Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own. Advertiser Disclosure

Find a loan for $2,000

Compare lenders that offer $2,000 loans — even if you have bad credit.

Updated Sep 9, 2022. What changed?

Fact checked

Your options for a $2,000 loan largely depend on your credit score. For this reason, we’ve located lenders that cater to fair, bad and good credit borrowers. However, your income, state residency and age remain important factors as well.

Compare 6 lenders with $2,000 loans for bad credit or no credit

If you have a credit score at or below 600, these lenders may be willing to work with you in getting a $2,000 loan.

Lender	Minimum credit score requirement	Other requirements	Loan type	Finder rating
Avant	580	Bank account Steady income US citizen or permanent resident 18 years old	Personal loan	★★★★★	Go to site
Monevo	300	US resident Bank account	Connection service for many loan types	★★★★★	Go to site
Upstart	300	Full time job Bank account No bankruptcies in last year Not a resident of Iowa or West Virginia DTI ratio less than 50%, depending on state	Personal loan	★★★★★	Go to site
OneMain Financial	Credit score requirement varies	Proof of income US citizen or permanent resident State’s minimum age requirement Established credit history	Personal loan	★★★★★	Go to site
Stilt	Not required	Copy of passport Copy of visa I-20 documents (for students)	Personal loan	★★★★★	Read review
NetCredit	Credit score minimum varies depending on your state	Requirements vary depending on state Loan might be offered through its partner lender	Personal loan	Not yet rated	Read review

Compare 6 lenders that offer $2,000 loans for good or fair credit

Lender	Credit score requirement	Other requirements	Loan type	Finder rating
Best Egg	600	Be a US citizen or permanent resident Must not reside in IA, DC, VT, WV, PR, or GU	Personal loan	★★★★★	Go to site
LendingClub	600	18 years old Be a US citizen, permanent resident or live in the US on a long-term visa Valid ID Bank account	Connection service for many loan types	★★★★★	Go to site
Upgrade	620	Bank account $1,000 leftover in monthly budget after bills DTI ratio under 40%	Personal loan	★★★★★	Go to site
PenFed	650	PenFed membership US citizen or permanent resident 18 years old	Personal loan	★★★★★	Read review
Credible	670	Bank account US citizen or permanent resident 18 years old	Connection service for many loan types	★★★★★	Read review
Rocket Loans	640	Minimum income of at least $24,000 Two year-long credit history Bank account US citizen or permanent resident 18 years old, depending on state Not a resident of West Virginia, Iowa or Nevada	Personal loan	★★★★★	Go to site

How much will a $2,000 loan cost?

The overall cost of taking on a $2,000 loan depends on the rate you qualify for, and how long the loan term is — and your rate laregly depends on your credit score with most lenders. The higher your credit score, the better chance you have of nailing down a low interest rate on the loan.

And your rate and term drastically change how much you pay overall.

Say you take on a $2,000 loan with a 15% interest rate for 24 months. If you made all the payments on time, it’d cost you $327.36 in interest.

If you took on the same loan but with a 20% interest rate, you’d be paying $443 in interest overall. Now let’s extend the loan to three years with a 20% interest rate — that’s $675.78 in interest.

Ideally, you’d want to stick with a short loan term and try for the lowest interest rate possible. Or, try to pay off the loan faster to reduce accumulated interest.

Calculate your loan repayments

Compare rates and loan terms quickly with our loan estimate calculator to determine how much a $2,000 loan may cost you.

How to pay off $2,000 in debt

If you took on a $2,000 loan for emergency reasons, and now want to wrap up that debt quickly — or you just want to be out of debt for any other reason — here are some tactics to consider.

Pay faster or earlier. If your loan doesn’t have prepayment penalties, you can pay ahead or make multiple payments per month to save on interest and end the loan faster.
Budget. With a new loan payment added to your bills consider working out a budget to ensure you can meet at least the minimum payments each month.
Consolidation. If you have other debt alongside your $2,000 loan, then you could explore debt consolidation, which combines debt into one loan or credit card for a more manageable monthly budget, or try for lower rate overall on your multiple loans and save money.

Eligibility requirements for a $2,000 loan

Lender requirements vary, but here are some general requirements you can plan for:

Fair credit score, likely a minimum of 600+ depending on the lender
Enough income to pay for loan
Low DTI ratio, often below 45% to 50%
At least 18 years old, depending on your state
Have an active bank account
No major marks on your credit report, such as an active bankruptcy

How to increase your chances of approval

Your credit score is one of the most important factors in loan approval. So naturally, increasing your credit score can increase your chances of loan approval.

Building a good credit score can take time, but doing things like keeping your credit card balances below 20%, correcting errors on your credit reports, and only taking on new credit when you need it can help build up your score over time. For more tips, check out our guide on 16 ways to increase your credit score.

