Personal Loan Lenders Summary

It's hard to figure out if you need a personal loan or not with all the personal loan lenders out there. Sometimes it just seems too easy. And if it does, then you're not taking your finances seriously. You should only get a personal loan if you need it.

And need doesn't mean a shopping spree. It means that there is something you absolutely have to pay for and you just don't have the funds. It could mean consolidating your current debts, paying for an unexpected medical bill, or paying for your wedding.

Personal loans are recorded on your credit report and if you fail to repay your credit report dives into the dumps. The interest rate you receive on the loan relies on your credit position, and most especially your score. Let's get into it.

What To Look For When Finding Personal Loan Lenders

There are plenty of personal loan lenders in the market that offer some pretty excellent rates, and a wide variety of products to suit your specific needs.

The most important points to consider when choosing a lender are as follows.

• Offer you the lowest interest rates
• Have great flexibility with loan repayment
• Be willing to consider income levels and your ability to keep a job
• Always listen to you and give you advice whenever you run into trouble.
• Allow the use of a co-signer in case you do not qualify for the loan

In this review, we take a look at 12 of the best loan lenders and tell you what they have to offer. Please remember that for you to qualify for a student loan, they must first evaluate your creditworthiness and ensure that you can repay the loan.

LightStream Personal Loan Lender

This is one of the personal loan lenders that offers borrowers very high loan amounts at low-interest rates. Their loans go beyond just student tuition. They can include home improvements, adoption financing, debt consolidation, etc.

Lightstream does not charge any fees for their personal loans and this means no processing fees. It also includes no late payment fees and no prepayment fees either. They offer to send their customers $100 if they are unsatisfied with the entire loan process.

And the company is willing to beat out their competitor's rates by 0.1%. It is an online lender, and a division of Truist bank, which was formerly known as the SunTrust Bank. Most of their loans have 2-7 year loan terms.

But home improvement loans, solar financing loans, and swimming pool loans sometimes extend to 12 years. The amount ranges anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000. Their fixed APR is between 3.49% and 16.79%.

Now, if you research and find a lender who has a better APR than LightStream, they beat this rate by a 0.1% decrease to show you that they are better than their competitors. You can use your LightStream personal loan for the following uses.

• Fund your college expenses
• Refinance your loans
• Fund a business
• To fund a cash-out loan
• Purchase bonds and stocks

Upstart Student Loans

This company is a unique lender that was created by a group of former Google executives in 2012. They are the first lending platform that uses artificial intelligence and an automated lending process.

While most lenders will primarily focus on FICO scores to approve you for a loan, upstart instead uses their advanced technologies to look beyond this and qualify the risk of the loan. They then use their calculations to assess your ability to repay the loan.

They have a strong belief that if other lenders used their intuitive credit model, they probably would be approving more loans. So, what does all this mean to a borrower?

It means that Upstart can offer you high-quality loans at low rates. Their terms are fair for borrowers who have bad credit, and this company has received excellent reviews from sites such as TrustPilot.

The main features of these loans are as follows.

• Loan amounts range from $1,000 to $50,000
• The loan terms are 3-5 years
• Their fixed interest on loan rates are between 7.54% and 35.99%
• They do an initial “soft” credit pull that does not affect your credit score.
• They have a prepayment penalty, but they do not charge an origination fee.
• You will need to have a minimum credit score of 620 to qualify for their loans and a minimum annual income of around $12,000.

Upgrade Student Loans

Upgrade loans are designed for mainstream appeal. They support a wide range of clientele with different income levels and credit scores. As a lender, they ensure that their borrowers have access to education as well as credit monitoring tools.

Here are their loan features.

• Loan amounts range from $1,000 to $50,000.
• You can upgrade loans from all over the country, except Connecticut, Iowa, Colorado, West Virginia, Maryland, and Vermont
• Repayment terms range between 3 and 5 years.
• Interest rates range from 6.98% to 35.89%. The rate you get is based on your credit score, the loan terms, your credit history, and a few other factors that they consider before qualifying you for a loan.
• You are not allowed to use their loans for post-secondary educational expenses, illegal activities such as gambling, or expenses.
• They charge an origination fee that ranges between 1.5% and 6%.
• To qualify, you must have a credit score of at least 600.
• You must have a minimum annual income of $30,000.
• You must have a debt-to-income ratio of at least 60%

Rocket Loans Personal Loan Lender

This company was founded to create a rocket-fast loan process system that would offer personal loans to eligible borrowers. They are a part of the Quicken family loans, which includes the Rabid Advance and Rocket Mortgage as well.

Qualifying you for a personal loan is contingent on your creditworthiness and not on your business type. You can use the loan for whichever purpose including starting a business.

Be warned that they only qualify people with good credit histories and a credit score of at least 640. You must also have a permanent source of include and a very low debt-to-income ratio.

