Insider’s experts choose the best products and services to help make smart decisions with your money (here’s how). In some cases, we receive a commission from our partners, however, our opinions are our own. Terms apply to offers listed on this page.

If you want to closely manage finances with another person, a joint bank account might be worth considering. Joint bank accounts allow two or more individuals to equally own and monitor an account.

We’ve chosen joint bank accounts that might be ideal for specific a purpose — like a bank account for parents and minors — as well as generally strong joint accounts from the best banks depending on your bank preference. These accounts have stayed as our top picks for the last few months because they continue to stand out for their minimal bank fees and unique perks. Read below to learn about our top picks.

Best overall: Ally

Why it stands out: Ally is a great choice if you are searching for a straightforward fee-free joint bank account. The Ally Interest Checking Account doesn’t have monthly services or overdraft fees.

You can also save money through Round Ups if you have the Ally High Yield Savings Account —  a feature that rounds up debit card purchases, payments, and checks and transfers the change to save for specific goals.

What to look out for: Ally is an online-only institution, so it doesn’t have any physical locations. If you’d like to deposit cash, you’ll have to visit a nearby ATM.

Ally also won’t let you open a joint bank account with a child. Many online-only banks or online banking platforms will require you to be at least 18 years old to open a joint bank account.

Best for earning a high interest rate: SoFi

Why it stands out: SoFi is an excellent choice if you don’t mind combining your checking and savings into one account. You can earn 3.50% APY on your savings balances (including Vaults) if you set up direct deposit. 

SoFi won’t charge monthly service fees, overdraft fees, or out-of-network ATM fees. There’s also a savings tool called Money Vaults, which helps you save for individual goals.

What to look out for: The account is a hybrid savings/checking account, so you’ll need to keep that in mind to get the most out of the account. If you deposit cash, you also might need to pay a fee.

Also, similar to Ally’s high-yield savings account, you must be at least 18 years old to open SoFi Checking and Savings.

Best credit union: Alliant Credit Union

Why it stands out: Credit unions usually require membership to open a bank account, but Alliant lets you add an account owner if at least one person is a member. 

The Alliant High-Interest Checking Account serves as a generally strong banking option because it doesn’t charge monthly services or overdraft fees. If you use an out-of-network ATM, the credit union refunds up to $20 per month. 

If you’d like to open a bank account with your child, Alliant also offers strong kid’s bank accounts featured in our best kid’s savings accounts guide and best teen checking accounts guide. 

What to look out for: Alliant Credit Union is an online-only credit union, so it may not be easy to deposit cash. Some Alliant ATMs allow you to deposit cash, while others don’t.

Best for parents and kids: Capital One

Why it stands out: The Capital One 360 Kids Savings Account is featured in our best kid’s savings account guide because it makes it easy for both children and parents to manage the account. 

Some kid’s accounts have a strict age requirement, but the Capital One 360 Kids Savings Account allows you to open an account for a child under age 12 if you’re the parent or legal guardian.

The savings account won’t charge monthly service fees, pays a competitive interest rate, and offers 24/7 live chat customer support if you have any questions. 

What to look out for: Your banking experience may vary depending on where you live. The bank has branches in Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, DC. If you don’t live nearby any of these areas, it might not be easy to deposit cash.

Best account for couples with  individual goals: Qapital

Why it stands out: Qapital is an online banking platform with unique savings tools that help control spending.

The Qapital Goals Account is where you will keep the money for goals and collect savings earned after setting up “Rules.” Some “Rules” can round up purchases to the nearest dollar or help you complete the 52-week money challenge.

Qapital also has a special couples feature called Dream Team. Dream allows couples to share visibility of individual bank accounts while still keeping money separate.

What to look out for: Qapital is a mobile banking platform. Access to certain features may entail a monthly fee that varies between $3 to $12 per month. If you don’t want to deal with monthly fees, consider one of our other top picks.

Best for frequent debit card users: Citi

Why it stands out: Citi stands out because it has high daily ATM withdrawal limits and debit card purchase limits. With the Citi Access Account — the lowest tier checking account —  you may withdraw up to $1,500 from ATMs and purchase up to $5,000 with your debit card daily.

Citi also has a substantial ATM network, with over 72,000 fee-free ATMs throughout the US and ATMs overseas. As a result, you’ll be more likely to find an in-network ATM and avoid out-of-network ATM fees.

What to look out for: Citi groups savings and checking accounts into distinct packages. You’ll have to pay attention to monthly service fees and how to waive them because it varies depending on which accounts you get.

