Best Personal Loan Companies

To select our top picks, we primarily considered verified reviews, recent APR ranges and availability. Read our methodology for more on how we scored companies.

The best personal loans all have a few things in common —  reasonable rates, flexible terms and easy payment methods. The right one for you depends on your personal situation and goals.

• Our top pick overall: Best Egg
• Our pick for online marketplace: LendingClub
• Our pick for next-day funding: Prosper
• Our pick for flexible requirements: OneMain Financial
• Our pick for large unsecured loans: SoFi

Best Egg is our top pick overall because it has overall positive ratings. You can find secured and unsecured personal loans that can be used for major purchases, special occasions, debt consolidation or credit card refinancing.

Since Best Egg offers loans online, its underwriting costs are a little lower. The origination fee is 0.99% to 5.99% of the full loan amount. About half of borrowers get funds the next day.

What reviewers like: Simple approval process and polite reps

A reviewer in Massachusetts said that Best Egg “was extremely responsive” and “I received my loan within two days of applying.”

“It was very easy to apply for a personal loan. I received the funds in a reasonable amount of time, and when I had questions about it, I was able to easily get in touch with a representative,” a reviewer in Ohio said.

With LendingClub, you get free access to a full-spectrum fintech (financial technology) platform. Through the website, you can apply for customized loan offers. Most members are approved within 24 hours and then receive money within a few days.

You need a high credit score to get the lowest rates. Sometimes, adding a co-borrower helps you qualify.

The one-time origination fee is 3% to 6%. On average, personal loans from LendingClub are for $15,800, with a 15.95% APR and a 36-month repayment term. A 5% origination fee is $790 for a $15,800 loan.

What reviewers like: Transparent fees and ongoing support

“While no one wants to borrow to pay off debts, the fact that this company was willing to give me a chance proved to me that, despite the hardship, they supported me,” a reviewer in New York said, “even during this pandemic.”

A reviewer in New Jersey, who “used Lending Club to fund/pay down medical bills twice,” said that it is “very easy to understand, apply and get funded. … I find the whole process seamless in my experience”

“I also liked that the loan rate was not all prepaid (although 3% was) as I needed the loan only short-term (less than one year), so I paid it off very early, and ended up paying far less than if I had paid it back over the full term,” a reviewer in Arizona said.

Prosper is a peer-to-peer lender, meaning that loans are funded by individual investors instead of banks or credit companies. Prosper itself does not actually fund the loan.

All personal loans through Prosper are unsecured, with fixed rates and fixed payments. Origination fees range from 2.41% to 5% of the loan amount. Check payment fees, late fees and insufficient funds fees may apply.

What reviewers like: Easy to use and good customer service

I found it to be a very simple process of filling out a very short form on a website, including how much money I wanted to borrow and how many months/years I wanted to pay it back,” a reviewer in Illinois said.

“The application is quite simple and their customer service is knowledgeable, friendly and reliable,” according to a reviewer in New York. “Prosper is my ‘go-to’ for a loan. They have been there for me (3 times) since 2016.”

If you don’t want to go through the online lending process, OneMain Financial is worth considering. It’s available in most states, with personalized service in 1,400 locations. It offers both unsecured and secured loans. Generally, funds are available within one to two business days after closing.

One thing to consider is that APRs start relatively high. For instance, a borrower with good credit can get a $6,000 personal loan with a 24.99% APR. In this example, payments are $176.07 per month over a 60-month term, which equals a little over $10,500 in total.

If you have good credit, another company will probably be able to get you a better rate.

What reviewers like: Easy online payments and friendly atmosphere

“Representatives truly care about you as an individual, are empathetic to your needs, and go out of their way to help,” according to a reviewer in Tennessee.

“OneMain looks for the best choices for me with payment options. I call and tell them what I need and in the same day they are calling me back with options for me,” a reviewer in North Carolina said.

“They are close by, so that was a help,” a reviewer in California said. However, the reviewer “probably won't use them again” because the interest is “pretty high.”

SoFi stands out for its “no fees ever” advertising. Paying no origination fees and no prepayment fees is a great deal, and no late fees sounds even better.

“Hold up. Just because we don’t charge late fees, we want to make sure you know —by paying after your bill’s due date, paying less than the minimum due, or even missing payments, means you’ll accumulate more interest and your final payment will be larger as a result. And you wouldn’t want that,” says a legal disclosure on the company’s website.

The repayment terms are similar to what you find through other online lenders, but rates are relatively low (APRs top out at 20%).

What reviewers like: Intuitive website and great rates

“The website was easy to navigate and when I called I was able to talk to an actual person,” a reviewer in Florida said last year.

Another reviewer in New Jersey with “good but not excellent” credit got a $50,000 personal loan funded in less than three business days. They said they got a “good rate compared to LendingClub or Prosper.”

A personal loan is an installment loan, meaning that you get a lump sum of money upfront and then pay it back in regular “installments” over a predetermined period of time (typically between two and five years).

Personal loan funds can be used for practically any reason, but most borrowers use them to pay down debt, cover emergency expenses, fund special occasions and make investments. Unlike a car loan or a mortgage, personal loans are unsecured in most cases. This means you don’t have to provide collateral, but the resulting risk to the lender drives up interest rates.

