Best personal loans for fair credit of October 2024

Upstart often has one of the lowest minimum APRs available, making it a solid choice for borrowers with good credit or better. Applicants with poor, fair, or little to no credit may also be considered, as Upstart has no minimum credit score requirement (if you apply on the lender's website) and may accept applicants without scores. This lender offers loans between $1,000 and $50,000 with either three- or five-year repayment terms. Upstart may be ideal for you if you have good credit and can qualify for a low APR, or if you have bad credit and need a lender to look beyond your score.

In terms of its drawbacks, Upstart charges origination fees up to 12% on some personal loans. It also has a maximum APR of 35.99%, which is around the highest rate you'll find with a reputable lender, with no discounts available. Upstart also has fewer repayment term options than most lenders.

Discover Personal Loans offer amounts up to $40,000 with fixed APRs starting at 7.99%. Repayment terms can be from 3 to 7 years and there are no additional fees, as long as you pay on time. The company lends to borrowers nationwide and funds may be available as soon as the next business day after approval. 

Discover doesn’t allow cosigners and you’ll need a FICO credit score of 660 or higher to qualify. 

Best Egg ranked second in J.D. Power's Consumer Lending Satisfaction Study, so it should come as no surprise that it’s one of our best picks for a wide range of borrowers. In addition to having relatively low rates and discounts, Best Egg provides loans from $2,000 to $50,000 and may consider applicants with credit scores of at least 600. Terms range from two to five years. 

This lender stands out for offering better approval odds for prequalified applicants than many other lenders, according to Credible data. Specifically, prequalified applicants were more than twice as likely to be approved for final loans. Best Egg’s origination fees can reach 9.99%.

Prosper operates in the peer-to-peer lending space and helps connect borrowers with individual investors for some loans. The company's APRs start at 8.99% and origination fees range between 1% and 9.99%. With Prosper, you may be able to receive a loan between $2,000 and $50,000 with a repayment term up to 5 years.

Funding with Prosper is quick and you may receive your funds as soon as one business day after approval. The company allows co-borrowers and cosigners, and general requirements include having a FICO credit score of 600 or higher.

LendingClub provides personal loans up to $40,000 with repayment terms between two to five years. The company is a strong choice for borrowers with good credit who don’t need funds fast, as LendingClub does not specify funding times on its site. 

You can prequalify directly with LendingClub without having to provide your Social Security number, though you will need to provide it if you formally apply. Origination fees may be charged and range from 3% to 8%. LendingClub doesn’t offer discounts for autopay or direct pay. 

Avant personal loans are better suited to borrowers with bad credit (a FICO score below 580)  than many others because the lender may consider applicants with credit scores in the 500s. Loan amounts up to $35,000 are available, so these loans are on the smaller side. But if this maximum is sufficient, Avant might appeal to you because it offers funding as soon as the next business day after approval and is more likely to approve the applications of prequalified borrowers than other lenders. 
 

That said, Avant’s interest rates are steep, and the lender charges an origination fee up to 9.99%.

Upgrade offers loans from $1,000 to $50,000 and features competitive APRs, discounts for direct payments to creditors and enabling automatic payments, fast funding (as soon as the same day as approval), repayment terms up to seven years, and nationwide availability. Upgrade even offers secured personal loans, which is not common among lenders, and you don't need to input your Social Security number to prequalify on the website.

Upgrade does charge origination fees between 1.85% and 9.99%, however. You must have a FICO score of at least 600 and a minimum income of $25,000 annually to qualify.

Happy Money, formerly known as Payoff, is an ideal lender for debt consolidation and credit card consolidation loans. The company offers APRs starting at 11.72% and loan amounts up to $40,000. You may be able to qualify for a loan with Happy Money with fair credit, but the best rates are reserved for those with good to excellent credit scores. 

The company charges origination fees up to 5%, which is lower than some competitors, and you can receive funding in three to five business days once approved. Check to see if loans are available in your area, as Happy Money doesn’t fund borrowers in Massachusetts or Nevada. 

When it comes to personal loans for fair-credit borrowers, Reach Financial is one of the best choices around. This lender offers fast processing, with a majority of approved applications receiving funds within a day. Terms start at two years and end at five years for personal loans, and loan amounts are between $3,500 and $40,000. This isn’t the right lender for the shortest or longest terms available, and the borrowing range is narrower than you’d find with many lenders. However, borrowers with fair credit may be eligible for loans with favorable rates.

Reach focuses on borrowers using personal loans to pay off debt and only permits two purposes for its loans: debt consolidation and credit card refinancing. It’s also worth noting that the lender does not work with borrowers in every state and charges origination fees up to 8%.

For bad-credit personal loans, OneMain Financial is one of the best lenders you can consider. In addition to not setting a minimum credit score for applicants who apply directly through the website, OneMain permits cosigners on applications and offers secured personal loans. Cosigners can help you improve your chances of approval and possibly secure lower APRs. Secured loans require you to pledge collateral when applying and tend to be easier to qualify for than unsecured loans, which typically require higher credit scores and no collateral. 

Repayment terms range from two to five years. Personal loan amounts between $1,500 and $20,000 are available, with different minimums and maximums in select states. Also depending on where you live, you’ll pay a flat fee of $25 to $500 or 1% to 10% for origination. You may be eligible for a personal loan with OneMain if you have bad credit (a FICO score of 580 or lower), but the lender’s rates are very high compared to many others.