Top home equity loans and HELOCs compared

About Top home equity loans and HELOCs compared

A home equity loan and a HELOC both turn the value in your home into cash, and they do it in different ways. A loan hands you a set amount once and charges for it over a fixed period. A credit line stays open, so you can draw, repay and draw again. Choosing between them is the main trade-off in this category, and the published numbers show its shape: initial rates across our data run 0.6% to 26.9%, fixed periods run 0.25 to 40, and the median initial rate in this ranking sits at 4.45%. This ranking sets 106 brands side by side for readers weighing what a loan costs once fees are counted, how safely the money is handled, and how the account behaves day to day. Every brand listed lends for home equity, with purchase, remortgage and equity release often sitting alongside it. Fees are the quietest cost in a home-equity deal and the easiest to miss, so each profile places them next to the rate.

How we picked

Each brand is scored on a set of pillars, and the weights are published rather than implied. Trust carries 40% of the score, cost carries 35% and offer carries 25%. Trust looks at the legal entity behind the name, where the operation sits and how it is supervised. Cost looks at the rate, the annual cost figure and the product fee, since a low headline rate can cost more once a fee is added. Offer looks at stated purposes, terms, borrowing limits and support channels. Facts come from each brand's own published terms, product pages, help pages and legal notices, with company details matched against public registry records, and every figure on a profile carries a source link. A fact a brand does not publish stays off its profile rather than being estimated. Partner brands are listed first, in the order set by the partner arrangement, and every other brand follows by score. This ranking draws on 106 brands, of which 2 are partners and 63 hold a licence record.

Our top picks

1. 1. Sofkredit

   Sofkredit follows Creduma ES in this ranking on the strength of published numbers rather than a low entry cost. It shows an initial rate of 8% to 14% and an annual figure of 10.74% to 18.06%, with a product fee of €900 to €1,350 on the terms it publishes. The fixed period runs 0.5 to 20, so the term can suit a short draw or a long one. The con is the ceiling on borrowing: it lends against 30% at most, which suits owners with equity already built rather than those stretching to the limit. Support runs on email, phone and help centre, adding a help centre to email and phone. K Bank, next in this ranking, lends for purchase, remortgage and home equity at an initial rate of 3.9%.

   • APR: 10.74% to 18.06%
   • Loan amount: €12,000 to €300,000
   • Term: 6 to 240 months

   Pros

   • Sofkredit's own service costs nothing, so the only charge to weigh is the lender's arrangement fee of 6% to 9%.
   • The loan range €12,000 to €300,000 and the term range 6 to 240 suit both renovation projects and debt consolidation.
   • Eligibility leans towards weaker files, with the credit needed listed as poor, and the credit check is soft prequal.
   • The range 0.5 to 20 lets a borrower fix the rate for a short stretch or a long one.
   • Same day funding is listed as same day funding once the notary signs.

   Cons

   • The arrangement fee of 6% to 9% is a large share of the loan, and the product fee on a small mortgage guaranteed loan runs €900 to €1,350.
   • Maximum loan to value is 30%, well below the 90% across listed lenders, so equity of your own is required.
   • Sofkredit is a broker, so the contract sits with the collaborating lender rather than the site you apply through.
   • Support runs on email, phone and help centre, with no chat or community channel listed.

2. 2. Creduma ES: best for top-pick

   Creduma ES sits at the top of this ranking on cost, because the product fee is €0 on its remortgage and home-equity products. That makes it the cheapest structure in a fee-led comparison, and it suits owners who want to free cash or add value to a property they already hold rather than buying a new one. The legal entity behind the name is FINANSI GROUP, S.L. (CIF B66240672), based in ES. The con is contact: support runs on email and phone only, so help comes by email or phone with no help centre listed. Sofkredit, the brand below it in this ranking, trades a fee for a rate, showing an initial rate of 8% to 14% against a product fee of €900 to €1,350.

   • Loan amount: from €12,000
   • Arrangement fee: 0 EUR upfront: no advance commissions and no initial payments, fees charged only if a real solution is obtained
   • Credit check: Soft prequal

   Pros

   • Free upfront handling through €0, with charges only where a solution is obtained
   • Soft prequalification through soft prequal limits early credit footprint during comparison
   • Access for poor credit profiles under poor where property equity supports the request
   • Loans of from €12,000 exceed the maximum listed by Ibancar Prestamos at €600 to €8,000
   • Direct email and phone contact through email and phone for guided secured applications

   Cons

   • Broker handling under broker adds an intermediary step compared with borrowing directly from Fidea
   • Support runs on email and phone only, which limits choice for borrowers who prefer live chat help
   • Loan scope stays within secured and debt consolidation, so unsecured borrowing is outside the model

3. 6. LEND.ch

   LEND.ch closes this ranking as a small-market lender for Swiss borrowers. Founded in 2015, it operates under Switzerlend AG (CHE-456.445.646) and lends for purchase, equity release and home equity, which adds equity release to the home-equity work. Support runs on email, chat and help centre, so there is a help centre and live chat but no phone line listed. Against HomeSec Business Finance, the brand just above it here, the purposes overlap on home equity, yet LEND.ch covers purchase and equity release while HomeSec sits within equity release and home equity and keeps the borrowing to 70% to 80%.