What you will appreciate the most about this company is that they process loans very fast, and they say that 85% of their borrowers can receive their loans within one day. The main features are up next. 

• Credit score must be between 630 and 689
• Their loan terms are between 3 and 5 years
• They charge an origination fee of between 1% and 6% of the amount you applied
• Their late fee is $15 if you are late with 10 days
• They also charge an unsuccessful payment fee of $15
• To qualify, your debt-to-income ratio should be 40% and your minimum income should be $24,000

Payoff Loans Personal Loan Lender

As the name suggests, Payoff Loans Company offers debt consolidation to borrowers who have good credit that ranges from 63.-719. They are solely to repay your existing credit including credit card debts.

While they do not force you to repay your credit cards, they are keen at making recommendations that can keep you on track, such as quizzes that can assess your financial abilities and your wealth.

They also offer tools and resources to help you with your financial goals. According to the company, this kind of insight is great as it empowers borrowers to make smart financial decisions.

Loan features

• No late fee charges
• To qualify, you must have a credit score of at least 640.
• Loans offered in all of America, except for people living in Mississippi, Massachusetts, Nevada, Nebraska, and West Virginia.
• Origination fees of between 2% and 5% of the loan amount. They do not charge late fees, returned payment fees, prepayment penalties, or check processing fees.
• Their loan amounts range from $5,000 to $35,000
• The APR is between 5.99% and 24.99%.
• Their loan terms are between 2 and 5 years
• You must repay the loan every month
• Their application process is solely online.
• It takes anywhere between 2 and 5 working days to receive your loan after application.
• They carry out a soft credit check to qualify you and a hard credit check after you apply for the loan.
• You should have an annual income of at least $40,000, and a debt-to-income ratio of 50%.

FreedomPlus Loan Company

This is a company that caters to people in their mid-40s who have great credit and would love to consolidate their loans into one. They offer a fixed rate on their loans and a 2-5 year repayment period. Their lowest interest rates are usually reserved for the customers with the best credit scores.

FreedomPlus is one of the few lenders who are willing to offer a joint or co-signed loan to someone with poor credit. About 30% of their borrowers have utilized this feature. The beauty of this is that it helps you borrow at lower interest rates.

For example; if you qualify to borrow one of their loans at 15.99% interest, this may reduce to 10.99% if you introduce a co-signer with good credit.

Loan features

• The origination fee is between 0% and 4.99% of the total loan amount
• A late fee of either $15 or 5% of the total amount due. They pick the higher of the two
• Unsuccessful repayment fee of $15
• They require their borrowers to have a credit score of at least 640 to qualify
• You must have an income of at least $40,000 and a debt to income ratio that is less than 40%
• Their lending terms differ from state to state, and they range from $7,500 to $40,000. If you are in Arizona, you can only qualify for $10,500, in Georgia - $3,500, in Massachusetts, $6,500, and Ohio $5,500.

Discover Student loans

This company is an ideal lender for students who realize that their federal loan package doesn’t cover their total cost of college. If you are an undergraduate, or a graduate student, Discover has loan packages that have been specifically designed for you.

While most people think that this company deals mostly with credit cards and other banking products, you will be surprised to discover that they deal with much more than that. They offer private as well as refinance student loans.

In addition to that, they have a good number of private student programs that cater to medical students who are doing their residency programs, and law students who are studying for the bar exam.

Here are their loan features For refinance loans.

Loan Features

• The loan amounts they offer range between $5,000 and $150,000.
• The loan terms are between 10 and 20 years.
• If your parent has a parent plus loan they had borrowed on your behalf, they can transfer this back to you.
• The company doesn’t charge any origination fee, late fees, or prepayment fees.
• The fixed APR for refinancing is between 3.99% and 6.99%.
• They do not disclose the minimum credit score required for qualification or the income level or the debt to income ratio either. They, however, specify a credit score of 660 and above for a cosigner.

For private loans

• The loan terms are 15 years
• The minimum loan amount is $1,000 and the maximum depends on the total amount you need to attend school.
• All other factors are similar to refinance loans.

Citizens Bank Personal Loan Lender

This have very competitive interest rates for their customers with a wide range of loan options. The student loans they issue are usually under the Citizens One branding that offers a 5, 10, or 15-year term for both parents and students.

Citizen bank loans are a good option for students who wish to refinance their loans and most particularly those who did not get a degree and wish to do so. You must, however, be a customer of the bank to apply.

They can refinance both private as well as federal student loans, although they do not specify the minimum score you must have to qualify for their loans.

