$5,000 CD vs. $5,000 high-yield savings vs. $5,000 money market account: Which earns the most interest in 2026?

MoneyWatch: Managing Your Money $5,000 CD vs. $5,000 high-yield savings vs. $5,000 money market account: Which earns the most interest in 2026? 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 Matt Richardson Matt Richardson Sr. Managing Editor, Managing Your Money Matt Richardson is the senior managing editor for the Managing Your Money section for CBSNews.com. He writes and edits content about personal finance ranging from savings to investing to insurance. Read Full Bio Matt Richardson April 20, 2026 / 12:29 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Transferring $5,000 out of a traditional savings account and into a high-rate alternative could make sense for many savers now. Getty Images/iStockphoto If you've been able to save a few thousand dollars in recent years, despite an unpredictable economic climate, and have been able to weather market volatility in recent weeks by keeping those funds intact, you may now find yourself looking for a secure and profitable home for that money. And keeping $5,000, for example, in a traditional savings account isn't necessarily the best choice. With an average rate of 0.39%, not only will you not be keeping pace with inflation (at 3.3%) by leaving money in this account type, you'll actually be losing high-interest earning opportunities by not shifting those funds into another account.Fortunately, there are still multiple, high-rate savings account options to choose from, some of which have rates over 4% now (making them around 900% more profitable than traditional accounts). That said, each account type operates differently, as some will require savers to lock their funds away for a certain amount of time to earn a big return, while others will not. To better determine which account makes the most sense, it helps to compare the interest-earning po...