If you’ve taken a look at your credit card statement recently and noticed the interest rate you’re paying, you already know that continuing to use the card could be financially perilous. With the average credit card interest rate hovering around 22% right now and credit card debt balances growing each quarter, relying on plastic to make ends meet isn’t necessarily the best financial strategy right now. That’s especially true if you’re in need of a large, six-figure line of credit such as $150,000 this September. Fortunately, if you’re a homeowner, you have a viable alternative via a product that operates much the same way.
With a home equity line of credit (HELOC) you’ll be able to leverage your existing equity as needed to make home repairs, pay off debt, or finance major expenses. Since it works like a credit card, you’ll only need to pay back what you’ve borrowed – not the full line of credit you were approved for. Some lenders will simply mandate interest-only payments during the HELOC’s initial draw period, too, making payments to start even more affordable. And affordability is what you’ll need, especially when borrowing $150,000. But with a HELOC, which currently employs an interest rate that’s lower than what’s available with home equity loans, personal loans or credit cards, affordability is what you’ll receive.
How affordable can homeowners expect a $150,000 HELOC to actually be, however? Below, we’ll break down the projected monthly costs for those who take action now.
Start by seeing how much home equity you’d be eligible to borrow here.
How much will a $150,000 HELOC cost monthly if opened now?
The average HELOC interest rate is 8.09% as of September 3, 2026, according to Money.com. Still, that’s a variable rate that will be subject to change monthly for borrowers, making repayment calculations difficult to complete with precision, especially with the possibility of higher rates in the months ahead not insignificant.
Here’s how much a $150,000 HELOC will cost monthly if opened now, calculated on the assumption that the rate doesn’t change and that the full line of credit is borrowed and repaid (over two common repayment periods):
- 10-year HELOC at 8.09%: $1,827.06 per month
- 15-year HELOC at 8.09%: $1,441.08 per month
While payments – right now – will range from $1,441 to $1,827 monthly with a HELOC of this size, they can and will change, especially over an extended period thanks to the product’s rate structure. For context, here’s how much cheaper it was in October 2025, when interest rates were lower:
- 10-year HELOC at 7.89%: $1,811.21 per month
- 15-year HELOC at 7.89%: $1,423.97 per month
But here’s what it cost in July 2025, when rates were higher:
- 10-year HELOC at 8.27%: $1,841.38 per month
- 15-year HELOC at 8.27%: $1,456.96 per month
In turn, homeowners should budget carefully, accounting for a changing rate and payment, if not monthly, then certainly over the lifetime of the repayment period. But if that variability can be managed, as the above payment projections clearly show, this could be one of the best and most affordable ways to borrow money right now, especially for those who need to borrow $150,000 or more.
Learn more about the HELOC offers you qualify for here.
The bottom line
Monthly HELOC payments right now are lower than they were in the summer of 2025 but higher than they were last fall. That doesn’t mean that borrowing $150,000 with this specific home equity borrowing product can’t still be advantageous (it can be). But it does mean that borrowers will need to be strategic in their approach, both in how they use the money and how they don’t. To learn more about HELOCs, it can be helpful to review your options via an online marketplace. With rates, lenders, terms and conditions all listed in one easy-to-navigate location, it makes sense to start your home equity borrowing journey there.
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