Compare 1 month loans

Looking to tide yourself over for a month with a short-term loan? We explore better alternatives and compare lenders.

Warning: Late repayment can cause you serious money problems. For help, go to moneyhelper.org.uk.

Please note: High-cost short-term credit is unsuitable for sustained borrowing over long periods and would be expensive as a means of longer-term borrowing.

We can’t always predict what’s around the corner, and sometimes unexpected costs can leave us short until payday. If you’ve found yourself in this kind of situation and need to borrow money, a short term loan might seem like a way to bridge the gap. But, while these loans are fast and convenient, they’re also extremely expensive.

On top of that, fewer and fewer lenders want to offer these loans, meaning there’s less choice and competition for consumers. There are a number of sensible alternatives however, and some of the older payday lenders have reinvented themselves and are still trying to serve the same sorts of customers with more innovative products.

Table: promoted deals, sorted by total payable
How much do you need to borrow?


How long do you need to borrow for?


1 - 5 of 5
Name Product UKFSL Available Amounts Monthly repayment Total payable Link
Drafty logo
£50 to £3,000
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View details
Representative Example: Assumed credit limit: £1200. Representative 96.2% APR (variable). Annual interest rate 69.4% (variable).
QuidMarket logo
£300 to £1,500
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View details
Representative example: Borrow £300 for 3 months - Interest payable £154.38 - Total amount payable: £454.38 in 3 instalments - 3 payments of £151.46 - Representative 1303.10% APR - Interest rate 292% per annum (fixed). Repayment periods are 3 months to 6 months, Additional options may be available to you as a repeat customer. Total Maximum APR 1625.60%
The Money Platform logo
£100 to £1,000
Check eligibility
View details
Representative Example: If you borrow £500 over 6 weeks at a Representative rate of 497% APR and an annual interest rate of 23.1% (fixed), you would pay 1 payment of £615.50. The total charge for credit will be £115.50 and the total amount payable will be £615.50.
Moneyboat logo
£200 to £1,500
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View details
Representative Example: Borrow £400 for 4 months: 3 monthly repayments of £156.09 followed by a final repayment of £156.07. Total repayment £624.34. Interest rate p.a. (fixed) 288.35%. Representative APR 1,267.9%.
Lending Stream logo
£50 to £1,500
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View details
Representative example: Borrow £200 for 6 months at a rate of 292% p.a. (fixed). Representative 1,333% APR and total payable £386.61 in 6 monthly payments of £64.44.
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Please note: You should always refer to your loan agreement for exact repayment amounts as they may vary from our results.

We compare payday/short term loans from

Drafty Line of Credit
QuidMarket Short Term Loan
The Money Platform Short Term Loan
Moneyboat Short Term Loan
Lending Stream Instalment Loan

How do 1 month loans work?

A small number of specialist lenders (such as those listed above) offer fast, easy but very expensive loans online. Companies like Wonga, with fairly relaxed eligibility criteria but horribly interest rates made their names offering this service to people who might struggle to get credit elsewhere.

The loans involve relatively small sums – from as little as £50 up to around £500 – but if it’s your first time using a new lender, then it’s likely to want to start small.

Applying for and receiving your loan can take as little as a few minutes – it’s scarily convenient. When you apply or a one month loan, the lender will run affordability and credit checks to make a decision on whether or not to formally offer you the loan. The lenders aren’t expecting perfect credit histories by any means – but they must be careful to only lend responsibly. In other words, they’ll need to be sure that your regular income and outgoings would make the repayment manageable. You may find that the lender is willing to lend to you, but is only willing to lend a smaller sum than you’d initially hoped for.

In most cases, you’ll make a single repayment at the end of the month – on or just after your payday, using something called a “continuous payment authority” (in other words you won’t need to log-in and make a payment – the funds will be automatically transferred from your account on a pre-agreed date). You’ll pay back the original sum you borrowed, plus a hefty chunk of interest on top.

Ok, so how expensive is “expensive”?

High cost short term credit is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which states that borrowers should never be charged more than 0.8% interest each day. Unfortunately, most lenders have opted to set their rates right on, or fractionally under, this limit.

That means that if you were to borrow £100 for 30 days, then provided you used a legitimate, authorised lender and you paid the loan back on time, you would pay a maximum of £24 in interest. £200 borrowed over 30 days would cost a maximum of £48 in interest, and so on.

Most lenders will allow you to repay a short-term loan early. So if you’re set on this type of loan, you may also wish to compare lenders with terms starting at, say 3 months, but who state you can repay early without penalty and save on interest. Only consider this option if you’re confident you’ve got the control not to let the loan drag on longer than the 1 month.

You can use the one month loan calculator above to get estimates of the overall cost.

Am I eligible?

Most lenders in this space aren’t looking for flawless credit records, but you will need to meet the following criteria:

  • You’ll need to be 18 or over.
  • You’ll need to be a UK resident.
  • You’ll need to have a UK bank account with a debit card
  • You’ll need to have an email address and a mobile.
  • You’ll need to be able to afford the loan – so you’ll need a verifiable source of regular income.

What are the pros and cons of 1 month loans?

Pros

  • They’re fast.
    As well as generally giving quick decisions on your loan, providers are often able to transfer funds the same day, some in just a few minutes.
  • They’re easier to get approved for.
    It is often easier to get approved for a small short term loan from a specialist lender than a larger and longer traditional personal loan, or a credit card, from a bank.

Cons

  • They’re really, really expensive. One month payday/short term loans typically have very high interest rates compared to other forms of credit. If you can repay earlier than planned, you can usually reduce the amount you pay in interest.
  • There are some predatory lenders out there. You can check if the lender you’re considering is authorised and regulated by the FCA by searching its register. Even the legit lenders can be predatory however – it’s in their interests to keep customers coming back for more.
  • There are fewer and fewer lenders operating in this space. The Wonga days are gone. With more and more lenders collapsing under the weight of compensation claims, it’s a less unappealing market to operate in. That means less range for consumers.

Do I have alternative options?

You more than likely do. In fact we’ve written an article looking at payday loan alternatives.

First off, you should only use high-cost short-term credit as a last resort – don’t take out a payday loan if it’s not for a truly essential expense.

Borrowing from friends or family can be awkward but it’s invariably a cheaper option.

If the expense is big, one-off bill, then you might also be able to come to an arrangement with the company billing you – it’s often worth a quick call to the customer service department to see if a payment plan would be an option.

An authorised overdraft will usually work out cheaper – so you could contact your bank and ask them for this facility (or if you already have the facility, you could ask for a limit increase). You do have to be careful with overdrafts however – they often involve fairly high interest rates and because there’s no deadline involved, if you end up paying off your borrowing over several months, the costs could soon spiral.

Check out our full list of alternatives or visit the MoneyHelper to learn more.

Bottom line

1 month loans best avoided. If you’re hit with some unexpected costs, look to those alternatives first, and better still, where possible, defer the expense altogether. Though these loans are fast and convenient, they come with very high interest rates.

Frequently asked questions

We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
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Head of publishing

Chris Lilly is Head of publishing at finder.com. He's a specialist in personal finance, from day-to-day banking to investing to borrowing, and is passionate about helping UK consumers make informed decisions about their money. In his spare time Chris likes forcing his kids to exercise more. See full bio

Chris's expertise
Chris has written 602 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Loans & credit cards
  • Building credit
  • Financial health

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