SoFi and Ally Bank are two of the few online banks that could be true banking disruptors -- that is, they could potentially completely replace the need for branch-based banking relationships. Here's a rundown of what you need to know about SoFi and Ally to determine if one might be right for you.
SoFi vs. Ally Bank: Account options
SoFi and Ally Bank have deposit accounts that are featured on several of our "best-of" pages. They offer high-yield deposit products, as well as highly functional checking accounts, so here's a rundown of the key details of each.
Savings accounts
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Rates asof Apr 28, 2024
| Offer | ||
|---|---|---|
| Account | SoFi Checking and Savings | Ally Savings |
| Rating | Rating image, 4.75 out of 5 stars. 4.75/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | Rating image, 4.75 out of 5 stars. 4.75/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. |
| APY | up to 4.60%Rate infoYou can earn the maximum APY by having Direct Deposit (no minimum amount required) or by making $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits every 30 days. See SoFi Checking and Savings rate sheet at: https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet. | 4.25% |
| Min. to earn APY | $0 | $0 |
| Next Steps | Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings Read full review | Read Review |
We'll start with SoFi, which offers a combination of a checking and savings account (you can't open one without the other, although they are two separate accounts). We'll go into details about the checking side in the next section, but the SoFi savings account is a top product.
The SoFi Checking and Savings account has no fees or minimum balance requirements, and has some interesting features like Vaults, which essentially allow you to create savings accounts within your savings account to save for a specific goal. The account has one of the best APYs on our radar, and it is slightly higher than Ally's, but it requires you to set up direct deposit into the checking account to get the top rate.
The Ally Savings account has a competitive APY, and there are no special requirements to get the top interest rate. It has a similar feature to SoFi's Vaults, as well as no fees or balance requirements.
Checking accounts
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Rates asof Apr 28, 2024
| Offer | ||
|---|---|---|
| Account | SoFi Checking and Savings | Ally Spending Account |
| Rating | Rating image, 4.75 out of 5 stars. 4.75/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars. 4.50/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. |
| APY | 0.50%Rate infoYou can earn the maximum savings APY by having Direct Deposit (no minimum amount required) or by making $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits every 30 days. See SoFi Checking and Savings rate sheet at: https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet. | up to 0.25% |
| Min. to earn APY | $0 | $1 |
| Next Steps | Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings Read full review | Read Review |
Both SoFi and Ally offer online checking accounts. SoFi's checking account must be paired with a savings account, as mentioned in the last section. It is an interest-bearing account and has ATM access at more than 55,000 locations nationwide. The SoFi checking account has excellent overdraft protection for direct deposit customers, and also allows access to paychecks up to two days early.
The Ally Spending Account is Ally's checking account product, and it is also an interest-bearing account. To be clear, neither bank's checking account has an APY that's competitive with online savings accounts, but they do earn some money.
Ally's account has access to more than 43,000 ATMs plus it offers up to $10 per month in out-of-network ATM fee reimbursem*nt. And like SoFi, it also offers early access to direct deposits.
CDs
Rates as of April 25, 2024
APY = Annual Percentage Yield
Ally High Yield CD
Bottom Line
Ally High Yield CDs are notable for saver-friendly features like no minimum deposits and lower-than-average withdrawal penalties (though you're still better off holding through your CD term!). The rates are generally not at the very top of the market, but they tend to not be far off.
MINIMUM DEPOSIT $0
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| 3 Mo. APY | 6 Mo. APY | 9 Mo. APY | 1 Yr. APY | 1.5 Yr. APY | 3 Yr. APY | 5 Yr. APY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.00% | 4.40% | 4.45% | 4.65% | 4.45% | 4.00% | 3.90% |
When it comes to certificates of deposit, Ally Bank CDs are the clear winner. Simply put, SoFi doesn't offer CDs on its platform (not yet, anyway).
On the other hand, Ally is one of our top banks for CDs. It offers CDs in several different term lengths, some of which have highly competitive APYs. Ally's CDs have no minimum deposit, and come in a few unique varieties. The Ally Raise Your Rate CDs come in 2-year and 4-year terms, and allow customers to choose to have their rate adjusted upward if rates rise during the term.
Ally is also one of the few banks to offer no-penalty CDs, which come in an 11-month term and combine the ability to lock in an interest rate with the ability to withdraw the money at any time.
