Bankrate
Bankrate is a consumer financial comparison platform connecting 100M+ annual visitors with lenders across mortgages, credit cards, banking, and loans via weekly rate surveys of 850+ institutions. Owned by Red Ventures, the platform monetizes through affiliate lead generation and advertising while offering free rate tables and calculators to consumers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1982
- HeadquartersPalm Beach Gardens, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Bankrate does
Bankrate is a consumer financial comparison marketplace that aggregates rates and product offers from 850+ banks and credit unions across four core categories: mortgages (purchase, refinance, HELOC, home equity loans), banking (checking, savings, CDs, money market), credit cards (with CardMatch personalized matching), and loans (personal, auto, student, small business). The platform operates as a self-service, product-led digital property accessible via bankrate.com, where consumers compare offers side-by-side without a credit pull until they elect to apply. Supplementary products include a library of interactive calculators (mortgage, amortization, auto loan, lease-vs-buy, refinance, CD, savings, credit card payoff, balance transfer) and a research function producing consumer surveys on financial sentiment that are routinely cited by major U.S. news outlets (WSJ, NYT, USA Today, CNN, Bloomberg) and recognized as an official data provider to the Federal Reserve.
The business is monetized through affiliate/referral fees and advertising paid by financial institutions that purchase featured placement in rate tables and lead-generation flows; the consumer-facing service is free. The company is owned by Red Ventures (acquired 2017) and operates with 501-1,000 employees from West Palm Beach, Florida, serving 100M+ visitors annually. Brand positioning emphasizes editorial independence — Bankrate is not itself a lender or bank — and ranks offers by rate rather than by placement payment. Distribution is anchored in a content-first marketing model built on original research, SEO-optimized educational articles, and earned media from proprietary survey data.
Bankrate has historically pursued inorganic growth, completing at least 18 disclosed acquisitions including CreditCards.com ($145M, 2010), Caring.com ($54M, 2014), Quizzle (2015), LoanTek (2015), NextAdvisor (2016), and MyFinance (2018). In October 2025 the company appointed Matt Fellowes — a fintech executive from Morningstar and Capital One — as CEO with an explicit mandate to convert the platform into a technology-driven product, indicating an anticipated shift toward deeper AI/ML and personalization investment.
Bankrate firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bankrate
- Legal name
- Bankrate, LLC
- Website
- https://bankrate.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1982
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Bankrate is a consumer financial comparison platform connecting 100M+ annual visitors with lenders across mortgages, credit cards, banking, and loans via weekly rate surveys of 850+ institutions. Owned by Red Ventures, the platform monetizes through affiliate lead generation and advertising while offering free rate tables and calculators to consumers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bankrate industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Consumer Finance Comparison
- NAICS
- Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223)
- SIC
- Loan Brokers (6163)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Embedded Lending & Credit (POS, Working Capital, Credit Lines) (FSAGALAD)
Keywords
Where Bankrate is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Palm Beach Gardens
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Bankrate business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Advertising and referral fees from financial institutions: Bankrate generates revenue by displaying sponsored offers from banks, credit unions, and financial service providers. Lenders pay for placement in rate tables and featured positions, though the company emphasizes editorial independence and rates are ranked by value to consumers rather than payment.
- Editorial content and research: Bankrate publishes original financial research, consumer surveys, and educational content that attracts high traffic and positions the platform as a trusted authority in personal finance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free consumer access to rate comparisons and calculators |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Bankrate product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bankrate operates a free consumer-facing digital marketplace and editorial platform that aggregates financial product rates from 850+ banks and credit unions across mortgages, banking products, credit cards, and personal, auto, student, and small business loans. Consumers use the platform to compare rates, access educational content and calculators, and connect with competing lenders for purchase, refinance, home equity, and credit products. Revenue is generated from lenders paying for featured placement and lead referral, while consumer access remains free.
Product overview
Bankrate operates as a financial product comparison marketplace and content platform, connecting consumers with lenders across four core product categories: Mortgages (including purchase, refinance, HELOC, and home equity loans), Banking (checking, savings, CDs, money market accounts), Credit Cards (with CardMatch personalized matching), and Loans (personal, auto, student, and small business loans). The platform aggregates rates from 850+ banks and credit unions, offering comparison tools including mortgage calculators, auto loan calculators, CD calculators, credit card payoff calculators, and balance transfer calculators. The business model centers on lead generation—connecting users with lenders who pay for referral traffic—while maintaining editorial independence through a network of financial experts and a Financial Review Board for content verification.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Mortgages Rate comparison and marketplace service connecting borrowers with mortgage lenders for purchase, refinance, HELOC, and home equity loan products. Features rates from 850+ banks and credit unions surveyed weekly.
