Home / Loans / Best Personal Loans
Loans · All terms verified October 5, 2026
A personal loan is one of the cheapest ways to borrow a lump sum — if you get the rate right. The difference between the best and worst offers we verified is nearly 30 percentage points of APR, which on a $15,000 loan can mean thousands of dollars. We verified every APR range, fee, and term on this page against the lender's own website on October 5, 2026. Two things we found while verifying: Marcus by Goldman Sachs no longer offers personal loans to new applicants, and LendingClub has rebranded to Happen — both are reflected below.
What separates these loans isn't just the starting APR. Origination fees are deducted from your loan proceeds, so a 9.99% fee means a $10,000 loan arrives as $9,001. Some lenders publish their minimum credit score; most don't. And one lender in our set won't show you its worst-case rate at all. We unpack the catches alongside the rates, because the cheapest advertised loan isn't always the cheapest loan you get.
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Best overall
6.99%–35.49% fixed (includes 0.25% autopay + 0.25% member discount; as of 10/5/26)
Unpack Money score: 90/100
The lowest starting APR among bank lenders we verified, no late fees, same-day funding, and a genuine no-origination-fee option. The most complete package in our set.
Best no-fee loan
6.99%–24.99%
Unpack Money score: 86/100
No fees of any kind, a published 660 minimum credit score, and next-business-day funding. The transparency here is rare — the $40,000 ceiling is the only real constraint.
Best for excellent credit
9.99%–24.94% with AutoPay (varies by purpose); maximum APR 25.44%
Unpack Money score: 84/100
Zero fees of any kind and a 0.50% autopay discount, the largest we verified. The catch: a 9.99% starting APR and good-to-excellent credit required.
Best for fair credit
8.99%–35.99%
Unpack Money score: 72/100
The most accessible credit guidance in our set — borrowers under 600 'might not qualify,' per Prosper's own FAQ. Not the cheapest loan, but the most reachable one.
| Lender | APR range | Loan amounts | Terms | Our score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SoFi Personal Loans | 6.99%–35.49% fixed (includes 0.25% autopay + 0.25% member discount; as of 10/5/26) | $5,000–$100,000 | 24–84 months (2–7 years) | 90/100 |
| Discover Personal Loans | 6.99%–24.99% | $2,500–$40,000 | 36–84 months (3–7 years) | 86/100 |
| LightStream (Truist) Personal Loans | 9.99%–24.94% with AutoPay (varies by purpose); maximum APR 25.44% | $5,000–$100,000 | 24–240 months depending on loan type | 84/100 |
| Wells Fargo Personal Loan | As low as 6.74% (upper bound not published; rates as of 07/10/2026) | $3,000–$100,000 | 12–84 months | 80/100 |
| Happen (formerly LendingClub) Personal Loans | 5.96%–35.99% (advertised rates valid as of 07/06/2026; subject to change) | $1,000–$75,000 | 24–84 months | 78/100 |
| Upgrade Personal Loans | 7.74%–35.99% | $1,000–$50,000 | 24–84 months | 74/100 |
| Prosper Personal Loans | 8.99%–35.99% | $2,000–$50,000 | 24–72 months (2–6 years) | 72/100 |
APRs verified 2026-10-05 from each lender's official site. Rates are fixed at approval and can change for new applicants at any time.
Unpack Money score: 90/100
SoFi's personal loan pairs the lowest starting APR among bank lenders we verified (6.99%) with the most borrower-friendly fee structure in our set: no late fees whatsoever, and a genuine no-origination-fee option for borrowers who'd rather not have 7% skimmed off their proceeds. Same-day funding rounds out a package that has no obvious trap.
The fine print worth reading: the advertised 6.99% reflects both a 0.25% autopay discount and a 0.25% SoFi Plus member discount, so the rate you'll actually be quoted depends on enrolling in both. And the range runs to 35.49% at the top — the rate floor is excellent, but the ceiling is not. Check your rate (soft inquiry) and read the offer before you sign.
Terms verified 2026-10-05 from the lender's official site: View current terms
Unpack Money score: 86/100
Discover's personal loan is the transparency pick: no fees of any kind, a published 660 minimum credit score on its rate estimator, and a $25,000 minimum income requirement stated up front. Most lenders in our set publish neither. The 6.99% starting APR matches SoFi's floor, and next-business-day funding keeps it fast.
