Freddie Mac PMMS vs Bankrate vs Mortgage News Daily: why the mortgage rate numbers differ

What does each print show?

Each figure below is copied from that publisher's page. The as-of date sits beside the rate. Bankrate's row includes the purchase APR next to the interest rate. Freddie Mac and Mortgage News Daily do not publish an APR for these prints, so those cells show the interest rate only. A gap is the first source named in that column minus the second, in percentage points, using the interest rates.

The gaps subtract interest rates dated October 15, October 19, and October 20, 2026. They are not a same-clock comparison. The negative 30-year Mortgage News Daily minus Bankrate gap means Mortgage News Daily's 7.43% as of October 19, 2026 is 0.04 points below Bankrate's 7.47% as of October 20, 2026 at 6:30 AM. The gaps do not use Bankrate's APR.

What each one measures

The descriptions in this section come from each publisher's own page, retrieved on 2026-10-20. The sentences below restate what those pages say.

Freddie Mac PMMS

Freddie Mac's PMMS page says the survey results are the mortgage rate collected from thousands of loan applications submitted through Loan Product Advisor from lenders across the country when a borrower applies. The national average is calculated from purchase applications that meet the PMMS criteria: weekly conventional, single-family originations with conforming loan limits set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The page says the rate is based on applications submitted for that week. As of October 15, 2026, that page shows 7.40% for the 30-year fixed and 6.71% for the 15-year fixed.

The same page says PMMS is published each Thursday at noon ET, or on Wednesday when a U.S. holiday falls on Thursday. The application week runs from 12:00 a.m. ET the prior Thursday through 11:59 p.m. ET Wednesday, and the result is an average of loan rates offered Thursday through Wednesday. Lenders in the survey are a mix of credit unions, commercial banks, and mortgage lending companies.

On fees, the page says fees and points are no longer published because, under current Loan Product Advisor requirements, fees and points are not always required from lenders. In the answer about why adjustable rates are no longer published, Freddie Mac describes the PMMS borrower profile as "good/excellent credit, 20% loans, home purchase loans on owner occupied 1-unit single-family properties".

Mortgage News Daily

The Mortgage News Daily mortgage rates page says its rate index is published on weekdays around 4 p.m. EST. The index on that page is 7.43% for the 30-year fixed and 7.07% for the 15-year fixed. The rate note on the page is dated October 19, 2026 and states the average top-tier 30-year fixed at 7.43%. The methodology is on About MND's Mortgage Rates.

That about page says the index uses actual rate offerings from wholesale, correspondent, and retail lenders, and that it is driven by lender rate sheets. It says the index is generally updated once a day unless several lenders change rates during the day, and that it is updated each weekday afternoon except market holidays. It says a top-tier scenario is the baseline, and it illustrates that scenario as 75% loan-to-value and a 780 FICO score. A later note says the index tries to capture the most commonly quoted conventional conforming 30-year fixed for a scenario with at least 20% down and no major loan-level price adjustments.

On points, the about page says it adjusts the rate to account for points, and that what other mortgage coverage calls points is built into the index. It says the goal is one effective rate, rather than a note rate plus upfront costs. It says the index is an average, and that actual rate quotes tend to be offered in 0.125% increments. It also says the index does not include APR, because Mortgage News Daily is not a mortgage lender and these figures are national average indices. The page says the index is not a commitment to lend.

Bankrate

Bankrate's mortgage rates page, as of October 20, 2026 at 6:30 AM, lists the purchase national average at 7.47% (7.53% APR) for the 30-year fixed and 6.84% (6.95% APR) for the 15-year fixed. Bankrate's page on how it collects mortgage rates describes three series: national mortgage rate and APR averages, the Bankrate Monitor National Index, and top offers. The national rate and APR averages are daily and weekly. Bankrate says that information is collected from banks and thrifts across hundreds of markets in the U.S., plus rates from its advertisers. It says it has gathered this information since 1999, daily at the close of every business day, inside stated borrower scenarios.

For conforming products, that page lists the scenario it assumes: a 740 FICO score, an 80% loan-to-value ratio, a $320,000 loan amount, an existing single-family detached home, and a primary residence. The table on this page uses the purchase national average, interest rate and APR. It does not use the top-offer average, and it does not use the refinance table on the rates page.

The same Bankrate page describes the Bankrate Monitor National Index as a separate weekly survey of the 10 largest banks and thrifts, by deposit assets reported by the FDIC, in the 10 largest U.S. markets. It says the editorial team reports that index on Wednesdays, and the conforming scenario it lists for that survey is a 700 FICO score, 80% loan-to-value, a $320,000 loan, an existing single-family detached home, and a primary residence. That Wednesday index is a different series from the purchase national average in the table above.

Which to use when you are shopping

Use the three prints to see direction. The Freddie Mac figure as of October 15, 2026 is a Thursday average of applications from the prior Thursday through Wednesday. Bankrate's purchase average as of October 20, 2026 at 6:30 AM and the Mortgage News Daily index as of October 19, 2026 are daily series, so they can sit on either side of the Thursday survey. On these prints the 30-year Bankrate minus Freddie Mac gap is 0.07 points, and the 30-year Mortgage News Daily minus Freddie Mac gap is 0.03 points.

A price for your own loan is a Loan Estimate, written for your credit, property, loan amount, down payment, term, points, and lock length. Line up those fields before you treat one offer as lower than another. The guide to comparing mortgage offers, points, and APR covers how the note rate, points, and APR sit on that form. The guide to comparing lenders side by side covers fees and lock length on two estimates. The guide to how mortgage rates are determined covers the survey, the bond market, and the lender's price.

These national prints are averages on a stated date, not a quote or a rate lock.

Sources

1. Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, U.S. weekly averages as of October 15, 2026 - https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms
2. Bankrate, Mortgage rates, purchase national averages as of October 20, 2026 at 6:30 AM - https://www.bankrate.com/mortgages/mortgage-rates/
3. Mortgage News Daily, Daily rate index dated October 19, 2026 - https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage-rates
4. Mortgage News Daily, About MND's Mortgage Rates (retrieved 2026-10-20) - https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/mortgage-rates/about
5. Bankrate, About Bankrate's mortgage rates (retrieved 2026-10-20) - https://www.bankrate.com/mortgages/about-our-mortgage-rates/