Head-to-head
Pepper Money vs loans.com.au Home Loan
Rates & conditions verified 17 September 2026
Rates can change without notice. Last verified: 17 September 2026 (AEST). Please confirm details on the bank’s official page.
Two non-bank lenders that both lend at high LVR, one built for borrowers with a story and one built for borrowers with a small deposit but a clean file. For a Pepper customer with a low deposit, this is the closest like-for-like refinance target.
Pepper Money Variable Home Loan (prime tier)
Best for high-LVR borrowers who also need alt-doc or credit-impaired lending
Condition: Advertised rate is the prime-tier floor; specialist borrowers pay more within each LVR band
- Accepts alt-doc income and past credit events
- Lends to the highest LVR of the pair
- Offset sub-account included
loans.com.au Variable Home Loan (Bare)
Best for borrowers with a small deposit but a clean credit file who want a low online rate
Condition: Standard income documents and clean credit; single published rate to its maximum LVR
- One low rate to a high LVR
- No monthly fees
- Optional offset sub-account for a small rate loading
At a glance
| Pepper Money Variable Home Loan (prime tier) | loans.com.au Variable Home Loan (Bare) | |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest variable rate (p.a.) | 6.74% | 6.04% |
| Comparison rate (p.a.) | 6.92% | 6.08% |
| Rate at highest published LVR | 8.39% at 90–95% LVR | Single rate |
| Investment P&I from (p.a.) | 6.94% (≤65% LVR) | Not published |
| Condition to earn it | Advertised rate is the prime-tier floor; specialist borrowers pay more within each LVR band | Standard income documents and clean credit; single published rate to its maximum LVR |
The verdict
Both lend well beyond the 80% LVR line the cheapest lenders stop at, which makes loans.com.au the natural comparison for a Pepper borrower whose only issue is a small deposit. loans.com.au publishes one rate to its maximum LVR rather than a ladder, and that single rate sits below Pepper's prime floor at the same LVR, let alone Pepper's higher bands. What loans.com.au will not do is accept alternative income documents or a recent credit event, and above its LVR ceiling Pepper is the only one of the two still lending. So the split is simple: clean file and a deposit above loans.com.au's minimum, and the table says move; anything the banks would bounce for, and Pepper is still the lender that says yes. Both include offset options, Pepper as standard with a monthly fee, loans.com.au as a small rate loading.
FAQs
Which lender accepts a smaller deposit?
Pepper Money. It lends to a higher LVR than loans.com.au, and higher again once its lender protection fee is capitalised, with non-genuine savings accepted for first home buyers. loans.com.au lends to a high LVR too, but stops short of Pepper's ceiling and requires genuine savings and clean credit. Both maximums are in the table and on the reviews.
Does loans.com.au do alt-doc or bad-credit loans?
No. loans.com.au assesses on standard income documents and a clean credit file. Self-employed borrowers without full financials, or anyone with a recent default, are Pepper's market, not loans.com.au's.
Is a non-bank lender safe?
Both are non-bank lenders regulated by ASIC under the same responsible lending laws as the banks. Neither holds deposits, so the government deposit guarantee is irrelevant to a borrower; your loan terms are protected by your contract and the National Credit Code either way.
Related guides
Information verified 17 September 2026. Rates are variable and subject to change. Confirm current rates and conditions on each provider's website before applying. This is not financial advice.