You can get just about anything online, including loans to buy a house, pay off high-interest debt, go to school or start a business. Some online loans can be approved in less time than it takes to drive to a bank branch.
As with any other financial product, you will want to work with a reputable company and make sure your loan is a good fit for you.
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Lender |
Learn More |
APR |
Max. Loan Amount |
Min. Credit Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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6.24% to 10.24% | $50,000 | Not disclosed | |
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6.74% to 17.99% | $50,000 | 650 | |
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5.99% to 24.99% | $35,000 | 660 | |
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3.99% to 19.99% | $100,000 | 670 | |
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6.99% to 22.23% | $100,000 | Not disclosed | |
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6.99% to 19.99% | $40,000 | 660 | |
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Not disclosed | $50,000 | Not disclosed | |
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5.99% to 24.99% | $40,000 | 600 | |
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5.99% to 35.99% | $50,000 | 640 | |
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6.99% to 19.49% | $50,000 | 660 |
U.S. News selects the Best Loan Companies by evaluating affordability, borrower eligibility criteria and customer service. Those with the highest overall scores are considered the best lenders.
To calculate each score, we use data about the lender and its loan offerings, giving greater weight to factors that matter most to borrowers. Personal loan companies are evaluated based on customer service ratings, interest rates, maximum loan term, minimum and maximum loan amounts, minimum FICO score, online features, and origination fees.
The weight each scoring factor receives is based on a nationwide survey on what borrowers look for in a lender.
To receive a rating, lenders must offer qualifying loans nationwide and have a good reputation within the industry. Read more about our methodology.
If you need money fast, Alliant Credit Union typically makes same-day online personal loans between $1,000 and $50,000. The $14 billion Chicago-based credit union, founded in 1935, is one of the biggest in the nation, with 600,000 members. In addition to personal loans, Alliant offers home and auto loans, credit cards, checking and savings accounts, individual retirement accounts, trust accounts, and insurance policies.
Although PenFed Credit Union – officially Pentagon Federal Credit Union – serves members of the armed forces, military associations, veterans and retirees, and their families, a military connection is not required to become a member. The credit union offers personal loans for eligible members and eligible co-borrowers in all 50 states, as well as in Guam, Puerto Rico and Okinawa, Japan.
Discover is a digital bank and payment services company known for its credit cards. But Discover also offers other products, including fixed-rate personal loans of up to $35,000 to borrowers nationwide. The lender charges no fees as long as you pay on time.
LightStream is the online consumer lending division of Truist, which formed in 2019 from the merger of BB&T and SunTrust. SunTrust acquired the assets of online lender FirstAgain in 2012 and relaunched the business as LightStream. LightStream’s online personal loans range from $5,000 to $100,000 and can be used for nearly any reason. Personal loans are available to borrowers nationwide with good to excellent credit.
SoFi, short for Social Finance, offers personal loans of up to $100,000 to borrowers with very good to excellent credit. The nationwide lender was founded in 2011 and is known for offering loans with no fees. In addition to personal loans, SoFi offers student loans, auto and student loan refinancing, home loans, and small-business financing.
Marcus is the consumer bank and lending arm of investment bank Goldman Sachs. Established in 2016, the lender offers personal loans of up to $40,000.
Upstart is a lending platform that uses artificial intelligence to improve access to affordable credit. Based in California and founded by former Google employees in 2012, Upstart also applies AI to reduce lending risks and costs for its bank partners. The lending intermediary provides unsecured personal loans from $1,000 to $50,000 to borrowers anywhere in the U.S. except West Virginia or Iowa.
Happy Money offers Payoff personal loans designed to consolidate credit card debt. It operates in all but two states and provides loans of up to $40,000. Happy Money is not a bank and instead works with lending partners that originate the loans. The California-based financial wellness company takes a psychological approach to money matters.
Best Egg is an online lender founded in 2014 that financial technology company Marlette Holdings Inc. owns and operates. Best Egg offers personal loans starting at $2,000 that can be used to cover medical bills, home remodeling and a variety of other expenses. Cross River Bank in New Jersey issues Best Egg loans, which can be funded in as little as one business day.
U.S. Bank has physical locations in more than 25 states and offers both short- and long-term personal loans with fixed annual percentage rates. Current customers may qualify to borrow up to $50,000 with a credit score of 660 or above, and options are available for noncustomers willing to open a checking or savings account.
