A rate table that is also a lead-gen funnel for the lenders listed in it.
What it's really for A rates-and-finance publisher inside an affiliate group. The table doubles as a lead-gen funnel for listed lenders.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its rate tables and 'best of' finance lists, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
It is paid affiliate and lead-gen fees by the banks and lenders it lists, inside Red Ventures, a portfolio built on referral revenue.
Source →- Operating since
- 1976 (50 years)
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- Affiliate and lead-gen fees from banks, card issuers, and lenders. Owned by affiliate giant Red Ventures.
- What they do
- Publishes rates, "best of" finance lists, and explainers, monetized by referrals to the products it lists.
- What to watch for
- A lender with a better rate that does not advertise with Bankrate can be left off the table entirely, so treat it as a starting point, not the whole market.
- Composite score
- 2.10 / 5.00 → grade C-
How the grade was reached
Does the site take money from the very entities it ranks? Pay-for-placement, vendor-funded data, and affiliate commissions all pull this down. The less the ranking can be bought, the higher the score.
What is the ranking actually built on? Hands-on testing scores highest, then verified first-hand reviews, then opinion or popularity surveys and self-reported figures, then pay-to-rank, which scores lowest.
Is the methodology published, specific, and reproducible? Can a reader see how a given rank was reached, or is it a black box?
Are commercial relationships, sponsorships, and affiliate arrangements disclosed clearly and near the rankings themselves, rather than buried?
How hard is it to game? Controls against fake reviews, solicited reviews, and vendor gaming raise this; an open box anyone can stuff lowers it.
Evidence
- Acquired by affiliate-media holding company Red Ventures in 2017 at ~$1.4B enterprise value; sits in a portfolio built on affiliate referral revenue. Source: Red Ventures press release →