Ally vs. Synchrony: Which bank is better?

Ally and Synchrony both operate entirely online and, with no physical branches to maintain, can pass on those saved costs in the form of higher APYs to customers. If you’re looking for a full-service bank, Ally is the clear choice since Synchrony doesn’t offer any checking accounts. On the flip side, if you just want a bank for savings options, Synchrony might be the bank to check out.

Ally vs. Synchrony: A quick comparison

	Ally Read Review	Synchrony Read Review
Savings	APY: Up to 3.6%	APY: Up to 4%
Checking	Monthly fee: $0 Minimum deposit: $0 APY: Up to 0.25%	N/A
CDs	Terms: 3 to 60 months Up to 4% APY on 6-month term $0 opening deposit requirement	Terms: 3 to 60 months Up to 4.35% APY on 13-month term $0 opening deposit requirement
ATMs	75,000 fee-free ATMs Out-of-network ATM fee: $0 ATM reimbursements: Up to $10 per month	60,000 Plus or Accel logos ATMs Out-of-network ATM fee: $0 ATM reimbursements: Up to $5 per statement cycle
Branches	Online only	Online only

Ally vs. Synchrony: Account options

Ally and Synchrony are both FDIC-insured online banks. Neither has any physical branches, so you’ll need to compare other banks if you prefer that perk.

Synchrony is a long-standing bank founded in the 1930s. It’s mostly known for its co-branded credit cards and savings options. Its CDs, money market and high-yield savings accounts are very competitive, consistently offering high rates with few fees and $0 opening deposit requirements.

Ally Bank used to be GMAC (an auto financing company), and Ally Bank as we know it now has been around since 2009. Ally offers affordable checking, savings and CDs, none of which have monthly fees or opening deposit requirements. It also has very comparable rates to Synchrony, consistently providing savings rates significantly higher than national averages.

Banking

Ally offers one checking and one savings account, a money market account and CDs. Synchrony doesn’t have checking accounts, but it does have a money market account, savings and CD options.

Ally account offerings are:

• Checking. The bank’s only checking account, called the Ally Bank Spending Account, has no monthly fees, opening deposit requirements or overdraft fees. It earns interest, up to 0.25% APY on balances over $15,000 and 0.1% APY under $15,000. You’ll also get ATM rebates each month.
• High-yield savings. It’s Ally’s high-yield savings account with no monthly fees or balance requirements. It earns a competitive 3.6% APY.
• CDs. A flexible deposit account with no minimum deposit requirements, and most have competitive rates, up to 4% APY on a six-month term. There’s a wide range of terms to choose from, between three to 60 months, and it offers no-penalty CDs.
• Money market account (MMA). Often featured on our list of the best MMAs, this account earns up to 3.6% APY on all balances. It has no monthly fees, overdraft fees, excessive transaction fees or incoming wire fees. It also comes with a debit card and checkwriting privileges.

Synchrony’s account options include:

• High-yield savings. The Synchrony High Yield Savings account has a high 4% APY, no monthly fees and no balance requirements. There’s also an optional ATM card.
• CDs. With competitive rates and no opening deposit requirements, Synchrony’s CDs are solid offerings all the way around. The highest rate is the 13-month term with a 4.35% APY.
• Money market. A slightly lower APY than Ally, but good nonetheless, the Synchrony Bank Money Market offers up to 2.25% APY with no opening deposit or monthly fees. You also get checkwriting, and there’s a tiered loyalty program to join.

Borrowing

Synchrony offers health and wellness financing and “buy-now-pay-later” loans and issues over 100 co-branded credit cards, such as the Sam’s Club Mastercard, the Venmo Credit Card and the PayPal Cashback Mastercard. Aside from co-branded cards, it features its own credit cards, such as the Synchrony Premier World Mastercard with cashback rewards and no annual fee.

If you’re looking for more personal lending options, like mortgages or personal loans, Ally is the bank to check out. It provides a range of financial products, including mortgages, auto loans, personal loans, refinancing options and business lending. It also offers four personal unsecured credit cards, such as the Ally Everyday Cash Back card.

Investing

Synchrony offers IRA CDs and IRA Money Markets, but other than that, it doesn’t have much else in the world of personal investing.

