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Get a joint personal loan: Our 7 best options

These top providers offer the best personal loans for joint borrowers.

A joint personal loan is a common way to share the responsibility of a loan. With a joint personal loan, both parties’ names are on the loan and both have access to the funds – and both are responsible for paying it back.

You can often secure a lower interest rate and origination fee if your coborrower has a higher credit score than you. And since lenders look at the combined income, you can often qualify for more money with a joint personal loan.

Keep in mind that joint loans aren’t the same as cosigned loans, which is when someone backs your loan with their credit, but doesn’t have access to the funds.

7 best lenders that accept joint loan applications

Best for low starting rates

LightStream personal loans

4.8
★★★★★

Finder score

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LightStream will consider your combined income and assets when you submit a joint application. This can help you qualify for loans closer to LightStream's $100,000 maximum loan amount. And it can help you get a rate close to its low starting APR. LightStream also has a program can beat rates from a competitor, depending on the offer.
  • Available in all states

Best for good credit

SoFi personal loans

4.4
★★★★★

Finder score

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SoFi doesn't require any fees on its personal loans and offers competitive rates. But what really sets it apart are the extra services that both borrowers can take advantage of. You'll both have access to career coaching, financial advice and other tools to help you make smart financial decisions after you're approved.
  • Available in all states

Best for bad credit

Upgrade personal loans

4
★★★★★

Finder score

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Upgrade puts more of an emphasis on your monthly cash flow than your credit score, making it a great option for applying with a coborrower. Together, you both need to have at least $1,000 in cash flow per month to get approved. Applying with a joint applicant can also help you score a lower interest rate and lower the origination fee — which can run as high as .
  • Not available in: Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Vermont, West Virginia

Best for excellent credit

Wells Fargo personal loans

3.6
★★★★★

Finder score

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This national bank could be a great choice if you or your joint applicant already have an account. On top of its already-low rates, you can qualify for a relationship discount as high as 0.25% if you're a current customer. But you might struggle to qualify if either of you have with a credit score under 670. And new customers will have to apply in person at a branch.
  • Available in all states

Best for fair credit

Achieve personal loans

3.4
★★★★★

Finder score

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FreedomPlus is a highly-rated lender that accepts fair credit borrowers plus coappliants – which can help snag you a better rate if they have good to excellent credit. You can also get a rate discount if you do debt consolidation. But it's not available in all states and has a slightly longer turnaround time than some other online lenders. And if you want a loan under $5,000 you'll need to look elsewhere.
  • Available in: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington

Best for comparing rates

Lendvious personal loans

4.6
★★★★★

Finder score

Lendvious is a connection service that can help you compare offers when you're not sure what rates and terms you and your joint applicant can qualify for. Filling out its online form lets you prequalify with multiple lenders in a matter of minutes. And it works with all credit types. But you might get lots of calls from its partners after you apply.
  • Not available in: Hawaii

Best for a wide range of loan amounts

DCU personal loans

4.5
★★★★★

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With loans starting at $200, Digital Federal Credit Union has one of the widest range of loan amounts out there. It also allows you to use the money to pay for college, so you can share the expense with the student or a parent. And if your coapplicant is a Plus or Relationship member, you can qualify for an interest rate discount.
  • Not available in: Hawaii, Maine

Our methodology

Our team of loan experts looked at 120+ personal loan lenders and weighed key factors like origination fees, interest rates and eligibility requirements. The best joint personal loans have no origination fees, low starting APRs, a range of borrowing amounts and underwriting flexibility.

We included lenders that cater to a range of credit scores and incomes. We also regularly revise our selections to make sure our picks are the best in their categories.

How is a joint loan different from a cosigner loan?

With a joint loan, your coborrower is equally responsible for the payments, and whatever is purchased with the loan is considered owned by both borrowers. A cosigner, on the other hand, is only responsible for the loan if the main borrower defaults. Applying with a cosigner can also help you meet requirements you can’t on your own — like a minimum income or credit score.

Choose a joint loan if you and your coborrower want equal access to the funds and you both agree to be responsible for paying back the loan. Choose a cosigner if you’re looking to increase your chances of getting approved, and you will pay back the loan on your own.

6 steps to apply for a joint personal loan

You can apply for a joint personal loan as long as you and your coborrower meet the lender’s requirements. Before you get started, compare providers by prequalifying for a few options together.

If you’re ready to move ahead with a joining personal loan, follow these steps:

  1. Check your credit. Check your credit profile and clean up any errors. Keep making your payments on time and don’t take on any new debt before applying for a personal loan.
  2. Compare lenders. Use our list of the top 7 no fee lenders to research and compare offers. Once you find a lender that you like, check if it has a prequalification process so you can see your rates before applying.
  3. Get prequalified. Go to the lender’s website and do an online prequalification, if available, to see your potential rates. Doing a prequalification won’t hurt your credit score and you can see your rates before you apply.
  4. Submit an application. Once you’ve chosen a lender you want to work with, do a full application and upload any requested documents. This will require a hard credit pull which may lower your score by a few points.
  5. Sign for your loan. If approved for loan, you and your coborrower will need to sign the loan documentation so the funds can be released.
  6. Wait for your funds to arrive. Each lender is different, but you may have your funds in your bank account as soon as the same day, although one to three business days is more common.