- Banking Comparison platform for checking accounts, savings accounts, CDs, and money market accounts, including rate comparisons, calculators, and bank reviews.
- Credit Cards Credit card marketplace offering cards by category (cash back, travel, balance transfer, rewards, 0% APR, business), by credit level, plus CardMatch personalized recommendations and comparison tools.
- Loans Comparison platform covering personal loans, auto loans, student loans, and small business loans with rate comparisons, lender reviews, and calculators.
- CardMatch Personalized credit card recommendation service that matches consumers with card offers based on credit profile and preferences, with no credit pull required.
Quantifiable outcome
- 87% of American mortgage borrowers overpay, costing $65B annually ($3,343/household/year)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Bankrate
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Bankrate technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Bankrate partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Matt Fellowes (CEO)coreMatt Fellowes appointed as CEO, bringing background in finance and technology from Morningstar and Capital One, recognized as top innovator in financial technology.
- 850+ Banks and Credit UnionscoreBankrate maintains weekly rate surveys with over 850 banks and credit unions, aggregating their rate data for consumer comparison. These institutions provide competitive offers through the Bankrate platform, enabling consumers to compare and shop for financial products.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Bankrate competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- MagnifyMoney: MagnifyMoney is a personal finance comparison site focused on credit cards, banking, and loans, monetized through affiliate referrals — directly comparable in scope and revenue model to Bankrate.
- Credit Karma: Credit Karma (owned by Intuit) provides free credit scores and matches consumers to credit card, loan, and banking offers via affiliate referrals, competing head-to-head with Bankrate in credit card and loan comparison.
- LendingTree: LendingTree operates a multi-lender loan marketplace connecting consumers with mortgage, personal, auto, and business lenders through a competitive bidding model — directly overlapping Bankrate's marketplace and lead-generation business.
- Finder: Finder is a personal finance comparison platform covering credit cards, banking, loans, and insurance across multiple geographies — directly comparable in business model and product breadth to Bankrate, with a similar affiliate-referral revenue model.
- ValuePenguin: ValuePenguin (a LendingTree subsidiary) operates as a personal finance content and comparison site across credit cards, banking, insurance, and loans — directly comparable in content-plus-comparison model to Bankrate.
- SmartAsset: SmartAsset provides financial comparison tools and advisor matching across mortgages, banking, taxes, and retirement — overlapping Bankrate's mortgage and banking comparison offerings with an additional wealth management angle.
- NerdWallet: NerdWallet is the closest direct competitor, operating a consumer-facing personal finance comparison platform across credit cards, mortgages, banking, loans, and insurance, monetized through affiliate referrals and advertising — virtually identical business model to Bankrate.
- WalletHub: WalletHub provides free credit scores, credit report monitoring, and financial product comparison tools (credit cards, loans, banking) — overlapping significantly with Bankrate's credit-focused comparison offerings.
Broad incumbents
- The Motley Fool: The Motley Fool is a broader financial content and recommendation platform (investing, personal finance) with some overlap with Bankrate in personal finance content and product comparison, though it is more focused on investment advice and subscription content.
Emerging players
- Money.com (Money Magazine): Money.com is a personal finance editorial site covering banking, credit cards, mortgages, and investing — overlapping with Bankrate's content and comparison offerings but with a stronger editorial and brand focus.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Bankrate social profiles
Digital presenceBankrate financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bankrate leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Bankrate funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bankrate M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A18 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bankrate
What does Bankrate do?
Bankrate operates a free consumer-facing digital marketplace and editorial platform that aggregates financial product rates from 850+ banks and credit unions across mortgages, banking products, credit cards, and personal, auto, student, and small business loans. Consumers use the platform to compare rates, access educational content and calculators, and connect with competing lenders for purchase, refinance, home equity, and credit products. Revenue is generated from lenders paying for featured placement and lead referral, while consumer access remains free.
Is Bankrate a public or private company?
Bankrate is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Bankrate founded?
Bankrate was founded in 1982. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Bankrate based?
Bankrate is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, United States, in the North America region.
How does Bankrate make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Advertising and referral fees from financial institutions are the primary driver. The others are editorial content and research.
Who are Bankrate's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are MagnifyMoney, Credit Karma, LendingTree, Finder, ValuePenguin, SmartAsset, NerdWallet and WalletHub. The Motley Fool is listed as a broad incumbent. Money.com (Money Magazine) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Bankrate have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bankrate.
What industry is Bankrate in?
Bankrate's product category is Consumer Finance Comparison. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGALAD, Embedded Lending & Credit (POS, Working Capital, Credit Lines). Its NAICS code is 5223 and its SIC code is 6163.