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Homefinity launched in 2018 as the online lending division of Fairway Independent Mortgage. It offers a variety of mortgage products, including conventional mortgages, Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs mortgages, and mortgage refinancing.
Caliber Home Loans of Coppell, Texas, offers mortgage products nationwide. Options include conventional, adjustable-rate, jumbo, refinancing, Federal Housing Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Veterans Affairs loans. Caliber has been in business since 2008, and is solely focused on home lending products.
Carrington Mortgage Services, founded in 2007, offers an array of mortgage and refinancing options to borrowers seeking conventional or government-backed loans. Its California-based parent company, Carrington Holding Co., was established in 2003 and provides a range of real estate services. Carrington Mortgage Services is based in California and also has offices in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana and Maryland.
Pentagon Federal Credit Union, widely known as PenFed, offers borrowers access to many types of mortgages: conventional, adjustable rate, jumbo and Department of Veterans Affairs, plus refinancing loans and home equity lines of credit. The financial institution, which serves 2.5 million members, was established in 1935 and is based in McLean, Virginia.
North American Savings Bank, or NASB, is a Missouri-based bank and lender founded in 1927 that offers home mortgages nationally. NASB provides a variety of mortgage options, including conventional, Federal Housing Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs loans, and products for borrowers who might otherwise have trouble getting a mortgage.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Truist Bank was formed in 2019 after SunTrust and BB&T banks merged. Truist Bank offers a variety of mortgage products, including refinancing and home equity lines of credit.
Chase, one of the world’s largest banks, was founded in 1799 in New York and offers mortgage and refinance loans.
AmeriSave Mortgage Corp. is an online lender that has been in business since 2002. It was one of the first to offer an offsite, digital mortgage experience for customers. The company says it has financed more than 664,000 borrowers since it began operating. With headquarters in Atlanta, AmeriSave services loans in 49 states and Washington, D.C.
Simmons Bank was founded in Arkansas in 1903 and can now be found across six states. It offers mortgage products such as conventional and jumbo loans, federal-government-backed loans and state-approved down payment assistance programs.
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Find the Best Student Loan Refinance Lenders
Earnest is an online lender offering private student loans to college and graduate students, as well as student loan refinancing. The company was founded in 2013. Borrowers can choose their own loan terms to fund up to the full cost of their education.
College Ave exclusively offers student loans. Founded in 2014 and based in Wilmington, Delaware, College Ave offers undergraduate, graduate and parent loans for students enrolled at schools affiliated with College Ave in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. College Ave’s advantage is speed, with applications that take a few minutes to complete and instant decisions.
Sallie Mae is a publicly traded consumer bank that offers private student loans to pay for undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees, among other educational needs. Congress started Sallie Mae in 1972 as a government-sponsored entity that serviced student loans. The lender went private in 2004 and today provides a range of student loan products. Additionally, Sallie Mae Bank offers savings products and other tools to help families plan and pay for college, including a credit card that earns bonus cash back to help you pay off any student loan.
SoFi is an online lender founded by Stanford business school students in 2011. Originally focused on student loan refinancing, the San Francisco-based company added private student loans in 2019. Choose from undergraduate, graduate, law or MBA, health profession, or parent loans with no fees.
Ascent Funding is an online lender offering undergraduate and graduate student loans for those with or without a co-signer at more than 2,200 eligible schools nationwide. Students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents or those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status – aka “Dreamers” – may apply for an Ascent loan. Ascent Funding was founded in 2015 and is based in San Diego.
LendKey’s digital platform connects borrowers who need private student loans or refinancing loans with credit unions and community banks. Since 2009, LendKey has helped more than 135,000 people by funding $5 billion in loans. The company offers fixed- and variable-rate loans for undergraduate and graduate students.
Citizens Bank was founded in the late 1800s in Rhode Island. Today, it’s one of the largest commercial banks in the U.S. Branches are concentrated in the New England, mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions.
PNC offers student loans in all 50 states for students at all stages of postsecondary education, including professional training loans and refinancing. The bank is also engaged in a number of community efforts, including financial literacy programs and PNC Grow Up Great, which supports early childhood education. For eligible undergraduate students, PNC offers opportunities to win $2,000 scholarships toward education expenses.
Founded in 2014, Purefy is a student loan refinance rate comparison site, and it also originates refinanced student and parent loans via a partnership with Pentagon Federal Credit Union. As a rate comparison tool, Purefy shares interest rates and terms from lending partners, including Earnest, ISL Education Lending and College Ave. This lender review will focus on the loan refinancing options Purefy and PenFed offer together.
