Point vs Hometap: Which Home Equity Investment Is Right for You? (2026)
The Scout Executive Summary
- Choose Point for time and credit flexibility: A 30-year term, credit scores from 500, no income check, and funding up to $600,000, with a processing fee of up to 3.9% and a minimum of $2,000.
- Choose Hometap for a cost you can model before you sign: Its June 2026 pricing publishes a 1.65x multiplier for settlements in years 0 to 5 and 1.80x in years 6 to 10, with an 18.5% annual cap, all inside a 10-year term.
- The decider is your exit date: If you can name the year you will sell or refinance, and it falls inside a decade, Hometap’s published multipliers let you calculate your cost in advance. If you cannot name that year, Point’s 30-year term removes the deadline entirely.
In this Article
- Point vs Hometap at a Glance
- How Do Point and Hometap Work?
- Which One Lets You Access More of Your Equity?
- Point vs Hometap: Which One Costs More?
- How Long Do You Have Before You Must Settle?
- Which Is Easier to Qualify For?
- Where Can You Get Each One?
- Which Is the Better Fit for You?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Point and Hometap are the two most established home equity investment companies in the market, and they are the closest thing to a direct comparison the category offers. Both hand you a lump sum today with no monthly payment. Both take a share of your home’s value when you settle. Both skip the income check that stops so many Arizona homeowners at a HELOC application.
The difference that matters is time. Hometap gives you 10 years. Point gives you 30. Almost every other tradeoff between them follows from that one number. This guide walks through each difference so you can see which structure fits your home and your timeline. Every figure here can change, so confirm current terms with each company before you sign. If you are still narrowing the field, see the full roundup of top HEI companies in Arizona.
Point vs Hometap at a Glance
Point gives you a longer runway and a lower credit bar, while Hometap publishes its pricing structure so you can model the cost before you apply. The table below sets them side by side. Terms are current as of August 2026; confirm directly.
| Feature | Point | Hometap |
|---|---|---|
| Product type | Home equity investment (HEI) | Home equity investment (HEI) |
| Cash you can get | About $30,000 to $600,000 (up to about 20% of your home’s value) | About $15,000 to $600,000 (up to about 25% of your home’s value) |
| Equity you leave in the home | About 30%, though published sources describe a 20% to 40% range depending on credit | About 25% |
| Up-front fee | Up to 3.9% of the cash (minimum $2,000) | 4.5% of the cash |
| How your payoff is figured | A share of your home’s future value, measured from a discounted starting value, with the share set during underwriting | A share of your home’s future value, using a published 1.65x multiplier in years 0 to 5 and 1.80x in years 6 to 10 |
| Most it can cost you | A capped annual return set in your offer (the Homeowner Protection Cap) | 18.5% a year, compounded monthly, or your state’s limit if lower (the Hometap Cap) |
| How long you have | 30 years | 10 years |
| Taking more equity later | Yes, through Re-Point, without ending the first agreement | Not offered |
| Paying early | Anytime, no penalty. One lump sum | Anytime, no penalty. One lump sum |
| Minimum credit score | 500 | Around 575 (some sources cite 585 or 600) |
| Income check | None | None |
| Home value accepted | Roughly $155,000 and up | Roughly $50,000 and up |
| Types of homes | Single-family, condo, townhome, 1 to 4 units, many second homes and investment properties. No manufactured or mobile homes | Single-family, condo, 1 to 4 units |
| Lien position | Third lien or better, so no more than two mortgages ahead | Records a lien against the property |
| Shares the loss if your home drops | Varies by contract. Confirm in writing | Yes |
| States available | About 27 plus D.C. (including Arizona) | About 16 plus D.C. (including Arizona) |
| Founded | 2015 | 2017 |
Point vs Hometap: HEI Provider Snapshots
Longest term, lowest credit bar.
How it works: You get cash now. In return, Point takes a share of your home’s future value. It measures that share from a starting value it discounts, and it caps what it can earn each year. There are no monthly payments. You settle anytime within 30 years.
Strengths
You get 30 years, so no deadline pushes you to sell or refinance
Re-Point lets you take another investment later without ending the first one
Credit from 500, and it works with second homes and investment properties
Tradeoffs
Sets its share during underwriting instead of publishing it, so you cannot price it in advance
Wants you to keep about 30% equity, and needs third lien position or better
Published pricing, shorter clock.
