Shopping for some things is easy. Whenever I want a new computer, I search online for the best prices. Websites quickly display the price I have to pay with no issues, and the whole process takes just a few minutes.
Unfortunately, price shopping for financial products isn’t as easy. Loans have terms that vary based on your credit score and other factors. Insurance prices vary based on what you’re trying to insure and where you’re located.
I could go to several providers’ websites and spend time getting quotes, but each provider requires me to reenter my information to get a quote. The process of shopping for loans or financial products could easily take hours.
Thankfully, there are now companies that have started to solve this problem. In particular, Fiona and LendingTree both offer solutions you should consider looking into.
Here’s what you need to know.
Fiona vs. LendingTree summary
| Features | Fiona | LendingTree |
|---|---|---|
| Personal loans | Yes | Yes |
| Student loans and student loan refinance | Student loan refinance only | Yes |
| Auto loans and auto refinance | Auto refinance only | Yes |
| Mortgage and mortgage refinance | Yes | Yes |
| Life insurance | Yes | Yes |
| Credit cards | Yes | Yes |
| Savings | Yes | Yes |
| Auto insurance | Redirects you to a third party | Yes |
| Credit scores | Redirects you to a third party | Yes |
| Business loans | No | Yes |
| Debt/credit repair | No | Yes |
| Home Insurance | No | Yes |
Fiona and LendingTree both aim to make your life easier by letting you shop for multiple financial products in one place. Neither website charges you money to use their services, but both websites do make money when you submit quotes or end up purchasing products. That said, how much they earn is dependent on the relationship each website has with the companies they work with.
Fiona is a good option to shop around, but LendingTree offers more options when it comes to the financial products you can shop for. You don’t have to use one service or the other, though. If both services let you shop for the same financial product, you can use both services to get quotes, then choose the best overall offer you find!
About Fiona
Fiona
is a search, comparison, and recommendation engine that was created to make searching for financial services fast, easy, and comprehensive. The company was founded in December of 2014, has raised over $50,000,000 in capital, and is headquartered in New York City.
Fiona also offers a “Learn’ section on their site that can help you understand the financial products they help you compare. Their sleekly designed site allows beginners and experienced borrowers alike to find some of the best rates available to them.
About LendingTree
LendingTree helps people find financial products that fit their needs all in one place. The company has been in business for 25 years and has racked up some fantastic statistics during that time. They’ve served over 50 billion in loans and served over 100,000,000 customers.
LendingTree also owns several other brands, which helps them establish relationships with a wide variety of lenders and products. Other brands include
Fiona options and process
When you visit Fiona, you see the financial product options you can shop for. These include:
- Personal loans.
- Student loan refinancing.
- Auto refinancing.
- Mortgage refinancing.
- Life insurance.
- Credit cards.
- Savings accounts.
In addition to these products, Fiona has partnerships with other companies to help you shop for auto insurance and check your credit score. Fiona partners with Jerry for auto insurance and TransUnion for credit scores.
For the products Fiona offers directly, it’s easy to shop for. You click on the product you want a quote for, fill out a few questions about yourself, your finances, the product you want, and your credit.
Fiona takes that information and matches you with several lenders that can help meet your needs. You can look at the offers before choosing the one that best meets your needs. At this point, you move forward directly with the financial product company to finish the process.
LendingTree options and process
LendingTree has been around much longer than Fiona and offers a wider variety of financial products and services. LendingTree’s options include:
- Personal loans.
- Student loans.
- Student loan refinancing.
- Auto loans.
- Auto loan refinancing.
- Mortgages.
- Mortgage refinancing.
- Business loans.
- Credit cards.
- Credit scores.
- Savings accounts.
- Life insurance.
- Auto insurance.
- Home insurance.
- Debt/credit repair.
- Many other products.
To get started, you find the type of financial product you want to shop for. Then, you input information about yourself, the information for the product you want, your credit, and any other relevant information lenders may need to give you quotes.
Once you complete the information, LendingTree displays the offers that you qualify for. You can look through them to find the one that works best for you. Then, you move forward with the process with the company that offers the financial product you want.
Fiona vs. LendingTree pros
Fiona pros:
- Save money. Fiona uses the information you provide to shop with several financial product providers to help you find the best deal.
- Save time. With Fiona, you only fill out the requested information once. Fiona then uses that to get you multiple quotes. If you did this yourself, you’d have to submit the same information numerous times.
LendingTree pros:
- Many financial product providers. LendingTree has a long history and several brands that have allowed them to build partnerships with many financial product providers.
- Wider variety of financial offerings. LendingTree offers more loan and financial product options than Fiona.
- Save time and money. LendingTree’s process helps you save time and money by only requiring you to complete an application once before showing you multiple quotes.
Fiona and LendingTree cons
Fiona cons:
- Fewer options than LendingTree. Fiona doesn’t provide as many financial products as LendingTree.
- Must provide detailed information before getting a quote. You have to give out your identifying information, including your Social Security Number, to get loan quotes.
- Doesn’t work with all potential providers. Fiona works with many digital loan providers, but they likely don’t work with your local banks and credit unions. You may find better deals with providers Fiona doesn’t work with.
LendingTree cons:
- Must provide detailed information to get quotes. You have to provide identifying information, including the last four digits of your Social Security Number, to get quotes.
- Doesn’t work with all potential providers. LendingTree works with many providers, but they can’t work with everyone. You may find better deals elsewhere with a provider LendingTree doesn’t work with.
Why choose Fiona
Could save you time and money
Using Fiona could save you time and money if you find a good offer on a financial product you’re considering. They do this by only having you fill out an application once and giving you several options to choose from.
Offers the standard financial products most people are interested in
While Fiona doesn’t have an extensive list of financial product options, they offer the products most people would be interested in shopping around for.
Why choose LendingTree
Offers a wider variety of financial products
LendingTree’s time in the industry has allowed them to develop a full suite of financial products you can shop for on their website.
Can help you save time and money
LendingTree’s partnerships with several providers can help you save time and money by filling out your basic information once to get several quotes. If they find an offer you didn’t know about that has the best terms, they could save you money, too.
Summary
LendingTree and Fiona both let you shop for financial products from the comfort of your home. They make the process easier than doing it yourself by collecting information a single time. Then, they check what products you may qualify for with different providers before giving you options to choose from.
You can select one of the options you’re happy with and move forward to finish the process of obtaining the financial product. You can also do more shopping on your own if you wish.
You can try LendingTree or Fiona today. Alternatively, you can use both to see which comes up with a better deal for your financial product needs.