Comparing rates is easy. Comparing them honestly is the work.
Compare the rate, fees and features against your own loan details. Check eligibility and the total cost before treating a headline rate as an available saving.
What to gather
Four numbers before you look at anything
Collect these details so each offer can be compared with the loan you actually have.
- Your current rate. The real one, from a statement. Memory is unreliable here and settlement was a while ago.
- Your loan balance. Every split added together.
- Your loan to value ratio. This helps identify potential pricing tiers; the lender must confirm its valuation and eligibility conditions. Work it out.
- Your loan type. Owner occupier or investment, principal and interest or interest only, fixed or variable. Compare offers for the same combination of these features. If a package with an offset is in the mix, price the offset before letting the fee decide the comparison for you.
For scale while you work: the average rate on outstanding owner occupier loans was 6.20% in May 2026.1 This historical average provides context, not an offer or a rate you are guaranteed to receive. Your loan features and eligibility may differ.
1 Reserve Bank of Australia, Statistical Table F6, data to 31 May 2026, retrieved 26 July 2026.
The comparison rate
What the comparison rate does and does not capture
The comparison rate combines interest and most fees using a stated loan amount and term. Check the assumptions printed with it and compare like-for-like products. Moneysmart’s home loan comparison guidance explains what to collect.
An advertised example may use $150,000 over 25 years. Your result can differ at another balance or term, and the rate does not capture every conditional cost or the value of features such as offset. Ask for fees and repayment information for your own scenario.
Use it to sort a list. Do not use it as the final answer. Published rate tables such as Canstar's lowest variable rates are useful for the same reason and with the same caveat.2
2 Canstar, Home Loan Comparison, lowest variable rates table dated 2 July 2026, retrieved 26 July 2026.
Who is paid
Notice who is paid when you click
Comparison tables may have commercial relationships and may cover only part of the market. Check their disclosures and lender coverage. The cited Finder research is a dated commercial source, rather than evidence that every comparison site uses the same model.3
This is not an accusation, it is a reading instruction. Treat comparison tables as a shortlist generator, then verify each shortlisted rate on the lender's own site, where the eligibility conditions are stated in full. The rate that survives that check is the one worth quoting to your current lender.
3 Finder, research on missed mortgage savings, 30 June 2026.
The order to do it in
Compare in order of what it costs you
The ACCC found borrowers missing out on significant savings by not switching.4 Compare an offer from your current lender with the total costs of switching. Moneysmart’s switching guidance outlines the costs and term changes to consider.
- Ask your own lender. Request a rate review using a genuine comparable offer. Ask whether any proposed product change involves fees or a new assessment.
- Get the details in writing. Record the offered rate, fees, conditions and expiry. Use the review checklist to prepare your request.
- Refinance. Real work, real value when the gap is large. Check whether you have enough equity and include any quoted LMI in a refinance cost comparison.
Rates and available offers can change after a review. Record the new terms and revisit them when your circumstances or loan conditions change. Themortgage rate tracker guideexplains how ongoing checking fits into that process.
4 ACCC, Home Loan Price Inquiry, 5 December 2020.
Common questions.
What is a comparison rate and can I trust it?
A comparison rate combines interest with most fees using stated assumptions. Check the example loan amount and term beside it. It is a starting point; compare costs using your own balance, remaining term, fees and features before choosing.
Why might my offered rate differ from an advertised rate?
An advertised rate may have eligibility conditions involving loan size, LVR, repayment type or borrower category. You may qualify for it, but ask the lender to confirm the rate and conditions available for your application.
Do comparison sites show every lender?
Not necessarily. Check which lenders and products the site covers and how commercial arrangements affect its listings. Verify shortlisted offers and conditions with the lender.
Is the lowest rate always the best loan?
No. Fees, offset savings, repayment flexibility and eligibility can change the comparison. Compare total costs over the period you expect to hold the loan, using the same remaining term.
How much difference does a small rate gap make?
On a constant $600,000 balance, a 0.25 percentage-point gap is $1,500 of interest over one year, before fees. Actual savings change as the balance, rates and offset change; this is not a lifetime saving or repayment estimate.
Sources & content review
Market figures are point in time published figures, checked each time this page is reviewed.
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Keep it all in view.
Your mortgage, equity and borrowing power. Together in Ratey.