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Live Oak Bank Review 2024

Updated April 29, 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
  • Top CD Rates
  • No Min Balance
Sponsored offers
Info

These are sponsored offers rated highly by us for competitive rates, fees, and minimums.

Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.35
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 7/10/2024
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer:
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Checking Account
0.50
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 7/10/2024
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right

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.

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We want to know what you think about Live Oak Bank

Do you have experience with Live Oak Bank? Let us know your thoughts.

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

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
Sponsored Offer
Info

This is a sponsored offer rated 4 stars or higher for competitive rate, fees, and minimums.

Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.35
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 7/10/2024
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
Info
$0
Min balance for APY
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 reviews are mediocre. It receives middling ratings on Apple’s App Store, but slightly higher scores on the Google Play Store. It’s important to note that less than 100 users have rated the app on each platform. The app includes useful functionality for CD customers, including the ability to manage CD maturity options and interest disbursements.

Robust help center. Live Oak’s website maintains an extensive help center with a search function that should point you in the right direction. Moreover, Live Oak maintains a resource center with articles on various financial topics, though the usefulness of each article varies since they tend to be relatively short. 

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

Featured customer reviews

The consumer reviews posted on Bankrate.com ("Bankrate") are individual, subjective opinions of reviewers, and not of Bankrate. Bankrate does not endorse any of the opinions expressed by reviewers or any responses to reviews. Bankrate cannot guarantee or verify the accuracy of the opinions shared by individual reviewers. Some reviews may be edited for length and clarity.

u/NorthAltResearch
Sep 7, 2023
Live Oak Bank
I've used Live Oak for about four months now, and I would say they're a solid bank, FDIC insured, and one of the few banks that offer high-yield savings accounts for small businesses. I tend to use the interest income to cover some of my operational costs. I don't know anything about their app, but the customer service is solid.
via Reddit
blatheringasphalt
Apr 1, 2023
Live Oak Bank
Have been with Live Oak for almost two years, no complaints. Easy and simple. Only caveat is that all deposits have a seven-day hold, so keep that in mind.
via Reddit

Our editor's take

Along with personal deposit products such as CDs and savings, Live Oak Bank offers a host of services for small businesses, including SBA loans and a high-yield savings account for small businesses. 

Live Oak customers can initiate ACH transfers from your external bank account through the Live Oak Bank online portal. It may take some time for your funds to show up, since Live Oak takes one to two business days for the funds transfer to process, and up to another five days for Live Oak to go through security and verification. 

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

Compare different account types offered by Live Oak Bank. Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown were updated between July 3, 2024 and July 9, 2024.

Selected bank
Live Oak Bank savings account
Live Oak Bank Logo
Member FDIC
Bankrate score
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
4.9
Info
Most comparable
Ally Bank savings account
Ally Bank Logo
Member FDIC
Bankrate score
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
4.4
Info
Read review
Search for or select a bank:
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Bankrate score
Info
Read review
APY
Info
4.40% 4.20%
Minimum balance for APY
$0.00 $0.00
Estimated earnings
Info
$1,100 $1,050
Live Oak Bank’s online savings account consistently offers one of the highest APYs available. The account doesn't require a minimum opening deposit, nor does it charge a monthly account fee. Ally Bank consistently offers a competitive yield on its Online Savings Account. The online bank doesn’t have the absolute highest yield, but it offers a competitive one and doesn’t have a minimum balance requirement or a monthly service fee. The bank offers mobile deposit, but you’ll need to transfer money to the Ally checking account or money market account if you want to access money in your savings from an ATM.
  • Live Oak Bank offers a competitive yield on its savings account.
  • There’s no minimum balance requirement.
  • The account does not charge a monthly maintenance fee.
  • Ally Bank offers a competitive yield on its Online Savings Account.
  • Ally Bank has savings tools, such as Surprise Savings where Ally Bank looks at your linked checking account for savings opportunities.
    N/A
  • You can earn a higher APY at some other online banks.
  • After six transactions have been made in a statement cycle, the bank charges $10 for each additional transaction.
  • Ally Bank doesn’t offer ATM access directly from its savings account.
  • Some other online banks offer a higher yield than Ally Bank.
    N/A
APY offering:
4.40%
5/5
Info
Minimum balance to earn interest:
$0.00
5/5
Info
Monthly service fee:
$0.00
5/5
Info
Minimum balance to avoid fee:
$0.00
5/5
Info
Access to funds:
Good
4/5
Info
APY offering:
4.20%
4/5
Info
Minimum balance to earn interest:
$0.00
5/5
Info
Monthly service fee:
$0.00
5/5
Info
Minimum balance to avoid fee:
$0.00
5/5
Info
Access to funds:
Good
4/5
Info
Info
Info
Info
Info
Info
Bankrate does not currently track additional product details for this bank.

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.