A 15-Year VA Loan Can Carry a Lower Rate Than a Conventional 15-Year
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A 15-year VA loan carried a lower rate than a conventional 15-year in FreeRateUpdate’s lender network. On October 16 the best advertised 15-year VA purchase rate we recorded was 5.25%, about half a point below the conventional 15-year’s 5.749%.
The VA loan had the lower rate on each of the five October days we have for both loans, by an eighth of a point to half a point. On October 16 those advertised rates, which aren’t quotes, had APRs of 5.726% on the VA loan and 6.034% on the conventional loan.
| Date | 15-year VA | 15-year conventional |
|---|---|---|
| October 8 | 5.75% | 5.99% |
| October 13 | 5.625% | 5.748% |
| October 14 | 5.5% | 5.749% |
| October 15 | 5.25% | 5.746% |
| October 16 | 5.25% | 5.749% |
What the VA rate is worth
Take a $300,000, 15-year loan at the October 16 rates, for a veteran who has a Certificate of Eligibility and qualifies with the lender, paid on schedule with no refinancing or extra payments. The VA loan’s principal and interest payment, before the points, any funding fee and other charges, is about $2,412 a month, against $2,491 on the conventional loan.
That’s about $79 less a month, with a few more points, 1.602 against 1.451. Its scheduled interest comes to about $134,100 against $148,400 on the conventional loan, about $14,300 less.
Source: FreeRateUpdate As Low As rate history, best advertised rates in our lender network, recorded October 1 to October 16, 2026. Captured data: 15-year VA purchase · 15-year purchase.
