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Compare personal loans online
Personal loan options for every age and credit type.
Take control of your finances with a personal loan to cover a large expense, renovate your home, consolidate debt, and more. But before you get started, hone up on the borrowing process to ensure you find the best deal available to you.
US Bank, Gesa Credit Union, Key Bank and many others are offering low-cost emergency loans to customers affected by COVID-19. These typically come with low or no interest and the option to defer payments for several months.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
WATCH: Is now a good time to take out a personal loan?
Watch our short video where we sit down with OneMain Financial to discuss how a personal loan may be able to ease your financial burden during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn how to decide if a personal loan is right for you.
The rate you get depends on the following factors:
Credit score. You need near-perfect credit to qualify for the lowest advertised rate.
Income. Lenders will likely check if you have enough regular cash flow to easily afford monthly repayments.
Debts. The lowest rates go to borrowers with a debt-to-income ratio (DTI) below 20%. Use our calculator to find out what your DTI is.
Collateral. Securing your loan makes it less risky to the lender and gets you lower rates.
Loan amount and term. Some lenders — especially credit unions — offer different rates depending on how much you want to borrow and how long you need to repay.
Your loan cost depends on the loan term and your rate. You can figure out the monthly cost of a loan by using our payment calculator.
What goes into a personal loan APR?
Most lenders’ annual percentage rate (APR) tells you how much you’ll pay in interest and fees over one year. This makes it the easiest way to compare the cost of loans with the same term.
It often includes an origination fee, which lenders charge after you sign your loan contract. But it doesn’t include penalties like late fees, nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees or prepayment penalties.
How to apply for a personal loan
1. Determine the amount
Crunch some numbers to figure out how much you need to borrow and how much you can afford to pay back each month. Also, compare different types of loans to find the one that suits your needs best.
After you narrow down your choices, fill out a quick preapplication with a few different lenders to learn which rates and terms you might get. This usually doesn’t affect your credit.
You have a variety of personal loan providers to pick from. However, you’ll typically more loan options if you have stronger credit. Depending on the type of provider you choose, you can apply for a personal loan in person, online or over the phone.
Direct online lenders. Online lenders have more flexible lending criteria and offer a straightforward application process. If approved, your loan amount can be deposited into your bank account as soon as the next business day — but it may take up to a week.
Brokers and connection services: Brokers and connection services work slightly differently but have the same goal: to pair you with a lender that will approve you. Brokers have you fill out a preliminary application and often charge a fee for their service. Connection services are automated and don’t make lending decisions themselves.
Banks. Getting a loan from a bank might be the tradition choice, but it’s not the fastest. Banks tend to have stricter approval criteria and longer turnaround time. The benefit of borrowing with your bank is that some banks offer discounts to people who have an existing account.
Credit unions. If familiarity is important to you, consider taking out a personal loan at a credit union. Credit unions tend to evaluate your financial history with the institution, adding a layer of flexibility to approval. Similar to banks, credit unions tend to have longer approval and turnaround times than online lenders.
Peer-to-peer lenders. Relatively new to the financial market, peer-to-peer lenders operate as marketplaces that bring borrowers and investors together. A peer-to-peer loan is funded by a pool of individual investors online. Although the process of applying is a lot like that of a traditional loan, the turnaround time is often much longer.
There’s a personal loan for almost any type of borrower. But you have to meet the following criteria to qualify with most lenders:
Good credit. The credit score cutoff is often around 670 — and usually higher if you want a low rate.
Steady income. You typically need to bring in at least $24,000 a year.
Employment. Some lenders will only work with borrowers who are employed full time.
Low debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. Most lenders require your monthly expenses to be no more than 43% of your monthly income, though the lower the better.
US citizen or resident. If you don’t have a green card or citizenship, your options are limited to the few lenders that work with nonresidents.
Age of majority. In most states, you must be 18 to borrow. It’s 19 in Alabama and Nebraska, and 21 in Mississippi.
