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From financing a large purchase to saving money by consolidating higher-rate debts, you can use a personal loan for almost anything. When you're looking for a personal loan, it helps to know your options—and online lenders are an increasingly popular option among borrowers. Many of the top online personal loan lending services offer unsecured personal loans with fixed interest rates and several repayment term options. It's always wise to compare your loan options before accepting the loan that works best for your needs.
We've chosen six lending services from our partners to highlight great options for a personal loan in 2023. The lending service that works best for you may depend on your creditworthiness, desired loan amount and preferred monthly payment.
Top Online Personal Loan Lending Services
LendingPoint
A potential top option for borrowers with fair credit, LendingPoint offers fast funding, but the loan could come with a higher annual percentage rate (APR) than you might find elsewhere. The loan origination fee can range from 0% to 8% and will depend on factors including your creditworthiness, state of residence and the loan amount; the fee will be deducted from your loan disbursement. While LendingPoint isn't the best option for everyone—particularly those with high credit scores who likely can find lower rates elsewhere—it's worth checking to see if you can get prequalified and reviewing your loan offers.
Est. APR
Term
Amount
Available loan amounts: $2,000 to $30,000
Est. monthly payment: $62 to $1,357
Grace period: 0 days
Application fee: $0
Loan Details
- Loans from $2,000 to $36,500 and no prepayment penalties
- Rates from 7.99% to 35.99% APR
- Check your rate without impacting your credit score
- Simple online application
- Funds available as soon as the next business day upon approval
- LendingPoint's innovative technology allows them to understand the individual creditworthiness of every applicant
- Terms from 24 - 72 months
- Fixed monthly payment and simple interest
- LendingPoint has thousands of five-star reviews on Trustpilot
- LendingPoint has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau
Happy Money
If you want to use a personal loan to consolidate credit card debt, then Happy Money might be a good option. Happy Money focuses specifically on helping people refinance and pay off credit card debt. In fact, your maximum loan amount might be the sum of your current card balances. Happy Money also offers low minimum APRs and only has an origination fee, which can range from 0% to 5%. If approved, you'll be able to choose from a two- to five-year repayment term.
Est. APR
Term
Amount
Available loan amounts: $5,000 to $40,000
Est. monthly payment: $161 to $1,406
Grace period: 10 days
Application fee: $0
Loan Details
- 11.72% - 17.99% APR
- Quickly check your rate without affecting your credit score
- No prepayment, late, or check-processing fees
SoFi
For borrowers with good to excellent credit, SoFi is a top lender to consider due to its low rates and fees. It offers personal loans of up to $100,000 (a higher limit than that of many competitors), doesn't require any application or origination fees, and has loan terms of two to seven years. Borrowers can also receive additional benefits, such as free meetings with a financial planner or career coach. SoFi has a $5,000 minimum loan requirement, so look elsewhere if you need a smaller loan.
Est. APR
Term
Amount
Available loan amounts: $5,000 to $100,000
Est. monthly payment: $101 to $3,174
Grace period: 10 days
Application fee: $0
Loan Details
- Personal Loans with low fixed rates
- Borrow up to $100,000
- No Origination Fees Required, No Prepayment Penalties, and No Late or Overdraft Fees
- Simple online application with live support 7 days a week
- Apply Now
Upgrade
Upgrade's personal loan offering stands out due to its wide range of rates and loan amounts. The origination fee can be 1.85% to 9.99%, which is deducted from the loan proceeds. Repayment terms can range from 24 to 84 months, depending on how aggressively you'd like to repay your debt. Upgrade allows applicants to apply with a cosigner, which could help you get approved or receive better terms if the cosigner has good credit.
Est. APR
Term
Amount
Available loan amounts: $1,000 to $50,000
Est. monthly payment: $30 to $2,206
Grace period: 15 days
Application fee: $0
Loan Details
- Affordable loans from $1,000 - $50,000 with low fixed rates that will never change, affordable monthly payments, and no prepayment penalties
- Quick online application -- get pre-approved in just minutes
- Checking your rate won't impact your credit score
- Review multiple loan options so you can pick the amount and term that fits your budget and timeline
- With automatic payments and a customizable due date, managing your account is easy and you'll be able to circle the date on your calendar when you'll be debt free
Upstart
Upstart is a lending platform that focuses on borrowers with less-than-excellent credit. It stands apart from other lending services with its unique underwriting process and low minimum APR. When reviewing your application, Upstart considers traditional factors, such as your credit, income and debts as well as alternative data, like your employment, education and banking history. Applicants with fair to good credit may get approved for larger loans or lower interest rates with Upstart than other lending services. Upstart's origination fee ranges from 0% to 10%.
