Robinhood's Cash Account Now Pays 4.65%. Here's How It Compares.

Robinhood (HOOD) has once again boosted the interest rate offered to its best customers on their uninvested cash balances, raising the return to 4.65% APY. The move came on the heels of Wednesday's interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

The new rate from the app-based brokerage firm is certainly a competitive rate for cash savings in a brokerage account. But you can earn even more with several options in our daily ranking of the best high-yield savings accounts, all without the need to be a paying Robinhood customer. Today's leader in our ranking pays 5.02% APY.

Robinhood's 4.65% APY rate is available to its Gold customers, a service tier that carries a $5 per month subscription fee and offers other perks. For Robinhood customers without the Gold plan, the interest rate they'll receive on cash balances is 1.5% APY.

The rates apply to customers who opt in to Robinhood's brokerage cash sweep feature, which automatically moves, or "sweeps," any uninvested brokerage account funds into a separate deposit account. Because Robinhood deposits these sweep balances into a network of six banks, the FDIC coverage for each customer is $1.5 million (instead of the standard FDIC limit per bank of $250,000). Robinhood has also indicated this coverage limit will raise to $2 million on June 1.

Other financial technology companies have implemented similar models for depositing their customers' uninvested cash in a network of banks. Betterment's cash account currently pays 4.30% APY, while Empower (formerly Personal Capital) pays 4.35% APY. In contrast, traditional brokerage firms tend to pay less. Fidelity Investment's current rate is 2.75% APY.

Other personal finance apps have also gotten into the game. Last month, Apple launched a new high-yield savings account. Called Apple Card Savings, it currently pays 4.15% APY, but is only available to customers with an Apple credit card account.

This is the third time this year that Robinhood has raised the interest rate on its cash sweep account for Gold customers. Starting the year out at 4.00% APY, it was raised to 4.15% APY on February 3, and to 4.40% APY on March 24.

Robinhood's rate increase comes amid a 14-month campaign by the Federal Reserve to tame inflation by raising the federal funds rate. That has pushed financial institutions to raise the yields they offer customers. The Fed announced another quarter-percent hike in the target fed funds rate Wednesday, bringing it to a range of 5.00% to 5.25%.

For comparison on what you can earn in a stand-alone high-yield savings account, our ranking of the best high-yield savings accounts lists 14 banks, credit unions, and fintechs currently paying more than Robinhood's 4.65% APY, including two leading choices offering at least 5.00% APY.

Best High-Yield Savings Account Rates Today

• CFG Bank – 5.02% APY
• Newtek Bank – 5.00% APY
• Vio Bank – 4.88% APY
• TotalDirectBank – 4.82% APY
• UFB Direct – 4.81% APY
• Laurel Road – 4.80% APY
• Ivy Bank – 4.80% APY
• Primis Bank – 4.77% APY
• TAB Bank – 4.76% APY
• Bask Bank – 4.75% APY
  
• Popular Direct – 4.75% APY
• CIT Bank – 4.75% APY
• BankPurely – 4.75% APY
• iGObanking – 4.75% APY
• Bread Savings – 4.65% APY
  

Rate Collection and Methodology Disclosure

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer savings accounts to customers nationwide. We determine daily rankings of the top-paying savings accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the savings account's minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don't meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don't live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best high-yield savings accounts, read our full methodology.