The best online mortgage lenders of January 2025

These days, every mortgage lender with a national profile has an online presence. Most, if not all, allow you to start a home loan application online as well. However, only a few have organically grown their mortgage lending business by leveraging technology and establishing early-mover status as online lenders.

Yahoo Finance has done due diligence on more than 40 nationally recognized mortgage lenders and narrowed down the list of the best online lenders to just a handful.

Yahoo View: Better proudly carries a flag as a “100% online” mortgage lender and earns our top spot due to a combination of low interest rates and lower total loan costs than its web competitors.

Stars: 4.00

Read our full Better Mortgage review

The main benefit

Better offers a full menu of conventional and government loans for home buying and refinancing.
A home equity line of credit and a cash-out refinance give you access to the cash value of your home.
In a Yahoo Finance analysis of 2023 HMDA data, Better offers well-below-average interest rates and below-average loan costs. This is a valuable combination.
With its “One Day Mortgage,” you can submit your financial information and receive a loan commitment within 24 hours.

Need to know

On the day we checked, published mortgage rates had been reduced by more than two discount points. Keep this in mind when comparing Better’s interest rates with those of other lenders.
In an effort to respond to customers more quickly, some of your inquiries may be handled by “Betsy,” an AI voice-based assistant.

learn more: What are mortgage discount points, and should you pay for them?

Yahoo View: In 2015, Rate (formerly Guaranteed Rate) claimed to have introduced “the world’s first digital mortgage”. Now, it offers extended loan eligibility with non-qualifying mortgages.

Stars: 3.80

Read our full rate (guaranteed rate) mortgage review

The main benefit

Offers non-qualifying mortgages for borrowers who want to use alternative credit data in their applications, such as bank statements or pay stubs, and those seeking interest-only home loans.
Compete with cash buyers using PowerBid approval of rate. This service speeds up the pre-approval process by quickly verifying your financial information and even gives you 90-day house-hunting flexibility.
Earns our highest rating for rate affordability, which measures the availability of loan options and down payment assistance.

Need to know

Sample mortgage rates come with some strict credit terms. Don’t fall in love with a rate until it’s locked.
In 2023, the rate offered a lower-than-average interest rate but a loan cost of about $6,500 — close to the industry average.

loanDepot

Yahoo View: Londepo works to deepen its relationship with customers by offering cash incentives for using associated real estate agents.

Stars: 3.40

Read our full LoanDepot mortgage review

The main benefit

The “MelHome” program offers cash bonuses if you buy or sell your home using a real estate agent affiliated with LoanDepot.
The lender guarantees to close the loan on time or pay $1,000 to both the buyer and the seller.
Other home buyer benefits include discounts on security systems, moving services, and smart home products.

Need to know

Sample mortgage rates are not provided on the LoanDepot website. You will need to call or submit a contact form to get an idea of the rate you will earn.
According to the latest, it receives a below average rating for customer service JD Power Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study.

Yahoo View: Ali is a leading online bank with a history spanning over 100 years. How does this work? It began as an internal loan provider for GM vehicles. Today, Ali is a strong mortgage lender worth considering.

Stars: 3.40

Read our full Ali Bank mortgage review

The main benefit

Affiliate rate earns our highest rating for transparency. When you’re shopping for mortgage rates, you’ll appreciate the ease of getting something close to reality.
According to our analysis of 2023 loan data, Ally offered moderate to low interest rates and total borrowing costs.
First-time homebuyers will appreciate a wide selection of educational resources.

Need to know

Don’t get confused: The affiliate’s pre-approval process is managed by Better Mortgage. But Ali is still your lender.
Collaborative does not offer government loans, including FHA, VA, or USDA loans.

Yahoo View: Rocket Mortgage brought online home loan loans to people. Today, it continues to innovate with mortgage offerings such as very low-down-payment conventional loans.

Stars: 3.06

Read our full Rocket Mortgage review

The main benefit

The One+ mortgage program uses grants to lower your down payment by 1%. Income and maximum benefit limits apply.
A mortgage buydown program can temporarily lower your interest rate for the first two years.
Closing cost assistance is available to first-time home buyers in 21 US cities.

