Discover personal loans
Finder Rating: 4 / 5 ★★★★★
- Available in all states
Minimum credit score | 660 |
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APR | 5.99% to 24.99% |
Loan amount | $2,500 to $35,000 |
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American’s average credit card debt totals $3,380, according to Finder’s Consumer Confidence Index in 2022. If your credit card debt and interest rates are high, and it’s getting tough to manage, a debt consolation loan could save you some cash.
Debt consolidation is a type of debt refinancing that can streamline your high-interest debts into one. These loans offer low rates to qualified borrowers, helping you to save time and money.
Our lending editors review the more than 120 debt consolidation loans on the market to find the best for low rates, minimal fees, flexible terms and more to help you find the most ideal fit for your debts and budget.
Our list includes providers that fit multiple needs and circumstances, including credit ratings across the spectrum.
Discover personal loans
Finder Rating: 4 / 5 ★★★★★
Minimum credit score | 660 |
---|---|
APR | 5.99% to 24.99% |
Loan amount | $2,500 to $35,000 |
Upstart personal loans
Finder Rating: 4.15 / 5 ★★★★★
Minimum credit score | 300 |
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APR | 6.5% to 35.99% |
Loan amount | $1,000 to $50,000 |
Upgrade personal loans
Finder Rating: 4 / 5 ★★★★★
Personal loans made through Upgrade feature APRs of 5.94%-35.97%. All personal loans have a 2.9% to 8% origination fee, which is deducted from the loan proceeds. Lowest rates require Autopay and paying off a portion of existing debt directly. Loans feature repayment terms of 24 to 84 months. For example, if you receive a $10,000 loan with a 36-month term and a 17.98% APR (which includes a 14.32% yearly interest rate and a 5% one-time origination fee), you would receive $9,500 in your account and would have a required monthly payment of $343.33. Over the life of the loan, your payments would total $12,359.97. The APR on your loan may be higher or lower and your loan offers may not have multiple term lengths available. Actual rate depends on credit score, credit usage history, loan term, and other factors. Late payments or subsequent charges and fees may increase the cost of your fixed rate loan. There is no fee or penalty for repaying a loan early. Personal loans issued by Upgrade's lending partners. Information on Upgrade's lending partners can be found at https://www.upgrade.com/lending-partners/.
Minimum credit score | 620 |
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APR | 8.49% to 35.97% |
Loan amount | $1,000 to $50,000 |
Monevo personal loans
Finder Rating: 4.4 / 5 ★★★★★
Minimum credit score | 300 |
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APR | 1.99% to 35.99% |
Loan amount | $1,000 to $500,000 |
Achieve personal loans
Finder Rating: 3.4 / 5 ★★★★★
Minimum credit score | 600 |
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APR | 7.99% to 29.99% |
Loan amount | $1,000 to $50,000 |
LightStream personal loans
Finder Rating: 4.83 / 5 ★★★★★
Minimum credit score | Good to excellent credit |
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APR | 5.99% to 23.99% |
Loan amount | $5,000 to $100,000 |
SoFi personal loans
Finder Rating: 4.45 / 5 ★★★★★
Minimum credit score | 680 |
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APR | 7.99% to 23.43% |
Loan amount | $5,000 to $100,000 |
Marcus by Goldman Sachs personal loans
Finder Rating: 3.8 / 5 ★★★★★
Marcus By Goldman Sachs® Offer Terms and Conditions
Your loan terms are not guaranteed and are subject to our verification of your identity and credit information. To obtain a loan, you must submit additional documentation including an application that may affect your credit score. The availability of a loan offer and the terms of your actual offer will vary due to a number of factors, including your loan purpose, our evaluation of your creditworthiness, your credit history, if we have recently declined your loan application and the number of loans you already have with us. To obtain a loan, you must submit additional documentation including an application that may affect your credit score. Rates will vary based on many factors, such as your creditworthiness (for example, credit score and credit history) and the length of your loan (for example, rates for 36 month loans are generally lower than rates for 72 month loans). Your maximum loan amount may vary depending on your loan purpose, income and creditworthiness. Your verifiable income must support your ability to repay your loan. Marcus by Goldman Sachs is a brand of Goldman Sachs Bank USA and all loans are issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City Branch. Applications are subject to additional terms and conditions. You may be required to have some of your funds sent directly to creditors to pay down certain types of unsecured debt. Receive a 0.25% APR reduction when you enroll in AutoPay. This reduction will not be applied if AutoPay is not in effect. When enrolled, a larger portion of your monthly payment will be applied to your principal loan amount and less interest will accrue on your loan, which may result in a smaller final payment. See loan agreement for details.
