Free for You. Paid by Partners.
TrueRateGuide is 100% free to use. We don't charge subscription fees, we don't sell your data, and we don't ask for a credit card to browse our comparisons. Instead, we earn revenue through advertising partnerships with lenders, insurance carriers, and credit card issuers.
How the Commissions Work
When you click a "Check Rate" or "Apply" button on our site and then either get matched, approved, or funded by one of our partners, that partner may pay us a referral fee or commission. This is called affiliate marketing, and it's how most major comparison sites stay free for consumers.
Does This Affect Rankings?
No. Our editorial rankings are determined by our editorial policy — not by who pays us the most. We may show advertisers in premium placement or highlight them with an "Advertiser Disclosure" label, but the core comparisons and rankings are based on rate transparency, fees, funding speed, and customer experience. If a non-advertising lender has the best rate, we still feature them.
What You Pay
Nothing. The rates, fees, and terms you see are the same whether you apply through our site, directly with the provider, or through any other channel. Providers do not increase their rates to pay for our referral fees — our compensation comes from their customer acquisition budget.
Which Partners Pay Us?
We currently receive compensation from a range of financial product providers, which may include:
- Personal loan lenders (e.g. LightStream, SoFi, Upstart, Marcus)
- Auto insurance carriers (e.g. GEICO, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, Allstate)
- Credit card issuers (e.g. Chase, Capital One, American Express, Citi)
- Home improvement lenders (e.g. SoFi, LightStream, Figure)
Not every product we review has a commercial relationship with us, and we feature non-paying providers when they offer the best value.
Why We're Transparent
Consumer trust is everything. We believe you deserve to know exactly how we make money so you can decide for yourself whether to trust our recommendations. If a site won't tell you how it earns revenue, that's a red flag.
Advertiser Disclosure
In accordance with FTC guidelines, we disclose our advertising relationships prominently across our site. When a product is featured as a result of a paid placement, we mark it clearly. Our editorial team has the final say on what appears in our rate tables and ranking lists.
Questions?
If you have any questions about our business model, please email us at editorial@truerateguide.com. We're happy to explain further.