Other joint bank accounts that didn’t make the cut 

• Axos Bank: Axos Bank requires at least $250 to open the bank’s high-yield savings account. Our top picks have lower minimum opening deposits or offer more appealing features.
• Bank of America: Bank of America has monthly service fees on checking and savings accounts unless you qualify to waive them. It also pays pretty low interest rates compared to some of our top picks.
• Bethpage Federal Credit Union: Bethpage offers solid fee-free accounts, but our top picks offer more competitive interest rates or unique money management features.
• Blue Federal Credit Union: Blue Federal Credit Union has lackluster mobile app ratings. Some of our top picks are featured in our best mobile banking apps guide. 
• Chase: Chase has a substantial branch and ATM network, but you might have to deal with monthly service fees if you don’t meet certain account requirements. It also has pretty low interest rates compared to our top picks.
• CIT Bank: CIT Bank doesn’t have an ATM network. Instead, it reimburses up to $30 in out-of-network ATM fees each month. If you frequently withdraw money from an ATM, it might not be a good fit.
• Connexus Credit Union: Connexus has checking and savings accounts that won’t charge monthly service fees, but our top picks offer more competitive interest rates or unique money management features.
• Consumers Credit Union: Consumers Credit Union has a unique high-yield rewards checking account, but the interest rate you’ll earn depends on how you manage your account. Its savings account also pays a pretty low rate compared to our top picks.
• Discover Bank: Discover Bank has solid fee-free accounts, but our top picks either have more unique savings tools for joint account owners or offer higher ATM withdrawal limits.
• LendingClub: LendingClub has a unique checking account that lets you earn cash back on debit purchases, but you’ll need at least $100 to open an account. Our top picks have lower minimum opening deposits.
• Pentagon Federal Credit Union: Pentagon Federal Credit Union charges monthly services fees for the checking account unless you qualify to waive them.
• Quontic Bank: Quontic offers competitive interest rates on accounts, but our top picks have more unique savings tools for joint account owners.
• Regions Bank: Regions Bank is a national bank with a variety of bank account options. Most accounts have monthly service fees unless you meet certain requirements, though.
• TD Bank: TD Bank has low or minimum opening deposits, but most accounts may require monthly service fees. Our top picks also have more appealing savings tools.
• US Bank: US Bank might be worth exploring if you want a bank with a national presence. It pays pretty low interest rates. Some bank fees might also be challenging to waive.
• Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo has one of the largest branch and ATM networks in the US. However, you’ll earn a pretty low interest rate on savings accounts, and you’ll need to meet certain requirements to avoid monthly service fees.
• Wings Financial: Wings Financial has solid fee-free accounts, but our favorite options have more unique savings tools for joint account owners.

Bank trustworthiness and BBB ratings

The Better Business Bureau assesses businesses based on responses to customer complaints, honesty in advertising, and transparency about business practices.

Below are the BBB ratings of our top picks: 

Ally, Capital One and Qapital received lower than an A rating from the BBB because they’ve both received a high volume of customer complaints. Citi has an F rating because it has a high volume of unresolved customer issues and has had government action taken against the bank.

A good BBB rating won’t necessarily guarantee your relationship with a bank will be perfect. Consider talking to customers or reading online customer reviews.

Capital One, Citi, and SoFi have also been involved in recent controversies. 

In 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of Currency required Capital One to pay $80 million in a settlement that said the bank was partially responsible for a 2019 data breach when a hacker accessed over 100 million credit card applications.

 In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission ordered SoFi to stop running advertisements that falsely stated customers could save more money by refinancing than they actually could.

Citi has been in the following public scandals: 

• In 2019, Citi accidentally sent $900 million to customers. 
• In 2020, the bank was required to pay $400 million in a settlement with the Comptroller of the Currency. The OCC stated the bank had inefficient banking practices.

Why trust our recommendations?

At Personal Finance Insider, our goal is to create useful content that helps you make good decisions about your money. We recognize every person has distinct preferences, so we provide ample options to help you find the most suitable financial product or account.

We research extensively to make sure you know the standout features and limitations of a financial institution.

Methodology: How did we choose the best joint bank accounts?

First and foremost, we wanted to provide you with options. We researched more than a dozen joint bank accounts at brick-and-mortar banks, online banks, credit unions, and online banking platforms to find the strongest joint bank accounts. 

We reviewed and compared each joint bank account to find options that required minimal bank fees. We also looked for standout features, like competitive interest rates, early direct deposit, flexible customer service hours, and savings tools.

Frequently asked questions

Sophia Acevedo, CEPF

Junior Banking Reporter

Sophia Acevedo is a junior banking reporter at Insider who covers banking and savings for Personal Finance Insider. She is also a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF).
She joined Insider in July 2021 as a fellow for the Personal Finance Insider Reviews team.
Before joining the Insider team, she was a freelancer based in Los Angeles and worked briefly in publishing. She also graduated from California State University Fullerton in 2020.
You can reach out to her on Twitter at @sophieacvdo or send a quick email at [email protected].
Read more about how Personal Finance Insider chooses, rates, and covers financial products and services >>

Read more
Read less