Best Personal Loan Lenders: How to Compare Them

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 17:02:00 +0000

If you’re comparing personal loans late at night, the numbers can blur together fast. Every lender shows a low “as low as” rate, and most of the real cost hides in two places: the top of the APR range and the origination fee taken out before the money reaches you.

So instead of picking a winner, we laid out what each lender publishes about itself, side by side, with the date we checked. That way you can see the shape of each offer before you check your own rate.

Terms and prices checked as of 2026-11-11.

How we picked

This list is based on published terms and regulator records, not product testing. We didn’t apply for loans. We started with well-known online and bank lenders that make unsecured personal loans to US consumers and kept those that, on their own websites:

Publish an APR range and loan amounts in their disclosures, so you can see the ceiling as well as the floor.
Disclose origination fees (or say plainly that there are none).
Offer prequalification with a soft credit pull, which lets you see estimated offers without a hard inquiry.
Explain state limits, such as states they don’t lend in or higher state minimums.

We also searched the CFPB’s enforcement actions database and FTC records for each company and note documented actions below. Lenders are listed alphabetically.

APRs change often. The ranges below are what each lender showed on the date above, and your own offer depends on your credit, income, loan amount and term. Treat them as a ceiling-and-floor check, not a quote.

Two names that changed

LightStream no longer takes applications. Its homepage says “We are no longer accepting applications,” and existing customers can still sign in to manage their loans. Its parent, Truist, said in its third-quarter 2026 earnings release that it signed an agreement on October 14, 2026, to sell $7.7 billion of unsecured consumer loans “representing substantially all assets of LightStream” to Carlyle. Our SoFi vs LightStream page covers what this means if you were weighing the two.

LendingClub officially became Happen Bank on June 22, 2026, according to the company’s announcement filed with the SEC. We couldn’t confirm Happen Bank’s current personal loan terms, so it isn’t in the comparison below. In July 2021, the FTC announced that LendingClub agreed to pay $18 million to settle charges that it deceived consumers about “hidden fees” deducted from loans and about whether applications were approved.

At a glance

Lender	Published APR range	Loan amounts	Terms	Origination fee	Watch out for
Achieve	6.25% to 35.99%	$5,000 to $50,000	2 to 5 years	1.99% to 9.99%	Discounts tied to direct creditor payment
Avant	9.95% to 35.99%	$2,000 to $35,000	24 to 60 months	“Administration fee” up to 9.99%	Fee is part of principal and accrues interest
Best Egg	6.99% to 35.99%	$2,000 to $50,000	We couldn’t confirm the full range	0.99% to 9.99%	At least 4.99% fee on terms of 4 years or longer
Discover	6.99% to 24.99%	$2,500 to $40,000	36 to 84 months	None	Can’t pay Capital One or Discover accounts directly
Happy Money	8.95% to 35.99%	$5,000 to $50,000	2 to 7 years	2% to 12%	Top fee is higher than most
Prosper	8.99% to 35.99%	$2,000 to $50,000	2 to 6 years	1% to 9.99%	Funding needs “sufficient investor commitments”
SoFi	We couldn’t confirm	Generally $5,000 to $100,000	Generally 2 to 7 years	Optional; range not confirmed	Current APR range not confirmed
Upgrade	7.74% to 35.99%	$1,000 to $50,000	24 to 84 months	1.85% to 9.99%	Lowest rates need autopay and direct payoff
Upstart	Up to 35.99%	$200 to $75,000	3 months to 5 years	We couldn’t confirm	Lender varies; fee unknown until offer

Every lender on this list says checking your rate uses a soft inquiry that doesn’t affect your credit score. A hard inquiry comes later, when you apply or accept a loan.

What the origination fee does to your money

Origination fees are usually taken out of the loan before you get it. That changes how much you need to borrow.

Say you need $10,000 to pay a medical bill, and you’re offered a loan with an 8% origination fee. If you borrow exactly $10,000, you receive $9,200. To end up with the full $10,000 in hand, you’d need to borrow about $10,870, and you’d pay interest on all of it.

The fee is already folded into the APR, which is why comparing APRs (not interest rates) gives a truer picture. Our explainer on origination fees walks through the math in more detail.

The lenders

Achieve

Achieve Personal Loans (it says it was formerly FreedomPlus) lends $5,000 to $50,000 on 2- to 5-year terms. Its page lists APRs of 6.25% to 35.99% and an origination fee of 1.99% to 9.99%, with no prepayment fees. It offers up to three rate discounts: a direct-pay discount when it sends loan funds straight to your creditors, a co-borrower discount, and a discount for showing sufficient retirement savings.

Fit factors: people consolidating card debt who are comfortable letting the lender pay creditors directly. Limits: the $5,000 minimum rules out small loans. Achieve’s page points to NMLS Consumer Access for licensing, and we couldn’t confirm a list of states where it doesn’t lend. Achieve is also the parent brand of Freedom Debt Relief, a separate debt settlement business; that company’s CFPB history is covered on our debt relief companies page.

Avant

Avant-branded loans are issued by WebBank. Avant’s disclosure lists $2,000 to $35,000, APRs of 9.95% to 35.99% and terms of 24 to 60 months, with an “administration fee” of up to 9.99%. The fine print says that fee “is deemed part of the loan principal and is subject to the accrual of interest,” so you pay interest on the fee itself. Minimum loan amounts vary by state.

In April 2019, the FTC announced that Avant, LLC agreed to pay $3.85 million to settle charges over its loan servicing, including unauthorized charges on customers’ bank accounts and misstated payoff amounts.

