Three things decide the deal: the APR, the origination fee, and whether you can actually get it. Prequalify with several lenders in a few minutes. It is a soft credit check, so it costs your score nothing, and you see the rate and amount you would really be offered before you apply to anyone.
Our pick is SoFi Personal Loan, from 6.99% APR on loans of $5,000 to $100,000.
The rule: ordered by lowest APR range. No lender can pay to move up.
How we rankSoFi
Best for: large amounts and long terms
Costs about a point more than Earnest at the low end, and is the only one here that will lend $100,000 or stretch to seven years.
Set the amount, how long you want to take, and roughly where your credit sits.
Worked out in your browser. Nothing you type here is sent to us or to any lender. Cheapest total interest first. The rate shown is where your credit band tends to fall inside each lender's published range, not an offer: only a lender can quote you. The fee is taken out of the money that reaches you, so ask for what you need plus the fee.
Ranked on the APR a lender can likely approve you for including fees
Not just the interest rate. APR rolls the interest rate and most fees into one annual cost, which is what makes two offers comparable.
Usually taken out of the money you receive, so ask for what you need plus the fee, or you end up short.
A market-leading rate is worth nothing if the lender declines you, and criteria vary enough that two lenders can read one application and disagree.
It rolls the interest rate and most lender fees into one annualized cost. That is what makes two offers comparable apples-to-apples, and it is the figure to read before any other.
Your goal: the lowest APR you can get on a loan with a monthly payment you can comfortably afford.
That second half matters, because APR and payment size pull in opposite directions.
Lenders price shorter terms more cheaply because they're taking on less risk. So a 36-month loan will usually carry a lower APR than the same loan stretched over 60 months, but the monthly payment will be noticeably bigger.
How to use that: pick the shortest term whose payment you can absorb without stress. Stretching the term to make the payment easier is a legitimate choice, but understand you're paying for that breathing room in both a higher rate and a longer payoff.
We rank offers primarily on the APR range a lender actually delivers to borrowers, not on the teaser "rates as low as" figure, which typically goes to a small slice of applicants with excellent credit.
Worked example
A lender prices a longer term higher, and you pay that higher rate for longer. Pick the shortest term whose payment you can absorb without stress.
An origination fee is usually deducted from your loan proceeds rather than billed separately, so less money reaches your account than you agreed to borrow and repay.
Some lenders charge one. Some don't. When they do, it commonly runs anywhere from 1% to 8% of the loan amount.
Worked example. You take a $10,000 loan with an 8% origination fee:
If you needed $10,000 to clear a balance or cover a purchase, you're $800 short. To actually net $10,000 you'd need to borrow roughly $10,870, and then you're paying interest on that larger figure too.
In principle the fee is already baked into the APR, which is exactly why APR beats the interest rate alone as a comparison tool. A loan with a low interest rate and a fat origination fee can easily cost more than a fee-free loan with a slightly higher interest rate. Still, check the fee separately, not to double-count it, but so you request the right loan amount and aren't surprised by the deposit.
Put in what you need and the lender's origination fee.
Ask the lender for $15,789
The fee takes $789
And you receive $15,000
Worked out in your browser. Nothing you type here is sent to us or to any lender. The fee is deducted from what the lender sends, so asking for what you need leaves you short by the fee. Interest is charged on the larger figure, which is why the fee shows up in the APR as well.
A market-leading APR is worthless if the lender declines you. Criteria vary considerably, so two lenders can read identical applications and reach opposite conclusions.
Most lenders look at some combination of:
You should be able to see your real rate and approval odds without a hard credit inquiry. Most reputable lenders offer prequalification: you submit basic information, they run a soft credit pull that doesn't affect your score, and they return the rate, term, and amount you'd likely qualify for. Only when you accept and move to a formal application does a hard inquiry hit your report. When you check rates with us, you’re being prequalified from multiple lenders at once so you can compare rates in one place.
This lets you shop several lenders, compare genuine offers side by side, and apply only where you're likely to be approved on good terms.
Some lenders don't offer prequalification and require a hard pull just to show you a number. That's a real cost, hard inquiries impact your credit score and stay on your report, so we flag those lenders explicitly. A lender that won't tell you your rate without a hard inquiry should have to earn that with a materially better offer.
Prequalifying is a soft pull, so there is no cost to finding out. Check your rate →
These matter when two offers are otherwise comparable. They should never override APR, getting the loan amount you need, and approval certainty.
Good support is genuinely valuable when something goes sideways, a payment date needs to move, a hardship comes up, or a statement is wrong. But if you've chosen a payment you can afford, the realistic outcome is that you set up autopay and never need to call anyone.
Trading a meaningfully better interest rate for better service is almost never the right decision.
Some lenders offer perks worth having:
Before you accept any personal loan offer, confirm:
Decide how much you need, prequalify with several lenders, pick the lowest APR at a monthly payment you can afford, then finish the application on that lender's website.
Lenders approve you when they're confident of two things: that you will pay the loan back, and that you can afford to. They judge both from your credit report and your income.
What lenders check
What can hurt your chances
Applying now? There's usually not much you can do to move these numbers quickly. Prequalifying with several lenders on The Actual Best shows which ones are likely to approve you, without affecting your credit score.
Applying later? Use the time to improve your credit: make every payment on time, pay down credit card balances, bring any past-due bills current, and reduce your overall debt as much as you can.
A personal loan gives you a lump sum up front, which you pay back with interest in a fixed monthly payment over a set term you choose when you accept the loan.
At least three, or better yet, check your rate with many at once. Each is a soft pull that costs your score nothing, and rate offers for the same borrower vary by several percentage points. Apply formally only to the one you intend to take.
A few minutes. You give income, employment and roughly what you want to borrow, and lenders return a rate, term and amount you would likely qualify for.
No. It is an offer based on what you told them and a soft pull. The formal application verifies it, and the final rate can differ if what you reported does not match your file.
No. A loan with no origination fee but a higher interest rate can cost more than one with a fee and a lower rate. That is what APR is for: it accounts for both.
Minimum scores can be as low as 580 to 620, but the best rates go to are usually only offered to scores of 720+. Below that, a co-signer or a secured loan is usually the cheaper route than accepting a rate in the thirties (or higher for payday loans).
Same day to about a week. Funding speed is worth something when you are covering an emergency and worth very little otherwise, so do not pay a higher rate for it.
Almost always, and there should be no penalty for it. If a lender charges one, that is a reason to take a different offer.
Prequalifying does not: those are soft pulls. Formal applications are hard pulls, though scoring models treat several for the same purpose within a short window as one shopping event.
Page updated September 8, 2026
The one to beat
#1
Lowest rateSoFi
Best for large amounts and long terms
Figures checked
Costs about a point more than Earnest at the low end, and is the only one here that will lend $100,000 or stretch to seven years.
We may earn a commission when you take a loan through a link here, and it never moves a position.
This page explains general evaluation criteria. It is not personalized financial advice, and it does not know your circumstances.
Rates, fees and approval requirements vary by lender and by applicant. Confirm every term directly with the lender before accepting a loan.