Axos Bank vs Varo Bank
The two banks compared as banks: the charter, branches, checking, the other products they sell, their apps and their deposit rates. Each fact has its source and the date it was confirmed.
Choose Axos Bank or Varo Bank
Choose Axos Bank if
- You want a mortgage from the same bank. Varo Bank does not offer one.
- You want an investment account from the same bank. Varo Bank does not offer one.
- You use ATMs often. Axos Bank lists 95,000+ fee-free ATMs and Varo Bank lists 40,000+.
- The savings rate matters most. Axos Bank advertises the higher savings APY.
Choose Varo Bank if
- You want a credit card from the same bank. Axos Bank does not offer one.
Axos Bank and Varo Bank compared
| Field | Axos Bank | Varo Bank |
|---|---|---|
| What each bank sells | ||
| Savings account | YesBanksparency rate data | YesBanksparency rate data |
| CDs | None trackedBanksparency rate data | None trackedBanksparency rate data |
| Money market account | None trackedBanksparency rate data | None trackedBanksparency rate data |
| Checking account | YesBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | YesBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| Credit cards | NoBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | YesBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| Personal loans | YesBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | Small loans only ($600 to $2,000, a line of credit)Bank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| Mortgages | YesBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | NoBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| Investing | YesBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | NoBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| Deposit rates | ||
| Best savings APY | 4.21% APYAdvertised, newest reading Sep 26, 2026 | Up to 3.75% APYAdvertised, newest reading Sep 26, 2026 |
| Checking | ||
| Account compared | Axos CheckingBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | Varo Bank AccountBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| Monthly fee | NoneBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | NoneBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| How to avoid the fee | No fee to avoidBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | No fee to avoidBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| Overdraft fee | NoneBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | NoneBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| Zelle | Not statedBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | Yes, after 60+ days as a customer and $1,000 in deposits within a rolling 61 daysBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| Branches and ATMs | ||
| Branches | No branches (online only)Bank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | No branches (online only)Bank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| Fee-free ATMs | 95,000+ ATMs nationwide (network not named)Bank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | Allpoint, 40,000+Bank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| Other banks' ATM fees | Unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursementsBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | Not statedBank site, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| Apps | ||
| App Store rating | 4.7 of 5Store listing, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | 4.9 of 5Store listing, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| Google Play rating | 4.6 of 5Store listing, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 | 4.5 of 5Store listing, confirmed Sep 27, 2026 |
| The bank behind it | ||
| Charter | California · one of 115 insured banks chartered thereFDIC call report, Q2 2026 | Utah · one of 44 insured banks chartered thereFDIC call report, Q2 2026 |
| Size | 71st-largest by deposits of 4,238 insured banksFDIC call report, Q2 2026 | 2,713th-largest by deposits of 4,238 insured banksFDIC call report, Q2 2026 |
| Deposit growth | Higher than at 92% of 4,226 insured banks over the four quarters to Q2 2026FDIC call report | Higher than at 96% of 4,226 insured banks over the four quarters to Q2 2026FDIC call report |
“Not stated” means the bank’s own pages say nothing that answers the question. “Not confirmed yet” means no one has confirmed the fact against its source.
How each bank has moved its rates
Banksparency reads each bank’s rates every day. A bank that cuts often, or lets a promotion lapse to a lower rate, costs more over a year than its rate today shows.
Axos Bank
- Axos ONE Savings: one rate change since Jan 21, 2026, 1 cut.The last was on Feb 2, 2026, down 0.10 points.
Varo Bank
- High-Yield Savings Account: one rate change since Jan 21, 2026, 1 cut.The last was on Jul 2, 2026, down 1.25 points.
What each bank pays on deposits
An advertised rate tells you what a new savings account earns today. It cannot tell you how the bank has priced the savings and money market deposits it already holds, over time. This section shows that. The figure is computed from the interest expense and deposit balances that every bank files with the FDIC in the same form. That is what makes it comparable across banks and across quarters.
Axos Bank
The two figures answer different questions, so they sit side by side and are not combined. The 4.21% applies to balances up to $249,999.99. A larger balance earns 3.50% on the whole amount.
In Q2 2026, Axos Bank paid a higher average rate on savings and money market deposits than 91% of banks that reported a figure (FDIC call report). The all-bank median was 1.45%.
Each figure is that bank's own charter-level average across its whole deposit book, so the two are shown one after the other and are not a ranking.
Varo Bank
The two figures answer different questions, so they sit side by side and are not combined. The 3.75% applies to the first $5,000. The balance above that earns 1.00%.
How to read these figures
What the average covers. It is an average across the whole bank, taken from its own quarterly FDIC call report. It covers savings accounts and money market deposit accounts, personal and business, at every balance tier. It also covers accounts that were opened years ago and keep the rate of those years. The FDIC line does not separate consumer accounts.
The second figure. The scale row also shows the average across all interest-bearing deposits: savings, interest checking, money market accounts, CDs, personal and business. That figure covers the whole deposit book. The two are shown separately and are not combined.
What the advertised rate covers. It is the rate that this bank advertises now for a new savings account. Banksparency records it from the bank's website on the date shown beside it.
Why the two differ. They measure different things, so this page shows them side by side and keeps them apart. An advertised rate applies to one account, opened now, at today's price. The average also includes older savings balances at the rates of earlier years, money market balances that were priced in a different rate environment, and business accounts. An average below an advertised rate is the usual result of that arithmetic. On its own it is not evidence about the account that you would open.
What the average is useful for. The bank files the data itself, under reporting instructions that are the same for every filer, and the same computation runs for every bank on this site. That makes it comparable in a way that an advertisement is not. Two things on this page read it: the percentile, which shows where the quarter sits among all filers, and the chart, which shows the direction the figure has moved across quarters.
What the average cannot tell you. It cannot tell you the rate that you would earn. No single customer earns the average. For your rate, read the advertised rate above and the rate tables on this page, each with the date it was observed.
What to do next. Use the advertised rate to work out what a new account earns. Use the chart to see how the quarterly average has moved against the all-bank median. Then compare the advertised rate against the current rates on the savings-rate tables before you open an account.
Definitions: Call Report · Rate Paid on Deposits · Interest-Bearing Deposits · Front Book and Back Book · Deposit Rate Percentile
Average annualized rates paid on savings and money market deposits, and on all interest-bearing deposits, quarterly. The FDIC line for savings includes money market deposit accounts and business savings deposits and does not separate consumer accounts. Source: FDIC call report data, as reported; it may be amended. The percentile compares all FDIC filers, count-weighted. A missing quarter is suppressed, never interpolated. The percentile counts the banks that paid strictly less on savings and money market deposits, one vote per bank, among the banks that reported a figure for the quarter.
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