RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, and CIBC mortgages compared

RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, and CIBC all publish a 5-year price you can see, and the scrape stores a higher posted rate beside each uninsured 5-year fixed special, which is the shelf a fixed-rate penalty may use later. A discount below that shelf shows up in the borrower-reported file only for a product with at least 10 reports and a posted rate stored beside them, and on the current file that test is failed by every Big Five 5-year fixed cell.

The table was scraped on 2026-10-26. "Not in the scrape" means that row was missing. "Not stored" means a special was captured with no posted figure. None of the five uninsured 5-year fixed rows are in that second group. Do not fill a blank, and do not treat the special as the penalty's comparison rate.

Insured and uninsured are different products. A high-ratio mortgage, under 20% down, is the insured column and usually carries a premium you can price in the CMHC calculator. At 20% down or more, read the uninsured column and the uninsured shelf. The insured shelf is the other one. Side-by-side lender pages already on this site are TD versus RBC, BMO versus CIBC, and Wealthsimple versus TD. The bank pages are RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, and CIBC.

The file dated October 18, 2026 compares a rate self-reported by Canadian borrowers online with that bank's posted rate. A row is public only when N is at least 10 and a posted rate is stored. Rates in this paragraph are rounded to the nearest 0.05, the same way real mortgage rates rounds them. Self-reported, unverified, and not a mortgage offer. None of the five banks currently has a 5-year fixed cell that clears both tests, so this page does not quote a 5-year fixed discount for any of them.

TD Bank: 5-year variable, reported median 3.55% against posted 4.30% (N = 28), 0.70 pts below posted. Royal Bank of Canada: 5-year variable, reported median 3.60% against posted 4.15% (N = 21), 0.55 pts below posted; 3-year fixed, reported median 4.35% against posted 5.00% (N = 16), 0.65 pts below posted. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce: 3-year fixed, reported median 4.25% against posted 5.10% (N = 11), 0.80 pts below posted. Bank of Montreal: 5-year variable, reported median 3.65% against posted 4.10% (N = 18), 0.50 pts below posted; 3-year fixed, reported median 4.30% against posted 4.95% (N = 10), 0.65 pts below posted. Scotiabank: no product in this file has both N of at least 10 and a posted rate stored beside the reports.

Scotiabank's 5-year variable reports reach N = 21, and the reported median before nickel-rounding is 3.55%. No posted rate is stored beside them, so the discount is not published. A sample without the shelf it is being compared with is not a discount.

Market-wide, insured status not stated, the 5-year fixed median is 4.35% (N = 40) against a Big Five posted median of 5.15%. The variable median is 3.55% (N = 129) against 4.15%. Those cells mix lenders. Put one written offer in the renewal offer checker. The shelf itself is explained in posted versus discounted.

FCAC describes two comparison rates for an interest-rate differential. One is close to what you would be offered today. The other is today's posted rate for a similar remaining term, minus the discount you were given. Subtracting the discount widens the fee. The penalty is the higher of that differential and three months' interest. The simple version is in the penalty calculator and the penalty guide. A present-value discount, or a clause that adds the original discount on top of three months' interest, will not match that screen.

RBC uses the greater of three months' interest and a differential: your rate versus RBC's posted rate that day for a similar remaining term and the same prepayment options, less the reduction you received. RBC then present-values the result, which it says reduces the charge. A variable closed charge is three months' interest. Use RBC's worksheet for the number.

TD uses the same shape on a closed fixed mortgage: the higher of three months' interest, or a differential against the posted rate for a similar mortgage minus your discount. A closed variable charge is three months' interest. TD says you may renew 120 days before maturity without a prepayment charge. Earlier than that, a charge can still apply. That is an early renewal, not a promise that every blend is free.

CIBC's Alberta standard terms (April 2026) set the fixed closed charge at the higher of three months' interest at your rate plus any discount, or a differential against the posted rate for a mapped term: 6 months if a year or less remains, then 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, or 10 years. The discount includes a Better Than Posted promotion. A Variable Flex payout in those terms is three months' interest at CIBC Prime. Other provinces can use different standard terms.

BMO sets a fixed closed charge, including a ReadiLine fixed instalment, at the higher of three months' interest and an interest-rate differential, and a variable closed charge at three months' interest. After five years of a longer term, only three months' interest applies. The guide does not spell the comparison rate out as posted minus discount, so this page does not claim that it does. Scotiabank says a fixed payout is typically the greater of three months' interest and a differential, and a variable payout is typically three months' interest. Ask which comparison rate they use before you rank either bank against RBC, TD, or CIBC.

TD allows a closed mortgage one lump sum a year of up to 15% of the original principal, and a payment increase of up to 100%. An open mortgage can be prepaid in any amount. Scotiabank Flex Value is 15% of the original principal plus a 15% payment increase. The prepayment page says other Scotia options are 10% or 20%. The product name is the privilege.