Minimum credit score | 720+ FICO |
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APR | 6.99% to 24.99% |
Loan amount | $3,500 to $40,000 |
Our lending experts review more than 120 personal loans on the market to narrow down the best for consolidating high-interest credit cards and other debt.
We update our best picks as the lending products change, disappear or emerge in the market. We also regularly review and revise our selections to make sure that our best provider lists reflect the most competitive offerings available.
Each lender is weighed across 11 key metrics:
Customer reviews, BBB accreditation and ratings were also considered.
Lender | APR | Best for | Finder rating | What sets it apart |
---|---|---|---|---|
Discover | 5.99% to 24.99% | Overall | ★★★★★ | Customer service team that specializes in credit card debt consolidation. |
Marcus | 6.99% to 24.99% | Good to excellent credit | ★★★★★ | Limited fees and an APR as low as 4% for service members. |
Upstart | 6.5% to 35.99% | Fair credit | ★★★★★ | Weighs cash flow more than credit score when determining your rate. |
Upgrade | 8.49% to 35.97% | Bad credit | ★★★★★ | Offers greater payment flexibility and lets you defer two payments if you’re facing financial hardship. |
FreedomPlus | 7.99% to 29.99% | Paying off credit card debt | ★★★★★ | Offers discounts if you have a coapplicant, are paying off debt or you have $40,000 in retirement savings. |
LightStream | 5.99% to 23.99% | Same-day funding | ★★★★★ | Rate beat program and a hefty 0.5% autopay discount on top of competitive starting APRs. |
Monevo | 1.99% to 35.99% | Comparing lenders | ★★★★★ | Works with a wide range of credit scores to find a good debt consolidation loan for your finances. |
SoFi | 7.99% to 23.43% | No fees | ★★★★★ | Lack of fees and perks that come with being a SoFi borrower. |
Debt consolidation loans are typically personal loans that combine two or more debts into a fixed rate loan with one monthly payment. A debt consolidation loan can help you manage your repayments and create a pathway out of debt.
When you apply, have a list of the accounts you want to consolidate and the payoff amounts. If approved, your lender will either pay off your creditors directly or transfer your funds into your bank account so you can pay off your creditors.
You can consolidate almost any unsecured debt, including credit cards, personal loans, medical bills or short-term loans like payday loans.
Most financial experts don’t recommend consolidating student debt. A better alternative to managing student debt may be student loan refinancing or federal loan consolidation.
Debt consolidation doesn’t reduce the amount of debt you currently owe — but it can reduce interest charges if you can get a lower interest rate, and make your monthly budget easier to manage.
Debt consolidation loans can make sense if …
Debt consolidation loans may not make sense if …
If you’re consolidating to save money, then the debt consolidation loan’s APR is the most important factor. Your credit score is largely what determines the rates you qualify for. The majority of lenders offer starting rates around 5% to 7%, but they can get as high as 36%, depending on your credit score and the loan term you select.
Once you find some lenders that offer low rates, other features to compare include:
Whenever you apply for new credit, the lender is likely to do a hard credit check — which can drop your credit score between five to 15 points for 12 months, depending on your current credit score.
Aside from the hard credit check, there’s no other damage done. Your credit score is not harmed because you have a debt consolidation loan. Most debt consolidation loans are unsecured personal loans, so your credit report reflects that you have an active personal loan.
As a bonus, if you consolidate credit card debt, it can decrease your credit utilization ratio and improve your credit score. And if you make the consolidation loan payments on time, that is likely to also improve your credit score if the lender reports on-time payments to the credit bureaus.
If you think a personal loan to consolidate doesn’t quite your situation, check out these alternatives:
If your debt consolidation loan has a lower rate than the average rate of the loans you’re consolidating, you could save money.
Here’s an example of a borrower with a few loans and the interest rate for each loan.
Loan | Debt amount | Rate |
---|---|---|
Loan #1 | $2,000 | 12% |
Loan #2 | $6,200 | 17% |
Loan #3 | $7,500 | 13.5% |
A combined interest rate of those three loans is 14.49%. Check out the break down of the borrower’s total costs with and without a debt consolidation loan.
Total debt amount | Total interest rate | Monthly payments and interest | |
---|---|---|---|
Total cost of loans without consolidating debt | $15,700 | 14.49% |
|
Total cost of loans using a debt consolidation loan | $15,700 | 10% |
$3,413 in total interest charges over four years. |
By consolidating, our borrower can save around $1,665 in interest charges and a lower monthly payment. Keep in mind that personal loans can come with other fees, such as origination fees, which can change how much you save (or don’t save!).
These providers also offer personal loans that you can use to consolidate unsecured debt.
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