11 Best Mortgage Lenders with Low Origination Fees of 2025

Last updated on January 23, 2025

Written by

Lead Writer & Content Strategist

Edited by

Head of Content, Home Loans

Fact Checked

Written by

Lead Writer & Content Strategist

Edited by

Head of Content, Home Loans

Fact Checked

Many or all of the products on this page are from partners who compensate us when you click to or take an action on their website, but this does not influence our evaluations or ratings. Our opinions are our own.

Origination fees are among the many costs you should research when choosing a mortgage lender. When it comes to the closing costs you’ll face when signing the paperwork for your loan, the mortgage origination fee can be a significant number. It’s often 0.5% to 1% of your total loan amount.

NerdWallet analyzes data mortgage providers report about their origination fees for all types of home loans. Our analysis covers any other lender charges included in borrowers’ total closing costs.

🤓

Nerdy Tip

Shop around for the best combination of mortgage interest rates and lender fees, and remember: origination charges are negotiable.

These lenders earn high ratings from NerdWallet for home loans overall and charge competitive average origination fees, as well as average-to-competitive interest rates.

» MORE: What closing costs you should expect to pay

Why trust NerdWallet

50+ mortgage lenders reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
40+ years of combined experience covering mortgages and financial topics.
Objective, comprehensive star rating system assessing 120+ categories and 5,000+ data points.
Governed by NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity.

NerdWallet's mortgage content, including articles, reviews and recommendations, is produced by a team of writers and editors who specialize in home lending. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, USA Today, The Washington Post, MarketWatch, Newsweek and many other national, regional and local publications. They have been cited in publications including The Wall Street Journal, and appeared on NerdWallet's "Smart Money" podcast as well as local TV and radio.

Why trust NerdWallet

50+ mortgage lenders reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
40+ years of combined experience covering mortgages and financial topics.
Objective, comprehensive star rating system assessing 120+ categories and 5,000+ data points.
Governed by NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity.

11 Best Mortgage Lenders with Low Origination Fees of 2025

Have you or your spouse served in the military?

We’ve got more home loan options for you. Show me

11 Best Mortgage Lenders with Low Origination Fees of 2025
Methodology
Recap
FAQ
About the author

Lender	NerdWallet Rating	Min. credit score	Min. down payment	Learn more
Andrews Federal Credit Union: NMLS#410421 Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet	4.5 /5 Home loans overall Best for variety of loan types	620	3%	Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet
State Employees' Credit Union: NMLS#430055 Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet	5.0 /5 Home loans overall Best for North Carolina borrowers	N/A	0%	Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet
NBKC: NMLS#409631 See Offers at NBKC at NBKC	4.5 /5 Home loans overall Best for first-time homebuyers	620	3%	See Offers at NBKC at NBKC
Navy Federal: NMLS#399807 Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet	5.0 /5 Home loans overall Best for military borrowers	N/A	0%	Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet
U.S. Bank: NMLS#402761 Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet	5.0 /5 Home loans overall Best for customer experience	N/A	N/A	Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet
Citibank: NMLS#412915 Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet	4.0 /5 Home loans overall Best for competitive interest rates	N/A	3%	Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet
SoFi: NMLS#696891 Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet	4.5 /5 Home loans overall Best for low-credit borrowers	620	3%	Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet
First Federal Bank: NMLS#408902 See Offers at First Federal Bank at First Federal Bank	4.5 /5 Home loans overall Best for competitive interest rates	620	3%	See Offers at First Federal Bank at First Federal Bank
Golden 1 Credit Union: NMLS#669333 Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet	4.0 /5 Home loans overall Best for California borrowers	N/A	3%	Compare More Lenders on NerdWallet

What is an origination fee on a mortgage?

The origination fee is what a lender charges you for giving you a mortgage. It's essentially a service fee, and it's one way lenders make money. Another big source of income is profit that's built into the mortgage interest rate the lender offers you.

If a lender claims to offer no origination fee, proceed with caution. The fee may be baked into the interest rate, or it could show up under a different name, like an underwriting fee or an administrative fee.

You can find the origination fee and associated costs on the second page of your Loan Estimate. You'll get this document from any lender that has offered you mortgage preapproval, and it's a standard form, which makes them easy to compare. At the top left of Page 2, you'll see a box labeled "A. Origination Charges." Under that heading, you'll find lender charges, including the origination fee and optional mortgage points.

How much do origination fees cost?