How it works: You get cash now. In return, Hometap takes a share of your home’s future value. That share is set by a published multiplier tied to when you settle, and limited by the Hometap Cap. There are no monthly payments. You settle within 10 years.
Strengths
Publishes its multipliers, so you can work out your cost before you apply
Caps what it can earn at 18.5% a year, compounded monthly
Invests up to about 25% of your home’s value, starting at $15,000
Tradeoffs
You get 10 years, and you pay it back all at once
Charges 4.5% of the cash, and covers about 16 states plus D.C.
Featured Partners · No Monthly Payments
Best Overall
- Qualify in minutes, no credit impact
- Close in as little as 3 weeks1
- Up to $500,000
- Flexible credit terms
- Credit scores starting at ~500+
- Up to $600,000
- MaturityMatch™ term alignment
- Keep your low-rate mortgage
- Up to $500,000
1 “Close in as little as 3 weeks” reflects the average timeline under standard conditions. Actual timelines vary based on documentation, title, property location, and local recording or notarization requirements. Timing is not guaranteed. Advertised maximums verified August 2026, not offers. Your actual amount depends on your home’s appraised value, available equity, mortgage balance, and the provider’s lien-to-value cap. Availability varies by state.
How Do Point and Hometap Work?
Both companies give you cash now in exchange for a share of your home’s value later, with no monthly payment and no interest. The mechanics are close enough that the differences are worth stating precisely.
See if an HEI is right for you and check your estimate today.
With both, you receive a lump sum at closing and settle in a single payment when you sell, refinance, or buy the investment out. Neither charges a monthly payment. Neither charges a prepayment penalty. Both give you credit for eligible home improvements, so neither takes a share of value you added yourself. Both record a lien against your property, and with both you keep the title and stay on the deed.
The mechanical difference is how each one sets its ceiling. Hometap applies a multiplier to the amount it invested, based on when you settle, and caps its total return at 18.5% per year compounded monthly. Point sets its share during underwriting and applies a Homeowner Protection Cap that limits how high its annual return can climb. Hometap publishes its multipliers. Point does not publish its share, so you learn it in your offer.
One structural difference has no equivalent on the other side. Point offers Re-Point, which lets you take an additional investment later in the term without terminating the original agreement. If your home appreciates and you need equity again in year six, Point can add to the existing arrangement. Hometap does not offer this, and neither do most other providers.
🐿️ Scout’s Tip
Hometap updated its pricing in June 2026, and the new structure is genuinely useful for comparison shopping. Because the multipliers are published rather than set privately at underwriting, you can calculate a worst-case settlement figure before you ever apply. Ask Point for the same number in writing during prequalification so you are comparing two real figures instead of one number and one estimate.
Which One Lets You Access More of Your Equity?
Hometap generally invests a larger share of your home’s value, at about 25%, while Point invests up to about 20%. Both cap the dollar figure at $600,000, so on a high-value home the percentage is what decides your number rather than the ceiling.
Get a preliminary funding estimate with a brief digital check.
The minimums run the other direction. Hometap starts at $15,000 and Point starts at $30,000, so a homeowner who needs a modest amount may find Hometap the only one of the two that will write the agreement.
Equity requirements also differ. Hometap generally wants you to keep about 25% equity after funding. Point generally wants about 30%, though published sources describe a range from 20% to 40% depending on your credit profile. On the same home with the same mortgage, that difference can decide which company can fund you at all.
Point requires third-lien position or better, meaning you cannot have more than two mortgages ahead of it. That is a real constraint for Arizona homeowners who already carry a first mortgage and a HELOC.
Whichever you pick, the number you are quoted will be set by your existing mortgage balance more than by either company’s advertised maximum. Ask each for an estimate on your actual property before you plan around a figure. To check your own position first, see how to calculate your Arizona home equity.
Point vs Hometap: Which One Costs More?
Hometap is the only one of the two that lets you calculate your cost before you apply, because it publishes its multipliers while Point sets its share privately at underwriting. That does not make Hometap cheaper. It makes Hometap knowable.
Access your home equity with pre-qualification in minutes.
Start with the small part. Point charges a processing fee of up to 3.9% with a $2,000 minimum. Hometap charges 4.5%. Both are deducted from your funds at closing, and both come alongside third-party costs like appraisal, escrow, title, and government fees. On a typical investment these total a few thousand dollars. Real money, and minor next to the end cost.
