Best Personal Loan Companies

To select our top picks, we looked at 24 loan companies and compared their APRs, terms, fees and customer reviews. Our picks may be Authorized Partners who compensate us. This does not affect our recommendations or evaluations but may impact the order in which companies appear.

Before picking a lender, make sure you review all the loan features to decide what’s best for you. Once you’ve evaluated your options, the next step is to start the application process. While lenders' processes may vary slightly, the steps to get a personal loan are typically the same.

Best Egg is an online lender that offers personal loans ranging from $2,000 to $50,000. Select borrowers may have two open loans at a time, although the combined loan amount cannot exceed $50,000.

Best Egg is one of our top picks because it has relatively low starting APRs and it only takes a few minutes to check your rate. You’ll need your email address and phone number to get started. Most approved borrowers get funding within one to three days. It also has an easy, online-only application.

For approval, you’ll need a 600 credit score, and you also need a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio below 30%, verifiable income and a valid address. Some states have different minimum loan amounts ($5,000 in New Mexico and Ohio, $6,500 in Massachusetts and $3,000 in Georgia). Best Egg does charge origination fees ranging from 0.99% to 8.99%, but there are no prepayment penalties.

Upgrade is an online lending platform that partners with several banks and financial institutions to originate loans. It does a soft credit pull to estimate your rate. Once you’re officially approved, Upgrade deposits funds into your bank account in about a day.

Upgrade stands out for its wide range of repayment terms, which are between two and seven years. Most of our other top picks only offer terms from three to five years. Plus, there is no application fee, and you’ll only need a credit score of 560 to qualify. Upgrade also offers a smaller minimum loan amount than many other lenders.

If you’re self-employed, you’ll need additional documentation, including two years of recent tax returns and forms and bank statements to verify your income. Upgrade may verify receipt of your taxes using Form 4506-T, which can delay the process up to a week.

Prosper is a peer-to-peer lender, which is slightly different from most other lenders on our list. The loans are funded by individual investors and institutions instead of the company itself. Prosper does not fund any part of the loan. However, because it uses a different model from traditional lenders, approval times can be longer (sometimes up to five days or longer).

You can check your rate instantly online with no impact to your credit score. You can get funding in as little as one day after final approval. And like traditional personal loans, you can use these loans for any purpose, including debt consolidation, home improvements and auto loans. Prosper also offers home equity lines of credit (HELOCs).

Borrowers will need to pay an origination fee, but it’s lower than at many competitors, ranging from 2.41% to 5%. Interest rates on personal loans are comparable, and as with other lenders, those with better credit scores will receive lower rates.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs offers no-fee personal loans with terms up to 72 months. Loan perks include customizable payment due dates and on-time payment rewards. There are no origination, prepayment or late fees, and qualified borrowers in all 50 states can get a loan.

You can apply online. Once you’re approved, the company will verify your bank account and deposit funds within about four days. You’ll get a 0.25% discount on the APR for enrolling in automatic payments.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs accepts applications from people older than 18 in most states (19 in Alabama and 21 in Mississippi). You need a valid U.S. bank account and Social Security or individual taxpayer identification number. It currently only accepts individual loan applications (no joint applications).

LendingClub is an online lending marketplace. In addition to personal loans, it also offers business loans (up to $500,000) and auto loan refinancing.

Most applicants get approval within 24 hours and receive funds within two days, according to the company’s website. It offers the convenient option to make automatic payments. There is no application fee or prepayment penalty. We like that LendingClub extends a 15-day grace period on late payments before charging late fees.

To qualify, you have to be at least 18 years old and have a verifiable bank account. You also need a minimum credit score of 600 to get a personal loan with LendingClub, which means it’s available to borrowers with less-than-stellar credit. And you can apply with a co-signer; it may increase your odds of approval if you have bad credit.

OneMain Financial offers loans ranging from $1,500 to $20,000, so it’s good for borrowers looking for smaller loans. Some states, though, have different minimum loan amounts:

• $2,100 in Alabama
• $3,000 in California
• $3,100 in Georgia
• $2,000 in North Dakota and Ohio
• $2,600 in Virginia

Borrowers in North Carolina can only access up to $7,500 on unsecured loans.

Unlike many other personal loan companies, OneMain Financial offers both unsecured and secured options. The type you’re offered depends on the size of the loan, your credit score and your income. Forms of collateral OneMain Financial accepts include cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, campers and RVs.

OneMain Financial does not disclose a minimum credit score for borrowers, which means it may be an option for borrowers with bad credit — but you can expect to pay higher fees than you would with other lenders.

Upstart specializes in personal loans for debt consolidation and paying off credit cards. Its lending platform uses artificial intelligence, and two-thirds of loans are fully automated, with no human involvement from the initial rate request through final funding.

It’s a good choice for those with low credit scores — you can apply no matter how low your score is — or if you don’t have enough of a credit history to have a score. If approved, you can expect to receive funds within one to two business days.