Methodology: U.S. News selected national small-business loan companies for this guide based on consumer ratings and availability of products.
Established in 2013, BlueVine has delivered more than $9 billion in financing to more than 200,000 customers. The entrepreneurial lender focuses on small businesses, offering business lines of credit up to $250,000 and invoice factoring with credit lines up to $5 million. BlueVine also offers an online vendor and bill payments program and business checking account. The lender serves borrowers across the country and has three brick-and-mortar locations in Redwood City, California; Gretna, Louisiana; and Jersey City, New Jersey.
Best for loan options
Biz2Credit was founded in 2007 as a platform to match small businesses with funding based on their needs by connecting borrowers with lenders that offer a range of loan and credit options. The platform has arranged more than $3 billion in small business financing for thousands of U.S. companies.
Best for large loan amounts
Established in 2013, Fundbox has served more than 70,000 small businesses with loans backed by investor partners. Borrowers can obtain revolving lines of credit of up to $100,000.
Best for fixed monthly payments
Funding Circle is an online business-lending platform that connects small-business borrowers with investors. The platform has linked 62,000 businesses worldwide with $8.6 billion in funding.
Best for short loan terms
OnDeck is an online small-business lender offering term loans and lines of credit. The company, founded in 2006, uses data analytics and digital technology to assess the creditworthiness of small businesses. It has served more than 114,000 small businesses with more than $13 billion in loans, the company says.
Best for product availability
Rapid Finance is an online financial services company that provides small business loans, lines of credit, merchant cash advances and other loan products. Rapid Finance’s small business loans can range from $5,000 to $1 million, and you can get funds to your business bank account within hours of your application and approval.
Online loans allow you to complete the entire borrowing process, from comparing rates to applying for financing and receiving funds, with a computer or mobile device. Typically, you can obtain your loan and manage your account without setting foot in a brick-and-mortar bank branch.
Some online lenders offer multiple choices for customer service. They provide support not only in person but also by phone, email and chat.
More borrowers are taking out online loans, according to Yasmin Farahi, policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy group. She says this makes sense: “So much of what consumers are doing is online these days, so in that way, (the growth) is not surprising.”
As you comparison shop, look at these factors to choose the right online loan for your financial situation:
- APR range. Whenever you can, prequalify to check your odds of approval and to receive an estimated APR, monthly payment and loan amount. Then you can compare prequalified offers before you apply, which will trigger a hard credit inquiry that could cause a temporary dip in your credit score. Your loan’s APR should not exceed 36%, which is considered predatory.
- Loan amount. Check the lender’s minimum and maximum loan amounts, but keep in mind that how much you can borrow will depend on your creditworthiness. Borrow only what you need – not too much or too little – and can afford to repay. Many lenders have online payment calculators to help you determine the monthly cost of different loan amounts.
- Repayment period. How much time you have to repay a loan, or the loan term, varies based on your lender, your creditworthiness and your loan type. Choose an online lender with the shortest repayment terms you can afford, which pays off the loan quickly and lets less interest accrue.
- Speed of funding. If you need money quickly, compare lenders based on their standard funding speed. Some may offer same-day or next-day funding, and others take several business days to process your loan.
- Application process. How involved is the application? Does it require phone calls or visits to a branch? Make sure you meet the lender’s minimum requirements before you apply.
- Lender reputation. Check ratings and reviews from the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot, and ask family members and friends about lenders. You can get feedback about approval, customer service and rates.
- Online loan features. An online loan may come with flexible payment dates as well as options to add a co-signer or co-borrower, to pay off the balance or pay ahead without penalty, and to refinance.
One main benefit of online loans compared with traditional loans is speed. You can obtain online loans fast because application, approval and review happen quickly.
Some online lenders say they can approve your online loan application in five minutes or less. You might be able to get funds as soon as the next business day or even the same day in some cases.
- Convenience. You can complete the entire loan process from your computer or, often, your phone. Application, approval and funding times are faster than traditional lenders.
- Prequalification. Many online lenders allow you to prequalify with a soft credit inquiry that does not hurt your credit score and estimates your interest rates. Prequalification can help you comparison shop for the best loan offers without damaging your credit.
- Quick comparison shopping. Online loan comparison services or websites can show you loan options and APRs based on your financial situation to help you find the right loan.
