Variance in Offered Rates for the Same Borrower on the Same Loan

Written by Kali McFadden

Edited by Michael Galvis

Updated on:

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At LendingTree, we know that the same prospective borrower can be offered vastly different terms from lenders for the same loan. In fact, our marketplace is intended to show borrowers multiple offers so they can choose the best option for their money.

Below are the average differences, or spreads, between the highest (most expensive) and lowest (least expensive, or best) annual percentage rates (APRs) offered to the same borrowers across different loan types on our platform in the previous calendar month.

Average APR point spread between lowest and highest offers on LendingTree platform, June 2021

	Less than 640	640-679	680-719	720-759	760+
Mortgage (purchase)	0.66%	0.86%	0.82%	0.82%	0.78%
Mortgage (refinance)	0.82%	0.95%	0.92%	0.99%	0.98%
Mortgage (home equity)	0.24%	0.44%	0.33%	0.32%	0.37%
Auto loan (purchase)	0.09%	1.11%	1.32%	0.81%	0.59%
Auto loan (refinance)	1.37%	1.81%	2.27%	2.17%	1.89%
Personal loan	7.53%	8.90%	7.96%	7.38%	6.53%

APRs combine both interest rates and loan origination fees to show the actual cost of a loan in each year. Some borrowers are willing to pay higher fees when they open their loans in exchange for a lower interest rate (and thus, lower monthly payments). Some borrowers prefer to pay higher interest rates to avoid a big upfront fee. Because of the variety of options, APRs can reveal actual loan costs.

Implied cost savings between the highest and lowest offers for different loan types

Mortgage: Spread between lowest and highest offers on LendingTree platform, June 2021

Credit score range	Avg. lowest offer	Avg. highest offer	Avg. point spread	Implied $ savings on $250,000 loan (360 months)	Implied % savings on $250,000 loan (360 months)
Less than 640	3.09%	3.75%	0.66%	$33,032	7.92%
640-679	2.95%	3.81%	0.86%	$43,074	10.3%
680-719	2.73%	3.55%	0.82%	$40,238	9.9%
720-759	2.64%	3.46%	0.82%	$39,896	9.9%
760+	2.60%	3.39%	0.78%	$37,951	9.5%

Mortgage refinance: Spread between lowest and highest offers on LendingTree platform, June 2021

Credit score range	Avg. lowest offer	Avg. highest offer	Avg. point spread	Implied $ savings on $200,000 loan (240 months)	Implied % savings on $200,000 loan (240 months)
Less than 640	3.05%	3.87%	0.82%	$20,194	7.02%
640-679	3.21%	4.16%	0.95%	$23,619	8.0%
680-719	2.98%	3.90%	0.92%	$22,634	7.8%
720-759	2.87%	3.86%	0.99%	$24,136	8.4%
760+	2.84%	3.82%	0.98%	$23,958	8.4%

Home equity: Spread between lowest and highest offers on LendingTree platform, June 2021

Credit score range	Avg. lowest offer	Avg. highest offer	Avg. point spread	Implied $ savings on $50,000 loan (60 months)	Implied % savings on $50,000 loan (60 months)
Less than 640	9.51%	9.75%	0.24%	$350	0.6%
640-679	7.04%	7.48%	0.44%	$632	1.1%
680-719	5.46%	5.80%	0.33%	$459	0.8%
720-759	4.63%	4.95%	0.32%	$435	0.8%
760+	4.15%	4.52%	0.37%	$504	0.9%

Auto loan: Spread between lowest and highest offers on LendingTree platform, June 2021

Credit score range	Avg. lowest offer	Avg. highest offer	Avg. point spread	Implied $ savings on $30,000 loan (72 months)	Implied % savings on $30,000 loan (72 months)
Less than 640	19.14%	19.23%	0.09%	$114	0.2%
640-679	9.15%	10.26%	1.11%	$1,199	3.0%
680-719	4.74%	6.05%	1.32%	$1,327	3.7%
720-759	4.48%	5.29%	0.81%	$810	2.3%
760+	4.26%	4.85%	0.59%	$586	1.7%

Auto loan refinance: Spread between lowest and highest offers on LendingTree platform, June 2021

Credit score range	Avg. lowest offer	Avg. highest offer	Avg. point spread	Implied $ savings on $20,000 loan (48 months)	Implied % savings on $20,000 loan (48 months)
Less than 640	7.23%	8.60%	1.37%	$616	2.6%
640-679	5.33%	7.14%	1.81%	$798	3.5%
680-719	4.25%	6.52%	2.27%	$992	4.4%
720-759	3.74%	5.90%	2.17%	$940	4.2%
760+	3.56%	5.45%	1.89%	$818	3.7%

Personal loan: Spread between lowest and highest offers on LendingTree platform, June 2021

Credit score range	Avg. lowest offer	Avg. highest offer	Avg. point spread	Implied $ savings on $10,000 loan (36 months)	Implied % savings on $10,000 loan (36 months)
Less than 640	71.07%	78.59%	7.53%	$1,858	7.1%
640-679	34.71%	43.62%	8.90%	$1,861	10.3%
680-719	24.28%	32.25%	7.96%	$1,551	9.9%
720-759	14.75%	22.13%	7.38%	$1,337	9.7%
760+	9.63%	16.16%	6.53%	$1,131	8.9%

Methodology

For every loan inquiry that received at least one offer from a lender, analysts calculated the spread between the lowest and highest APRs offered to each prospective borrower. Lowest, highest and the spread were averaged across credit score ranges for each loan type. The credit score ranges are scores under 640, 640 to 679, 680 to 719, 720 to 759, and 760 or higher.

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Implied cost savings between the highest and lowest offers for different loan types
Methodology

Loan Amount	Loan Term (Years)	Rate	APR	Origination Fee	Estimated Fixed Monthly Payment*
$1,000	3	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$5,000	3	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$5,000	5	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$10,000	3	9.49%	9.49%	$0.00	$320.37
$10,000	5	10.74%	10.74%	$0.00	$216.20
$15,000	3	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$15,000	5	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$20,000	3	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$20,000	5	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$25,000	3	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$25,000	5	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$30,000	3	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$30,000	5	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$35,000	3	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$35,000	5	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$50,000	3	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a
$50,000	5	n/a%	n/a%	$n/a	$n/a