CD Laddering Calculator
Build a Certificate of Deposit (CD) ladder. See your total return, blended yield, and the rollover schedule. CD ladders give you locked-in rates plus annual liquidity at every rung.
Ladder Composition
What Is a CD Ladder?
A CD ladder is a strategy of dividing your money equally across multiple Certificates of Deposit (CDs) with different maturity dates — typically 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years. As each CD matures, you reinvest it into a new long-term CD at the back of the ladder. After the ladder is mature, you have one CD coming due each year, giving you regular access to a portion of your money while still earning the higher long-term CD rates on the rest. CDs are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor per insured bank, so principal is fully protected (source: FDIC, fdic.gov).
Why Build a CD Ladder Instead of One Big CD?
A CD ladder solves three problems simultaneously. First, liquidity: a 5-year CD locks your money for 5 years; a 5-rung ladder gives you access to 1/5 of your money every year. Second, rate risk: putting everything into a 5-year CD means missing out if rates rise, and a 1-year CD means missing the longer-term yield premium. The ladder spreads the risk. Third, opportunity cost: when one rung matures each year, you can use that cash for unexpected needs, redeploy to better rates, or just keep building the ladder. Top brokered CD platforms (Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab) make building ladders easy with no fees.
CD Ladder vs High-Yield Savings vs Treasury Bills
High-yield savings accounts (HYSAs) currently yield 4.5-5.0% APY in 2026 with full liquidity but variable rates that can drop overnight when the Fed cuts. CDs lock in current rates — protecting against future rate cuts — but charge early-withdrawal penalties (typically 6 months of interest). Treasury Bills (T-Bills) yield similarly to short-term CDs (4.0-4.5% in 2026) and are state-tax-exempt, making them better than CDs for residents of high-tax states (CA, NY). For the safety-first portion of your portfolio, a CD ladder makes most sense when you have specific timeline needs (down payment in 3 years, college tuition in 5 years) and want a guaranteed locked-in return.
2026 CD Rate Outlook and Strategy
The Federal Reserve cut rates 4 times during 2024-2025, bringing the federal funds rate to 4.00-4.25% by early 2026. CD rates have followed: 1-year CDs offer 4.0-4.75% APY at top banks (Marcus, Ally, Capital One 360, Synchrony) and 5-year CDs offer 3.90-4.25%. The current yield curve is slightly inverted in the CD market (short-term rates higher than long-term), which is unusual — it reflects expectations of further Fed cuts. Strategy: bias your ladder toward shorter rungs (1-3 years) to capture today's higher yields, and lock 4-5 year rungs only if you specifically need that timeline. Last updated: April 2026.