Origination fees are charged as a percentage of the loan amount, so they vary depending on the size of your mortgage and the percentage the lender charges you. Between 0.5% and 1% of the total loan amount is fairly standard. If you were taking out a loan for $250,000, your origination fee would probably be $1,250 to $2,500.

Among lenders in this roundup, the average origination fee ranged from $1,403 to $3,270 in 2023, according to the latest Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data.

You can negotiate these costs. This is yet another reason having mortgage preapprovals can help, as you could try to persuade one lender to lower its fees based on another lender's offer. In a buyer's market, you could potentially also negotiate to have a home seller chip in toward your closing costs.

When do you pay the origination fee?

You’ll pay the origination fee as part of your closing costs once your loan has been approved and money's ready to change hands. No later than three days before closing, you'll get a closing disclosure that you should go over to check on all costs, including the origination fee. This form looks more or less identical to the Loan Estimate, except that it has real numbers instead of estimates. Compare the two forms to see how the costs may have changed. Some are easy to understand. For example, property taxes are prorated based on the closing date, and when you got the loan estimate, no one knew what day of the month that would be. If anything looks off, contact your loan officer to ask about it. That's why the three-day window is required.

Since the considerable chunk of change paid on closing day also includes your down payment, it's usually paid with a wire transfer or cashier's check to a third party (this is one type of escrow in real estate) rather than directly to the seller. Make sure to leave enough time to move all the funds you're using for your down payment and closing costs to an easily accessible bank account to avoid any last-minute holdups.

More from NerdWallet

Last updated on January 23, 2025

Frequently asked questions

Who pays the origination fee?
The buyer pays the mortgage origination fee because they're the one getting the mortgage. The origination fee is levied by the lender as a charge for providing the loan.
Is a lender fee the same as an origination fee?
An origination fee is one type of lender fee. You'll find all fees charged by the lender on the top left of the second page of your Loan Estimate under "A. Origination Fees." Origination fees can go by many names, so you might be shopping for a "no origination fee" mortgage but find items like a processing fee, an underwriting fee and so on.
Are origination fees the same as points?
Discount points are one type of origination fee, but they're different from the type of processing charge that most people mean by "origination fee." Points are optional prepaid interest that you can pay to bring down your interest rate. An origination fee, which a lender charges for giving you the loan, is not optional.

Methodology

The star ratings on this page reflect each lender's home loans overall star rating. Read more about how we determine those ratings.

The lenders on this page are chosen using this methodology:

NerdWallet reviewed more than 40 mortgage lenders, including the majority of the largest U.S. mortgage lenders by annual loan volume (measured among lenders with at least a 1% market share), lenders with significant online search volume and those that specialize in serving various audiences across the country.

For inclusion in this roundup, lenders must achieve an overall rating of at least 4 stars from NerdWallet. Lenders must achieve at least 3 stars for origination fees, as well as 3 stars for interest rates.

NerdWallet solicits information from reviewed lenders on a recurring basis throughout the year. All lender-provided information is verified through lender websites and interviews. We also utilized 2023 HMDA data for origination volume, origination fee, average interest rate and share-of-product data.

To recap our selections...

NerdWallet's Best Mortgage Lenders with Low Origination Fees of 2025

Andrews Federal Credit Union: Best for variety of loan types
State Employees' Credit Union: Best for North Carolina borrowers
NBKC: Best for first-time homebuyers
Navy Federal: Best for military borrowers
U.S. Bank: Best for customer experience
Citibank: Best for competitive interest rates
SoFi: Best for low-credit borrowers
First Federal Bank: Best for competitive interest rates
Golden 1 Credit Union: Best for California borrowers
USAA: Best for military borrowers
Wells Fargo: Best for first-time homebuyers

About the author

Taylor Getler

Lead Writer & Content Strategist

Taylor Getler is a home and mortgages writer for NerdWallet. Her work has been featured in outlets such as MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance, MSN and Nasdaq. Taylor is enthusiastic about financial literacy and helping consumers make smart, informed choices with their money. Email: [email protected].

See full bio

About the editor

Jeanette Margle

Head of Content, Home Loans

Jeanette Margle leads the Home content team at NerdWallet. Previously, she was an editor on NerdWallet's Travel Rewards team, and spent three years as an editor at Upgraded Points while self-employed as an editor and writing coach. Her writing has appeared on HuffPost. A lifelong Texan, Jeanette earned bachelor's degrees in journalism and Plan II Honors from the University of Texas at Austin, and has a Master of Education from the University of Houston.

See full bio