Loans typically range from $1,000 to $50,000, but the minimum loan amount varies by state: $7,000 in Massachusetts, $6,000 in Ohio, $5,100 in New Mexico and $2,100 in Hawaii. There are only two repayment options, 36 or 60 months, and loans do come with an origination fee of up to 8%.

To be eligible, you must be at least 18 (19 in some states); have a verifiable name, birthday and Social Security number; provide a valid email address; have a regular income source and meet several other requirements.

LendingPoint specializes in unsecured personal loans for people across the credit score spectrum. Borrowers only need a minimum credit score of 580 to qualify for personal loans.

The company uses a proprietary scoring and underwriting system to evaluate each applicant, including their DTI ratio, payment-to-income ratio and other factors. Same-day approvals are eligible for funding as soon as the next business day.

How much you can borrow varies based on your credit profile and other financial information. Loans can range from $2,000 to $36,500. You can expect to pay an origination fee of up to 7% (although some borrowers might have it waived), but there is no late or prepayment fee. Repayment terms go up to 72 months.

Currently, joint and co-signed loans are not available.

A personal loan is a type of consumer loan. Personal loans are also sometimes called installment loans because you get a lump sum of money upfront and pay it back in regular installments over a predetermined period. Repayment terms can be anywhere from a few months to over five years.

You can get a personal loan from a bank, credit union, online lender or other financial institution. Some lenders only work with borrowers if they have a good credit score. Others have more flexible requirements — but they charge higher interest rates, like payday lenders. The added costs mean you end up paying more over time. Read about the different types of personal loans to learn more.

Most personal loans are unsecured, which means you don’t need collateral.

Personal loans can be used for a wide range of purchases as well as things like debt consolidation. Some lenders restrict personal loan usage, usually not allowing loans to be used for college tuition or a mortgage down payment.

However, most lenders will allow personal loans to be used for the following:

• Consolidating debt
• Wedding expenses
• Vacation costs
• Medical expenses
• Home repairs or remodeling
• Moving costs
• Financing motorcycles, RVs or boats
• Other large purchases

Before you apply for a personal loan, check your credit score. The better your score is, the more likely you are to qualify for a lower rate. It might save you money to fix your credit before taking out a personal loan, though this is not a fast process.

Once you know which lenders you qualify for, shop around and compare loan offers. Here are five tips for comparing different lenders to help you get the best rate and terms.

1. Research the lender

Remember that if an offer sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Before you apply for a loan, make sure the company is legitimate by verifying that it’s licensed in your state and reviewing its rate and fee disclosure. You’ll also want to find out if the lender allows you to check your rate with a soft or hard credit check.

Typically, origination fees range between 2% and 6% on a personal loan, but some companies charge up to 10%. We suggest avoiding lenders that charge prepayment fees that make it difficult to pay off your loan early.

2. Read recent reviews

Reading different lender reviews will give you a sense of what to expect from different lenders.

Keep an eye out for multiple reviews that mention high-pressure sales tactics and unexpected charges or fees. Keep in mind that you will also likely find negative reviews by people who are simply annoyed that they were denied. This information may not be relevant to you.

3. Compare loan offers

The rate you get depends on how the lender evaluates your creditworthiness. That’s why applicants with bad credit rarely get the lowest rate advertised.

Generally, the interest rate on your loan depends on your:

• Credit history and score
• DTI ratio
• Income and employment information
• Lender
• Size of the loan
• Length of repayment term

You want to consider the total cost of the loan; to do that, look at the APR, which includes fees. Also, check the options for term lengths and the monthly payment amount to make sure it fits in your budget.

4. Apply for the loan

You can apply for a personal loan at your local financial institution or through an online lender; most lenders have online loan applications to make the process faster. The application will ask you questions about yourself, your finances and what you plan to do with the loan. Have these documents ready when you apply:

• Government-issued ID
• Social Security number
• Income verification (pay stubs, W-2s or bank statements)
• Proof of residence (utility bill, rental agreement, mortgage statement)
• Bank account information (routing number, account number)
• Creditor information (for debt consolidation)

Once you submit your application, expect a hard pull on your credit, which can temporarily decrease your credit score. Once your application is approved, you will have a chance to view and approve your rate and repayment terms.

The ConsumerAffairs Research Team chose top picks by comparing 24 personal loan companies on online reputation, rate transparency and availability.

• Online reputation: We compared ratings and reviews on our site and across the internet, including on Trustpilot and Bankrate. We also checked in with the Better Business Bureau to look for current alerts and government actions within the last three years.
• Rates and fees: We only chose lenders that cap APRs at 35.99%, and we gave preference to lenders with lower rate ranges, lower origination fees and no prepayment penalties. We also gave preference to companies with clear rates and plenty of easy-to-access information about fees.
• Availability: We eliminated lead generators and companies that are only licensed in a few states. All of our top picks serve residents in most states.