Need to know

Its JD Power customer satisfaction score has dropped over the past few years, but the Rocket is still above average.
A recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lawsuit accused sister company Rocket Homes of paying real estate agents to underwrite Rocket mortgages. Rocket Holmes denied the allegations and said she would challenge the lawsuit.

Dig Deeper: How to lower your mortgage interest rate

We carefully considered the mortgage lenders below for our best list, but they weren’t as strong as our top picks. Remember that many of these lenders offer online services — even if they’re not listed as online lenders — so you can still complete most (if not all) of the application process digitally if you need one of these. A company must be selected.

Getting a home loan online is like getting a mortgage in person. In both cases, there’s a lot of paperwork, but you’ll upload it instead of handing it in. If you’re tech savvy, things can go faster online – mainly because you’ll be able to convert documents faster. But getting an online mortgage still isn’t going to click to buy Amazon fast. The final loan approval process, called underwriting, is the same and is likely to take a few weeks.

learn more: How the mortgage underwriting process works

Comparing lenders online is like shopping for any big-ticket purchase:

You’ll want to compare multiple lenders by getting pre-approval offers to find the best fit.
Shop your loan estimates as well as compare interest rates and loan costs.
Look for “junk fees” (such as origination and application fees) and discount points that were not included in the loan you received.
Pay special attention to the annual percentage rate, which includes both the interest rate and the fee.

Dig Deeper: APR vs. Interest Rate — What You Need to Know When Shopping for a Mortgage

You have many options of where to get a home loan and online is definitely the best. However, you don’t want to rule out shopping at a brick-and-mortar lender. Banks, credit unions, mortgage companies, and brokers are all worth considering.

For example, your everyday bank may offer interest rate concessions or fee discounts to existing customers. Credit unions are often low-tech but high-touch when it comes to customer service.

There is a lot of power in introducing a little competition into the mix.

Of the more than 40 national lenders we reviewed, Better Mortgage is the highest rated online lender with 4 out of 5 stars. Scored better in every category we considered, except for rate transparency. And that’s because Better lowers their advertised mortgage rates by more than two discount points. If you haven’t noticed, you might think Better’s rates are significantly lower than a lender that doesn’t include the added cost of discount points in their rates.

Among the banks reviewed by Yahoo Finance, Chase, TD Bank, and Trist are the highest-rated — each earning 4 out of 5 stars. And one credit union tops them all: Navy Federal Credit Union with our highest rating of 4.20 stars.

Based on loan volume measured by 2023 HMDA data, Rocket Mortgage is the number 1 mortgage lender In America.

Yahoo Finance is considered the best overall option for an online mortgage. However, we also encourage borrowers to consider two or three lenders before making a final decision. Your best choice may be another provider entirely.

In Yahoo Finance’s analysis of HMDA data, the two online lenders on our best list had the lowest interest rates: Better and LonDepo. Both offered moderate-to-very-low mortgage rates to borrowers in 2023.

Procedure:

Yahoo Finance reviews and scores mortgage lenders with quintile scoring in five primary categories: 1) Interest rates. Using 2023 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data from 10 million home loan applications, we score mortgage lenders with outstanding mortgage rates below or above the annual median of reporting lenders. 2) Capacity. A measure of loan product availability and a lender’s willingness to offer government-backed loans, low down payments, down payment assistance, and non-traditional credit. 3) Loan cost. HMDA data is reanalyzed, and lenders are ranked based on total loan costs compared to annual averages. 4) Rate transparency. A website user’s ability to obtain a mortgage interest rate estimate. We score lenders based on whether rates are enhanced with discount points or higher credit score requirements, disclaimers disclosing rate assumptions, sample advertised rates, and whether adjusted or no discount point rate estimates are available. . 5) Online features. Analysis of educational materials, calculators, and additional resources available to users.

A review of Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) data on regulatory actions can penalize the score of any lender with a consumer mortgage-related administrative or enforcement action within the past five years.

Advertisers or sponsorships do not affect ratings.

Editorial disclosure for mortgages:

The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. Details of financial products, including interest rates and fees, are correct as at the date of publication. All products or services are offered without warranty. Check the lender’s website for the most current information. This site does not contain all offers currently available.

This article was edited by Laura Grace Tarpley.