Choosing the right bank when you have little to no experience with money management can be confusing. That’s why our team evaluated today’s top FDIC-insured banks based on fees, account features, customer service, and more to identify the 10 best banks for college students today (see our full methodology here).
The best banks for college students offer benefits such as fee-free accounts, low minimum deposit requirements, no overdraft fees, and helpful money management tools. The following banks rank as the 10 best options today.
Interest rates, fees, and requirements are accurate as of the publish date. Please verify account details directly with the financial institution.
Best bank overall
Ally scored the top spot on our list of the best banks for college students. While it doesn’t offer a dedicated student bank account, it still made our list for a few key reasons.
For one, Ally doesn’t charge any fees for its accounts, and its checking and savings accounts don’t require any minimum deposit to open. Additionally, Ally doesn’t charge overdraft fees, but still offers a form of overdraft protection through its “CoverDraft,” which covers you up to $100 (or $250 if you set up qualifying direct deposits) on checks and transfers, debit card purchases, and bill payments, at no charge.
Ally also offers the option to set up spending buckets that allow account holders to set aside funds for specific expenses and keep tabs on their spending to ensure their budget is on track.
Read our full review of Ally Bank
Best for avoiding overdraft fees
The next spot on our list went to Discover Bank, which doesn’t charge any monthly fees for its basic savings and checking accounts. There are also no minimum opening deposit requirements, making it an attractive option for college students who don’t have a lot of money set aside to open an account.
Discover fell a bit short in its budgeting tools. Compared to Ally, Discover doesn’t offer the same digital budgeting tools to help customers manage their funds. Still, Discover does offer 24/7 customer support and zero overdraft fees.
Read our full review of Discover Bank
Best for earning a bonus
SoFi has plenty to offer college students who are shopping around for their first bank. This bank prides itself on its no-fee model, and it doesn’t impose any minimum opening deposit or minimum balance requirements. It also offers a large network of fee-free ATMs and Zelle capabilities.
Right now, SoFi is offering a bonus of up to $30 to new student checking and savings account holders who meet qualifications.
Read our full review of SoFi
Best for early direct deposit
Axos is a solid online-only bank option for students who value simplicity and fee-free accounts. It also offers interest-bearing accounts for students who want to earn a little extra on their balances. What’s more, students can speak to a customer service representative 24/7.
Axos also offers early direct deposit with its Essential Checking account, which could be a huge perk for students who receive a paycheck via direct deposit.
The downside: Axos is not currently partnered with Zelle, which could make it difficult for students who rely on Zelle to send or receive money from family and friends. It does, however, offer its own peer-to-peer payment service via the Essential Checking account.
Read our full review of Axos Bank
Best for a fee-free ATM access
Capital One made our list thanks to its free account options, overdraft protection, and zero overdraft fees. Capital One also offers one of the largest fee-free ATM networks with more than 70,000 free ATMs available nationwide.
The 360 Performance Savings account also offers students the chance to start saving and earn a competitive 3.6% APY without any monthly fees or account minimums.
This bank also offers various student credit card options, like the Savor Rewards card and the Quicksilver Rewards card, as well as tools to help college students who are working on building credit.
Read our full review of Capital One
Best for student checking
Chase offers checking accounts with features and perks designed specifically with students in mind. The Chase College Checking account is available for students aged 17 to 24. This account is free to open and doesn’t charge a monthly service fee while in school (up to a maximum of five years). After graduation, this account converts to a Chase Total Checking account with a monthly service fee of $12, which can be waived by meeting certain requirements.
Chase also offers overdraft protection, 24/7 customer support, a large ATM network, and budgeting tools to help students manage their money.
Best for improving financial literacy
Well Fargo stands out for its student and teen checking account, available to customers ages 13 to 24. There’s no monthly service fee if the primary account owner is between these ages. There are no overdraft fees, and Wells Fargo has an ATM network of approximately 11,000 ATMs, making it easy for customers to access their funds.
Additionally, Wells Fargo’s CollegeSTEPS® program provides free financial education to help customers manage money confidently in college. Users can receive guidance around planning and paying for school, understanding credit, earning money, and more.
Best for live customer support
TD Bank offers accounts with student perks such as waived monthly maintenance fees and no fees at out-of-network ATMs. Students can also benefit from TD’s overdraft protection with grace period and Early Pay, which allows account holders to receive paychecks up to two business days sooner. Live customer support is available 24/7.
Read our full review of TD Bank
Best for all-in-one banking
PNC offers a Virtual Wallet for students that combines checking and savings into one account. With this online wallet, there’s no monthly service charge for six years, one automatic courtesy refund of any overdraft item fee, and one free incoming domestic or international wire transfer per statement period.
PNC Bank also offers Zelle payments, student budgeting tools, and approximately 60,000 ATMs and partner ATMs across the country.
Read our full review of PNC Bank
Best for a variety of bank account options
Huntington Bank offers a few different checking account options for students, including the Asterisk-Free Checking account, Huntington Perks Checking, and Huntington Platinum Perks Checking.
The bank also provides perks for students such as a digital-only line of credit, an overdraft safety net, early direct deposit, and Zelle payments.
When deciding where to bank in college, there are a few key factors to consider:
Fees: Many college students have low or no regular income, which is why it’s important to consider banks that have few banking fees. Look for banks that waive fees for college students or college-aged account holders.
Money management tools: Since you’re likely learning to manage money on your own, it’s helpful to choose a bank that gives you tools to help you make smarter financial decisions. This could include budgeting tools that analyze your spending, spending alerts, goal-setting tools, and more.
Ways to avoid overdrafts: Mistakes happen, especially when you’re newer to banking. Look for banks that don’t charge overdraft fees or offer overdraft protection services to make sure that you aren’t harshly penalized if you accidentally overdraft your account.
Easy access to your money: If you’re going to school out of town or out of state, you may want to consider a bank with a large ATM or branch network, or easy electronic transfers. That way, no matter where you are, you can easily access your funds.
Our grading system, collected and carefully reviewed by our personal finance experts, comprised nearly 180 data points to develop our list of the top 10 banks for college students. We examined banks that offer student accounts and/or features designed to benefit college students.
The accounts on our list could earn a maximum of 35 points across all metrics. Here’s a closer look at the categories we evaluated:
Dedicated student checking account: We awarded more points to banks with a dedicated student checking account.
Minimum opening deposit: College student checking or savings accounts with no or low minimum deposit requirements received additional points.
Monthly fees: Many checking and savings accounts charge a monthly maintenance or service fee. We awarded more points to accounts with no monthly fees.
Overdraft fees and protection: Banks with no or low overdraft fees and/or overdraft protection services were ranked more favorably. (Note: overdraft fees and overdraft protection were scored as two separate categories.)
Waived fees: We rewarded banks that waive account fees for students or college-aged customers.
Financial resources/education: Banks that provide educational tools and content do a great service to the many college students beginning their independent financial journey, which is why we favored these financial institutions in our ranking.
Zelle: Banks that offer Zelle payments were awarded an extra point.
24/7 Customer service: Having 24/7 customer service is hugely beneficial to the average college student, whose schedules can be busy and unpredictable. We favored banks with some form of customer service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Free ATM network/fee reimbursement: Banks that offer their own free ATM network and/or waive or reimburse ATM fees earned more points in our ranking.