Loan Features

• Loan amounts range from $10,000 to $500,000. They can refinance for you up to $300,000 if you have a bachelor’s degree and up to $500,000 for parents. If you do not have a degree yet but have an associate degree, you can still qualify for refinancing, if you have already made 12 payments to the loans you wish to refinance.
• They will conduct a soft credit check to qualify you.
• The loan terms range from 5 years to 20 years.
• They do not charge an origination or prepayment fee but they will charge a late fee of 5% if you are late with 15 days.
• Co-signer release can only be done after 36 on-time repayments.
• Their fixed APR is between 4.72% and 12.04%.
• With automated payments, they can offer you a 0.5% discount.

OneMain Personal Loans

This company is a potential source of money for people who have poor credit. Borrowers can use their loans for whichever purpose, which can include debt consolidation, personal expenses, home improvements, weddings, and even buying cars.

You can apply for their loans online, and if you are looking for a more personalized experience, you can be connected to a live loan specialist for the process. Also, thy have brick-and-mortar branches all over the country that you can visit and be served.

With personal loan lenders, folks with better credit scores have better interest rates. The company provides very fast loans and it is possible to apply and receive a loan within 10 minutes. Once you are approved, the funds will be deposited in your account on the same day.

They also offer a secured loan option, which means that you can offer them the security to issue a loan. These secured loans tend to have low APRs since they are low-risk and are ideal for people who do not qualify for their other loans.

Loan Features

• Their loan amounts range from %1,500 to $20,000
• Their APR is between 18% and 35.99%
• The loan terms they offer can either be 24 months, 36 months, 48 months and 60 months
• They do not have a credit score limit

Avant Student Loan

This is one of the largest personal loan lenders online who focus solely on customers with very low scores. They are a Chicago-based company and most of their clients are middle-class American’s.

According to the company, you can use their loans for whichever purpose you want, and most of their clients use them to consolidate their debt, cover unexpected expenses, and also do some home improvements.

To qualify for a refinance loan from them, you must have paid your current liabilities for at least 6 months. They have a robust customer service system that has a phone number that customers can call at all times to report any issues.

Loan features

• Loan amounts range from $50,000 to $100,000
• Their APR ranges between 9.95% and 35.99%
• The loan terms their offer are 2-5 years
• They require a minimum credit score of at least 580, although most of their clients range between 600 and 700
• You must be a US citizen to qualify and have a valid Social Security Number.
• You must be 18 years and above.
• They charge an administrative fee of 4.75%, a late fee of $25 if you are late with 10 days, and an unsuccessful payment fee of around $15
• Your income level must be at least $20,000

Earnest Student Loans

Founded in 2013, this company stands out for its approach to underwriting, which they base on the borrower’s earning potential and not the credit score alone. They are ideal for anyone who wishes to refinance their college debts and pay them off as quickly as possible.

Borrowers can save money regularly with these kind of personal loan lenders. They require to verify your income levels before offering you a loan, but they are flexible enough to accommodate most people.

Loan Features

• Loan amounts range from $5,000 to $500,000
• The fixed APR ranges between 4.25% and 8.77%.
• Their variable APR ranges between 3.50% and 8.72%
• The minimum credit score for a refinanced loan is 650.
• They will do a soft credit check to verify whether you qualify or not.
• The loan terms range from 5 years to 20 years
• The company allows you to transfer your parent loan to the student.
• They do not charge origination fees, prepayment penalties or late fees

Private student loans

• The minimum loan amount is $1,000 and a maximum of the total cost of college attendance.
• Their loan terms are either 5, 7, 10, 12, or 15 years.
• The fixed APR ranges between 4.25 and 8.77%
• Their variable APR ranges between 3.50 and 8.72%
• The minimum credit score for a refinanced loan is 650
• All other factors for refinancing loans are the same

Best Egg Student Loans review

This is one of the personal loan lenders that offer its borrowers personal loans at low-interest rates. They have more than half a million customers who have been funded with more than $9.3 billion, and their figures continue to grow.

If you have good credit, the company will offer you very low-interest rates with an annual percentage of around 14%. Their loan process is very fast and can take a few minutes to complete.

Loan features

• Loan amounts range from $2,000 up to $35,000
• APR is between 5.99% and 29.99%.
• Their loan terms are between 3 and 5 years.
• The minimum credit score for qualification is 640
• They charge an origination fee of between 0.99% and 5.99% of the total loan amount, a late fee of $15 and a return fee of $15 as well
• The minimum credit history you should have is around 3 years
• The minimum income should be $80,000 and the debt to income ratio should be less than 40%

Personal Loan Lenders Conclusion

We hope that our review of the top 12 personal loan lenders will help you decide on who to use. Exercise some caution as you borrow so you do not end up in debt, and take care not to exhaust your limit, and only borrow what you can handle or what you need.

Before making a decision, however, ensure you receive quotes from at least three lenders so you can compare the rates. Choose the lender with the best interest rates and a repayment period you can handle.