Best short-term personal loans

Our 5 picks for the best short-term personal loans

• Our top pick overall: Upgrade
• Our pick for flexible repayment terms: Best Egg
• Our pick for larger loans: Achieve
• Our pick for smaller loans: NetCredit
• Our pick for customer service: Reach Financial

What is a short-term personal loan?

Short-term personal loans are loans with repayment terms under three years designed to help cover immediate expenses or consolidate your debts. Short-term loans are best for borrowers who need a small amount of cash and have the ability to repay loans quickly.

Interest rates and fees on short-term loans are typically higher than other types of personal loans. Monthly payments also tend to be higher than a traditional personal loan due to the short repayment period.

How to apply for a short-term personal loan

To apply for a short-term personal loan, you’ll need to submit your personal and financial information and provide necessary documentation to your lender. Here are the steps you need to take to apply:

• Check your credit score: It’s a good idea to know your credit score before applying for a short-term personal loan. A higher score can help you qualify for lower interest rates, which often means smaller monthly payments.
• Get prequalified: Most online lenders have some sort of prequalification form that allows you to preview your rates and terms without your credit being affected. Prequalification usually involves a soft credit check and a short application, with no need to upload documents or provide detailed financial information.
• Choose your loan terms: Once prequalified, find the loan terms you want and choose one that fits your budget. For short-term personal loans, look for low APRs and low origination fees.
• Submit your application: Once you’ve chosen a loan, you’ll need to complete a full application. This can be done online and may take around 15 minutes. When you submit the application, you’ll undergo a credit check, which can impact your score.
• Receive the funds: Once approved, you’ll receive funding via wire transfer or direct deposit into your connected bank account. The best online lenders deposit as early as the next business day.

Pros and cons of short-term personal loans

Short-term personal loan alternatives

While a short-term personal loan may give you quick access to cash when you’re in a time crunch, there are alternatives to consider:

Zero-APR credit cards

If you need access to quick funding, a zero-APR credit card may be a good option. Some credit cards offer an introductory 0% interest rate on purchases and balance transfers within a certain time frame (typically 12 to 15 months).

This allows you to make purchases and pay no interest during that window. If you treat this like a short-term loan, you can borrow interest-free as long as you pay off the card by the time the introductory period ends.

» COMPARE: Best credit cards

Home equity line of credit (HELOC)

If you have equity in your home, you may be able to open a HELOC and get access to funding within a week or so. While the turnaround isn’t as fast as a short-term personal loan, HELOCs typically have much lower rates and lower monthly payments.

Keep in mind, a HELOC is secured to your home, so if you default on your payments, the lender has the right to seize your house. Just make sure you have a plan to pay down your HELOC and keep up with payments.

» COMPARE: Best HELOC lenders

Cash advance apps

Cash advance apps allow you to borrow small amounts of money — usually up to $500 — for a few weeks at a time. Many don’t charge fees, and some don’t even charge interest, though you might need to subscribe to a monthly service to access it.

If you have a short-term need and can cover the borrowed amount when you get paid next, cash advance apps may be a better fit than a personal loan.

Methodology

To determine our top picks, we used a weighted scoring system that took into account both reviews about each company from ConsumerAffairs users and specific company offerings we researched.

We conducted sentence-by-sentence sentiment analysis of thousands of reviews on our site from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2025, to identify the aspects people care about most — and which companies reviewers were happiest with in terms of these aspects. For personal loans, these included:

• Loan process
• Customer service
• Staff
• Punctuality and speed

We then carefully selected the most important offerings consumers should consider before choosing a lender and researched these offerings at each company. For personal loans, these features included:

• Minimum and maximum loan amounts
• Lowest APR
• Funding time
• Credit score requirements
• Maximum term length 

We then weighted all these factors to create a unique scoring formula. The companies with the highest scores made our top picks.