LOAN AMOUNT | APR AS LOW AS Rates are calculated based on conditional offers for both home equity loans and home equity lines of credit with 30-year repayment periods presented to consumers nationwide by LendingTree’s network partners in the past 30 days for each loan amount. Rates and other loan terms are subject to lender approval and not guaranteed. Not all consumers may qualify. See LendingTree’s Terms of Use for more details. |
|---|---|
$25,000 | 6.63% |
$50,000 | 6.63% |
$100,000 | 6.63% |
$150,000 | 6.50% |
Written by Rene Bermudez | Edited by Crissinda Ponder | Updated March 28, 2025
10 years
20 years
$1 million
$8,073
2 to 5 years
5 to 30 years
5 to 10 days
$7,794
Not disclosed
Not disclosed
$0
$5,309
20 years
20 years
95%
$3,442
10 years
5 to 30 years*
8.68% to 16.00%
$5,784
Most home equity lines of credit come with variable interest rates, which means that their rates — and monthly payment amounts — can change over time. There are three factors that figure into rate adjustments:
When getting HELOC offers, each lender determines how your HELOC interest rate is calculated, but the same factors are always included:
HELOC rates, like interest rates, are relatively high right now compared to where they sat before the pandemic. The Federal Reserve made its third cut to the federal funds rate last year on December 17th, which helped HELOC rates trend downward. But, ultimately, the exact rate you get on a HELOC will vary from lender to lender and is based on your personal financial situation.
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HELOC rates don’t necessarily move in the same direction that mortgage rates do. That’s because they’re directly tied to a benchmark called the prime rate. When the federal funds rate rises or falls, both the prime rate and HELOC rates tend to follow.
Although the prime rate has shown an overall upward trend for several years, it has dipped slightly over the past year. That’s good news for average HELOC interest rates, which dropped by 1.29% percentage points between January 2024 and January 2025 (from 8.92% to 7.63%). Rates are calculated based on conditional offers for home equity lines of credit with 10- and 15-year repayment periods presented to consumers nationwide by LendingTree’s network partners in the given month for all loan amounts. Rates and other loan terms are subject to lender approval and not guaranteed. Not all consumers may qualify. See LendingTree’s Terms of Use for more details.
The lowest interest rate offers we saw in that same time period also got more affordable, going from 7.49% in January 2024 to 6.65% in January 2025.
In general, it’s a good time to get a HELOC if the prime rate isn’t going to rise sharply over the loan’s term. That’s because the prime rate, a benchmark rate used to calculate many variable interest rates, largely determines HELOC rates. If it goes up, your loan becomes more expensive. If it goes down, you can potentially get away with paying less than borrowers with comparable fixed-rate loans.
Of course, no one can predict the future but the prime rate has been climbing for several years. At the end of 2024 it sat 3.5 percentage points higher than where it had been in early 2020.
Ultimately, it’s impossible to predict with certainty where the market will go. If you’re considering a HELOC, make sure that you can afford the payments at both the loan’s lowest and highest possible rates. (All HELOCs come with a “ceiling,” which sets a limit on how high your rate can rise at any time during the loan term.)
| Loan amount | Monthly payment |
|---|---|
| $25,000 | $160.08 |
| $50,000 | $320.16 |
| $100,000 | $640.31 |
| $150,000 | $948.10 |
Average rates disclaimer
Rates are calculated based on conditional offers for both home equity loans and home equity lines of credit with 30-year repayment periods presented to consumers nationwide by LendingTree’s network partners in the past 30 days for each loan amount. Rates and other loan terms are subject to lender approval and not guaranteed. Not all consumers may qualify. See LendingTree’s Terms of Use for more details.
An interest-only HELOC can be a great way to access cash and enjoy low monthly payments for an initial period. However, once the draw period ends, your payments can skyrocket. That’s why it’s only a good idea to use an interest-only HELOC if you have a solid plan in place — one in which there’s no doubt that you can afford the monthly payments even if they adjust up to the rate cap.
If you’re not sure, ask your lender to help you crunch the numbers on your highest and lowest possible payments.
Many lenders base the interest rate they’ll offer you on your LTV. In general, they reward borrowers with lower LTV ratios with better interest rates.Those with low equity (that is, a high LTV) won’t be able to access the lowest rates.
The reasoning behind this is that lenders view a higher LTV as a higher-risk loan. To cover the increased risk they’re taking on, they charge more in interest.
Home equity loan rates are often slightly higher than HELOC rates, but they have an advantage: the rates are fixed rather than variable. If you prefer a simpler loan with stable monthly payments, you may want to consider a home equity loan instead of a line of credit.
Learn more about HELOCs vs. home equity loans and how to choose.A cash-out refinance is another equity-tapping loan option, and will typically come with a lower interest rate than a HELOC. A cash-out refinance is a “first” mortgage, and lenders can usually offer lower rates for these because their first-in-line status lowers the risk that they won’t be repaid in a foreclosure.
Need help deciding which option for tapping home equity is best for you? Read our comparison of cash-out refinances vs. home equity loans vs. HELOCs.
Think a cash-out refinance is a better option for you? Get Personalized Refinance OffersIf you’re just looking to estimate your home’s current value, an online home valuation tool can do the trick. But, for a more exact number, you’ll need to get a comparative market analysis (CMA) or home appraisal.
To determine the best HELOC lenders, we reviewed data collected from more than 30 lender reviews completed by the LendingTree editorial staff.
Each lender review gives a rating between zero and five stars, based on several HELOC features including home equity product features and variety, digital application processes and the availability of product and lending information online. To be eligible for a “best of” HELOC title, lenders must have a lender review rating of at least four stars.
We awarded extra points to lenders who:
Our editorial team brought together the data from our lender reviews, as well as the scores awarded for HELOC-specific characteristics, to find the lenders with a product mix, information base and guidelines that best serve the needs of HELOC borrowers.
