Best Debt Consolidation Loan Companies

If you need to consolidate credit card balances, medical bills, high-interest loans or other debts, consider using Discover Personal Loans. Discover offers debt consolidation loans in amounts up to $35,000, and you can opt to repay your loans over 36 to 84 months. This broad range of repayment terms gives you options, including choosing a longer repayment term to get a lower monthly payment.

Discover loans come with no origination fees or hidden fees, and APRs range from 6.99% to 24.99% based on creditworthiness. Individuals can check their rates and gauge their approval odds online before they apply. Borrowers may receive funds as soon as the next business day.

In addition to personal loans for debt consolidation, Discover also offers student loan refinancing, home equity loans, cash-out refinancing and balance transfers to Discover credit cards.

Upgrade is an online lender that offers debt consolidation loans and other financial products to people with all credit profiles, including consumers with credit scores as low as 560. This means that even borrowers with poor credit are eligible for debt consolidation loans.

You can borrow anywhere from $1,000 to $50,000, depending on your needs, and you can repay your loan over 24 to 84 months. The company will pay your creditors directly, and co-signers are permitted.

As of this writing, APRs for loans from Upgrade fall between 8.49% to 35.97% based on creditworthiness, and it's worth noting that an origination fee applies. There is also a $10 failed payment fee. If you’re interested in a loan from Upgrade, you can check your rate with no impact to your credit before applying.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs makes it possible for borrowers to access $3,500 to $40,000 in loan funds with the option to repay over 36 to 72 months. The minimum credit score is 660, which means applicants with good to excellent credit have the best chance to qualify. Borrowers are able to use loans for a variety of purposes, including debt consolidation. The company will issue payments directly to creditors, making it an easier process for borrowers.

Loans from Marcus by Goldman Sachs do not have any origination, late, prepayment or other fees. However, consumers do need to sign up for auto-pay to secure the lowest advertised rates. As of this writing, rates range between 6.99% to 24.99% and are based on creditworthiness.

Achieve Personal Loans lets borrowers access between $5,000 to $50,000 in loan funds for any reason, including debt consolidation. Repayment terms last from 24 - 60 months, and rates range from 7.99% to a maximum of 29.99%, depending on creditworthiness. An origination fee of 1.99% to 4.99% of the loan amount applies.

While Achieve Personal Loans does publish a minimum credit score of 620, it says it goes beyond your credit report when evaluating your loan application. Borrowers may get approved as soon as the same day they apply, and loan funds can be sent in as little as 24 to 72 hours.

In addition to flexible loan terms and competitive rates, those with a high amount of credit card or other unsecured debt can take advantage of the higher loan limit. Additionally, co-signers are allowed for borrowers with lower credit scores.

SoFi has been a leader in the student loan and student loan refinancing space since its founding in 2011, and the company also offers investment accounts and popular personal loans. Its loans come in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, so they can work for borrowers with considerable debts to consolidate. APRs range from 7.99% to 23.43% with auto-pay, and loan terms can last from {repayment_terms:18254}.

SoFi personal loans have no fees of any kind, including late and origination fees. Same-day funding is possible, and you can check your rate with no impact to your credit score.

If you opt to use SoFi’s Direct Pay option, the company will pay your lenders directly and you’ll receive a 0.25% APR discount. Co-borrowers are allowed as long as they live at the same address.

LendingClub lets applicants borrow between {loan_amounts:16825} to reach their goals, and a low minimum credit score requirement of 600 means a broader range of consumers can qualify. Repayment terms can last from 24 to 60 months, and current rates offered range from 8.30% to 36%. Note that an origination fee of {origination_fee:16825} of the loan amount applies to every personal loan from LendingClub.

This lender also lets you check your rate with no impact on your credit score. Qualified borrowers may also get same-day funding, which is faster than at many other lenders. In fact, the company states that one-third of borrowers are funded within 24 hours of approval. To speed up the process, you can have funds deposited into your bank account or sent directly to your creditors.

The application process is entirely online. And, like other lenders on this list, co-signers are permitted.