Frequently asked questions about personal loans
Personal loans can improve your credit by adding to your history of on-time repayment and diversifying the types of credit in your name. When you apply, it can temporarily hurt your credit, however, since lenders run a hard credit check which dings your score. And if you miss a repayment or default, it can damage your credit.
You can typically borrow between $2,000 and $50,000. Some lenders offer loans as low as $1,000 and up to $100,000.
Most lenders offer loans from one to seven years.
Yes, although your options will be limited. If you need money quickly, you might consider a bad-credit lender, a credit builder loan or another alternative lender that looks beyond your credit score. Otherwise, you might want to look at credit unions or local banks, which often have lower credit requirements and relatively low interest rates.
You can, but it might not end well. Investing itself is incredibly risky and taking out a personal loan increases that risk even more. Some experienced investors take out personal loans after they’ve gotten the hang of weighing the risks, but it takes a while to get to their level. And even they don’t always win.
Prime borrowers typically have credit scores above 720, have no delinquencies on their credit report and have a minimum six-year credit history.
Yes, many lenders offer loans with no origination fee — and several offer loans with no fees at all. Compare no-fee personal loans and find the best option for your needs.
Unsecured loans, or otherwise known as signature loans, are loans that don’t require any collateral. They are based on your creditworthiness. Keeping your credit rating at good or excellent will get you a better rate. Usually you need to have proof of income, be a resident of the US and have a Social Security number to apply for an unsecured loan.
Often, nothing will happen — unless the lender finds out. But if you violate the contract of your loan, your loan goes into default. Your lender could also take legal action if they find out that you’ve used the money for something other than what you agreed to. This would be on the grounds that you falsified information on your application.
No. To purchase a home you’ll need a mortgage. Mortgages work differently than personal loans and are a bit complicated. To learn more about how home loans work, read our guide to mortgages.
Anna Serio is a trusted loans expert who's published more than 950 articles on Finder to help Americans strengthen their financial literacy. A former editor of a newspaper in Beirut, Anna writes about personal, student, business and car loans. Today, digital publications like Business Insider, CNBC and the Simple Dollar feature her professional commentary, and she earned an Expert Contributor in Finance badge from review site Best Company in 2020.
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Are there fees you must pay before you get a loan? My partner is approved for a loan, but he must send $259.00 dollars before he can get the loan. Is this correct?
If a lender asks you to provide an upfront fee for any reason, then you must put the brakes on your application. There is no legitimate lender that will ask you to provide money at any point before it processes your application. Some lenders charge an origination fee for their loans, but these fees are typically deducted from your total loan amount. You may read our article about personal loan scams here.
Is there any possible way of getting a personal loan if you are expecting payment from back pay from SSI and can prove the amount going to you from SSI
It may be dependent on each individual lender and their requirements. Your best bet is to compare your options and find a lender you’d like to apply with, and then give them a call to make sure this is possible.
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Are there fees you must pay before you get a loan? My partner is approved for a loan, but he must send $259.00 dollars before he can get the loan. Is this correct?
Hello Theresa,
Thank you for your comment.
If a lender asks you to provide an upfront fee for any reason, then you must put the brakes on your application. There is no legitimate lender that will ask you to provide money at any point before it processes your application. Some lenders charge an origination fee for their loans, but these fees are typically deducted from your total loan amount. You may read our article about personal loan scams here.
Regards,
Jhezelyn
Can I use my car title as collateral. For a short term loan
Hello Kortney,
Thank you for your interest in applying for a short term loan.
Yes, you may use your car title as collateral.
You may read more on the types of collateral used for loans here.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Gru
Is there any possible way of getting a personal loan if you are expecting payment from back pay from SSI and can prove the amount going to you from SSI
Hi Deanna,
It may be dependent on each individual lender and their requirements. Your best bet is to compare your options and find a lender you’d like to apply with, and then give them a call to make sure this is possible.
Best,
Adrienne