How Smarter Loans Makes Money

Plain language, no small print. Smarter Loans is free for borrowers. We are paid by lenders and financial companies. This page explains exactly how — and what that does and does not affect.

Where our revenue comes from

Funded-deal revenue share

Some lenders pay us a share when a referred application gets funded. This aligns us with outcomes: we do best when you actually get the financing you came for.

Featured placement

Lenders can pay for featured placement in some listings. Payment never changes a lender's rates, eligibility data, expert review scores, or borrower reviews.

Referral links on companies and credit cards

Company profiles and credit card pages use disclosed referral links: if you sign up through one, the provider pays us. Government financing pages carry no fees of any kind — no lender or program pays to appear there, and we earn nothing from them.

What this does and does not affect

Being paid by lenders does not:

• Change the rates, fees, or terms any lender offers you
• Influence our expert reviews or verdicts
• Affect verified borrower reviews or how we moderate them
• Mean we list every lender in Canada — we list the ones that pass our vetting

It does:

• Affect which lenders appear as featured
• Affect default ordering in some listings — you can re-sort any list
• Keep Smarter Loans free for borrowers

How your application is routed

When you apply, we route your application by approval likelihood — your details matched against real lender criteria — not by which lender pays us the most. If you click Apply on a specific lender's profile, we prioritize that lender. Fee levels are not an input to matching.

Questions about any of this?

Read our Editorial Policy, our Ratings Methodology, and our Privacy Policy — or contact us and ask directly.

Free for borrowers. Always.