Is it cheaper to go direct to the bank than use a broker?

Sometimes. Some online only lenders that don't work with brokers undercut what brokers can offer, and if the rate is all you care about, applying with them is a reasonable call. A broker's pricing requests can also come in under a bank's advertised rate, so it cuts both ways.

Does using a mortgage broker cost me anything?

No. For all the legwork, the broker charges the bank, not you. The bank pays a commission when the loan settles.

What does a broker do that the bank doesn't?

A bank only offers what it has to sell. A broker compares many lenders' policies, fees, rates and features at once, works out your likelihood of approval with each before you apply, and puts a couple of suitable options side by side.

Why might the rate I see online not apply to me?

Advertised rates depend on the loan size, the deposit, the property and the lender's valuation. Going direct, you don't find out whether the rate applies until the paperwork and valuation are done.

Can a broker get a lower rate than the bank advertises?

Often, yes. Brokers submit pricing requests to lenders, and those can come back below the rate the same bank is advertising. It isn't guaranteed, which is why the comparison is done before you apply.

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Broker or going direct to the bank: which gets me the best deal?

Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 1 September 2026 · 3 min read

The short answer

There are some banks that do online only, no broker at all, and their rates do sometimes undercut what brokers can offer. If that's all you're interested in, great, go apply with them.

What you're paying for when you go direct is the guesswork. The bank will only ever offer what it has to sell, and you don't find out whether you'll be approved, or whether the advertised rate even applies to you, until the paperwork and the valuation are done. My job is to take that guesswork out before you apply anywhere.

The two minute version. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.

Where the bank genuinely wins

Some lenders are online only. No broker affiliation whatsoever, no branches, and their rates do oftentimes undercut what brokers can offer with the lenders they're partnered with.

So sometimes I don't win the business, because there's a random online bank doing an incredibly low rate and that's all the client is interested in. If that's the case, great. Go apply with them. I'd rather tell you that straight than pretend the gap doesn't exist.

What a broker is actually for

For me, the value lies in sifting through all the weeds of the different banks and their policies, and understanding what your likelihood of approval is actually going to be. Then weighing up the fees, the interest rates, the benefits, the flexibility, the features, and bringing it all under one umbrella so we can go through a couple of options together and find the one that suits you.

When you go direct to a bank, the bank is only ever going to offer what it has to sell. And it will sell that hard. Whereas I don't care which bank we go to, because we're going to work together to find the most suitable option for you. For all the legwork I do as part of that process, I charge the bank, not you.

The rate you see online is a guess until the valuation

Yes, sometimes going direct you will get a slightly lower rate, depending on the bank. Then again, when I do pricing requests as a broker, I'm often able to get lower than what a lot of banks are advertising. It cuts both ways.

What doesn't cut both ways is the process. Direct, you do all the paperwork, work out for yourself whether you're going to get approved, and wait for the bank to do its valuation before you know whether the rate you saw online is going to apply to you at all. You can do that guesswork yourself, or take the guesswork out of it and let me take care of you.

The honest bit: the rate was never the whole question

If I can't beat what a direct lender is offering you, I'll say so and send you on your way. That happens. But the people who come back to me after going direct almost never come back over the rate. They come back because the loan got declined late, or the valuation came in short, or the product turned out to be the wrong shape for what they wanted to do next.

Approval risk and product fit are what a broker is for. The rate comparison is the part you can do yourself in ten minutes.

Want to know your likelihood of approval before you apply anywhere?

A 30 minute call. I run your situation across the lenders I work with, tell you where you'd get approved and which option I'd lean to, and if the best deal for you is a bank I can't offer, I'll tell you that too.

Book a 30 minute call Call 0437 189 939

No cost to you. The bank pays me when a loan settles. · How I get paid

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