BMO gives a smart fixed closed mortgage a 10% payment increase and a 10% lump sum. Other closed mortgages, and a ReadiLine instalment that is not a smart fixed, get 20% and 20%. Open mortgages and the revolving portion have no charge. In the first five years a smart fixed closed mortgage cannot be paid out in full except in the cases BMO lists. CIBC allows 10% a year on a fixed closed mortgage and 20% on Variable Flex. RBC's prepayment page does not publish one percentage for every RBC mortgage, so this guide does not invent one. A former HSBC file can differ. The disclosure states it.

RBC honours a fixed-rate residential quote for up to 120 days, and if rates fall you get the lowest rate for that term. The guarantee dies if the mortgage is not funded in time. TD holds a fixed rate for 120 days. If rates rise, the held rate stays. If they fall, you can ask for the lower one. A variable is not held, because it moves with TD Mortgage Prime. BMO guarantees a selected fixed rate for 130 days from the guarantee start. Its "longest guarantee" footnote is dated September 15, 2025, so the ranking is not repeated here. Scotia and CIBC do not state a hold length on the pages checked. Purchase holds and renewal holds are separated in the rate-hold guide.

RBC lets you port the rate to a new home. A larger loan blends the old rate with the current rate on the extra funds. A smaller port follows ordinary prepayment rules. A variable can be ported with a firm sale and a firm purchase, generally with two months left, and the closings within 120 days. Fees, an appraisal, and sometimes more insurance premium still apply. TD may port a fixed rate without a prepayment charge and blend any increase at current rates. CIBC's Alberta terms use 60 days. Variable Flex is not transferred at the old rate. Other CIBC mortgages keep the old rate at the same size or smaller, and blend when the new loan is larger. You pay processing, insurance, legal, and appraisal costs. BMO and Scotiabank port windows were not on the pages checked.

FCAC separates a standard charge, which secures the mortgage you borrowed, from a collateral charge, which can secure that mortgage and other loans and may be registered for more than you take today. Switching at renewal then means repaying every loan the charge secures and paying to discharge and re-register. The switch guide is where that meets the stress-test exemption.

RBC Homeline pairs a mortgage with a line you can repay any time, interest-only allowed. RBC's overview requires 20% equity or 20% down. TD FlexLine goes to 80% of value. The revolving portion is TD Prime, interest-only or more, with no prepayment charge, and the closed portion keeps the 15% lump sum. Credit returns as you pay the balance down. Big-bank prime here is 4.45%. TD Mortgage Prime is TD's own, so "prime minus" is not comparable until the contract names which prime.

Scotia STEP can hold up to three mortgage components plus a line of credit, and you choose where a prepayment goes. The page does not state a loan-to-value cap, so none is invented. BMO ReadiLine goes to 80%, split between a mortgage and a revolving line at BMO prime plus an adjustment. Paying the mortgage down raises the revolving limit, and the 130-day guarantee applies to the fixed mortgage portion. CIBC Home Power Plan also goes to 80% with at least 20% equity, from $10,000, and CIBC's solicitor instructions register it as a collateral mortgage.

The convenience is the collateral charge. If you want the line and expect to stay, the product is doing its job. If you might move the mortgage at renewal for a rate, a standard charge leaves a cleaner file.

Under 20% down, compare insured specials and price the premium first. On the 2026-10-26 scrape the insured 5-year fixed rows are RBC 4.84%, TD 5.39%, BMO 4.99%, and CIBC 4.99%. Scotiabank has no insured 5-year row in that file. Those are one day's advertisements. The payment is the mortgage calculator. Qualifying is the stress test.

Someone who might sell in year three should rank the penalty method ahead of a tenth of a point. RBC and TD publish a posted-rate differential that subtracts the original discount. CIBC's Alberta terms add that discount on top of three months' interest and also run a posted-rate differential. A buyer who will stay the full term can weigh the special, and can use the 10%, 15%, or 20% privilege, depending on the product, without triggering the clause.

Someone who wants the line of credit should compare the cap that is actually published: TD, BMO, and CIBC say 80%. RBC's overview requires 20% equity. Scotia's STEP page does not state a cap. If the line is only a maybe, do not register the collateral charge on the purchase.

A renewer who might switch should separate a straight switch from a blend. Shop with the renewal playbook and the 5-year fixed and variable pages. A readvanceable plan with a line still drawn needs a lawyer and a longer runway. A closing more than 120 days out can use BMO's 130-day fixed guarantee, and should not assume Scotia or CIBC published a matching window. The monoline and credit-union guide is the comparison once you leave the branch.

Product rules below are from the bank's own page or standard terms. Rate cells are from the scrape. Reported discounts are from the file, and only where N and a posted rate both qualify.

• RBC prepayment charges, 120-day fixed hold, porting, and Homeline.
• TD on the posted-rate IRD, breaking, porting, and the 120-day early renewal, the 15% privilege, and FlexLine.
• Scotiabank prepayments, Flex Value at 15%, and STEP.
• BMO prepayment options and Homeowner ReadiLine, including the 130-day guarantee.
• CIBC Home Power Plan and the Alberta standard charge terms (April 2026).
• FCAC on standard and collateral charges and FCAC on prepayment penalties.