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If you have a respectable amount of money in a traditional savings account right now, you may want to reconsider your approach. With an average interest rate of just 0.39% right now, you’re not only failing to keep pace with inflationbut you’re technically losing money by not transferring those funds to a high-rate alternative. And with a sizable amount of money, such as $60,000, those losses are too high to allow to continue.
Fortunately, you don’t have to any longer. By instead moving these funds into a certificate of deposit (CD) or money market accountyou can earn a rate of return that’s both above today’s current inflation rate of 2.4% and multiple times higher than the traditional savings account rate. And, with a CD, that rate will be fixedallowing you to budget with certainty. And, with a money market accountyou’ll be able to take advantage of today’s still-elevated rate climate while maintaining access to your funds as needed (you’ll even be able to pay bills and write checks directly from the account, too).
Before getting started with either, however, it helps to know the interest-earning potential each represents now, for the remainder of the year. Between a $60,000 CD and a $60,000 money market account, then, which will earn more interest in 2026? Below, we’ll crunch the numbers.
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$60,000 CD vs. $60,000 money market account: Which will earn more interest in 2026?
Calculating the interest earnings of a CD is simple to complete since the account has a fixed rate that will remain the same through the account’s maturity date. Crunching the returns with a money market account, however, will be a bit more speculative as it has a variable rate that will change over time based on market conditions. Here’s how much interest each account stands to earn in the remaining months of this year, calculated on the assumption that no fees are levied against either and that the money market account rate remains constant:
- $60,000 3-month CD at 3.90%: $576.63
- $60,000 money market account at 4.00% after three months: $591.20
- Difference between accounts: The money market account will earn $14.57 more.
- $60,000 6-month CD at 4.15%: $1,232.34
- $60,000 money money market account at 4.00% after six months: $1,188.23
- Difference between accounts: The CD account will earn $44.11 more.
- $60,000 9-month CD at 4.00%: $1,791.15
- $60,000 money market account at 4.00% after nine months: $1,791.15
- Difference between accounts: Both accounts will earn the same amount of interest.
The interest earnings with both accounts, then, are virtually the same – the money market account will earn more after three months, the CD will earn more after six, and both accounts will accrue the same amount by the end of the year. That said, the CD interest here is guaranteed, and the money market account, with its variable rate, is not. Still, with the chances of any interest rate cut later this year significantly low right now, the chances of the money market account rate declining appear small.
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The bottom line
The interest earnings on $60,000 deposited into a CD and a money market account will look very similar this year, assuming current market conditions hold for the final nine months of 2026. That said, the CD interest is guaranteed, and the money market account is not. That doesn’t make a CD the better choice, necessarily, but it does underline the importance of thoroughly evaluating both before getting started, especially with a five-figure amount of money on the line. Don’t discount the benefits, too, of splitting these funds between both accounts to exploit the advantages each provides while offsetting some of the less advantageous features. Whatever you ultimately decide to do, however, just be sure to keep a lot less than $60,000 in the traditional savings account, particularly when these high-rate alternative account types are still so readily available.