Aside from your credit score, your work history and income are key players in loan approval. If you’re lacking in either department, some tactics to consider include:

Find a cosigner if your credit score is poor
Have your spouse apply with you if you need more income
Pay down your credit cards for more disposable income

What to watch out for

If you’re in need of cash fast, you may be tempted to go with the first lender that approves you for a loan — but keep your wits about you. If it sounds too good to be true, that could very well be the reality.

A few things to watch out for when applying for payday loans or personal loans include:

Lender only offers long loan terms. The longer the loan, the more you’ll end up paying. And if all the loan terms offered for a $2,000 loan are over three years, then you’ll be paying a ton in interest.
No transparency with loan details. If a lender is hesitant to disclose any loan details surrounding late fees, prepayment penalties or APRs, take it as a red flag.
Barely any requirements. A decent lender or lending institution should have some loan requirements. If the lender doesn’t seem concerned on your ability to repay the loan, that might be a bad sign.
Pressuring for a higher loan amount. If you only need $2,000 and the lender tries to increase how much you’re borrowing, that’s another sign they may not be concerned with your ability to repay.
Reputation. While customer reviews don’t always accurately reflect a lending institution’s values, reviews can give you insight into how the company handles conflict. We recommended at least checking out our best picks for small loans and each lender’s Better Business Bureau profile to see if they have any active lawsuits or notice any trends among the negative reviews.

Be wary of no credit check lenders

There’s a difference between a lender that doesn’t have a credit score requirement and a lender that doesn’t check your credit reports or score at all. An unscrupulous lender that doesn’t bother to inspect your creditworthiness may not be concerned with your ability to repay a loan, and may even be setting you up for failure as a result. A legit lender will consider your income, credit reports, debt-to-income ratio and your other monthly obligations before an approval.

Alternatives for short-term loans

Ideally, a short-term loan is one that’s paid off in less than two years. With many short-term personal loans, the shorter the loan, the less you need to pay in interest — and rates can get high with personal loans. However, if you’re struggling to qualify for short-term personal loan, here are some other alternatives to consider:

If you need a small amount of cash quickly, consider cash advance apps.
To borrow against your existing credit card, check out credit card advances.
If you can pay back the loan fast and have enough income, a payday loan is a solid alternative.

For other options, check out our full list of 11 alternatives.

Looking for a different loan amount?

Thank you for your feedback!

Bethany Hickey

Bethany Hickey is a personal finance writer for Finder who specializes in lending. Her background includes writing educational articles on car loans, auto insurance, cryptocurrency and crypto gaming. Bethany has contributed to such sites as CarsDirect, Auto Credit Express and the Car Connection. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Michigan-Flint and is an avid gamer with over 30 consoles and handhelds — and way too many trading cards.

Get a $1,500 loan Get a $3,000 loan

More guides on Finder

Cleo cash advance app review
Cleo is a budgeting app offering cash advances up to $100.
8 Best cash advance apps to cover you until payday
Compare the 8 best cash advance apps for low fees, high limits and more.
Apps like FloatMe
If this app’s $50 limit is too low, alternatives like B9, Earnin and Branch may be a better fit.
6 cash advance apps that work with Chime
Many pay advance apps don’t work with this online bank — but here are six that do.
Best instant money apps
Get at least $25 in as little as 20 minutes with these six apps for instant money.
A to Z list of cash advance apps
A comprehensive list of cash advance apps that our experts have reviewed, including Brigit, Dave and Earnin.
How to borrow money from Cash App
Select Cash App users can get a short-term loan for up to $200.
Apps like Possible Finance
Choose from 5 options to find the best pay advance solution. Top names like Dave and Brigit are joined by 3 other pay advance apps.
Apps like MoneyLion
MoneyLion is a pay advance app stacked with features — and hefty fees to match. We’ve lined up 6 alternatives to help you go easy on your wallet.
Apps like Lenme
If you’re considering using Lenme for a pay advance but its negative reviews are holding you back, we’ve lined up 7 alternatives that could offer more reliability and transparency.

Ask an Expert

Click here to cancel reply.

Finder.com provides guides and information on a range of products and services. Because our content is not financial advice, we suggest talking with a professional before you make any decision.

By submitting your comment or question, you agree to our Privacy and Cookies Policy and finder.com Terms of Use.

Questions and responses on finder.com are not provided, paid for or otherwise endorsed by any bank or brand. These banks and brands are not responsible for ensuring that comments are answered or accurate.

2 Responses

SmokeyMay 30, 2017

How or where would I have to go to apply for a $2000 loan with a reasonable amount of time to pay it off. It’d have to be exceptional as I am on disability O.D.S.P government ingcome.

finder Customer Care

haroldjacobJune 21, 2017Staff

Hi Smokey,

Thank you for your inquiry.

You can go to the section where it says “Compare lenders offering $2,000 short term loans”. Next follow the steps listed below.
1. Select your credit score
2. Select the state based on your permanent address
3. Review the offers
4. Once you have decided which lender you are going to apply you can go ahead and click the “go to site” button for further instructions and details.

I hope this information has helped.

Cheers,
Harold