Save Thousands on Your Personal Loan with Low Rates

Upgrade is a lending platform that works with bank partners to fund personal loans. It stands out for its borrower-friendly features, lower qualification requirements and highly rated customer service.

It’s possible to check rates with Upgrade without affecting your credit score, and Upgrade’s minimum credit score of 580 is on the low end for personal loan lenders. This lender has fast funding, a mobile app to manage your loan and daily customer service. Upgrade also allows you to apply with another person (often called a joint personal loan) for better odds at a bigger loan or lower rate.

You can lower your APR in three ways with Upgrade: by setting up autopay, using part or all of your loan for debt consolidation and/or securing your loan with a vehicle.

While applying for a loan, you can sign up for a checking account — a unique offering for an online lender. You’ll get a $200 bonus if you do so and deposit $1,000 within 45 days of opening your account.

Keep in mind that if you take out an Upgrade personal loan, you’ll pay an upfront origination fee of up to 9.99% of your loan amount. That’s much higher than the fee many other lenders charge.

To qualify for a loan through Upgrade, you must meet the requirements below:

• Age: Be at least 18 years old (19 in some states)
• Citizenship: Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or live in the U.S. with a valid visa
• Administrative: Have a valid bank account and email address
• Credit score: 580+

LightStream is one of the few personal loan lenders that offers more than $50,000 for a single personal loan, making its loans ideal for borrowers who need to cover a large expense. The lender doesn’t charge fees, which translates to savings for borrowers who need a large loan — upfront origination fees tend to be more expensive the more money you take out.

Unlike many personal loan companies, LightStream doesn’t allow you to check your rates by prequalifying. If you want to see your rates and terms, LightStream will do a hard credit pull, which will temporarily knock up to five points off your credit score.

While LightStream offers loans up to $100,000, LendingTree marketplace customers may not receive offers at this maximum loan amount.

LightStream doesn’t specify its exact credit score requirements, but you must have good to excellent credit to qualify. Most of the applicants that LightStream approves have the following in common:

• At least five years of on-time payments under a variety of accounts (credit cards, auto loans, etc.)
• Stable income and the ability to handle paying their current debt obligations
• Savings, whether in a bank account, an investment account or a retirement account

Upstart loans are worth considering for applicants with limited or bad credit history. Unlike most other lenders, Upstart offers loans to borrowers who are credit invisible or don’t have long enough credit histories to generate a credit score.

You’ll likely pay a high price to get an Upstart loan if you have bad or no credit. Upstart charges rates as high as 35.99%, and you could get stuck with an upfront origination fee of up to 12.00% — much higher than what other lenders charge.

Upstart has transparent eligibility requirements, including:

• Age: Be 18 or older
• Administrative: Have a U.S. address, personal banking account, email address and Social Security number
• Employment: Have a job or job offer that starts within six months, or have regular income
• Credit-related factors: DTI ratio no higher than 50% (45% in Connecticut, Maryland, New York and Vermont), no bankruptcies within the last year, fewer than six inquiries on your credit report in the last six months and no current delinquencies
• Credit score: 300+ (unless you’re an eligible college student or graduate, in which case Upstart could approve you with no credit)

LendingClub takes two hours on average to approve loans, making their process ideal for people who want the peace of mind that comes with a quick loan decision. They’re also a top-rated lender for customer satisfaction according to LendingTree users.

While LendingClub’s approval process is quick, it will take up to three days to send you money. You’ll also pay an upfront origination fee on your LendingClub loan, but it charges less than many other lenders on this list.

To be eligible for a LendingClub personal loan, you must meet the following requirements:

• Age: Be at least 18 years old
• Citizenship: Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
• Administrative: Have a verifiable bank account
• Credit score: 600+

Discover’s team of U.S.-based loan specialists is available seven days a week to answer questions about your loan or your application. While some lenders only offer assistance via email or chat, Discover’s customer service team takes phone calls and offers extended customer service hours as late as 11 p.m. ET on weekdays.

Discover personal loans only go up to $40,000, so if you’re looking for a large personal loan, consider other lenders on this list like LightStream or SoFi.

