Verified data, real savings: Bankrate’s home lending advantage

Most banks compete locally. We compete nationally.

When you apply for the mortgage recommended by your real estate agent, builder or bank around the block, you’re limited to their specific rates. But a higher interest rate — even just a fraction of a percentage — can cost you thousands over the life of your mortgage. 

Bankrate knows you’ve worked hard to afford your mortgage. We think lenders should work just as hard to give you a lower rate. Instead of paying to be at the top of our list, we make lenders compete with each other to earn that ranking. That’s how we save homeowners an average of $73,000 over the life of their 30-year mortgage.

Here’s how we know you’ll find the best rates on your home — valued by Americans, backed by data.

Our numbers do the talking

In 2025, Bankrate’s lowest rates beat 300+ surveyed banks 99.7% of the time. Here’s proof.

At Bankrate, transparency is at the core of what we do. When we say our top offers were lower than hundreds of banks and credit unions in 2025, we back that up with rigorous data analysis.

How we compare offers

Interest rates alone don’t tell the whole story. To ensure an apples-to-apples approach in our calculations, we consider the cost of loans over eight years —- about how long most homeowners go without selling or refinancing — to compare our best offers against 300+ banks and credit unions. Our formula includes the total interest for the first eight years or 96 months and borrower-paid costs like fees and points (net of any lender credits).

Where the data comes from

To find the market average, we cast a wide net:

• Bankrate data: We track the actual mortgage offers our readers clicked on throughout 2025.

• Market data: We survey over 300 banks and credit unions every week. This is a process we’ve honed over many years to ensure we’re getting the right benchmark for our consumers.

How we do the math

• Daily accuracy: Interest rates move daily, but most banks and lenders are surveyed on a weekly basis — and not always on the same day. We compare Bankrate’s best offers by day to the lenders surveyed on that same day. Then, we average the results. 

• Consistent scenarios: To ensure comparability, we used standardized criteria: 30-year fixed-rate purchase mortgages for borrowers with good to very good credit (700 to 780 FICO) and mid-sized loans ($310,000 to $330,000). Our specific lender survey metrics are based on a 740 FICO and $320,000 loan, using ranges to maintain a robust sample size for date comparisons.

During 2025, Bankrate’s top offer beat 99.7% of offers by 300+ banks and credit unions — surveyed weekly.

Bankrate users save an average of more than $73,000 on their expected 30-year mortgage cost. Here’s how.

When we talk about consumers saving over $73K over a 30-year mortgage, it’s not just a guess. We compare the real-world choices people make on Bankrate against the national average to see how much more affordable a home can be.

How we calculate savings 

To find this number, we compare the monthly interest payments people owe on the average mortgage found with Bankrate against the national average monthly interest payments for the same loan amount.

• The Bankrate average: We track the actual interest rates that Bankrate users selected, across all credit scores and loan amounts, for 30-year mortgages to both purchase and refinance. Then, we calculate the average loan amount and rate for the month to find the monthly payments for that loan scenario over 30 years.

• The national average: We pull data from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market (PMMS), the industry standard for tracking average mortgage rates in the U.S. Then, we calculate the average rate for the month based on the corresponding average loan amount from Bankrate to find the national monthly payment over 30 years.

During 2025, Bankrate’s average rate was projected to save its consumers $73,397 on 30-year mortgage cost.