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Compare SoFi vs. Earnest student loans
Student loan refinancing at low rates that reduce your payments with no added fees.
Choosing the right student loan option could mean thousands of dollars in savings over the years. Refinancing or consolidating your student loans can put you back in control and give you some breathing room on your monthly payments. When you’re ready to start reconsidering your student loan options, SoFi and Earnest are both solid places to start. But how do they stack up against each other?
Winner snapshot
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| Lowest rates |
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| Strongest reputation |
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| Widest lending limits |
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| Lowest fees |
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| Fastest turnaround | Tie | Tie |
An overview of SoFi and Earnest
SoFi and Earnest are two online lenders that aim to help alleviate the problem of overpaying in interest for your current student loans. On top of offering multiple loan products, SoFi could be great for young professionals with great credit looking for career support.
Earnest might be a better choice if you’re just starting out, since it has a unique way of assessing potential borrowers that goes beyond the standard credit check. It also could be a better choice for parents looking to refinance a loan into their child’s name.
Am I eligible for student loan refinancing with SoFi or Earnest?
To be eligible for student loan refinancing with SoFi or Earnest, you must:
- Have good to excellent credit.
- Be at least 18 years old and a US citizen.
- Have a minimum student loan balance of $5,000.
- Have an associate’s degree or higher.
- Be employed.
How are they different?
SoFi
Borrowing from SoFi is kind of like joining a club. SoFi gives existing members who qualify an extra 0.125% rate discount in addition to access to a long list of perks including career advice, forbearance, deferment and a startup funding program for member entrepreneurs.
If you do choose to apply with a cosigner, inform them that there isn’t a cosigner release option. Instead, you’ll need to refinance your loan again.
Earnest
Earnest has a unique Precision Pricing program that could be beneficial to someone with entry-level income or who is currently trying to building credit. You can extend your payments up to seven days, and you have the option of switching between fixed and variable rates once every six months after you’ve paid your bill on time for six months.
Unlike SoFi, Earnest doesn’t let you apply for a loan with a cosigner.
Which lender offers lower interest rates?
SoFi
SoFi offers student loans with variable rates starting at 2.14% and fixed rates starting at 3.48%.
Earnest
Earnest student loans have variable rates as low as 2.14%. For fixed rate loans, it offers a starting APR of 3.45%.
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Winner: Earnest
SoFi only beats out Earnest if you’re looking to refinance your loan for a set term of 10 years or more. If that’s not what you’re looking for, Earnest’s starting APR for variable-rate loans is the lower of the two. But remember, these are only the advertised starting rates and aren’t guaranteed. Every applicant has a different credit history, which makes it difficult to predict which lender will give you the best deal in your unique situation.
Which lender has fewer fees?
SoFi
SoFi doesn’t charge any origination or prepayment fees, but if you make a payment more than 15 days late, you will face a late fee.
Earnest
Earnest also won’t hit you with any origination or prepayment fees, and you won’t have to worry about paying a late fee if you miss a payment.
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Winner: Earnest
Earnest wins this category by not charging late fees. But if you’re thinking about possibly racking up late fees before you even apply for the loan, you may want to reconsider taking on the loan in the first place.
Must read: Perks both SoFi and Earnest offer to its borrowers
- Autopay discount.
- Cash bonus for each student loan you refer.
- Consolidation of federal and private loans.
- A rollover of your existing grace periods when refinancing.
- Refinancing of a Parent PLUS Loan into the student’s name — often at a lower rate.
- Up to six months of deferment, if eligible.
Which has a better reputation?
SoFi
SoFi’s 9.5 Trustpilot review as of December 2018 is nothing to sneeze at. Its program to assist with unemployment shows that it care about its customers. Members also seem to enjoy the handful of perks — SoFi events, mentor services and more.
Earnest
Earnest has around over 400 Trustpilot reviews as of December 2018, scoring it a decent 9.4 out of 10. Customers seem to find the application process simple and the customer service helpful. The Precision Pricing tool may give applicants with little credit history a better chance of approval, as the process is not as traditional as other lenders.
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Winner: SoFi
Although Earnest walks away with a slightly higher score, SoFi has nearly 2,000 reviews on Trustpilot. People not only trust its services, but rate it highly time and again. There’s a lot to be said for that when it comes to picky online reviewers.
