Brazing filler metal compositions have excellent wettability to nickel/cobalt/iron-based base metals and produce braze joints with high strength and heat/corrosion resistance. The iron-based braze filler metal includes chromium in amounts between about 20 to 35 percent by weight, silicon in amounts between about 3 to 12 percent by weight, phosphorus in amounts between about 3 to 12 percent by weight; and 0 to about 0.2 weight percent of one or more of calcium, yttrium and misch metal, the balance being iron. These filler metals are suitable for the manufacture of several different types of heat exchangers and catalytic converters at a significantly lower cost compared to currently known braze filler metal compositions.