You’ll need to meet these eligibility criteria to get a Discover loan:

• Age: Be at least 18
• Citizenship: Have a Social Security number
• Administrative: Have a physical address, email address and internet access
• Income: Minimum income of $40,000 (individually or as a household)
• Credit score: 720+

If you have fair to good credit, own your home and want to boost your approval odds, Best Egg’s secured loan option is worth considering. You’ll back your Best Egg secured loan with fixtures from your house like cabinets and lighting. Offering collateral can make it easier to get a loan because it reduces the lender’s risk. If you don’t pay back your loan, Best Egg can recoup some of its losses by repossessing your collateral.

Note that you’ll pay an upfront origination fee on your Best Egg loan, and you can’t apply with another person (like the co-owner of your house, for instance).

You must meet the requirements below to qualify for a Best Egg loan:

• Citizenship: Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident living in the U.S.
• Administrative: Have a personal checking account, email address and physical address
• Residency: Not live in the District of Columbia, Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia or U.S. territories
• Credit score: 580+

If you have fair credit and need a small or midsize loan, LendingPoint is a much better alternative to payday lenders that charge predatory rates. Borrowers with fair credit will likely qualify for rates on the higher end of LendingPoint’s range, but 35.99% is still below the 36% limit that experts agree is affordable.

While there are no application or prepayment fees, LendingPoint does charge an upfront origination fee of up to 10.00% depending on your home state. In addition, LendingPoint doesn’t offer joint or cosigner loans.

To get a loan from LendingPoint, you must meet its minimum criteria:

• Age: Be 18 years old or older
• Administrative: Provide identification issued by the U.S. government, have a Social Security number and have a bank account
• Income: Have a minimum income of $35,000
• Residency: Not live in Nevada or West Virginia
• Credit score: 660+

PenFed Credit Union offers the smallest loan amounts out of our top personal loan picks. PenFed loans stand out for their lack of fees and competitive APRs (8.99% – 17.99%) that are much lower than what some competitors offer.

You’ll need to become a member in order to get a loan, but PenFed makes it easy to join. Note that while PenFed’s eligibility requirements are unclear, you can check your rates without affecting your credit score.

To qualify for a PenFed loan, you must meet the following requirements:

• Membership: PenFed membership (anyone can join)
• Administrative: Open up PenFed savings account with $5 deposit; may need to submit documents to verify your identity and income

SoFi is one of the best lenders for a quick loan. It’s possible to get a same-day loan from SoFi if you sign for your funds by 6 p.m. Eastern time on a business day. SoFi doesn’t charge mandatory fees, but if you want lower rates, you can pay an optional upfront fee. You can also lower your rate by 0.25% by signing up for autopay.

You won’t qualify for a loan with SoFi if you have bad credit, since the lender requires a credit score of at least 680. SoFi requires you to borrow at least $5,000, so consider other lenders for small loans.

While SoFi offers loans up to $100,000, LendingTree marketplace customers may not receive offers at this maximum loan amount.

You must meet the requirements below in order to get a loan from SoFi:

• Age: Be the age of majority in your state (typically 18)
• Citizenship: Be a U.S. citizen, an eligible permanent resident or a non-permanent resident (a DACA recipient or asylum-seeker, for instance)
• Employment: Have a job or job offer with a start date within 90 days, or have regular income from another source
• Credit score: 680+

Achieve’s three interest rate discounts can help you save money over the course of your loan. You can qualify for a discount if you have a co-borrower, show proof of retirement assets or allow Achieve to pay your creditors directly.

While you can save with Achieve’s discounts, you’ll need to weigh those savings against Achieve’s origination fee of 1.99% - 8.99%. Use a loan calculator to decide whether Achieve’s discounted rates are worth the additional fee.

Other than a credit score of at least 620, Achieve will typically ask you to provide the following documents and information:

• Proof of income
• Social Security number
• Government-issued ID
• Employment status

When you apply for a loan with Prosper, individual investors (people) decide whether to fund your loan — not a bank. This is called peer-to-peer lending, and it’s typically easier to qualify for than a traditional personal loan. Prosper’s low credit requirement makes its loans accessible to people with fair credit who might otherwise only qualify for predatory loans.

Prosper will send your money as soon as one business day, but it can take up to three depending on your bank. You’ll also need to factor in an upfront 1.00% - 9.99% origination fee when taking out a loan with Prosper.

To get a loan with Prosper, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Age: Be 18 or older
• Citizenship: Be a U.S. citizen
• Administrative: Have a U.S. bank account and Social Security number
• Residency: Not live in Iowa or West Virginia
• Credit score: 600+