These home loans offer low costs, coupled with a host of features, giving the best overall value.
7+
Great
These home loans may have slightly higher interest rates or fewer features but overall, a competitive offering.
5+
Standard
Usually the home loans would offer above average rates. They may still include some competitive features.
0+
Basic
Higher costs and/or fewer features.
Key takeaways
Athena's home loan rates get lower as you repay the loan.
Athena is an online lender. The company says it can process applications online in a shorter timeframe than the big banks.
You need at least a 20% deposit to get an Athena home loan.
Athena's automatic rate match means existing borrowers get the same rate as new borrowers. This is a feature that rewards loyalty and is not something other lenders offer.
Compare Athena home loans for December 2025
Hit the "Load more" button to compare a bigger selection of products and hit the green button to go to Athena's website to start an enquiry or learn more about the loan.
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Athena home loan features
Here are the key features and details you need to know about Athena's mortgage products.
Feature
Details
Minimum deposit
Athena loans have 80% maximum LVRs. This means you can borrow up to 80% with an Athena mortgage. There are no loans for borrowers with low deposits (that is, deposits below 20%).
Offset account
Athena loans allow you up to 10 offset accounts on eligible loans to save on the interest you're paying.
Athena promises that its existing customers will always get its best deal on their loan. In other words, if the lender cuts rates to entice new borrowers, it puts existing customers on that rate too. Most lenders keep their existing customers on a higher rate.
Flexibility
Borrowers can change their loan type, repayment frequency or top up their loan whenever they need, without paying a fee.
Drop your own rate
Athena automatically lowers your interest rate the more you pay down the loan with its AcceleRATES feature.
The following information is general in nature and applies to most home loans. There may be specific criteria that apply for this lender.
Age. You must be over 18 years of age.
Residency. You should be a resident of Australia.
Employment. You should have a regular source of income.
Documents required
When you apply for a mortgage with Athena you are required to provide certain information so make sure you have all your documents ready before you apply. The documents you will be expected to provide are:
📄 Property details. You can start a loan enquiry before you've bought a property. But to complete an application you need the address of the property and a signed contract of sale.
📄 Identification documents. You will need identification such as a driver's licence, passport or birth certificate.
📄 Proof of income documents. Recent payslips can establish your income.
📄 Asset and liability documents. You need to provide documents showing your current assets (savings accounts, investments) and liabilities (your outstanding debt).
Mortgage brokers. Still confused? Get free, expert guidance from a qualified mortgage broker.
Lenders like Athena
If you want to compare loans from similar lenders to Athena then you can start with these online lenders. They all have competitive rates and may be a better match for your needs:
Tiimely Home. This lender's online application tool can process your mortgage application fast. Backed by the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.
Homestar. A 100% online lender, Homestar has been providing mortgages to Australian borrowers since 2004.
Loans.com.au. A Brisbane-based online lender, Loans.com.au is backed by Firstmac, Australia's largest non-bank lender.
ME Bank. Member's Equity was established back in 1994 and went fully digital in 2012.
ING. This online bank is part of the global, Dutch-based financial group of the same name.
To make sure you find the right Athena loan, you need a clear idea of what you're looking for in a mortgage. These simple questions can help:
Are you comfortable applying online? Because Athena is an online lender you need to be comfortable completing the entire home loan process via the web (with phone and chat support).
What do you need the loan for? If you're buying a home to live in you need an owner-occupier loan. Property investors need an investment loan rate. Athena has both.
Fixed or variable? Do you want the flexibility of a variable rate loan that could rise or fall at any time? Or are you happy to lock in a fixed rate for a certain period so you can forget about rate changes at all?
What features do you need? Athena home loans offer redraw but not offset accounts. If this feature matters to you, you may need to look at other lenders.
Home loan pre-approval is an optional step in the application process that some lenders offer. Pre-approval means a lender has examined your savings, income and spending habits and has a rough idea of how much it could lend you. It's not the same as full loan approval and it's no guarantee that the lender will ultimately approve a full application. But it does allow borrowers to start looking for a home with more confidence and a clearer idea of their borrowing power.
Pre-approval is not something every lender offers, but many do.
Most Australian borrowers bank with one of the Big Four (Commbank, ANZ, Westpac and NAB). You might have some concerns about getting a loan from a smaller lender, but there's no reason to worry about that.
In Australia, banks and lenders are regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and must comply with the National Consumer Credit Protection Act.
Deciding between a fixed or variable rate depends on what you want from the loan. A variable rate loan can change at any time, either up or down. A variable rate usually offers more flexibility in how fast you can repay the loan and the cost of refinancing.
A fixed rate loan offers total certainty about your rate, for the fixed period. This means it won't rise, costing you more. But if your lender starts lowering rates you won't benefit either. Refinancing a fixed rate loan means breaking the loan, because you've agreed to a specific rate. This means you may have to pay a fixed rate break fee.
Mortgage brokers are home loan professionals who can help you find a suitable loan. A broker typically charges you no fee, because they receive a commission from your lender. Brokers are great if you are short on time or find the whole process of researching and applying for a home loan confusing. But you can definitely do it yourself and find a good loan. You may even find a better deal. That's because brokers don't compare loans from every lender in the market. They have access to a panel of loans and often don't have smaller online lenders in their panel.
What is Finder Score?
The Finder Score crunches 7,000 home loans across 120+ lenders. It takes into account the product's interest rate, fees and features, as well as the type of loan eg investor, variable, fixed rate - this gives you a simple score out of 10.
To provide a Score, we compare like-for-like loans. So if you're comparing the best home loans for cashback, you can see how each home loan stacks up against other home loans with the same borrower type, rate type and repayment type. We also take into consideration the amount of cashback offered when calculating the Score so you can tell if it's really worth it.
Richard Whitten is Finder’s Senior Money Editor, with over eight years of experience in home loans, property, credit cards and personal finance. His insights appear in top media outlets like Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine, and the Herald Sun, and he frequently offers expert commentary on television and radio, helping Australians navigate mortgages and property ownership. Richard started his career in education and textbook publishing in South Korea. He holds multiple industry certifications, including a Certificate IV in Mortgage Broking (RG 206) and Tier 1 and Tier 2 certifications (RG 146), as well as a Bachelor of Education from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Communications from Deakin University.
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