Credit unions offer the best deals on checking accounts, new research finds, charging 70% less than national banks and providing nearly 10 times higher interest rates than regional banks.

They also provided the most return on savings accounts in the third quarter of the year, offering six times more interest than national banks, according to the “Banking Landscape Report” by financial website WalletHub, which every quarter tracks more than 2,000 checking accounts and savings accounts available to consumers, small-business owners and students from financial institutions nationwide.

Credit unions charged an average of $21.76 for checking account fees in the third quarter, less than national banks ($73.61), regional banks ($63.60), small banks ($42.23) and community banks ($41.30). Analyzing interest rates on savings and money-market accounts with a range of balances from $1,000 to $50,000, credit unions paid 0.21% interest versus 0.03% for national banks and 0.06% for regional banks.

The report also named the best and worst checking accounts: Business checking accounts charge 115% more than personal online accounts, have 42% fewer features and 72% less interest, it found. Students receive the cheapest checking accounts on the market, with fees that are 45% lower than those charged for personal online accounts; but they have 11% fewer features and 87% lower interest rates.

Also see: 5 sneaky ways banks may be robbing you

Previous studies on bank fees support these findings. Some 72% of the nation’s largest credit unions still offer a standalone, free checking account, compared to just 38% of the largest banks and thrifts, according to a recent report by personal finance website Bankrate.com. “If you’re looking for free checking, you need to contact your local credit union,” says Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at BankRate.com, which accepts advertising from banks and credit unions, although banks are more heavily represented.

This doesn’t mean a credit union is universally a better choice. Most larger banks have more sophisticated online banking services and countrywide ATMs, for instance. That said, despite the economies of scale enjoyed by large national banks, “consumers rarely benefit in terms of gaining an optimal return on their money or receiving the best terms on services they use,” says Ben Woolsey, president of credit-card advice website CreditCardForum.com.

In reality, people are still less likely to switch from banks than during the recession. From 2008 to 2012, 15 million to 24 million accounts during those years switched from large to smaller banks with assets of $10 billion or less, according to data compiled by Mike Moebs, economist and chief executive of Moebs Services. But that number has slowed from a peak of 1 million switchers a month in 2010 to just 1 million to 2 million a year.

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