Best-Of Awards 2026 Methodologies
Best Mortgage Lender Overall
Methodology:
All reviewed mortgage lenders are evaluated against the criteria below. The lender with the highest raw score is our Best Mortgage Lender Overall:
1. Rates/fees
2. Product accessibility
3. Customer experience
4. Rate transparency
5. Variety of loan types
Tiebreaker:
1. Lender with the lowest origination fees.
How we picked the companies to evaluate:
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. We rated them on criteria including rates and fees, product accessibility, customer experience and more.
Some of the providers are NerdWallet partners,
but this did not influence our selection of the winner.
How we chose the winner:
We started by assessing all of our reviewed lenders. The winner is the mortgage lender that had the highest raw score when evaluated against NerdWallet's overall mortgage lender star-rating rubric: rates/fees (30%), product accessibility (20%), customer experience (20%), online mortgage rate information (15%), and variety of loan types (15%). Lenders score higher for having lower rates and fees, making products accessible across the U.S. and to a range of financial profiles, offering comprehensive customer support from application to close, allowing consumers to easily compare mortgage rates online, and offering a wider variety of loan products. When available, NerdWallet network performance is included as a factor in a lender’s customer experience score. If NerdWallet does not have network performance data for a lender, the customer experience score is calculated using the remaining factors, with weights redistributed proportionally so lenders without this data are not penalized. Bonus points may be awarded for evidence of expanding homeownership opportunities by offering resources for first-time home buyers, loans to borrowers with credit scores at or below 600 and/or loans for manufactured homes. Points may be deducted for enforcement action within the past 12 months pertaining to the company’s mortgage lending business, if fines equal or exceed $1 million. In the event of a tie, the winner must charge the lowest origination fees.
How we verified our data:
NerdWallet solicits information from reviewed lenders on a recurring basis throughout the year. Lender-provided information is verified through lender websites and interviews. We analyzed 2025 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data for APR spread, market share, product distribution, and loan type information, and we referenced internal performance data when available.
See all methodologies