Fit factors: borrowers with fair credit who need a smaller loan. Limits: the APR floor is higher than most lenders here, and the maximum amount is lower.

Best Egg

Best Egg loans are made by Cross River Bank or Column N.A. Its page lists APRs of 6.99% to 35.99% for $2,000 to $50,000, with an origination fee of 0.99% to 9.99%. The fee is at least 4.99% on terms of four years or longer. State minimums are higher in Massachusetts ($6,500), Ohio ($5,001) and Georgia ($3,001). Best Egg says it isn’t available in Iowa, Nebraska, Vermont, West Virginia, the District of Columbia or US territories. It has a Direct Pay feature for consolidation.

Fit factors: people who want a shorter term and can qualify for the low end of the fee range. Limits: longer terms trigger a higher minimum fee, and several states are excluded.

Discover

Discover personal loans are now offered by “Discover, a division of Capital One, N.A.” The page lists $2,500 to $40,000, APRs of 6.99% to 24.99%, and terms of 36, 48, 60, 72 or 84 months, with “no fees of any kind.” Discover can send money straight to many creditors. One catch: a Discover loan “cannot be used to directly pay any Capital One account,” including Discover and Capital One cards.

Fit factors: borrowers who qualify for prime credit and want no origination fee and a lower APR ceiling than most online lenders. Limits: the 36-month minimum term, and the Capital One payoff restriction if your balance sits on a Discover or Capital One card.

Happy Money

Happy Money’s lending partners offer fixed APRs of 8.95% to 35.99% on $5,000 to $50,000, with terms of 2 to 7 years. Its rates and terms page lists an origination fee of 2% to 12%, and its disclosure notes that the minimum rate for loans over $15,000 is 11.09% APR (rates “accurate as of July 8, 2026”). Loans aren’t offered in Iowa. It markets its loan, the Payoff Loan, specifically for paying off credit cards.

Fit factors: people whose only goal is paying off cards. Limits: a 12% top fee is high, and on our date the rate disclosure itself was months old.

Prosper

Prosper loans are made by WebBank. Its disclosure lists APRs of 8.99% to 35.99%, terms of two to six years and an origination fee of 1% to 9.99%, for $2,000 to $50,000. Prosper says the average APR for 3-year loans funded from January 1 to March 31, 2026, was 24.19%. Funding “requires sufficient investor commitments.”

Fit factors: borrowers who want a mid-size loan and a published average APR to compare against. Limits: the average APR is a useful reality check: it sits far above the floor.

SoFi

SoFi’s latest annual report (filed February 17, 2026) says it offers fixed-rate personal loans, generally from $5,000 to $100,000 with terms generally from 2 to 7 years, and that borrowers “may optionally elect to pay origination fees to qualify for a lower annual percentage rate.” Its app listing says you can prequalify without affecting your credit score. We couldn’t confirm SoFi’s current APR range, origination fee range or rate discounts as of 2026-11-11; check its personal loan page for the live figures.

Fit factors: larger loans and borrowers with strong credit. Limits: the $5,000 typical minimum, and you’ll need to compare offers with and without the optional fee.

Upgrade

Upgrade, Inc. (NMLS #1548935) arranges loans through bank partners. Its disclosure lists APRs of 7.74% to 35.99%, terms of 24 to 84 months and an origination fee of 1.85% to 9.99%, for $1,000 to $50,000. The lowest rates require autopay and “paying off a portion of existing debt directly.” Upgrade’s own example: a $10,000 loan with a 5% fee leaves you $9,500 in hand. Funds sent directly to creditors “may take up to 2 weeks.”

Fit factors: smaller loans and consolidation with direct payoff. Limits: fees start near 2% even for strong credit.

Upstart

Upstart Network, Inc. (NMLS #936133) isn’t a lender; it runs a marketplace where loans are made by “regulated financial institutions.” Its annual report (filed February 10, 2026) says personal loans on its platform “typically range from $200 to $75,000 in size, at APRs up to 35.99%, with terms typically ranging from three months to five years,” and that the variables in its underwriting model include credit experience, employment and educational history. Its app listing says checking your rate has no impact on your credit score and lists higher state minimums in Georgia ($3,100), Hawaii ($1,500) and Massachusetts ($7,000). We couldn’t confirm its current APR floor or origination fee range.

Fit factors: people with limited credit history but steady income. Limits: the fee and lender aren’t known until you see an offer.

Your plan

Write down the number you need in hand. Then work out the loan amount after any origination fee.
Prequalify with two or three lenders that fit your amount and state. Soft pulls don’t affect your score.
Compare offers by APR and total cost, not by monthly payment. A longer term lowers the payment and raises the total.
Check the fine print for discounts you’d need to keep (autopay, direct deposit, direct payoff).
Look up the lender on NMLS Consumer Access and the CFPB’s complaint database before you sign.

If you’re still sorting out whether a loan is the right tool, our guides to how personal loans work and what lenders look at start from the basics.

Quick answers

Does checking my rate hurt my credit? Not at these lenders. Each says rate checks use a soft inquiry. The hard inquiry comes when you apply or accept; myFICO says one extra inquiry typically costs less than five points for most people.

Why is my offer higher than the advertised rate? The floor is reserved for the strongest applicants and often assumes discounts. Prosper’s published average for 3-year loans (24.19%) shows how far typical offers can sit from the minimum.

Is a lower monthly payment always better? No. Stretching a loan from three years to seven usually means paying more interest overall.

This page explains how these lenders’ published terms compare; it isn’t a recommendation to borrow from any of them, and your own numbers may point somewhere else.

Loan Comparison on QuikDraw