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Banks with No Overdraft Fees

Don’t like getting dinged with overdraft fees? Compare these top accounts without them.

Overdraft fees are charged when you spend more than what’s in your account balance — talk about getting kicked when you’re down. The good news is that more banks are ditching overdraft fees or offering some sort of overdraft protection. Compare top bank accounts without overdraft fees and accounts that offer overdraft protection programs.

6 top bank accounts with no overdraft fees

Plenty of accounts give you multiple overdraft options, including Capital One, Chime, Discover and SoFi.

SoFi Checking and Savings

9 Excellent

Get up to $300 cash bonus with qualifying direct deposit. Terms apply. This offer is available until January 31, 2026.
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on SoFi's secure site
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This hybrid account has $0 monthly fees and no opening deposit requirements. There are no overdraft fees automatically, and it will decline transactions that would result in a negative balance. However, you can enroll in Overdraft Protection, which automatically transfers funds from your savings to your checking to cover transactions that would put your account in the red. There's also an optional Overdraft Coverage service, if you have direct deposits of at least $1,000 per month, which covers up to $50 if you overdraft and the amount is deducted from your next deposit.
APYUp to 3.80%
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0
Discover® Cashback Debit

9.6 Excellent

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Not only does the Discover® Cashback Debit Checking account have no overdraft fees or monthly fees, but you can also earn up to 1% cash back on everyday purchases, on up to $3,000 each month. And if you want, you can opt in to overdraft protection when you link the account to another qualifying Discover account to transfer funds when your checking account is overdrawn for transactions such as checks, online bill payments and ACH transfers initiated at another bank — for no fees. However, this protection excludes debit card purchases, ATM withdrawals, wire transfers, Zelle transfers and cash back at store checkouts.
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0
Chime® Checking Account

9.6 Excellent

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Chime® is a fintech, and its Checking Account has no monthly fees and no overdraft fees. It also offers an overdraft protection service called Chime SpotMe®, which you can get with direct deposit of at least $200 per month. This feature allows you to overdraft up to a certain amount, starting at $20 and up to $200, based on factors such as account activity and history. If Chime 'spots' you for an overdraft, the amount is deducted from your next deposit. SpotMe is also entirely optional, and there are no fees.
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0
Varo

9.6 Excellent

Existing and new customers get a $25 referral bonus when signing up for a Varo Bank account. T&C apply.
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on Varo's secure site
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Another account with no monthly fees or overdraft fees and cashback rewards up to 6% with select brands. If you attempt a transaction that would overdraft your Varo checking account, Varo simply denies or returns that transaction. If you do end up with a negative balance, Varo still won't charge a fee. Varo also offers cashback rewards. However, if your account balance is negative for too long, Varo will investigate the account and may close it.
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0
Capital One 360 Checking

9.2 Excellent

Earn a $250 bonus with 360 Checking. No fees, no minimums. Terms and eligibility requirements apply.
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Capital One's 360 Checking account offers three overdraft options and has completely eliminated all overdraft fees on its personal accounts. You can choose to auto-decline transactions that would overdraft, opt for overdraft protection that transfers money from your linked savings or allow overdrafts for no fees — but you must resolve negative balances immediately. The 360 Checking account is also interest-bearing and has no monthly fees or foreign transaction fees.
APY0.10%
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0
Ally Bank Spending Account

8.6 Great

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The Ally Bank Spending Account has no overdraft fees or monthly fees. If you attempt to perform a transaction that would put your balance in the negative, Ally declines it. Additionally, you can enable the CoverDraft feature, a safety net that offers up to $250 if you overdraft. To qualify for CoverDraft, you either need direct deposits of $250 per month or at least $100 in your account. The next deposit you make in the account will be applied to the negative balance, and you have 14 days to fully resolve the overdraft. There are also no fees for CoverDraft.
APYUp to 0.25%
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

Why do banks charge overdraft fees?

If you were to perform a transaction that would create a negative balance on your checking account, and the bank allows that transaction to go through, they’re essentially helping you pay for that transaction. And for this “service,” they charge you a fee, typically around $30 to $35 per transaction.

Having a bank account without overdraft fees typically means you’re not allowed to overdraft, and if you can’t overdraft, there are no overdraft fees. If you were to attempt a transaction that would put your account in the red, your bank would simply deny that transaction.

Can I overdraft and not be charged a fee?

Typically, no, being allowed to overdraft usually means having to pay a fee.

An exception would be that you’ve set up some sort of overdraft protection that withdraws money from another linked account, commonly a savings account at the same bank. Money from the linked account would be moved to your checking account to cover the transaction. For banks with overdraft protection that works like this, there usually isn’t a fee, since you’re using your own money to cover the overdraft.

Compare top checking accounts

Narrow down top checking accounts by monthly fees, APYs and features. For a better comparison, tick the Compare box on multiple accounts to see them side by side.

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Product Finder Score Fee Minimum deposit to open Annual Percentage Yield (APY) Bonus offer
Finder score
$0 per month
$0
Up to 3.80%
Get up to $300 cash bonus with qualifying direct deposit. Terms apply. This offer is available until January 31, 2026.
Finder score
$0 per month
$0
8.00% on balances of $1 to $15,000
Finder score
$0 per month
$0
3.75% on balances of $5,000 to $250,000
1.00% on balances of $0 to $4,999
1.00% on balances of $250,001+
Earn 10% cash back at Walmart on your first purchase made within your first month, on up to $200 spent. Limited time offer. Earn 3% cash back at Walmart on up to $150 spent per month, with eligible deposits.
Step logo
Finder score
From $0 per month
$0
4.00% on balances of $0 to $1,000,000
Acorns logo
Finder score
From $3 per month
$0
N/A
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What is the Finder Score?

The Finder Score crunches over 300 checking accounts from hundreds of financial institutions. It takes into account the product's monthly fees, overdraft fees, opening deposit, customer support options, ATM network and features — this gives you a simple score out of 10.

To provide a Score, Finder’s banking experts analyze hundreds of checking accounts against what we consider is the best option: no monthly fees, no overdraft fees, a large ATM network of 50,000 or more, additional features outside of typical banking services, and the optional perk of earning interest. Accounts that are nearly free to maintain and use are scored the highest, while accounts with costly fees and few features are scored the lowest.

Read the full Finder Score breakdown

Bottom line

Overdraft fees are a pain, and they can be expensive, often around $35 per incident. If you’d rather avoid overdrafting altogether, choose a checking account that doesn’t allow overdrafts so you never have to pay a fee. However, if you like the ability to overdraft, consider an account that offers overdraft protection services with no fees.

For more options, compare the best free checking accounts for no-fee and stress-free banking.

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

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 458 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Personal finance
  • Banking
  • Auto loans
  • Insurance
  • Cryptocurrency and NFTs

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