Ally vs Capital One 360 vs Chime: three online checking accounts compared

Three online checking accounts with no monthly fee, no minimum balance and early direct deposit: Capital One 360 Checking, the Ally Spending Account and the Chime Checking Account. On paper they look interchangeable. They are not. Each one is built around a different answer to the same three questions: what happens when you overdraw, what happens at an ATM outside the network, and whether your balance earns anything at all.

Interest: small, but not equal

None of these is a savings account, and the rates show it. Capital One 360 pays 0.10% APY on the checking balance. Ally pays 0.10% under $15,000 and 0.25% at $15,000 or more. Chime pays none on checking. For a typical checking balance, the difference is a few dollars a year; it only becomes noticeable if you keep a large cushion in checking.

If earning on idle cash is the point, a checking account is the wrong tool for any of the three. Our high-yield checking Q&A covers the accounts that pay more, and the conditions they attach to it.

ATMs: networks and refunds

Ally’s refund is the detail that separates it. Up to $10 per statement cycle is up to $120 a year if you use an out-of-network machine every month, which covers the occasional ATM in a town with no network machine nearby. Capital One 360’s answer is the opposite approach: a large network plus physical branches and cafés, which matters most if you ever need to deposit cash or talk to someone in person.

Overdraft: three different safety nets

This is where the accounts differ most in design.

1. 01

   1. Ally: CoverDraft up to $250

   Up to $250

   Ally Spending Account · 4.5/5

   Ally covers overdrafts up to $250 through CoverDraft, the largest buffer of the three.

2. 02

   2. Chime: SpotMe up to $200

   Up to $200

   Chime Checking Account · 4.5/5

   SpotMe covers debit purchases up to $200 with no overdraft fee. Note the scope: it is described for debit purchases.

3. 03

   3. Capital One 360: fee-free overdraft options

   No overdraft fees

   Capital One 360 Checking · 4.4/5

   Capital One 360 lists fee-free overdraft options and no overdraft fees, without a fixed buffer amount in our catalogue.

All three remove the classic per-item overdraft fee. What differs is how much they will let you go below zero and on which kinds of transactions. If you live close to a zero balance, read each bank’s current overdraft terms before you move your direct deposit.

The extras that decide it

• Ally has spending buckets that divide the balance inside the account, useful for budgeting without opening separate accounts.
• Capital One 360 is the only one of the three with branch and café access, unusual for an online account.
• Chime pairs with the Chime Credit Builder Visa, which reports on-time payments monthly and has no credit check, no annual fee and no minimum security deposit; it requires a qualifying Chime Checking Account with a direct deposit.

That last point makes Chime more than a checking account for someone with a thin credit file. Our guide to building credit from zero compares it with the secured-card route.