How we find, check and rank rates

Where rates come from

We read each bank’s and credit union’s own website: its rate pages, rate sheets and account disclosures.

• We cover CDs (share certificates at credit unions), savings and money market accounts, auto loans and credit cards.
• We track every bank insured by the FDIC and every credit union insured by the NCUA: more than 8,500. Each has a page, with or without rates.
• More than 5,700 of them publish at least one rate we can show.
• Each rate keeps the page it came from. Open a rate’s Details to see its source and the conditions written beside it.

How we keep rates current

We re-read institutions’ rate pages about once a week. When a rate is unchanged, we record that we confirmed it. When it has changed, the new rate replaces it once it has been read and checked, and we retain the previous observation in our records.

• “Rate checked” is the last day we read the rate or confirmed it unchanged.
• We leave out old rate sheets still posted online, promotions whose end date has passed, and accounts that don’t state a rate.

How lists are ranked

CDs, savings and money market accounts

• Accounts rank by APY, the rate your deposit would earn. Enter an amount and each account ranks at the rate that amount earns; without one, we rank on $10,000. A high rate capped at a small balance doesn’t outrank an account that pays well on the whole deposit.
• Where an institution states only an interest rate, we work out the APY from it, assuming daily compounding unless it says otherwise. Those rates are marked.
• Equal rates go to the shorter CD: the same return, with the money back sooner.
• The lists show everyday accounts for adults. IRA, youth, senior and business accounts appear when you ask for them. Brokered CDs are left out.

Auto loans and credit cards

• Each institution’s lowest advertised APR ranks first, lowest first. For auto loans that’s for the vehicle you choose, at terms that reach 60 months; for cards, the ongoing purchase APR, not an introductory or balance transfer rate.
• An advertised APR is usually the best-credit rate. Yours depends on your credit, the term and the vehicle.
• Refinance, lease buyout and recreational loans are left out, as are secured, business and credit-builder cards.
• An APR far below what other lenders advertise is listed lower down until it has been checked.

Rates with conditions

A rate that needs something beyond the account itself says “with conditions”: autopay, a checking account or direct deposit, a minimum number of card purchases each month, or similar. Joining a credit union and keeping the small share account membership requires is not a condition; we say who can join instead. A rate that lasts only for an opening period says “intro rate”. Both can be left out with More filters.

Near you

A list for a place shows institutions with a branch there. When a town has fewer than five, it widens to a larger area, such as the county, on its own, and says so. Banks that open accounts online nationwide join the list when you include online banks.

How the Carrot Score works

The Carrot Score rates an institution on all its rates, not one account. It runs from 60 to 99.

1. Each product gets a standing. We compare its CD, savings, auto loan and credit card rates with every bank and credit union in the U.S. and give each product a standing out of 100. Its best rates count the most. For loans and cards, lower rates rank higher.
2. Its two best products set the score. We average its two strongest products. Each further product it publishes adds 1.5 points, so publishing more rates can only help.
3. Its rank puts it on the 60–99 scale. We rank that number against every scored institution in the country. A score in the 90s needs rates near the best in the country, and the top quarter, 87 and up, earn Top Carrot.

An institution needs rates in at least two products to be scored. Scores change as rates change. Each scored institution’s Carrot Score page shows its products’ standings and the numbers behind its score, and the rankings list institutions by score.

What we don’t do

• We don’t check whether you can get a rate. Membership, where you live, your credit and the institution’s own rules decide that.
• We don’t sell positions. No institution can pay to move up a list, change its score or have a rate left out.
• Rates change. Confirm the rate and terms with the institution before you open an account or apply.

Corrections

If a rate we show is wrong or out of date, tell us on the contact page with a link to the institution’s page, and we’ll re-check its website. Institutions can ask the same way. A correction changes the rate we show, and so where it ranks, nothing else.