Best Personal Loans of 2026
Compare APRs, fees, and funding speed across the top personal loan lenders — from fee-free options for excellent credit to fair-credit lenders that fund in a day.
📊 6.25%+ APR From
⚡ 1-Day Fastest Funding
⚠️ Important Disclosures — Please Read Before Applying
Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. Norton Media Enterprise may earn a commission if you apply through these links, at no additional cost to you. Our picks are based on independent rate analysis, lender documentation, and editorial review — never commission rates.
Non-Lender Status: Norton Media Enterprise is an independent research and review site. We are not a bank, lender, credit union, or financial institution. We do not make credit decisions or guarantee approval for any loan products listed.
Approval Responsibility: All credit decisions are made solely by the issuing lender based on your individual creditworthiness, including your credit score, credit history, debt-to-income ratio, income, and other factors. Pre-qualification offers are estimates, not guaranteed approvals.
Credit Impact Warning: Pre-qualifying for a personal loan typically uses a soft credit inquiry that does not affect your credit score. However, accepting a loan offer and proceeding with the full application triggers a hard inquiry, which may temporarily lower your credit score.
APR & Fee Warning: Annual Percentage Rates (APRs), origination fees, loan amounts, repayment terms, and other terms cited on this page are subject to change. APRs vary significantly based on creditworthiness — the lowest advertised rates are typically reserved for borrowers with excellent credit. Origination fees may be deducted from your loan proceeds, meaning you receive less than the requested loan amount while still owing repayment on the full principal. Always verify current rates, fees, and terms directly with the lender before applying.
Loan Terms & Repayment: Personal loans are typically unsecured debt with fixed interest rates and fixed monthly payments over terms ranging from 24 to 84 months. Late or missed payments may result in late fees, increased interest costs, damage to your credit score, and potential collection actions. Some lenders offer hardship programs; availability and terms vary.
Information Only Disclaimer: Content on this page is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered professional financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. We are not licensed financial advisors. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation.
Methodology: Read our full methodology for how we research and select the financial products we feature.
Not Sure Where to Start?
If you have good-to-excellent credit and want a fee-free loan with real member perks, start with SoFi — NME’s top overall pick.
SoFi
APR 8.99%–25.81% with autopay
$5K–$100K, no fees
SoFi is NME’s #1 personal loan pick — no origination, application, or late fees, funding as fast as the next business day, and member perks like unemployment protection, free financial planning, and career coaching most lenders don’t offer. Stack the autopay and direct-deposit discounts for up to 0.50 percentage points off. Best for borrowers with 680+ credit who want a fee-free loan with real membership value.
LightStream
APR from 6.94% with autopay
$5K–$100K, 24–84 month terms
LightStream consistently offers some of the lowest advertised rates in the industry for borrowers with excellent credit (720+), backed by a Rate Beat Program that shaves another 0.10 percentage points off a competing offer. Funding can land the same day if you’re approved before 2:30 PM ET. One tradeoff: there’s no soft-pull pre-qualification — every application triggers a hard credit inquiry from the start.
Achieve
APR 6.25%–29.99%
$5K–$50K, 2–5 year terms
Achieve dropped its APR floor to 6.25% in March 2026, giving it the lowest starting rate on this list. Three stackable discounts — co-borrower, direct payoff to creditors, and retirement-asset — can shave up to 4 percentage points off your rate. Origination fees run 1.99%–8.99%, and the loan is available in 38 states plus D.C.
Wells Fargo
APR 6.74%–25.99% with autopay
$3K–$100K, 12–84 month terms
Wells Fargo charges no origination or application fees and offers a 0.25% relationship discount for existing customers, plus fast, often same-day funding to your Wells Fargo checking account. You do need to already be a Wells Fargo checking customer to qualify — it’s not open to the general public.
PenFed
No fees of any kind
$600–$50K (lowest minimum), up to 5-year terms
PenFed Credit Union charges no fees at all and has the lowest minimum loan amount on this list at just $600 — useful if you don’t need a large sum. A soft pull for pre-qualification, next-day funding, and a 0.25% autopay discount round out the offer. Despite the “Pentagon Federal” name, membership is open to anyone — no military service required.
