Insider’s experts choose the best products and services to help make smart decisions with your money (here’s how). In some cases, we receive a commission from our our partners, however, our opinions are our own. Terms apply to offers listed on this page.
Because there are so many options to choose from when it comes to online mortgage lenders, it can be hard to know which one is right for you.
Our favorite online mortgage lenders offer things like automated document retrieval, digital closings, and more.
*Minimum credit scores are for conforming loans. If you qualify for another type of loan, you might be able to secure a loan with a lower score.
Bank of America Mortgage
The bottom line: Bank of America is a good mortgage lender overall, but you’ll need a decent credit score to qualify for a mortgage.
Bank of America is a good mortgage lender for first-time homebuyers and current Bank of America customers. When you get a mortgage with this lender, you may be able to get up to $7,500 in closing cost assistance and up to $10,000 in down payment assistance. If you already have an account with Bank of America, you may be able to get a discount on your origination fee.
Bank of America has an A+ rating from the BBB. It ranked above average in J.D. Power’s 2021 Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study.
Better.com Mortgage
The bottom line: Better.com is a great option for a fully online application process, but you can only get a conventional or FHA mortgage.
Better.com is a good choice for borrowers looking for a quick, easy preapproval process. It also stands out for having no lender fees. However, its loan options are limited; if you’re looking for a VA or USDA mortgage, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
Better.com has a B rating from the BBB. It ranked above average in J.D. Power’s 2021 Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study.
Carrington Mortgage Services
The bottom line: Carrington is a worthwhile option, particularly if you have a low or no credit score and need to apply with alternative data.
For borrowers with no credit or poor credit, Carrington is a strong option. It’s Carrington Flexible Advantage mortgage is available to borrowers with scores as low as 550 or negative credit events like bankruptcy on their credit reports. It also accepts alternative forms of credit on some of its loans.
Carrington has an A+ rating from the BBB.
Fairway Independent Mortgage
The bottom line: Fairway Independent Mortgage is a good lender for people who want to explore their options. It provides many types of home loans and has several term lengths to choose from.
If you’re looking for a faster, streamlined closing experience, you might find Fairway Independent’s digital closing option attractive. This lender has an A+ rating from the BBB and ranked above average on J.D. Power’s 2021 study.
Fairway Independent may be a good choice for you if you need to apply with alternative forms of credit.
Guaranteed Rate Mortgage
The bottom line: Guaranteed Rate is a good lender for several types of home loans, including interest-only mortgages that can be hard to find elsewhere. It also allows you to apply with alternative data if you don’t have a credit score.
Guaranteed rate is another good choice for borrowers looking for a digital closing option or a lender that accepts alternative credit data from those who don’t have a credit score.
This lender has an A rating from the BBB, but ranked below average on J.D. Power’s annual study.
Guild Mortgage
The bottom line: Guild Mortgage is a good option for many types of people, because it has multiple home loans for borrowers in different situations.
Guild Mortgage can help connect you with down payment assistance programs in your county, making it a particularly good choice for first-time homebuyers and others having trouble coming up with a down payment. It also offers a hybrid digital closing option and has an A- rating from the BBB.
In 2021, Guild earned the top spot on J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction study.
NBKC Bank Mortgage
The bottom line: NBKC Bank is a worthwhile option if you have a good credit score and value online convenience.
NBKC Bank’s live online chat feature makes it easy to speak with an expert and get answers to your questions in just a few minutes.
This lender has an A+ rating from the BBB. However, its loan options are relatively limited, and it doesn’t accept alternative forms of credit from borrowers.
New American Funding
The bottom line: New American Funding is a strong mortgage lender overall, and its buydown loan and I CAN loan make it easy to customize a mortgage to your specific needs.
New American Funding’s I CAN mortgage is a good option for borrowers who want to tailor their term lengths to their exact needs. With this mortgage, you can pick any loan term from eight to 30 years.
This lender has an A+ rating from the BBB and accept alternative forms of credit. It currently doesn’t originate mortgage in Hawaii or New York.
Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans
The bottom line: Rocket Mortgage is a great option if you have a good credit score and value customer service.
Rocket Mortgage ranked as the top lender for customer satisfaction from J.D. Power for 11 consecutive years, and ranked No. 2 in 2021. It currently has an A+ rating from the BBB. This lender provides a quick, easy online experience and offers mortgages with terms as short as eight years.
If you get a mortgage with Rocket Mortgage, you’ll complete the application process remotely, because it doesn’t have any physical branches. You’ll also need a decent credit score, since this lender doesn’t accept alternative credit data.
US Bank Mortgage
The bottom line: US Bank is a good lender if you want to explore your options, because it has a wide range of loan types.
If you’re a current US Bank customer, you may want to consider getting your mortgage through this bank as well, since it offers up to $1,000 off closing costs for current account holders.
This lender has an A+ rating from the BBB, but ranks below average on J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction study. It also doesn’t accept alternative forms of credit from borrowers.
