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Live Oak Bank Review 2024

Updated March 14, 2024
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At a glance

4.0
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
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CDs

Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5

Savings

Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5

About Bankrate Score

Overview

Small-business owners looking for financing or consumers looking for high-yield deposit products may want to consider opening an account at Live Oak Bank. Without monthly fees or minimum opening or minimum balance requirements, Live Oak’s deposit offerings are highly accessible to savers. Accounts can be opened online by consumers nationwide, but for being an online-only bank, Live Oak’s mobile app receives rather low scores.

Highlights

  • High APY
  • No Min Balance
  • Top CD Rates
Compare offers
Info
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.35
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 3/18/2024
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
$1
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer:
Bank logo
Member FDIC.
Savings Account
5.25
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 3/18/2024
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer: No fees. Easy deposits and quick withdrawals.
Bank logo
Member FDIC
CD
5.05
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 3/18/2024
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
$500
Minimum deposit
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer: Expires 4/17/24. APY may change before CD is opened & funded.

Overall

For savers interested in basic online accounts without maintenance fees and with high yields, Live Oak Bank offers a savings account and CDs that pay competitive rates. Those seeking money market or checking accounts, as well as a debit card, will need to look elsewhere.

Pros

  • Checkmark

    Live Oak Bank offers CDs and a savings account with competitive rates.

  • Checkmark

    The savings account has no minimum balance requirement.

  • Checkmark

    Smartphone users can manage external accounts from other banks through the Live Oak mobile app.

Cons

  • Personal banking offerings are limited to a savings account and CDs.

  • Live Oak has no branches, and its app receives low scores.

  • Customers do not have access to a debit card.

Live Oak Bank banking products

4.9
/5
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
See methodology Compare savings rates

SCORE BREAKDOWN

APY offering:
4.40%
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info
Minimum balance to earn interest:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info
Monthly service fee:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info
Minimum balance to avoid fee:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info
Access to funds:
Good
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
4/5
Info

FEATURES

Invest Rate
4.40% APY
Info
Loan
$0 minimum deposit to open

Live Oak Bank savings overview

Live Oak’s online savings account consistently offers a top-tier APY. The account doesn’t require a minimum opening deposit, nor does it charge a monthly account fee.

To boot, Live Oak doesn’t limit the amount of withdrawals you can make from your savings account per month. The Federal Reserve has indefinitely paused its six-per-month withdrawal limit, but some banks are still choosing to enforce it, often charging fees for going above that limit.

Pros

  • Checkmark

    The account offers a competitive APY.

  • Checkmark

    There is no minimum balance requirement.

  • Checkmark

    The account does not charge a monthly maintenance fee.

  • Checkmark

    Live Oak’s Savings Account doesn’t require a minimum opening deposit.

  • Checkmark

    There’s no withdrawal limit.

Cons

  • A few banks still offer higher APYs.

  • See how rates for this account have changed over time. Interact with the trend lines to view APY by date.

    Live Oak Bank
    APY
    APY
    Info
    National average APY
    How do we get this data?
    Info
Compare Offer
Info
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.35
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 3/18/2024
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
Info
$1
Min balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer:

Bank fees

Fee Charged?
Overdraft fee None
Non-sufficient funds fee None
Monthly maintenance fee None
Out-of-network ATM fee None
Excessive transaction fee None
Returned item fee $10

Customer experience

Customer support. Live Oak Bank’s banking customers can reach the financial institution by phone 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time, weekdays.

Mobile app. Live Oak’s mobile app receives only middling ratings in Apple’s App Store but fares better on Google Play. The app includes useful functionality for CD customers, including the ability to manage CD maturity options and interest disbursements.

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The above images were last updated on March 14, 2024.

About Live Oak Bank

Headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, Live Oak Bank was founded in 2008. As an online-only bank, Live Oak doesn’t have any branches. As such, customers conduct all banking online and through Live Oak’s mobile app. 

Since the bank doesn’t have overhead expenses from physical offices, Live Oak is able to offer high yields without monthly fees for its deposit products — deals which are typically hard to beat. All deposits are FDIC-insured, whether you’re a business or a consumer.

How Live Oak Bank compares to other banks

Live Oak vs. Ally Bank

Live Oak Bank and Ally Bank are both online-only institutions, meaning they have no physical branches you can visit. 

While both banks offer competitive yields for their deposit products, Ally Bank’s offerings usually have the edge here. Moreover, Ally Bank offers a larger array of deposit options — including several types of CDs, money market and checking accounts — whereas Live Oak Bank offers just one savings account and standard CDs for consumers. 

Lastly, Ally Bank just has more financial products and services, including credit cards and investing and retirement accounts. As such, if you want to bring your banking under one roof, Ally Bank is the more attractive option.

Live Oak FAQs

Review methodology

With so many financial institutions to choose from, it can be hard to know who to trust. Bankrate’s ever-growing list of bank and credit union reviews is updated regularly. Our editorial team analyzes and reviews each institution across deposit products such as savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market accounts (MMAs). Banks are rated by important factors such as offered interest rates, fees, minimum balance requirements, access to funds and more.

We assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score. Read our full review methodology.