This Year’s Best Personal Loans

Whether you’re looking to finance a home improvement project, go on your dream vacation, consolidate debt or take care of an unexpected expense, your search for the best personal loan ends here.

We’ve put together a list of trusted lenders offering the most compelling rates on personal loans this year. Compare to figure out which one is right for you:

So Fi (the Best Overall)

SoFi personal loans offer borrowers both attractive interest rates and attractive benefits, like the option to temporarily pause payments should you lose your job.

You can borrow: $5,000 to $100,000

APR range: 5.99% to 20.69% (with AutoPay discount)

Pros: 

– Low-interest rates and high loan amounts are available to well-qualified borrowers 

Cons: 

– Funding takes a few days, and borrowers with excellent credit may find better rates with other lenders

Marcus by Goldman Sachs (the Best for Debt Consolidation)

You can borrow: $3,500 to $40,000

APR range: 6.99% to 19.99%

Marcus offers personal loans at low-interest rates (as low as 6.99%) to borrowers with excellent credit, with long repayment terms (up to 72 months). This makes these loans ideal for those looking to consolidate their expensive credit card debt and save money. 

Pros

– No fees (including late fees) are charged, and you can customize your payment due date.

Cons

– No cosigners are allowed

Light Stream (the Best for Good Credit)

You can borrow: $5,000 to $100,000

APR range: 3.99% to 16.99%* (with AutoPay discount)

Unsecured rates as low as 3.99% (depending on the loan purpose) and high maximum loan amounts are what make LightStream the perfect choice for applicants with good credit ratings.

Pros: 

– Rate Beat Program that claims to beat competitors’ rates by at least 0.10 percentage points (restrictions apply)

– Offers unhappy borrowers (who have had their loan for less than 30 days) $100 back 

Cons: 

– Hard credit inquiry on Experian & Equifax credit reports 

– Online applications only

Upstart (the Best for Fair Credit)

You can borrow: $1,000 to $50,000

APR range: 8.27% to 35.99% (depending on alternative data considered)

Upstart is an online lending platform that uses AI to consider alternative data (savings, job history, education, etc.) in its applications. This gives borrowers with less-than-perfect credit scores a chance to qualify for a better rate. 

Pros: 

– No prepayment penalty charged when you pay your loan off early

Cons: 

– Loan origination fees can go as high as 8%

– Online applications only

Avant (the Best for Bad Credit)

You can borrow: $2,000 to $35,000

APR range: 9.95% to 35.99%

While interest rates offered by Avant aren’t exactly low, they’re considerably lower than starting rates of many alternative personal loans for bad credit.

Pros: 

– Soft credit pulls & quick access to funds (as soon as the next business day)

Cons: 

– The maximum loan amount you can borrow is low compared

– An administrative fee may be charged