Both you and your coborrower need to provide the same information about your employment and personal finances on the joint application. Depending on the lender, this can be done all at once or separately. The lender will consider the application details as a whole when underwriting the loan.

Is it better to apply for a loan individually or jointly?

Whether you should apply for a loan individually or jointly depends on your relationship with your coapplicant, your credit scores and personal finances.

If you plan on sharing the expense with your coborrower, a joint personal loan makes more sense than applying on your own. Applying with a coapplicant can also help you get a lower interest rate and origination fee if you have a limited credit history or low credit score.

But if your credit score is higher, applying with a coborrower can actually hurt your personal loan application.

What are the benefits of applying with another person?

Joint application personal loans can be a viable option for several reasons, including:

  • Increase your chances of approval. If you have a lower income, are self-employed or just want to bolster your application, a joint personal loan can be a way to do it. The details of both applicants will considered by the lender instead of just yours.
  • Share an asset. If you’re planning to share the asset you’re purchasing, such as a car, a joint application could make more sense than you applying by yourself. Consider your financial situation to decide what will work best for you.
  • Access larger loan amounts. You may be eligible for a larger loan if you apply with a partner. As you both agree to manage the repayments, the lender will consider the income and financial situation of both applicants when deciding how much to lend you.
  • Consolidate large debts. If you and your partner have large debts separately, you can both save by applying for a joint debt consolidation personal loan. You can split the monthly repayment according to how much debt you contributed to the loan and benefit from the reduced interest and fees.

Can I get a joint personal loan with bad credit?

As long as you and your coborrower meet the lender’s requirements, you can qualify for a joint personal loan even if you have a credit score below 580. Applying for a joint loan could even help you qualify for a lower interest rate and more favorable loan terms than you might have received if you applied on your own.

How do I get out of a joint loan?

There are a few ways to get out of a joint loan, but one common option is to refinance the loan under the other borrower. This transfers the debt to a different lender and allows the agreed upon person to be solely liable for the balance.

Compare more providers

1 - 6 of 6
Name Product Filter Values APR Min. credit score Loan amount
LightStream personal loans
Finder Rating: 4.8 / 5: ★★★★★
LightStream personal loans
7.49% to 25.99%
Good to excellent credit
$5,000 to $100,000
Borrow up to $100,000 with low rates and no fees.
PenFed Credit Union personal loans
Finder Rating: 3.6 / 5: ★★★★★
PenFed Credit Union personal loans
7.99% to 18%
580
$600 to $50,000
With over 80 years of lending experience, this credit union offers personal loans for a variety of expenses.
Upgrade
Finder Rating: 4 / 5: ★★★★★
Upgrade
8.49% to 35.99%
620
$1,000 to $50,000
Check your rates with this online lender without impacting your credit score.
Best Egg personal loans
Finder Rating: 3.8 / 5: ★★★★★
Best Egg personal loans
8.99% to 35.99%
600
$2,000 to $50,000
Fast and easy personal loan application process. See options first without affecting your credit score.
Credible personal loans
Finder Rating: 4.3 / 5: ★★★★★
Credible personal loans
4.60% to 35.99%
Fair to excellent credit
$600 to $100,000
Get personalized prequalified rates in minutes and then choose an offer from a selection of top online lenders.
Freedom Debt Relief
Not rated yet
Freedom Debt Relief
N/A
N/A
Starting at $4,000
Freedom Debt Relief works to help people with unmanageable, unsecured debt get back on their feet.
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Bottom line

Joint personal loans can be a convenient option for people who want to share equal responsibility in a large purchase. It can help bolster your application and increase your chance of approval if you have a lower income. However, it’s important to think about who you’re entering into the agreement with. Both of you must have the ability to manage the loan in order to make it a viable option.

As with every loan opportunity, be sure to compare your personal loan options before making your final decision.

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2 Responses

    Default Gravatar
    BrendaApril 4, 2018

    Looking for a place to add a coborrower, a lot of loan companies say they accept them but when applying, there is no place for it. Can you help? Looking for 10,000 total

      Default Gravatar
      AshApril 5, 2018

      Hi Brenda,

      Thank you for reaching out to us and we are saddened about your loss.

      One thing you can consider is loans that accept cosigners. With having a co-signee, it will help you meet the eligibility criteria and even get better rates.

      Also, you will also read on the above page the difference between a joint application and a cosigner personal loan.

      I hope this helps.

      Please do not hesitate to reach out to us again if you have additional questions.

      Cheers,
      Ash

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