Est. APR
Term
Amount
Available loan amounts: $1,000 to $50,000
Est. monthly payment: $31 to $2,262
Grace period: 15 days
Application fee: $0
Loan Details
- Loan amounts from $1,000 - $50,000
- APRs from 7.8% - 35.99% with loan terms of 3 or 5 years
- Won't affect your credit score
- You can have funds in as fast as 1 day
- You are more than your credit score. On Upstart your education and experience help you get the rate you deserve.
How to Choose a Personal Loan Lender
Before you apply for a personal loan, you may want to review lenders' requirements and loan offers. Here are some of the things you'll want to consider:
- How you plan to use the loan: While you can use a personal loan for almost anything, there may be some restrictions. For example, rules may vary on whether you can use the funds for business, educational or investment purposes.
- Your credit score: Lenders may have a minimum credit score requirement. You can get a free credit score from Experian to see where you currently stand.
- Minimum and maximum loan amounts: Your creditworthiness may be used to help determine the loan size you're offered. Make sure the lender's maximum loan amount is high enough for your needs—or, on the flipside, that the minimum loan amount allows you to avoid overborrowing. You may also find the minimum loan amount in your state is higher than a lender's general minimums.
- Prepayment penalty: While you can generally repay part or all of the loan early without a penalty, check to see if the lender charges a prepayment penalty.
- Residency requirements: While you won't need to visit a bank branch to get a personal loan from an online lender, lenders might not be approved to offer loans in every state. You don't have any control over this, but it's worth keeping in mind that your options may vary depending on where you live.
- Origination or administrative fee: Unless you have good to excellent credit, many personal loans will require an upfront origination or administrative fee. The fee is often taken out of the loan amount, which you'll want to consider when you've determined how much to borrow.
- Repayment terms: The repayment term can also impact your monthly payment and interest rate. If you want to get a low rate and pay off the debt quickly, look for a lender that offers short repayment terms. However, if you'd prefer a lower monthly payment, a longer repayment term may be a better fit.
- APR ranges: Many lenders will advertise an APR range, but you won't know which rate you'll receive until you get prequalified or receive a loan offer. The range could still help you determine the interest you'll end up paying over the life of the loan. If you have excellent credit, you might assume you'll qualify for an APR on the lower end of the range.
- Time to funding: If you need money ASAP, some lenders can transfer the funds into your bank account within one or two business days of processing your application. Your lender may ask to see identification and verification documents, such as recent pay stubs or tax forms, so make sure you have them ready to prevent delays.
- A cosigner option: If you can't qualify for a personal loan on your own, some companies allow you to add a cosigner to your application. A creditworthy cosigner could help you get approved and qualify you for a better offer, but the cosigner's credit will also be on the line.
Pros and Cons of Personal Loans
Consider the general pros and cons before applying for an unsecured personal loan from any lender.
Pros
- May offer lower rates than credit cards
- Won't require collateral
- Often doesn't have a prepayment penalty
- Can be easier to budget for a loan with a fixed payment versus a credit card
Cons
- May have higher rates than secured loans
- You might not qualify for favorable terms or a large loan amount
- May charge upfront fees
- Possible higher monthly payments than credit cards' minimum payments
Get Matched With a Loan
After narrowing down your lender options, you can often start with a prequalification application online. Getting prequalified doesn't guarantee you'll be approved, especially if there's a big change in your creditworthiness before you apply, but it can still be helpful.
Prequalification usually requires a soft inquiry—which won't hurt your credit—and can help show you possible loan offers. If you're prequalified, you can then decide to submit an application, which may require a hard inquiry that can hurt your credit a little. If you don't get prequalified, you can rule out the lender without submitting an application or potentially hurting your credit.
You can also use a service, such as Experian's CreditMatch™, to compare lenders. Once you're signed in, you can even submit a single loan prequalification application to quickly get prequalified offers from multiple Experian personal loan partners.