $25,000 high-yield savings account: Which will earn more this year? We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Angelica Leicht Angelica Leicht Senior Editor, Managing Your Money Angelica Leicht is the senior editor for the Managing Your Money section for CBSNews.com, where she writes and edits articles on a range of personal finance topics. Angelica previously held editing roles at The Simple Dollar, Interest, HousingWire and other financial publications. Read Full Bio Angelica Leicht May 15, 2026 / 12:26 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Before you park $25,000 in any account, make sure you know how today's rates could impact your returns. AN Studio/Getty Images The decision of where to park $25,000 used to be straightforward: a traditional savings account, maybe a money market fund, and not much else. But the interest rate environment of the past few years rewired that calculus entirely, giving savers a genuinely meaningful choice between accounts that now pay real, competitive returns. While rates have dropped somewhat compared to recent highs, that window hasn't closed — and with inflation climbing upward rapidly and market volatility keeping many investors on edge, there's a real case to be made for finding a new home for your savings.The question at hand, though, is which account actually earns more. A short-term certificate of deposit (CD) locks in your rate for the duration of the term — three months, six months, nine months — and guarantees exactly what you'll earn via a fixed rate. A high-yield savings account, by contrast, keeps your money fully accessible while paying a variable rate that moves with the broader interest rate environment. Both can be effective tools, but with $25,000...