Ally Invest includes self-directed trading, robo portfolios, personal investment advice and IRAs. Ally lets you trade and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bonds, mutual funds and margin accounts. But it doesn’t support cryptocurrencies or fractional shares.

Apps, features and more

We can’t talk about Ally Bank without mentioning its famous savings buckets. With both the Ally Savings and Ally Spending accounts, you can create subaccounts called “buckets” to sort your savings goals. Ally allows you to create up to 30 buckets per account, which you can track and label. They also earn interest. Beyond its buckets feature, Ally offers savings round-ups, supports mobile check deposits and is integrated with Zelle.

Compared to Ally and other modern banks like SoFi®, Synchrony falls a little short. Synchrony doesn’t offer checking products, so it doesn’t have a budget feature either. Its savings account also lacks savings round-ups or subaccounts and isn’t integrated with Zelle. If you need extra bells and whistles, look to Ally.

How Ally and Synchrony fees compare

There isn’t much to talk about with fees for either Ally or Synchrony. Both are affordable banking options, and neither charges monthly fees or requires a minimum opening deposit on their respective deposit accounts.

Ally and Synchrony both offer monthly ATM reimbursements, too. Ally offers up to $10 per month in out-of-network ATM rebates, and Synchrony offers up to $5 per month. On top of that, neither bank charges you for using an out-of-network ATM, so those reimbursements are used for third-party fees.

What customers say about Ally and Synchrony

Synchrony has significantly more complaints against it — but to be fair, that largely has to do with the number of co-branded credit cards it issues. Nearly all the negative complaints involve credit cards, such as late payments, missed payments, decreases in credit limits and so on. However, other large banks that issue credit cards, such as Chase and Bank of America, receive far fewer complaints on the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

On the flip side, Ally does pretty well on review platforms and Reddit. It has very few BBB complaints, which is uncommon for an online-only bank. On Reddit and Trustpilot, most say the customer support is friendly and helpful, people like the high savings rates and few fees, and many Redditors call out the savings buckets for being user-friendly and great for sorting goals.

Final verdict: Ally is better

Ally is the better option when directly compared to Synchrony. While both are affordable and largely fee-free banking options, Ally just has more to offer. It has an investing platform and a checking account, works with Zelle, has more monthly ATM rebates, offers savings buckets, gets better customer reviews, and boasts very comparable interest rates to Synchrony.

However, if you are just looking for a high–yield savings account, Synchrony takes the win. Its high-yield savings offers up to 4%, higher than Ally’s savings of 3.6%.

Ally at a glance

Ally is the better option for a full-service bank than Synchrony.

Synchrony at a glance

It may lose compared to Ally, but its savings rates are still very competitive.

Alternatives to Ally and Synchrony

Maybe Ally and Synchrony just aren’t right for you. Compare some of the best online banks, or check out these close alternatives:

• SoFi. An online bank just like Ally and Synchrony, it offers a hybrid checking and savings account with no monthly fees, opening deposit requirements and high APYs.
• Chase. Prefer banks with physical branches? Chase Bank is worth considering, as it has the largest branch network in the states and features multiple checking and savings account options.
• Varo. An online bank very similar to Ally, Varo has fee-free checking and savings options with high cashback rewards and APYs.

See how even more bank accounts stack up:

• SoFi vs. Ally
• Ally vs. Chime
• Varo vs. Chime
• SoFi vs. Chime

To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Holly Jennings as part of our fact-checking process.

Written by

Bethany Hickey

Banking editor

Bethany Hickey is the banking editor and personal finance expert at Finder, specializing in banking, lending, insurance, and crypto. Bethany’s expertise in personal finance has garnered recognition from esteemed media outlets, such as Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo Finance, GOBankingRates, SuperMoney, AOL and Newsweek. Her articles offer practical financial strategies to Americans, empowering them to make decisions that meet their financial goals. Her past work includes articles on generational spending and saving habits, lending, budgeting and managing debt. Before joining Finder, she was a content manager where she wrote hundreds of articles and news pieces on auto financing and credit repair for CarsDirect, Auto Credit Express and The Car Connection, among others. Bethany holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan-Flint, and was poetry editor for the university’s Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine. See full bio

Bethany's expertise

Bethany has written 436 Finder guides across topics including:

• Personal finance
• Banking
• Auto loans
• Insurance
• Cryptocurrency and NFTs