Discover
APR 7.99%–24.99%
$2.5K–$40K, 36–84 month terms
Discover charges no origination, application, or prepayment fees, and offers a unique 30-day no-interest guarantee — return the funds within 30 days and pay no interest. It can also pay creditors directly for consolidation loans. The $40K ceiling and 660+ credit requirement make it a better fit for smaller loans than some competitors.
Citi Personal Loan
APR as low as 9.99% with autopay, up to 17.49%
Up to $50K, from $2K minimum
Citi’s personal loan is fee-free and offers same-day funding directly to an existing Citi account, making it a fast option if you already bank there. Loan amounts run from $2K up to $50K for qualified existing customers.
Navy Federal Credit Union
APR 8.74%–18.00%
$250–$150K (over $50K needs a co-applicant)
Navy Federal’s ceiling APR is the lowest of any lender on this page, and its top loan amount dwarfs every other option here — a real advantage if you qualify. Membership is restricted to the armed forces, DoD, veterans, and their families, and loans over $50,000 require a qualified co-applicant.
Upgrade
APR 7.74%–35.99%
$1K–$50K, accepts down to 580 FICO
Upgrade accepts applicants with credit scores as low as 580, making it one of the more accessible options for fair-credit borrowers. A soft pull for pre-qualification and funding in about a day help offset an origination fee of 1.85%–9.99%. Upgrade has funded more than $47 billion across its lending history.
LendingPoint
Accepts down to 600 FICO
$1K–$36.5K, 24–72 month terms
LendingPoint specializes in fair-credit borrowers, accepting scores as low as 600 with same-day funding decisions. APRs run 7.99%–35.99%, and origination fees can run up to 10% — worth weighing against the funding speed if your credit is on the lower end.
Universal Credit
Accepts down to 580 FICO
$1K–$50K, 1-day funding
Universal Credit — powered by Upgrade — accepts credit scores down to 580 and can fund approved loans in as little as one day. Stackable discounts help offset an origination fee of 5.25%–9.99%, and terms run 36 or 60 months.
Best Egg
APR 6.99%–35.99%
$2K–$50K, 1-day/same-day funding
Best Egg is built for speed, with funding as fast as the same or next business day for most approved applicants. A soft pull for pre-qualification, a Secured Loan option for borrowers who don’t qualify unsecured, and availability in 47 states round out the offer. Origination fees run 0.99%–9.99%.
OneMain Financial
Loans from $1,500-$30,000 over 24-60 months, with funds available as soon as 1 hour after signing via a SpeedFunds debit card. More than 1,300 branches plus a fully online application; secured loans using a vehicle as collateral are available for borrowers who don’t qualify unsecured.
APRs run 11.99%-35.99% — among the highest ranges in this category — reflecting its focus on fair-credit and limited-credit borrowers other lenders turn away.
Upstart
Loans from $1,000-$75,000, with underwriting that looks beyond credit score to include education, area of study, and work history — helpful for thin-file or limited-credit-history borrowers. Funds as fast as one business day.
APRs run 6.3%-35.99%, a wide range that depends heavily on individual profile rather than credit score alone.
Rocket Loans
APR 8.01%–29.99% with autopay
$2K–$45K, 620+ credit score
Backed by Rocket Companies, Rocket Loans verifies your information electronically instead of requiring uploaded documents and can fund the same day if you finalize before 4pm ET — among the fastest turnarounds in this category. Its 29.99% APR cap also runs lower than the 35.99% ceiling common elsewhere here, though it skips cosigners, co-borrowers, and collateral, offers only two repayment terms (36 or 60 months), and charges an origination fee up to 9.99%.
Happen Bank (formerly LendingClub)
APR 6.53%–35.99%
$1K–$75K, origination 0%–8%
LendingClub rebranded to Happen Bank in 2026 — same lender and 5-million-member base under a new name. It can pay your creditors directly when you’re consolidating debt, which simplifies the payoff process and removes the temptation to spend the funds elsewhere. A soft pull for pre-qualification and terms from 24–84 months add flexibility, though the origination fee (up to 8%) reduces your actual proceeds — on a $20,000 loan at the top fee tier, you’d receive $18,400.
Happy Money
APR 7.95%–29.99%
$5K–$50K, 2–5 year terms
Happy Money is purpose-built for one thing: paying off credit card debt. It’s not a general-purpose personal loan, but for that specific use case it offers no late, application, or annual fees, a soft pull for pre-qualification, and research showing borrowers who used it saw credit scores rise by an average of 40 points within four months. Funding is the slowest on this list at 3–6 days, and it isn’t available in Iowa, Massachusetts, or Nevada.
Prosper
APR 8.99%–35.99%
$2K–$50K, 2–5 year terms
Prosper was the first SEC-registered peer-to-peer lending platform and remains a solid alternative to traditional bank and online lenders. It accepts joint applications, uses a soft pull for pre-qualification, and charges an origination fee of 1%–9.99%.
💡 Personal Loan Tips
🛡️ Use Soft-Pull Pre-Qualification First
Most major lenders — SoFi, Achieve, PenFed, Wells Fargo, Upgrade, LendingClub, Best Egg, and Happy Money — let you check your estimated rate with a soft credit pull that doesn’t affect your score. Compare offers this way before submitting any full application.
📅 Shop Within a 14-Day Window
If you do need hard inquiries to compare final offers, cluster them within a 14-day window. FICO scoring treats multiple loan inquiries within that window as a single inquiry.
📊 Stack Available Rate Discounts
Autopay, direct deposit, co-borrower, and existing-customer discounts can each shave a quarter point or more off your APR — and several lenders let you stack more than one for even bigger savings.
🧮 Compare APR, Not Just Interest Rate
APR bakes in origination fees and other costs, so it’s the number that reflects your true cost of borrowing — a loan with a lower interest rate but a high origination fee can end up more expensive than one with a higher rate and no fee.
⏱️ Don’t Stretch the Term to Lower the Payment
A longer term lowers your monthly payment but increases the total interest you’ll pay over the life of the loan. Match the term to how quickly you can realistically pay off the balance, not just what fits your monthly budget.
🧮 The Math Setup
On a $15,000 balance, moving from a 24% credit card APR to a 12% personal loan APR can save roughly $13,800 in interest over a 5-year payoff, assuming you stop adding new charges to the card.
💸 The Origination Fee Impact
If your personal loan carries an origination fee, you generally need at least a 6–7 percentage point APR gap versus your card to come out ahead — smaller gaps can be eaten up by the fee.
⚠️ The Trap: Re-Running Card Balances
The CFPB has flagged this repeatedly: consolidating card debt into a personal loan only works if you stop using the card. Running the balance back up defeats the purpose and leaves you with two debts instead of one.
📈 The Credit Score Effect
Moving debt from a revolving account (credit card) to an installment account (personal loan) can improve your credit utilization ratio. Happy Money’s own data shows borrowers who consolidated card debt this way saw an average 40-point score increase within four months.
🔄 When the Math Doesn’t Work
If your credit is fair rather than excellent, the personal loan APR you qualify for may not beat your card’s rate by enough to justify it. In that case, a 0% intro APR balance transfer card may save you more — see our best balance transfer cards guide for options.
What’s the average personal loan APR in 2026?
What credit score do I need to qualify for a personal loan?
Should I use a personal loan or a balance transfer card for credit card debt?
How fast can I get personal loan funds?
Will applying for a personal loan hurt my credit score?
What’s an origination fee and which lenders charge them?
How does NME choose its best personal loans picks?
Ready to Compare Personal Loan Rates?
Browse the categories above, compare APRs and fees side-by-side, or jump straight to NME’s #1 pick — SoFi — for a fee-free loan up to $100,000.
Overall & Excellent Credit → Bank & Credit Union → Fair Credit & Fast Funding → Special Situations →