The constraint is size: $40,000 is the smallest maximum in our comparison, so it's not the loan for a major renovation. Also note the use restrictions — you can't use it to pay Capital One or Discover accounts or for education expenses. Within those bounds, it's one of the cleanest offers we verified.
Terms verified 2026-10-05 from the lender's official site: View current terms
Unpack Money score: 84/100
LightStream is the fee purist's loan: the official FAQ states its loans do not have any fees — no origination, no late fees, no prepayment penalty — plus a 0.50% autopay discount, the largest we verified. Terms run up to 20 years depending on loan type, which is unmatched in our set.
The trade-offs are real. The 9.99% starting APR is the highest floor we verified, and LightStream states it only approves good-to-excellent credit profiles — this is not a loan for rebuilding credit. Per its own data, only 33% of lowest-rate applicants (Apr–Jun 2026) actually qualified for the lowest rate. Excellent-credit borrowers should still compare starting rates before assuming the fee-free structure wins.
Terms verified 2026-10-05 from the lender's official site: View current terms
Unpack Money score: 80/100
Wells Fargo advertises the lowest starting rate we verified — 6.74% APR — with no origination, closing, or prepayment fees and same-day funding for 97% of customers (Apr–Jun 2026). On the starting rate alone, it's the headline act.
Two catches keep it out of our top picks. First, it's existing customers only — if you don't already bank with Wells Fargo, you can't apply. Second, the upper APR bound is not published, so you can't see the worst case before applying; the 6.74% also assumes excellent credit, a $10,000+ loan, a 3-year term, and the 0.25% relationship discount. Late fees exist but the amount isn't stated. A strong offer with a narrow door and a hidden ceiling.
Terms verified 2026-10-05 from the lender's official site: View current terms
Unpack Money score: 78/100
Happen — the rebrand of LendingClub — advertises the lowest starting APR in our set at 5.96%, with funding in as little as 24 hours and a soft inquiry to check your rate. On paper, the rate floor beats everyone.
The asterisk: those advertised rates were dated July 6, 2026 — three months before our verification, and Happen notes they're subject to change without notice. The origination fee runs to 8%, and the late fee and minimum credit score aren't stated. Treat the 5.96% as a starting point for a fresh quote, not a promise — confirm the current rate before you apply.
Terms verified 2026-10-05 from the lender's official site: View current terms
Unpack Money score: 74/100
Upgrade's distinction is accessibility: a $1,000 minimum loan, the lowest in our set, with funding within 1 business day of clearing verifications and no prepayment penalty. For a small, fast loan, the structure works.
The cost is the origination fee: 1.85%–9.99%, deducted from your proceeds. On a $10,000 loan at the top of that range, $999 never reaches your account — you repay the full $10,000 plus interest. The APR range runs to 35.99%, and the late fee amount and autopay discount percentage aren't published. Fine for small amounts; compare the fee-inclusive cost before borrowing large.
Terms verified 2026-10-05 from the lender's official site: View current terms
Unpack Money score: 72/100
Prosper is our fair-credit pick on accessibility: its official FAQ says borrowers under 600 'might not qualify,' making ~600 the most reachable published guidance in our set. Funding lands as soon as 1 business day, there's no prepayment penalty, and checking your rate is a soft inquiry.
The price of that accessibility is real: a 1%–9.99% origination fee and a starting APR of 8.99%, the second-highest floor we verified. Prosper also notes its average APR on funded 3-year loans (Jan–Mar 2026) was 24.19% — a useful reality check on where most borrowers land. If your credit is fair rather than strong, it's reachable; just price the fee into your comparison.
Terms verified 2026-10-05 from the lender's official site: View current terms
Our editorial score starts with the verified APR range — the low end matters most, since that's the rate you're competing for — then adjusts for origination fees (deducted from proceeds, so they hit twice), late-fee policy, qualification transparency, funding speed, and how honest the lender is about the worst case. A lender that won't publish its upper APR bound or its late fee can't score at the top, no matter how low its starting rate. We verify every number against the lender's official site, never aggregators, and we date-stamp each verification. Read our full rating methodology.
Every APR, fee, and term on this page was verified against the lender's official website on the date shown. We never use aggregator sites as sources for rates.
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