Best Low-Interest Personal Loans

Like with many lenders, you can use a LightStream personal loan for just about anything. Some uses, like if you’re buying solar panels or landscaping, offer slightly lower starting rates than others. Its lowest rates (not shown above) are reserved for vehicle-related loans, like new/used car loans and refinances.

With its low rates, aside from the fact that it doesn’t offer direct payments to your old creditors, it’s also an especially good choice for consolidating your debt. 

LightStream has a high cap on the amount you can borrow, which is especially helpful if you’re consolidating a lot of debt. It also has a “Rate Beat” program where they’ll beat the rate of any competitors by 0.10%, provided you can meet the program requirements. LightStream also doesn’t charge any fees for its loans, either. 

• Requires a minimum credit score of 660
• Available to residents of all states and Washington, D.C.

Reach Financial (known as Liberty Lending until July 2022) launched in 2015 with the express goal of helping people pay down debt. It does this job very well according to its customers, who leave a trail of overall positive reviews on websites like Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau. As a lender focusing on debt payoff, it offers a lot of handy features, like being able to change your payment due date and sending funds directly to your creditors.

There are a few limitations with Reach Financial, however. Since it’s geared towards debt consolidation, you can’t use the funds for other things. (In fact, Reach Financial won’t even send you the funds at all; they’ll go straight to your creditors.) In addition, while some people won’t have to pay an origination fee, others may have to pay up to 5% of their loan amount. Typically, if your credit isn’t that great, lenders may charge you higher origination fees.

• Not available for residents of Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, or Wyoming

SoFi’s loan rates aren’t the very lowest, but they’re also not very far away either. Instead, you can save money in other ways, since SoFi doesn’t charge any fees at all—not even late fees. (SoFi, like any lender, will still report late payments you make to the credit bureaus, however.) You can use a SoFi personal loan for a lot of different things, including debt consolidation, travel, home improvements, and more. 

SoFi is also one of the most feature-rich lenders out there. If approved, you can get your money extraordinarily fast: In 2021, about 86% of people who signed their loan agreement before 7 p.m. Eastern Time were funded the same day, according to SoFi. It also offers a plethora of benefits, including an unemployment protection program, free access to live financial planners, and even in-person experiences like dinners and happy hours.

• Available to residents of all states and Washington, D.C.
• Must be earning income (or have a formal job offer starting within 90 days)
• Available to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or non-permanent alien residents

Credit unions are known for having good rates on loans, and PenFed Credit Union is no exception. PenFed also offers more flexible loans than your average lender: You can borrow as little as $600 (compared to $5,000+ with many other lenders), and pay it off in as soon as one year (versus a three-year-minimum loan term, which is more common). 

However, you will be required to join PenFed in order to complete your loan application. This is good news and bad news. On one hand, you’ll need to open a savings account and keep at least $5 in there while you’re paying off the loan. But if you’re looking to switch banks, this is a prime time to do it because PenFed allows anyone to join, and it offers particularly good rates and terms on most of its other checking and savings accounts. 

• Requires a minimum 650 credit score
• Available to residents of all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
• If approved, you must join the credit union by keeping at least $5 in a savings account.

You can only apply for a personal loan from Navy Federal Credit Union if you’re a current customer, and the only people eligible to join are current and former military members, civilian contractors, and their families. However, if you are one of the lucky few who can get one of these loans, you’ll appreciate having way more options to choose from than the average Joe on the street. 

Navy Federal also allows you to use your savings account as collateral for a secured loan, so if you’ve been having a tough time getting approved for a loan, this can be a good option. However, a big downside is that you can’t pre-qualify for a loan. Most lenders offer this option so you can see if you’re likely to be approved and check the rates you’ll likely be charged before you apply, so you can make an informed decision about whether to proceed with a full application. Not so with Navy Federal—you’ll need to submit a complete loan application from the get-go.

• Available to residents of all states and Washington, D.C.
• Only available to current customers of Navy Federal Credit Union
• Credit union membership limited to people affiliated with the military

Big banks aren’t exactly known for having the most customer-friendly financial products, but Discover bucks that trend. It is an online bank, sure, but a bank nonetheless—and in addition to personal loans, it also offers surprisingly good checking and savings accounts too, in case you’re looking to switch banks along with getting a new loan. 

Discover is one of the few banks to offer a money-back guarantee, but it’s rather limited. If you take out the loan but decide you don’t want it, you can return the cash within 30 days and you won’t owe any interest. You can use a Discover personal loan for just about anything, including debt consolidation. Discover will even pay off your old credit cards for you if you’d like, although you won’t be able to use this loan to pay off any other Discover credit cards you may have. 

• Requires a minimum credit score of 660
• Requires a minimum household income of $25,000
• Available to residents of all states and Washington, D.C.

If you have bad credit, you’ll typically pay exorbitant interest rates, if you’re approved at all. Upstart isn’t exactly cheap on the grand scale of things, but it’s definitely much more affordable than most other bad-credit lenders, especially when you factor payday loans into account. 

Upstart will evaluate your application according to several different factors, but you can qualify with a credit score as low as 300, according to the company—which is technically the lowest credit score possible. Upstart will also consider borrowers without enough credit to generate a traditional credit score.

Even better, Upstart can send you the funds by the next business day if you’re approved and you finish signing the loan agreement by 5 p.m. ET. The downside is that you can’t use a co-signer or a co-borrower on your application. You’ll need to qualify for the loan entirely on your own, but since Upstart is so forgiving of borrower credit, that may be easier than with many other lenders. 

• Must be at least 18 years old
• Requires a reliable source of income
• Requires a minimum 300 credit score
• Must have an email address and bank account
• Available for U.S. citizens and permanent residents
• Available to residents of all states except for Iowa and West Virginia

If you already have an American Express credit card, you might have noticed an advertisement for a pre-approved loan offer recently. If you actually are in the market for a personal loan, it’s a good option to consider. You won’t find rates much lower than this, and the only way you can apply is through this pre-approved offer. If you didn’t get one, there’s no way for you to get this loan. 

You can use these loan funds for a wide range of purposes, including paying off other debt—with one big exception. Just like Discover with its credit cards, you can’t use an Amex personal loan to pay off other Amex credit cards. 

• Must have received a pre-qualified offer
• Must be a current American Express cardholder
• Available to residents of all states and Washington, D.C.