   • APR: 4.3% to 9.96%
   • Loan amount: from CHF 10,000
   • Term: 12 to 84 months

   Pros

   • Rates of 4.3% to 9.96% sit below the 12% median across loans on the site and below the 10% to 23% range at Monzo Flex.
   • Early repayment is free, matching 81.2% of the loans across the site, so a fee spread over the term can be cut short without a charge.
   • A single application can cover personal, debt consolidation and car under the same marketplace structure, rather than a separate search for each purpose.
   • Property lending sits on the same platform, with purchase, equity release and home equity listed alongside the personal loan range.

   Cons

   • The arrangement fee is score dependent and charged across the whole term, so a weaker profile pays more for the same 4.3% to 9.96%.
   • The fee is deducted from the payout, as the representative example shows, so the amount landing in the account is lower than the amount borrowed and 4.3% to 9.96% understates the cost.
   • The credit check is hard, so a search is on the file before any offer, and hard searches account for 72.7% of the loans on the site.
   • Support runs on email, chat and help centre only, while phone lines appear on 85% of the loans across the site.

4. 7. First National Bank of Omaha

   First National Bank of Omaha earns its place in this ranking on age and reach. Founded in 1857, it is the longest-established member listed, and it lends for purchase, remortgage and first time buyer with a maximum loan to value of 100%. The catch is the term band: the fixed period runs 15 to 30, which is narrower than the 30 term at Wells Fargo below it. Support runs on phone, email and help centre, the widest set in this ranking, adding a community board to phone, email and a help centre.

   • Fixed period: 15 to 30 years
   • Maximum loan to value: 100%
   • Purpose: Purchase, Remortgage, First-time-buyer, and 1 more

   Pros

   • A direct lender, so you deal with the bank itself
   • Maximum loan to value of 100%
   • Fixed period of 15 to 30
   • Covers personal, credit line and debt consolidation

   Cons

   • Personal loan rate of 15.24% to 21.24% sits above the site median of 12%
   • Credit checks are hard, so a full search lands on file
   • Rate type is variable, so payments can move

5. 8. Wells Fargo

   Wells Fargo takes the next place in this ranking as a high loan to value lender with a single long term. It lends for purchase, remortgage and first time buyer and allows a maximum loan to value of 100%, and it writes a fixed period of 30 rather than a range, so the term is settled at the start. Founded in 1852, it operates under Wells Fargo National Bank West. The con is contact: support runs on phone and help centre only, with no email or chat listed. New Millennium Bank, the brand below it in this ranking, lends for purchase, remortgage and home equity and takes support on email and phone.

   • Fixed period: 30 years
   • Maximum loan to value: 100%
   • Purpose: Purchase, Remortgage, First-time-buyer, and 1 more

   Pros

   • Personal loans carry no origination fee, at 0 USD and 0%, so the cost is interest on the balance
   • Free early repayment means a personal loan can be cleared ahead of schedule without a charge for settling it
   • Unsecured personal loans run $3,000 to $100,000 over 12 to 84 at 6.74% to 26.74% on a fixed rate
   • Fixed-rate mortgages hold their rate for 30 and cover purchase, remortgage and first time buyer lending, first-time buyers among them

   Cons

   • Eligibility is limited to existing customers, so a new customer of the bank cannot apply for a personal loan
   • Personal loan applications use a hard credit check, the type behind 72.7% of listings on the site
   • Support runs on phone and help centre only, so a chat or email channel is not listed

What to look for

The rate you actually pay

Compare the starting rate with the category midpoint, 4.45%, then check the annual cost figure where one is published, 4.93%. A rate near the low end here is not automatically the cheaper deal once fees enter the picture.

Fees, not just the rate

A product fee in the hundreds can cancel out a lower rate over a long term, so read the fee line on every profile. Early repayment is free on 78.7% of the offers here, which means paying off ahead of schedule can hand that cost back.

How much of your home you can borrow

The median maximum loan to value in this ranking is 90%, with the lower and upper quartiles at 80% and 95%. Borrowing a larger share leaves less of the value in your hands if the market turns.

Lump sum or a line you can redraw

Credit lines account for 32.6% of the offers here, while 100% sit on a fixed rate model. A line suits irregular spending, since you pay for what you draw; a lump sum suits one known bill.

Term length and what it costs you

The median term is 60 months, running from 30 to 360. A longer stretch lowers what you pay each month but raises what you pay in total, which matters most on a high-rate brand.

Credit checks and who answers afterwards

A hard credit check runs on 75.9% of offers and a soft prequalification check on 20.7%. Most offers here are aimed at a good credit record, 47.1%. After the offer is signed, phone support exists on 88.5% and a help centre on 80.8%.

Frequently asked questions

Top home equity loans and HELOCs compared by country

• Australia
• Canada
• China
• Germany
• Italy
• Mexico
• Portugal
• Spain
• Sweden
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV