The short answer
In our standard example ($100,000 against a $750,000 home with a $300,000 mortgage, 4% growth, settled after 7 years), Unison costs 14.7% a year versus 15.9% for Unlock.
Unison is cheaper below about 5.1% annual growth; Unlock is cheaper above it (settling after 7 years).
Settle within 3 years and Unison is cheaper; hold for 10 and Unlock is.
Side by side
| Unlock | Unison | |
|---|---|---|
| What they call it | Home Equity Agreement (HEA) | Equity Sharing Agreement |
| How you repay | Share of your home's future value, set with an exchange rate | Share of your home's change in value, up or down |
| Cash available | $15K to $500K | Up to $500K |
| Max share of home value | Not published | 15% |
| Equity you must keep | 30% after funding | Not published |
| Fee | Up to 4.9% Exchange rate and cap from a third-party review | Up to 3.9% |
| Cost cap | 19.9% a year | None published |
| Term | 10 years | Up to 30 years |
| Minimum credit score | 500 | Not published |
| Shares losses if value falls | Yes, you owe a share of a lower value | Yes |
Full reviews: Unlock · Unison. Sources for every term.
Cost at different growth rates and timelines
Effective annual cost for $100,000 against a $750,000 home with a $300,000 mortgage. The cheaper of the two is highlighted.
| Growth | 3 years | 7 years | 10 years | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlock | Unison | Unlock | Unison | Unlock | Unison | |
| 0% a year | 22.6% | 8.3% | 11.5% | 3.5% | 7.9% | 2.4% |
| 2% a year | 22.6% | 15.2% | 13.7% | 9.6% | 10.0% | 8.2% |
| 4% a year | 22.6% | 21.6% | 15.9% | 14.7% | 12.2% | 12.7% |
| 6% a year | 22.6% | 27.6% | 18.1% | 19.1% | 14.4% | 16.5% |
| 8% a year | 22.6% | 33.3% | 20.4% | 23.1% | 16.5% | 20.0% |
Ten-year agreements are shown at year 10 when you'd hold longer. Open this example in the calculator.
Key differences
- How you repay: Unlock: share of your home's future value, set with an exchange rate. Unison: share of your home's change in value, up or down.
- Time to settle: Unlock 10 years; Unison up to 30 years.
- Cost cap: Unlock 19.9% a year; Unison publishes none.
- Starting value: Unison measures gain from 5% below your appraisal.
- How much you can take: Unlock doesn't publish a limit; Unison up to 15% of your home's value.
- Credit: Unlock minimum 500; Unison doesn't publish one.
Which fits you
- Your home may not appreciate much: Unison (3.5% vs 11.5% at 0% over 7 years).
- You expect strong growth: Unlock (20.4% vs 23.1% at 8% over 7 years).
- You might settle within 3 years: Unison (21.6% vs 22.6%).
- You need more than 10 years: Unison, which allows up to 30 years.
Questions
Is Unlock or Unison cheaper?
In our standard example ($100,000 against a $750,000 home with a $300,000 mortgage, 4% growth, 7 years), Unison costs 14.7% a year versus 15.9% for Unlock. Unison is cheaper below about 5.1% annual growth; Unlock is cheaper above it (settling after 7 years).
Which is better if I settle early, Unlock or Unison?
Settling after 3 years at 4% growth, Unison costs 21.6% a year versus 22.6%.
More comparisons
Run your own numbers
Every figure here uses a standard example. The calculator runs your home, your mortgage, and your assumptions through every provider at once.
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