Other mortgage lenders we considered
We evaluated over two dozen mortgage lenders before picking our favorites. Here are the other lenders we looked at and reasons they didn’t make the cut:
Navy Federal Credit Union: Navy Federal does have a good online application process, but membership is limited to certain people.Chase: Chase doesn’t have as many down payment assistance programs as Bank of America, but you may qualify for up to $5,500 through its DreaMaker mortgage.Pentagon Federal Credit Union: If you have a 650 credit score, PenFed offers $500 to $2,500 in lender credit for all members, depending on how much you borrow. The credit union doesn’t have FHA or USDA mortgages, though.USAA: USAA only offers VA mortgages right now.LoanDepot: LoanDepot is a solid lender, but it doesn’t have any features that set it apart from the crowd.Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo has had multiple public controversies over the past few years regarding claims of racist lending practices, creating fake bank accounts, and charging customers for insurance products they didn’t sign up for.Caliber Home Loans: Caliber is a strong lender, but there are no standout features.Truist: Truist has a good low down payment option with no mortgage insurance, but it ranks below average in J.D. Power’s annual survey.Veterans United: Veterans United offers several types of mortgages, not just VA mortgages. It’s difficult to find information for non-VA mortgages on its website, though.CMG Financial: CMG has unique grant opportunities and mortgages. They could be good options, but these programs aren’t for everyone.Flagstar Bank: This lender offers several types of home loans, but none of its features make it stand out.Movement Mortgage: Movement Mortgage will process your mortgage within seven business days, so it’s a good option if you’re in a hurry.Ally: Ally has a fully online process, but the bank only has conventional mortgages.
Methodology: How we chose the best online mortgage lenders for 2022
We considered lenders that let you do most of your application process online, and many of them help you track your payments and balance online. To choose the best online mortgage lenders, we evaluated the following factors:
Loan types. Did a lender offer several types of loans to suit customers’ needs, such as conventional loans, government-backed loans, and home equity loans?Customer satisfaction. If the lender appeared in the J.D. Power 2021 Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Survey, we looked at its ranking. If it wasn’t in the survey, then we read online customer reviews.Affordability. We looked at lenders’ minimum credit scores and down payment amounts. We also checked whether they offer government-backed loans, which can be more affordable for borrowers with less-than-perfect financial profiles. Finally, we looked at whether they have flexible credit requirements on any of their mortgages. This includes allowing borrowers to have recent negative events on their credit reports or accepting non-traditional credit from those with no credit score.Ethics. Each of our top picks received a B or higher from the Better Business Bureau, which measures companies’ trustworthiness. We also considered any public controversies in the last three years.
Are these mortgage lenders trustworthy?
The Better Business Bureau grades companies based on responses to customer complaints, honesty in advertising, and transparency about business practices. Here are the BBB grades for our top online mortgage lenders:
Mortgage lenderBBB gradeBank of AmericaA+Better.comBCarrington Mortgage ServicesA+Fairway Independent Mortgage CorporationA+Guaranteed RateAGuild MortgageA-NBKC BankA+New American FundingA+Rocket MortgageA+US BankA+
Most of our picks have an A+ from the BBB. The exceptions are Better.com, Guaranteed Rate, and Guild Mortgage.
Better.com has a B due to the high volume of complaints on the BBB website. Guaranteed Rate has an A and Guild Mortgage has an A-, both due to government action against the lenders.
In 2020, Guild Mortgage paid the United States $24.9 million when it was accused of approving FHA mortgages for people who didn’t qualify, resulting in loan defaults.
Guaranteed Rate is paying the government $15 million. A former employee claimed that the lender pressured underwriters into lying so that the government would insure FHA and VA loans. The Department of Justice said that the lender attempted to stop these illegal practices even before the federal investigation began, though.
Some of the other lenders on our list have some recent controversies, too, despite strong BBB grades.
In 2020, the Department of Justice charged Bank of America for unfairly denying home loans to adults with disabilities, even though they qualified for loans. Bank of America paid around $300,000 total to people who were refused loans. In 2019, the Department of Labor required Bank of America to pay $4.2 million to people who claimed the bank discriminated against women, Black, and Hispanic applicants in the hiring process.
The US Justice Department required Rocket Mortgage’s parent company Quicken Loans to pay $32.5 million for alleged mortgage fraud in 2019. The Justice Department claimed Quicken Loans approved mortgage applications it shouldn’t have. Although Quicken Loans paid the settlement, the company never admitted to mortgage fraud.
Things to consider when choosing an online lender
Not sure how to find the online mortgage lender that’s right for you? Here are some questions to think about as you search:
Which lenders offer the mortgage I’m looking for? Some online lenders have limited mortgage options. If you’re looking for a specific type of mortgage such as an FHA mortgage, be sure the lenders you’re considering offer them.What features and benefits are most important to me? Do you just want the lowest rates? Good customer service? Easy-to-use digital tools? Finding a lender that offers the amenities you want will help you have a better experience.What fees do they charge? Many lenders charge lender fees, such as application or underwriting fees, that you’ll pay as part of your closing costs. These fees can vary, so it’s important to compare both rates and fees from any lenders you’re considering.Do they offer mortgages in my state? Online lenders aren’t always licensed to originate mortgages in all 50 US states.What down payment do they require? Some lenders will allow you to put down as little as 3% on your mortgage, while others have higher minimum down payments.What has others’ experience been? Reading online customer reviews can help you get an idea of how satisfied borrowers are with a particular lender. You can also check out J.D. Power’s annual ranking of the top lenders in customer satisfaction.
Frequently asked questions
What is an online mortgage lender?
An online mortgage lender is one that lets you do most (or all) of the mortgage application process online. Some even let you close digitally. There are online-only lenders, like Better.com and Guaranteed Rate, but many large brick-and-mortar lenders have also started adding robust online features.
What type of online mortgages can I get?
Online mortgage lenders offer all of the same mortgages as traditional, brick-and-mortar lenders. Your exact options will depend on the lender, though. We’ve listed which types of home loans each of our top picks offers under its section.
Are online mortgage lenders cheaper?
Not necessarily. Each lender charges different fees and interest rates, but those numbers aren’t directly related to whether it’s an online or physical business. Applying for preapproval with multiple lenders before shopping for homes can give you an idea of which will give you the best deal. You can also ask for a loan estimate, or an itemized list of fees, from multiple lenders once you’ve chosen a home.
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