OneMain Financial accepts applicants with less-than-perfect credit scores, and it also lets you apply with a co-signer. This can make it easier to get a OneMain Financial loan for debt consolidation, particularly if you can find a co-signer who has a strong income and a good credit score.

Loans from OneMain Financial are offered in amounts from $1,500 to $20,000, and rates range from 18% to 35.99% based on creditworthiness. Repayment terms can last from 24 to 60 months, so you can tailor your monthly payment and repayment plan. Note that OneMain Financial loans can charge origination fees of 1% to 10% of the loan amount.

OneMain Financial also has about 1,400 branches nationwide, so you can get in-person assistance if you need it. You can consolidate debts including credit cards, medical bills and household bills.

According to financial planner Kyle McBrien, who works at Betterment, an online financial advice company, debt consolidation can be a helpful tool for consumers looking to overcome debt, since it helps them pay off multiple debts with a new loan that has a single monthly payment — often at a lower interest rate.

McBrien says applicants need to be sure the new monthly payments do not impact their ability to cover their basic living expenses first, and they should factor in any fees they have to pay. He also recommends checking your credit score before you apply, or at least considering how your current credit standing will impact your rates.

Fortunately, almost all lenders in the personal loan space let borrowers "check their rate" online before filling out a full loan application. This step makes it easy for you to find out how much you could potentially borrow, the rate you would have to pay and the monthly payment options.

Checking your rate with several different lenders helps you compare all your loan options. After finding a loan with a rate and monthly payment you’re comfortable with, you can move forward with a full loan application by providing information such as your Social Security number, date of birth, address, income and employer name. Other information required can include recent pay stubs, government-issued identification and proof of address.

Once a loan application is approved, many lenders will deposit loan funds in an account as soon as the next business day. Some lenders will also pay creditors directly, which can help avoid payment mishaps during the debt consolidation process.

Debt consolidation is not right for everyone, and the numbers may not work if the interest rate is too high. With that in mind, McBrien, of Betterment, says the best solution might simply be "reviewing your personal expenses and creating a tighter budget for yourself.”

However, there may be times when cutting expenses won't be enough to get out of debt. In that case, you can consider the following alternatives:

• Use your home equity: McBrien recommends considering tapping into your home equity if you have some, either with a cash-out refinance, a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit (HELOC). "These strategies allow homeowners to leverage the equity they have built up in their home to create additional cash flow," he said.
• Look into balance transfer cards: Some credit cards let consumers consolidate debt with 0% APR for a limited time, usually up to 21 months. While balance transfer fees apply, these offers can help you save on interest and pay down debt faster.
• Work with a credit counselor: Most credit counseling agencies are nonprofits, and they can help you create a plan to pay off your debt without having to borrow more money.
• Explore debt settlement options: Debt settlement companies help you settle your outstanding debts for less than you owe, although they charge fees for their services, and your credit score could suffer.

To make our choices for the top debt consolidation loans, we collected 26 individual data points for 31 popular personal loan lenders, including over 10,000 customer reviews and overall ratings from ConsumerAffairs readers submitted between 2020 and 2022. We then used this data to examine the most impactful factors for borrowers.

Customer feedback is a critical indicator when evaluating companies, and we made sure to consider those reviews when making our top picks. However, for those companies on our list with no ratings from ConsumerAffairs, there were other variables that made them stand out for borrowers with bad credit, which factored into our decisions.

• Funding times: We examined how long it takes borrowers to get their money, with higher consideration given to lenders that take less than 48 hours to disburse funds.
• APR: We looked for lenders that have maximum APRs below 36%.
• Flexible repayment terms: We examined payment term ranges and noted which lenders offer repayment terms of at least 36 months (three years) or higher.
• Co-signer allowed: We reviewed if the lender allowed co-signers, and we favored those that allow co-signers or co-borrowers. This is particularly important for borrowers with lower credit scores.
• Pays creditors directly: We looked at all of the debt consolidation loan programs, and we gave a higher score to those that paid borrowers’ creditors directly.
• Fees: We gave higher consideration to lenders with low to no fees, although some of our top picks do have higher origination fees.

All of our top picks offer debt consolidation loans that pay creditors directly, have reasonable APRs, provide quick funding and allow co-signers.