How each one measures what you owe
Hometap’s June 2026 pricing works from a multiplier tied to when you settle. Settle in years 0 through 5 and the multiplier is 1.65x. Settle in years 6 through 10 and it is 1.80x. The Hometap Cap then limits its total return to 18.5% per year, compounded monthly, or less where state law requires. Because those figures are published, you can model a worst case at 0%, 3%, and 5% annual appreciation before you ever fill out a form.
Point shares a percentage of your home’s future value, with the share set during underwriting rather than published. Point applies a Homeowner Protection Cap that limits how high its annual return can go, which serves the same protective function as the Hometap Cap. The 30-year term is the variable that matters most here, because it lets you choose when to settle rather than being handed a deadline.
Both companies apply a risk adjustment, a discount to your home’s appraised value used as the starting point for measuring appreciation. This is standard across the category rather than unique to either one, but it materially affects what you owe, and the size of the adjustment varies. Ask for it in writing from both.
So which one actually costs less?
We cannot give you a guaranteed dollar winner, and you should be skeptical of any site that does, including this one. Point’s share is set in your individual offer, so nobody can price it in advance from the outside. What we can say is that the two limit your cost differently. Hometap caps its annual return at a published number and gives you 10 years. Point caps its annual return at a number set in your offer and gives you 30.
The reliable method is to get a written settlement estimate from each company using the same home value, the same cash amount, and the same settlement year. Then run the same scenario against what a fixed-rate home equity loan would cost over the same period, because in a market that has appreciated like the Phoenix Valley, the monthly-payment option is sometimes the cheaper one.
How Long Do You Have Before You Must Settle?
This is the biggest difference between them: Point gives you 30 years and Hometap gives you 10. Everything else in this comparison is secondary to that number.
See if an HEI is right for you and check your estimate today.
With Hometap, you must settle within 10 years by selling, refinancing, or buying the investment out. If your home has not appreciated much when that clock runs out, or your finances are tight in year 10, the deadline itself becomes a cost. You may be forced to sell or refinance on a schedule you did not choose.
Point’s 30-year term removes that pressure. You can settle whenever it suits you, and for many Arizona homeowners the practical plan is to settle at sale, whenever that happens. Neither company charges a penalty for settling early, and neither accepts partial payments, so with both you settle in one lump sum.
The 10-year clock is not automatically a disadvantage. If you already know you are selling in six years, the deadline never binds, and you get Hometap’s published pricing without ever feeling the term. The clock only costs you if you cannot name your exit.
Want a term that lines up with your existing mortgage instead? If 10 years is too tight and 30 feels arbitrary, Splitero’s MaturityMatch™ syncs the settlement deadline to your current first mortgage, accepts credit from 500, and skips the income check. Check what Splitero might offer in minutes with no impact on your credit. →
Featured Partners · No Monthly Payments
Best Overall
- Qualify in minutes, no credit impact
- Close in as little as 3 weeks1
- Up to $500,000
- Flexible credit terms
- Credit scores starting at ~500+
- Up to $600,000
- MaturityMatch™ term alignment
- Keep your low-rate mortgage
- Up to $500,000
1 “Close in as little as 3 weeks” reflects the average timeline under standard conditions. Actual timelines vary based on documentation, title, property location, and local recording or notarization requirements. Timing is not guaranteed. Advertised maximums verified August 2026, not offers. Your actual amount depends on your home’s appraised value, available equity, mortgage balance, and the provider’s lien-to-value cap. Availability varies by state.
Point vs Hometap: Which Is Easier to Qualify For?
Point is the easier of the two to qualify for on credit, accepting scores from 500 against Hometap’s minimum of around 575. Neither checks your income, and neither applies a debt-to-income limit, which is why both remain reachable for self-employed and retired Arizona homeowners.
Get a preliminary funding estimate with a brief digital check.
Hometap’s published minimum has moved. Older sources cite 585 or 600, and more recent ones cite 575. Confirm the current figure directly, since it appears to have been lowered in 2026.
Equity cuts the other way. Hometap generally asks you to keep about 25% after funding, while Point generally asks for about 30%. So a homeowner with thin equity may clear Point’s credit bar and still fail its equity test.