SoFi vs. Ally Bank: APYs
Both banks have highly competitive APYs on all of their deposit products.
With savings accounts, SoFi has a slightly higher APY as of February 2024, but requires account holders to set up direct deposit to get the best rates. On the other hand, Ally's APY is slightly lower but still highly competitive and doesn't have any such requirement.
Interest-bearing checking accounts are somewhat rare to begin with, but SoFi and Ally's checking accounts pay an APY that is in line with similar products from competitors.
Finally, Ally's CDs have competitive interest rates with other top CD banks on our radar, especially considering there's no minimum deposit requirement.
SoFi vs. Ally Bank: Customer service
SoFi has strong customer service, with phone support available from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT Monday-Thursday and ending at 5 p.m. PT Friday-Sunday. SoFi also has an excellent chat support system, and also provides help to customers through X (formerly Twitter).
Ally offers phone support with representatives available 24/7, which gives it a bit of an advantage, and it also offers live chat and email support.
SoFi vs. Ally Bank: Mobile apps
SoFi has one of the best mobile banking apps in the financial industry. It not only allows customers to manage deposit accounts, loans, credit cards, investments, and more in one place, but it also has some excellent budgeting and financial tools. Everything on SoFi's app is extremely user-friendly.
Ally's app has similar functionality, allowing users to manage all of their financial accounts in one place. It allows customers to access financial advice from a designated advisor and also has some excellent personal finance tools.
SoFi vs. Ally Bank: Which is right for you?
Both of these banks have a lot to like, and both have the capability to be your only bank. There are some small differences between the two, so it could be a smart idea to look at our more thorough reviews of both SoFi and Ally Bank, as well as our individual product reviews (linked throughout) to see which might be the better fit for you.
High-yield savings account comparison
We recommend comparing high-yield savings account options to ensure the account you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of standout accounts.
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| Account | APY | Promotion | Next Steps |
|---|---|---|---|
Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings Member FDIC. Rating image, 4.75 out of 5 stars. 4.75/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | up to 4.60% Rate infoYou can earn the maximum APY by having Direct Deposit (no minimum amount required) or by making $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits every 30 days. See SoFi Checking and Savings rate sheet at: https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.Min. to earn: $0 | New customers can earn up to a $300 bonus with qualifying direct deposits! | Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings |
Open Account for CIT Platinum Savings Member FDIC. Rating image, 4.75 out of 5 stars. 4.75/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | 5.05% APY for balances of $5,000 or more Rate info5.05% APY for balances of $5,000 or more; otherwise, 0.25% APYMin. to earn: $100 to open account, $5,000 for max APY | N/A | Open Account for CIT Platinum Savings |
Open Account for Barclays Online Savings Member FDIC. Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars. 4.00/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | 4.35% Min. to earn: $0 | New customers can earn a $200 bonus with a minimum $25,000 qualifying deposit. Terms apply. | Open Account for Barclays Online Savings |
Our bank and credit union methodology
Our methodology for scoring banks and credit unions revolves around evaluating key aspects such as annual percentage yield (APY), brand reputation, fees and minimum requirements, and additional perks.
These criteria are weighted differently across various account types, ensuring a comprehensive assessment that reflects the competitive landscape and economic conditions.
We strictly feature products that offer federal insurance and high customer satisfaction, keeping our recommendations unbiased by advertiser influence. This robust evaluation process helps us generate balanced, reliable best-of lists that guide consumers to top financial products.
Learn more about how The Motley Fool Ascent rates bank accounts.
Our Banking Experts
By:Matt Frankel, CFP®
Writer, Analyst
Matt is a Certified Financial Planner™ and investment advisor based in Columbia, South Carolina. He writes personal finance and investment advice for The Ascent and its parent company The Motley Fool, with more than 4,500 published articles and a 2017 SABEW Best in Business award. Matt writes a weekly investment column ("Ask a Fool") that is syndicated in USA Today, and his work has been regularly featured on CNBC, Fox Business, MSN Money, and many other major outlets. He’s a graduate of the University of South Carolina and Nova Southeastern University, and holds a graduate certificate in financial planning from Florida State University.
Fact CheckedEric McWhinnie
Eric McWhinnie has been writing and editing digital content since 2010. He specializes in personal finance and investing. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance.
