Pros: The APR range is lower than many of its competitors, you don’t get charged late fees if you’re accidentally late making a payment, and you can receive free FICO score updates.
Cons: To qualify for a Payoff loan, you need at least three years of established credit and a 640+ credit score. You also wouldn’t qualify if you live in Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, or Nevada, or want to take out a personal loan for anything other than debt consolidation.
Prosper
Overview: Prosper, a peer-to-peer lender, lends to borrowers with fair-to-excellent credit scores who want to consolidate debt and take on home improvement projects.
Pros: Co-borrowers and cosigners are allowed and might help boost your chances of getting approved for a personal loan with a better rate. Prosper’s loans range from $2,000 to $40,000 with repayment terms of three or five years.
Cons: If you don’t have solid credit, you may be stuck with an interest rate at the high end of the spectrum (% APR). Prosper also doesn’t offer secured loans.
Rocket Loans
Overview: Rocket Loans, a subsidiary of Quicken Loans, is a personal loan lender that serves borrowers looking to consolidate debt or finance home improvement projects or auto expenses.
Pros: Rocket offers the lowest minimum credit score (540) of any lenders we reviewed, so you may qualify for a personal loan with a “poor” credit score. You can also get instant e-day funding through Rocket.
Cons: You can’t boost your approval odds by applying with a co-borrower or cosigner, or by using an asset as collateral for a secured loan (Rocket doesn’t offer secured loans).
Upgrade
Pros: Personal loans with Upgrade range from $1,000 to $50,000, with repayment terms between three to five years. You can apply for a joint loan if you want to better your chances of payday loans in Marion getting approved for a low rate.
Cons: If you have “fair” credit, you may end up with an APR as high as % and an origination fee as high as 8%. People who live in Hawaii and Washington, D.C., aren’t eligible for Upgrade personal loans.
Upstart
Overview: Upstart is an online lender that uses AI technology to evaluate and approve borrowers with non-traditional financial backgrounds, which includes those who may not have strong credit scores but are considered creditworthy in other respects (e.g., having a steady income and employment history).
Pros: Upstart’s AI technology factors employment and education history into your application, so if you have a limited credit history or are self-employed, your odds of getting a personal loan may be higher with Upstart than other lenders. The minimum credit score is 580 (considered “fair”), and you may receive funds as soon as the day after approval.
Cons: Even if you get approved for a personal loan with a “fair” credit score, you may be paying a very high APR. And if you live in Iowa or West Virginia, you won’t be eligible for an Upstart personal loan.
Pro Tip
If you’re in need of a specialized debt payoff plan, we recommend looking at nonprofit credit counseling agencies . A credit counselor can help you create a budget and improve your credit score so that you won’t need to take out a personal loan designed for bad-credit borrowers.
What Are Bad-Credit Loans?
Bad-credit loans are for borrowers with low credit scores or a limited credit history. Oftentimes, people end up with low credit scores because of missed payments, bankruptcies, or heavy debt loads – or because they haven’t had enough time yet to establish a credit history. Personal loans are more difficult to get when you have bad credit. But many lenders do offer them – and some even specialize in bad-credit borrowing.