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 extremely loose requirements. The trade-off for flexible approvals is usually extremely high interest rates, like with payday loans. The added costs mean you end up paying a small fortune over time.

If you don’t qualify for a personal loan and need a cash advance, consider these payday loan alternatives.

Types of personal loans

Personal loans can be secured or unsecured and come with fixed or adjustable interest rates. Debt consolidation loans and personal lines of credit are other options that fall into personal loans.

Here are some of the most common personal loan options:

• Unsecured personal loans: The majority of personal loans are unsecured, which means they’re not backed by collateral. For example, a payday loan is a type of unsecured personal loan that allows you to qualify even if you have bad credit.
• Secured personal loans: A secured personal loan is backed by collateral that the lender can repossess if you default, like a car title. A personal loan lender grants you funds based on your credit score and ability to repay the loan.
• Fixed-rate personal loans: A fixed-rate loan has an interest rate that stays the same over the entire term. These are easier to budget around, and there’s no worry that a situation outside of your control will drive the cost of your loan up.
• Variable-rate personal loans: Variable-rate loans start with a fixed rate, but eventually the interest begins to fluctuate. It might save you money initially since starting rates are relatively low. Variable rates are sometimes better for shorter-term loans because there’s less time for the rates to change.
• Debt consolidation loans: A debt consolidation loan lets you take out one loan to pay back multiple debts through a single monthly payment. Debt consolidation loans often have a better interest rate than what you’re currently paying on your debts.
• Personal lines of credit: A personal line of credit preapproves you for an amount that you can draw from over time. Personal lines of credit generally have variable interest rates and are typically more affordable than credit card cash advances.

Although they operate differently, both personal loans and credit cards appeal to people who need money soon.

When deciding whether a personal loan or credit card is better for you, think about how you’d prefer to receive funds and the option that allows you to pay the least in interest. If the answer isn’t immediately clear, get offers for each and run the numbers to see for yourself.

If you still aren’t sure, it helps to understand their functional differences:

• Credit card: A credit card represents a line of credit from which you can borrow money at any time, up to your credit limit. This means you have more flexibility in how much debt you take on, and you also have more flexibility in how you pay that money back.
  
  It’s a good idea to avoid interest by paying off your credit card each month. While there’s usually a minimum payment you can make that’s lower than your actual balance, your remaining credit card debt continues to generate interest.
• Personal loan: A personal loan gives you funds upfront as a lump sum, which you repay in installments for a predetermined period of time. There’s more of a commitment involved, but personal loans often come with better interest rates than credit cards.
  
  Personal loans are usually better for situations where you need a larger amount of money that you wouldn’t be able to pay off before your credit card interest rate kicks in.

Given their multitude of uses, personal loans are a great option for a lot of people. However, it’s always smart to acknowledge the potential shortcomings of any financial decision.

We’ve outlined some of the pros and cons of personal loans below so that you can make an informed decision before you apply.

Once you’ve evaluated your options and decided that you want a personal loan, the next step is to start the application process. While lenders' processes may vary slightly, the steps to obtaining a personal loan are typically the same.

1. Check your credit score. There are a few ways to check your credit score. Just be careful about where you enter sensitive information, and make sure the service you use is legitimate. This step is important because it lets you know where you stand going into the lending process.
2. Find lenders willing to offer you loans. Look around for options that fit your situation, and then reach out for quotes and terms. Comparing offers is the most important step to getting a good deal on a personal loan, so don’t limit yourself to the first offer you get. If you prefer face-to-face communication, it's a good idea to work with a local company (see below).
3. Apply to the best one for you. The application process varies based on the lender you use, but typically lenders run credit checks to determine your creditworthiness and interest rate. If you’re approved, the time to receive your funds depends on the lender.

Once you have a personal loan, the repayment term may begin immediately or be delayed. Regardless, once it starts, make payments on time for the rest of the loan term. If you can plan to repay your loan early, check to make sure your lender doesn’t charge a prepayment penalty.

We compared personal loan options from companies across the U.S. to help you find reputable lenders where you live.

• Albuquerque
• Atlanta
• Austin
• Bakersfield
• Baltimore
• Boise
• Buffalo
• Chicago
• Cincinnati
• Cleveland
• Dallas
• Denver
• Detroit
• Fort Myers
• Green Bay
• Houston
• Indianapolis
• Kansas City
• Lansing
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• Milwaukee
• Nashville
• Omaha
• Orlando
• Phoenix
• Pittsburgh
• Portland
• Sacramento
• San Antonio
• San Diego
• Tallahassee
• Tampa
• Tucson
• Tulsa
• Waco
• West Palm Beach

We started with a list of popular loan companies. For this guide, we only considered lenders that have APRs at 36% or below, leaving 20.

The ConsumerAffairs Research Team then analyzed recent reviews and ratings. Companies had to have at least 3.5 stars on our site, plus at least one 5-star review that specifically describes an experience with personal loans from the last year (September 20, 2020, through September 20, 2021). We also gave preference to companies with widespread availability.

We ranked our top picks based on a calculation that multiplies the difference between total 5-star and 1-star reviews by the percentage of 5-star reviews against all reviews.