How much can I borrow with each lender?
SoFi
Student loans from SoFi can be anywhere between $5,000 and the Full balance of your qualified education loans.
Earnest
Earnest student loan refinancing ranges from $5,000 up to $500,000.
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Winner: SoFi
While both lenders have a minimum of $5,000, SoFi has no limit to how much student loan debt you can refinance.
Which lender processes applications more quickly?
Both online lenders have quick, easy applications that can get you preapproved rates within minutes. If you decide to move forward with a full loan application after preapproval, both lenders will conduct a credit inquiry to give you the most accurate rates.
SoFi
If approved, SoFi will likely get you your money within seven to 10 days.
Earnest
If approved, Earnest will likely get you your money within 10 days.
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Winner: Tie
Depending on how quickly you can get you documents together, both lenders tend to move quickly.
Which is more cosigner-friendly?
SoFi
SoFi allows borrowers to apply with a cosigner, but only if they can qualify on their own. It also doesn’t offer cosigner release, meaning that you’d have to refinance if you want to take the cosigner off your loan.
Earnest
Earnest currently doesn’t allow borrowers to apply with a cosigner at all.
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Winner: SoFi
While SoFi isn’t the most cosigner-friendly lender out there, Earnest has no cosigner option as of December 2018.
Bottom line
In the end, it all comes down to what you want out of your lender. The difference in fees is marginal, and if you’re preapproved, the rates might be nearly identical. But what SoFi offers that Earnest doesn’t is a well-rounded social and professional networking space for its members. If neither lender feels like a fit, shop around for other student loan providers and see what seems like the best deal.
Be aware that if you refinance your federal loans with a private lender, you could lose some of the benefits, including longer deferment.
See how other top student loan providers compare
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Frequently asked questions
Disclaimer
SoFi student loan refinance
Fixed rates from 3.48% APR to 7.94% APR (with AutoPay). Variable rates from 2.14% APR to 7.71% APR (with AutoPay). Interest rates on variable rate loans are capped at either 8.95% or 9.95% depending on term of loan. See APR examples and terms. Lowest variable rate of 2.14% APR assumes current 1 month LIBOR rate of 2.14% minus 0.15% margin minus 0.25% ACH discount. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. If approved for a loan, the fixed or variable interest rate offered will depend on your creditworthiness, and the term of the loan and other factors, and will be within the ranges of rates listed above. For the SoFi variable rate loan, the 1-month LIBOR index will adjust monthly and the loan payment will be re-amortized and may change monthly. APRs for variable rate loans may increase after origination if the LIBOR index increases. See eligibility details. The SoFi 0.25% AutoPay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. *To check the rates and terms you qualify for, SoFi conducts a soft credit inquiry. Unlike hard credit inquiries, soft credit inquiries (or soft credit pulls) do not impact your credit score. Soft credit inquiries allow SoFi to show you what rates and terms SoFi can offer you up front. After seeing your rates, if you choose a product and continue your application, we will request your full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit inquiry. Hard credit inquiries (or hard credit pulls) are required for SoFi to be able to issue you a loan. In addition to requiring your explicit permission, these credit pulls may impact your credit score.
SoFi unemployment protection If you lose your job through no fault of your own, you may apply for Unemployment Protection. SoFi will suspend your monthly SoFi loan payments and provide job placement assistance during your forbearance period. Interest will continue to accrue and will be added to your principal balance at the end of each forbearance period, to the extent permitted by applicable law. Benefits are offered in three month increments, and capped at 12 months, in aggregate, over the life of the loan. To be eligible for this assistance you must provide proof that you have applied for and are eligible for unemployment compensation, and you must actively work with our Career Advisory Group to look for new employment. If the loan is co-signed the unemployment protection applies where both the borrower and cosigner lose their job and meet conditions.
All rates, terms, and figures are subject to change by the lender without notice. For the most up-to-date information, visit the lender's website directly.
Ask an Expert
Does Earnst forgive parent plus loans in the case of death
Hi Brian,
Thanks for your question. With Earnest, they usually have provision for “death discharge” in case the original borrower dies. Please note though that some private loans do not have that provision.
Cheers,
May