Property type is the third variable. Point accepts single-family homes, condos, townhomes, 1 to 4 unit properties, many second homes, and investment properties, but not manufactured or mobile homes. Hometap accepts single-family homes, condos, and 1 to 4 unit properties.
Bottom line: if credit is your obstacle, Point is the more forgiving. If equity is your obstacle, Hometap is. If you own an investment property, Point is more likely to work at all.
Below 500, or need a decision fast? Nada runs an eligibility check in minutes with no impact to your credit, accepts scores from 500, and closes in as little as three weeks under standard conditions. Check your eligibility with Nada →
Where Can You Get Each One?
Point operates in more states than Hometap, at about 27 plus Washington, D.C., against Hometap’s 16 plus D.C. Both serve Arizona, so Valley homeowners can compare real offers rather than being limited to one.
Coverage shifts. Confirm your state on each company’s site before you plan around either.
Point vs Hometap: Which Is the Better Fit for You?
There is no overall winner here, because the two are built around different assumptions about when you will leave. Here is who each one suits.
See if an HEI is right for you and check your estimate today.
🐿️ Scout’s Tip
Run the same scenario through both before you choose. Take your current home value, the exact cash amount you need, and the year you realistically expect to sell, then ask each company for a written settlement estimate on those three inputs. Then run the same numbers against a fixed-rate home equity loan. In a market that has appreciated like the Valley, the monthly payment option sometimes wins outright, and the only way to know is to see all three figures next to each other. Current local pricing is on our Arizona home equity rates page.
Related comparisons
- Full Point review
- Full Hometap review
- Full Splitero review
- Full Nada review
- Full Unison review
- Point vs Splitero comparison
- Splitero vs Hometap comparison
- Hometap vs Unison comparison
- Nada vs Splitero comparison
Point vs Hometap: Frequently Asked Questions
Point, on credit. It accepts scores from 500, while Hometap’s minimum sits around 575. Neither checks income or applies a debt-to-income limit. Hometap is the more forgiving on equity, generally asking you to keep about 25% after funding against Point’s roughly 30%.
Point, by a wide margin. Point’s term runs 30 years, while Hometap’s runs 10. If you cannot name the year you will sell or refinance, that difference is the single most important factor in the comparison.
Neither can be priced from the outside with certainty. Hometap publishes a 1.65x multiplier for settlements in years 0 to 5 and 1.80x in years 6 to 10, with an 18.5% annual cap, so you can model your cost in advance. Point sets its share during underwriting and does not publish it. Get a written estimate from each using identical inputs.
Yes, through a feature called Re-Point, which lets you take an additional investment during the 30-year term without terminating the original agreement. It is subject to available room under the lien-to-value ceiling, so a second investment is only possible if your equity position supports it. Hometap does not offer an equivalent.
Yes, both operate in Arizona, so Valley homeowners can get offers from each and compare. Point serves about 27 states plus D.C., Hometap about 16 plus D.C. Confirm your state directly, since coverage changes.
Neither one does. Both underwrite on home value, equity, and lien position rather than on income or debt-to-income ratio. That is the main reason self-employed and retired Arizona homeowners consider an HEI after a HELOC decline.
Hometap invests up to about 25% of your home’s value and Point up to about 20%, with both capped at $600,000. Minimums differ more than maximums: Hometap starts at $15,000 and Point at $30,000. Your actual number depends mostly on your existing mortgage balance.
You settle in a lump sum by selling, refinancing, or buying the investment out with cash. There are no partial payments. If your home has not appreciated much or your finances are tight at that point, the deadline can force a sale or refinance you would not otherwise have chosen. That risk is the main tradeoff for Hometap’s published pricing.
Hometap shares in a decline. Point’s treatment varies by agreement, and the company applies a risk adjustment to the starting value that affects downside outcomes. Because this is one of the terms that differs most between providers and between individual contracts, get the exact language in writing before you sign.
Not sure an HEI is right at all? Our Arizona home equity rates page tracks today’s HELOC and home equity loan pricing, so you can weigh a monthly-payment option before giving up a share of your home’s future value.
EquitySquirrel is an educational resource operated by Scout Media LLC, not a lender or HEI provider. This content does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Provider terms shown were verified in August 2026 and are subject to change; confirm current terms directly with each company. Consult a licensed financial professional, and consider an attorney review of any HEI agreement, before making decisions about your home equity. Aleksandra Kadzielawski, Lic #SA694336000.
