Mostly honest rate tables, with a few paid 'featured' offers floated up top.
What it's really for A deposit-rate comparison site owned by LendingTree; mostly honest tables with a few paid features up top.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its bank deposit-rate tables and health grades, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
- Operating since
- 2005 (21 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- It is a free, ad-supported comparison site owned by lead-generation marketplace LendingTree, earning revenue from advertising and referral/lead-gen compensation on a small share of the bank and credit-union deposit offers it features.
- What they do
- It tracks and rates roughly 275,000 deposit rates across about 11,000-12,000 U.S. banks and credit unions, scoring savings, CD, money-market and checking products plus institution financial-health grades (A+ to F) so consumers can compare deposit accounts.
- What to watch for
- Most rates are unpaid and the ratings are formula-driven, but it is a LendingTree lead-gen property where a minority of offers are monetized and the parent disclosure says compensation can affect the order and which offers are "featured," so the top-of-page or highlighted picks are not always purely the best deal.
- Composite score
- 2.90 / 5.00 → grade C+
How the grade was reached
Does the site take money from the very entities it ranks? Pay-for-placement, vendor-funded data, and affiliate commissions all pull this down. The less the ranking can be bought, the higher the score.
What is the ranking actually built on? Hands-on testing scores highest, then verified first-hand reviews, then opinion or popularity surveys and self-reported figures, then pay-to-rank, which scores lowest.
Is the methodology published, specific, and reproducible? Can a reader see how a given rank was reached, or is it a black box?
Are commercial relationships, sponsorships, and affiliate arrangements disclosed clearly and near the rankings themselves, rather than buried?
How hard is it to game? Controls against fake reviews, solicited reviews, and vendor gaming raise this; an open box anyone can stuff lowers it.
Evidence
- About page: 'Founded in 2005 by Ken Tumin, the site is now owned and operated by LendingTree.' It also states: 'We are the first major bank account comparison site that's truly unbiased... advertising relationships never affect which rates we include in our tables. We receive no compensation for over 99% of the banks and credit unions we list.' Source: DepositAccounts – About Us →
- Published methodology: institutions scored on five weighted categories (Overall value 25%, Digital banking 20%, Customer satisfaction 10%, Health and stability 25%, Availability 20%) and products on a percentile rank across rates, minimums, fees and perks, displayed as 0-5 stars; 'All ratings are based on objective data that is continually reviewed and updated by our editorial staff.' Source: DepositAccounts – Bank and Credit Union Ratings Methodology →
- LendingTree acquired DepositAccounts.com on June 15, 2017 for up to $33 million ($24M cash plus up to $9M contingent), describing it as a consumer site tracking 270,000+ deposit rates across 11,500+ federally insured banks and credit unions; the site's 'Advertising Disclosure' and 'Partner with us' links redirect to LendingTree.com, and LendingTree's advertising disclosures govern monetized placement. Source: LendingTree press release – Acquires DepositAccounts.com →