We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories, except where prohibited by law for our mortgage, home equity and other home lending products. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
Written by
Andrew Dehan
Andrew Dehan writes about real estate and personal finance. His work has been published by Rocket Mortgage, Forbes Advisor and Business Insider. He’s also a poet, musician and nature-lover. He lives in metro Detroit with his wife and children.
Edited by
Troy Segal
Troy Segal is a senior editor for Bankrate. She edits stories about mortgages and home equity, along with the finer financial points of owning and maintaining a home.
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money .
Bankrate logoFounded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts, who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy.
Our mortgage reporters and editors focus on the points consumers care about most — the latest rates, the best lenders, navigating the homebuying process, refinancing your mortgage and more — so you can feel confident when you make decisions as a homebuyer and a homeowner.
Bankrate logoBankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information.
Bankrate logoYou have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories, except where prohibited by law for our mortgage, home equity and other home lending products. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range, can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.
When you work with an online mortgage lender, the entire application process happens without any face-to-face interaction. Online mortgage lenders don’t have branch locations; instead, they operate exclusively online. To assemble our list of the best online lenders, we’ve reviewed over 80 lenders for affordability, availability and borrower experience. Here are our top picks for 2024.
| Online mortgage lender | Bankrate Score | Minimum credit score | Minimum down payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Mortgage Direct | 4.8 | 620 for conventional loans, 580 for FHA loans, 580 for VA loans | 3% for conventional loans, 3.5% for FHA loans, none for VA loans and USDA loans |
| SoFi | 4.6 | 620 for conventional loans, 600 for FHA loans, 600 for VA loans | 3%-5% for conventional loans, 3.5% for FHA loans, none for VA loans |
| Rocket Mortgage | 4.6 | 620 for conventional loans, 680 for jumbo loans, 580 for FHA loans, 580 for VA loans | 3% for conventional loans, 10%-15% for jumbo loans, 3.5% for FHA loans, none for VA loans |
| Mr. Cooper | 4.6 | 620 for conventional loans, 580 for FHA loans, 600 for VA loans | 3% for conventional loans, 3.5% for FHA loans, none for VA loans |
| Better | 4.6 | 620 for conventional loans, 580 for FHA loans | 3% for conventional loans, 3.5% for FHA loans, none for VA loans |
| Alliant Credit Union | 4.5 | Undisclosed | 5% for conventional loans |
| Homefinity | 4.5 | 620 for conventional loans, 600 or higher for FHA loans and VA loans (can be lower in some cases) | 3% for conventional loans, 3.5% for FHA loans, none for VA loans or USDA loans |
| Tomo | 4.5 | 620 for conventional loans | 3% for conventional loans, 3.5% for FHA loans, none for VA loans |
