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When calculating your home equity loan costs, it’s critical to look at the interest rate (and how it’s structured). Getty Images
For borrowers looking for a large sum of money right now, there are few options worth considering. Credit cards have limits that prevent many borrowers from getting a credit line worth $90,000 or more, for example. And they have interest rates nearing a record 23% currently. Personal loans, on the other hand, have interest rates averaging nearly 13% and they come with limits that could prevent many from borrowing that large of an amount.
Home equity loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), however, come with both lower interest rates and more flexibility. With the average home equity amount currently sitting at around $330,000, a $90,000 withdrawal will still allow borrowers to maintain a healthy portion of equity for future use. That said, the interest rate climate is evolving again after the Federal Reserve issued an interest rate cut in September. Additional cuts are expected for when the Fed meets again in November and December, too.
Understanding this dynamic, then, it behooves savers to calculate their potential home equity borrowing costs. But is a $90,000 HELOC or home equity loan cheaper now? That’s what we’ll calculate below.
See how low of a home equity loan rate you could lock in here.
Is a $90,000 HELOC or home equity loan cheaper now?
In short: A $90,000 home equity loan is cheaper than a $90,000 HELOC right now. But that’s as of October 10. That could easily change in the weeks and months ahead. That’s because HELOCs have variable rates, subject to change as the rate climate does, while home equity loans have fixed rates that will remain the same unless refinanced. So the