- Flexible approval criteria. An online lender could be a good option when you need a loan but are new to credit or have a low score. Some lenders look at not only your credit score and credit report but also your bank transactions to understand your financial behavior. They may consider your education or occupation or use alternative credit data, such as rent and utility payments, which credit reports typically don’t include.
- No in-person service. If you want to be able to speak with someone face to face, you may not have that option.
- May get better offers elsewhere. If you have good or excellent credit, your bank could offer a lower rate than online lenders because of your relationship. Credit unions may offer good rates on loans if you have less-than-perfect credit. Compare rates from online lenders and traditional financial institutions before you borrow to make sure you’re getting the best deal.
- Loan minimums. If you need a small loan of $1,000 or less, you might struggle to find it at a good rate. A credit union could be a better choice.
Many types of lenders let you borrow money online: traditional banks, credit unions and financial technology, or fintech, companies. The latter issues almost half of all unsecured personal loans, according to the most recent data from the credit bureau Experian.
Some of the largest online loan companies for personal loans include SoFi, LightStream, Prosper and Upstart. Like traditional lenders, they require a hard credit check and have minimum annual income and other eligibility criteria, such as good to excellent credit.
Online lenders use automated underwriting for quick and easy loan approval. Chances are you won’t have to visit a bank branch or make a phone call to get a loan.
Follow these steps when choosing an online loan:
Decide how much you need, and budget for monthly payments. First, can the lender give you the minimum loan amount you require to achieve your goals, such as consolidating high-interest debt. If so, determine what you can reasonably afford to pay on the loan each month.
Compare online loan companies. Read full reviews of online lenders at U.S. News to find out what to expect if you’re thinking of borrowing. Make sure you consider lender ratings from the Better Business Bureau, and search for negative reports in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Consumer Complaint Database.
Prequalify for loan offers. Prequalifying is a no-risk way to understand the rates you can afford because it does not affect credit scores.
Review costs. Compare rates, terms, loan amounts and other factors to find the best online loan for your needs. The online lender should disclose loan costs, including interest charges and origination and late fees. Make sure loan terms, such as amount, interest rate, finance charge, payoff amount and fees, are clear. Your APR can give you a complete picture of your loan costs because it reflects loan fees plus interest.
Most online loans are safe, but scams – and bad deals – can be pitfalls of online loans. Here are signs that you’re dealing with a predatory online lender:
- The offer seems too good to be true.
- Loan costs aren’t clear, or information is limited.
- The lender imposes high interest rates or fees well above average.
- No credit check is required.
- Payments aren’t reported to credit bureaus.
Look for online lenders that work with bad-credit borrowers. You can also try online lending networks that connect borrowers with lenders specializing in bad credit.
Online loan lenders fall into two camps: companies that rely on credit checks before they approve your loan and no-credit-check lenders. A no-credit-check loan is risky for the lender because your credit history is unknown, and that means paying high interest rates.
A consumer will pay much higher interest rates for not going through a credit check, says Pete Klipa, director of loan servicing for Boston’s Stride Funding, an education funding startup. “As much as the consolidation loans have been growing, the payday lenders have also been growing,” Klipa says.
If an offer seems too good to be true, such as fast funding with no minimum credit score, it probably is.
Getting a no-credit-check loan online is rarely a good choice because the cost of borrowing can quickly become overwhelming. Maybe your loan is a few thousand dollars, but you have to pay it off in several weeks or months and struggle to make the payments.
Plenty of online lenders accept borrowers with bad credit and may look at not only credit history but income and employment to approve your loan. Don’t limit yourself to no-credit-check lenders.
If you’re not certain that you want an online loan, you can explore these alternatives:
- Loan from a family member or friend. Make sure the terms of the loan are clear to avoid relationship problems.
- 0% introductory APR credit card. Pay off the amount you charge before the rate expires.
- Loan with a co-signer who has good credit. The co-signer assumes liability for the payments. You have to hold up your end of the bargain to pay your portion of the balance.
- Credit union or community bank loan. You could find more flexible credit requirements.
- Payday alternative loan. Some federal credit unions offer these small, short-term loans.
Advertising Disclosure: Some of the loan offers on this site are from companies
who are advertising clients of U.S. News. Advertising considerations may impact
where offers appear on the site but do not affect any editorial decisions,
such as which loan products we write about and how we evaluate them. This site
does not include all loan companies or all loan offers available in the marketplace.