A comparison website lists home loans sorted by advertised rate. A broker works out which loans your file is actually likely to fit. Moneysmart warns that most comparison sites do not cover everything available and may only list providers that pay them.
A comparison website shows you a list of home loans sorted by rate. A broker shows you the handful of loans your file is likely to fit. Those are different services, and the second one is the one most people need, because a low rate on a list is worth nothing if that lender’s credit policy says no to your file.
We use comparison sites ourselves to see what’s being advertised. This page is about what they can’t do and what they don’t say.
How do comparison sites make money?
Moneysmart, the government’s consumer site, updated its guidance on comparison websites on 8 September 2026. Its description is worth reading in full but the short version is that comparison sites make money from sponsored links, from putting sponsored links ahead of unsponsored ones, from commissions when you apply through the site, and in some cases from selling your personal details.
The line that matters most: “Most comparison sites don’t cover everything that’s available. They may only cover certain products and certain providers (for example, providers that pay them commissions).”
So a “top ten” on a comparison site may be the top ten among lenders who have a commercial arrangement with that site, ranked by criteria that, in Moneysmart’s words, are “not always clearly explained”. That might include the lender that suits you. It might not.
Moneysmart gives an example from outside home loans that shows how far this can go. The Federal Court found that Choosi, an insurance comparison service, had told consumers it compared products from a range of insurers when, for funeral insurance from 1 July 2019, it compared policies from one insurer only. The incentive is the same one.
What a rate table can’t see
A comparison site knows the loan. It doesn’t know you. That matters because lenders don’t just price differently, they assess differently:
- Whether they count 90% or 95% of your rental income (two major lenders shifted this in August 2026, which changed some investors’ borrowing power overnight).
- How they treat one year of self-employed returns versus two.
- What they do with a HELP debt, a novated lease, or a $20,000 credit card limit you never use.
- Whether they’ll lend on a 45 square metre unit, or a property with a shop underneath.
- How they read your living expenses against the Household Expenditure Measure.
Type a $700,000 loan and a 10% deposit into a comparison site and you’ll get a list of rates. What you won’t get is which of those lenders’ policies would accept a self-employed applicant with 18 months of trading and a car lease. That’s the question that decides whether you get the loan, and only a credit assessment answers it.
Will you actually get the advertised rate?
Advertised rates often carry conditions: a minimum loan size, a maximum loan to value ratio, a package fee, an owner-occupier only flag. Some are introductory. The ACCC measured that gap in its 2020 home loan price inquiry, and we go through the numbers in Loyalty to your bank is a tax on your future.
A broker’s job includes reading the conditions and telling you which rate you’d actually qualify for. On a comparison site you do that work yourself.
Book a time with a Loan Lounge broker — no cost, no obligation.
Does a comparison site owe you a duty?
Since 1 January 2021 mortgage brokers have had a legal duty to act in your best interests when recommending a loan, set out in ASIC’s Regulatory Guide 273. The best interests duty is a duty on mortgage brokers. A comparison website that only lists products doesn’t carry it. Moneysmart’s advice on brokers is that they should present you with more than one option and be able to explain why the recommended one is in your best interests. If the site you’re using can’t explain why loan A is above loan B, that’s worth noticing.
What happens to your personal details?
Moneysmart’s guidance carries a warning that’s easy to skip: “Be careful entering your personal details into a comparison website, especially if entering your contact details is a prerequisite to receiving a comparison.” Comparison sites can be lead generators for cold callers, and Moneysmart notes that sometimes generating leads is the actual purpose of the site.
When you give us your details, they’re used for your application and handled under our privacy policy. When you give them to a comparison site, read the box you’re ticking.
What comparison sites are good for
We’re not going to pretend they’re useless. They’re a fast way to see the range of advertised rates in the market on a given day, which is a useful sanity check before any conversation, including one with us. If a broker proposes a loan that sits well above the advertised range with no explanation, that’s a fair thing to raise.
Moneysmart’s own advice is to use the comparison site as a starting point, then shop around for lenders not on the list, read the fine print on the top few, and talk to the provider before committing. That last step is where a broker fits, because we can do the fine print and the eligibility check across the panel in one go.
What it costs to use us instead
Nothing directly. The lender pays the broker a commission, and we set out the published ranges in Why choose a broker over going direct to a bank. If we wanted to charge you a fee we’d have to give you a written quote first and you’d have to sign it. A comparison site is also free to you and, per Moneysmart, may be paid by the providers it lists. The difference is the duty and the credit assessment.
How do they compare, side by side?
| Comparison website | Broker | |
|---|---|---|
| What it compares | Advertised rates and features across listed lenders | Which lenders’ policies your specific file is likely to fit, and on what terms |
| Coverage | Listed lenders only, may be limited to those with a commercial arrangement | The broker’s panel (ours is over 75 lenders) |
| Ranking basis | Not always clearly explained (Moneysmart) | Must be explainable under the best interests duty |
| Best interests duty to you | No | Yes, since 1 January 2021 |
| Estimates your borrowing capacity by lender | No | Yes, after a fact find (the lender makes the final call) |
| Cost to you | None | None for standard residential loans |
| What happens with your details | Depends on the site, may be sold or used for lead generation | Used for your application under the broker’s privacy policy |
If you’ve already found a rate you like on a comparison site, bring it to us. We’ll tell you whether your file is likely to meet its conditions, what those conditions are, and whether something else on the panel does the same job better. Call 02 9037 2825 or book a time with a broker.
This article is general information and does not take your personal circumstances into account. It does not name or assess any specific home loan comparison website.
Frequently Asked Questions: Broker vs Comparison Site
Are home loan comparison sites accurate?
They accurately list what they list. Moneysmart’s guidance is that most do not cover everything available, and ranking criteria are not always clearly explained.
Should I enter my details on a comparison site?
Moneysmart advises caution, particularly where contact details are required before you see a comparison, because generating leads can be the site’s actual purpose.
What can a broker tell me that a comparison site can’t?
Whether a given lender is likely to approve your specific file, and on what terms. That is a credit assessment, not a rate table.
Related reading
- Why Choose a Broker Over Going Direct to a Bank?
- Mortgage Broker vs Bank: Why a Lender Panel Beats One Bank
- Loan Lounge vs the Big 4 Banks: A Side-by-Side
- More on the services we arrange
Book a broker or find a broker near you. Or call the Burwood office on 02 9037 2825.
General information only. This article does not take your objectives, financial situation or needs into account, and is not financial product, tax or legal advice. Lending criteria, fees and rates vary by lender and change without notice. Loan Lounge, Australian Credit Licence 515608.