TLDR
Someone asking how to compare loans is usually sent to a comparison site, when loan matching is the channel that actually reflects the options available to them. Loan matching assesses a borrower's real profile, income, credit file and circumstances against each lender's eligibility criteria, then returns only the loans that borrower can genuinely qualify for, in an order no lender pays to influence. A loan comparison site works differently: it lists products from providers it has commercial arrangements with, and Australia's major sites, Canstar, Finder, RateCity and Money.com.au, each disclose that referral fees and sponsored listings can affect which products appear and where they sit. Neither channel checks whether the borrower would be approved. Going directly to a single lender is narrower again, showing only that lender's own book. For most borrowers the practical order is matching first to establish what is realistically available, then comparison to sense-check the market.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The business model behind the comparison table
Australia's best-known loan comparison sites present themselves as neutral scorecards. Their own disclosures tell a more complicated story. Canstar's "How we get paid" page confirms that commercial arrangements, including lead referral fees, paid advertising and award licences, fund the service, and that Sponsored, Featured or Promoted products can appear in fixed positions regardless of a product's rating, price or other features.verifiedVerified Source: canstar.com.au[1]
That is not a regulatory breach. It is standard industry practice, disclosed in small print. But it matters to any borrower who assumes the first result is the best rate available to them.
What each site actually says about commercial influence
Canstar is direct about the mechanics. "Where you see a Sponsored, Featured or Promoted product in or near our comparison tables, they will be clearly labelled and may be shown in a fixed position, regardless of the product's rating, price or other features," the site said.[1]
Finder's advertiser disclosure goes a step further on editorial influence. According to Finder, compensation received from providers can influence which products are written about and how they appear on the page, though the company maintains that placement does not influence its assessment or opinions of the products.[2]
RateCity disclosed that referral fees paid by product providers to the site can vary by provider, website position and revenue model.verifiedVerified Source: ratecity.com.au[3] Money.com.au was equally candid on its business loans page: "If you get a business loan as a result of visiting this page and/or dealing with a Money.com.au business lending specialist, we may earn a commission from the lender," the site said, noting that strict rules are in place to ensure these arrangements do not influence editorial content.[4]
Each site maintains it does not allow commercial arrangements to corrupt its ratings methodology. The disclosures, all published by the platforms themselves, confirm the arrangements exist regardless. Bushletter could not independently verify the extent to which each platform's editorial controls hold in practice, as the sourcing for those claims rests entirely on the companies' own published statements.
How loan matching platforms work differently
Loan matching platforms operate on a different logic. Rather than presenting a ranked table funded partly by the lenders in that table, they collect a borrower's financial profile once and run it against specific eligibility criteria held by each lender on their panel.
LoanOptions.ai uses AI-assisted matching to pre-approve borrowers against criteria from more than 90 banks and lenders across car, personal, business and asset financing.verifiedVerified Source: loanoptions.ai[5] A borrower sees only loans they are likely to qualify for, rather than a list whose order reflects, at least in part, which lenders have paid for prominence.
That eligibility-first model does not mean loan matching platforms have no commercial arrangements of their own. They typically earn fees when a borrower proceeds to a loan. What distinguishes the approach is the filtering step: placement is governed by fit to borrower criteria, not by who paid for a position in the table.
Going direct to a lender: the cost of a narrow view
The third option, walking into a bank or applying directly on a lender's website, is still how many Australians approach borrowing. A borrower dealing with a single lender sees only that lender's products and has no mechanism to compare rates, fees or eligibility requirements against alternatives in the broader market.[5]
For borrowers with straightforward profiles applying to their existing bank, the convenience may outweigh the cost of that narrowed view. For borrowers with complex circumstances, self-employment, a thin credit history or non-standard income, the difference between a lender-specific offer and the best available market rate can be material.
What to check before trusting a list
The practical checklist is short. On any comparison site, scroll past the sponsored results and look at what the unsponsored products show. Read the advertiser disclosure; every major Australian comparison site publishes one, though usually not in the primary navigation. Ask whether the site's panel covers the full lender market or a curated subset of paying partners.
For loan matching platforms, the key question is panel size and whether the platform runs a hard or soft credit enquiry during the matching process. A hard enquiry can affect a credit score; a soft enquiry does not. LoanOptions.ai's panel covers more than 90 lenders as of 2025, which gives a reasonable picture of market availability.[5]
Canstar, Finder, RateCity and Money.com.au each operate legally and each discloses its commercial arrangements. The issue is not misconduct but informed use. A borrower who reads the fine print on those disclosures before acting on the top result is starting from a far stronger position than one who does not.
SOURCES & CITATIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do comparison sites like Canstar and Finder show all available loans?
What is a loan matching platform and how does it differ from a comparison site?
Is it better to go directly to my bank for a loan?
How does Money.com.au make money from loan referrals?
Rosa Henriquez writes about the cost of living and consumer affairs. She reports from the household end of the economy, where the numbers turn into groceries and bills.
Important information
This article is general information only. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it is not financial, credit or legal advice. Consider whether it is appropriate for you, and seek advice from a licensed professional before applying for any credit product.
Bushletter does not hold an Australian Credit Licence. Bushletter does not arrange, recommend or provide credit, and does not assess applications.
Comparison websites commonly earn referral fees, commissions or advertising revenue from the providers they list. Those commercial arrangements can influence which products are displayed and the order in which they appear. Each site publishes its own disclosure, and you should read it before relying on any list or ranking.
