A co-signed or joint loan is an option if you don't qualify for a personal loan on your own. A co-signer or co-borrower could also help you get a lower rate or higher loan amount.
This service is free and will not affect your credit score.
LendingClub personal loans are a solid option for good-credit borrowers looking to consolidate debt and build their credit. Read our review of LendingClub
Upgrade personal loans offer multiple rate discounts and direct payment to creditors. A low minimum credit score requirement makes the perks stand out even more. Read our review of Upgrade
Achieve personal loans can be a good debt consolidation option for fair- or good-credit borrowers who qualify for one of the lender’s rate discounts. Read our review of Achieve Personal Loans
Prosper is a peer-to-peer online lending platform that accepts borrowers across the credit spectrum and offers competitive rates and fees. Read our review of Prosper
Our team of consumer lending experts follows an objective and robust methodology to rate lenders and pick the best.
35+
Lenders reviewed
We review over 35 lenders, including major banks, top credit unions, leading digital platforms, and high interest installment lenders operating across multiple states.
25+
Categories assessed
Each lender is evaluated across five weighted categories and 27 subcategories, covering affordability, eligibility, consumer experience, flexibility, and application process.
70+
Data points analyzed
Our team tracks and reassesses hundreds of data points annually, including APR ranges, fees, credit requirements, and borrower tools, ensuring up to date, accurate comparisons.
Star rating categories
We evaluate more categories than competitors and carefully weigh how each factor impacts your experience.
Affordability
25%
We review lenders’ annual percentage rate offerings at least twice per year and the competitiveness of each lenders’ APR range. We also assess whether a lender charges an origination fee and any opportunity for borrowers to receive a rate discount.
Customer experience
20%
We consider the experience of the consumer trying to manage a personal loan, which means accessibility of customer service representatives, whether borrowers can choose and change their payment due date, and the ability to track their loan on a mobile app.
Underwriting and eligibility
20%
We consider the rigorousness of each lender’s underwriting practices and how widely available their loans are. This category includes whether a lender does a hard credit check before providing a loan, the range of credit profiles they accept and how many states their loans are offered in.
Loan flexibility
20%
We assess how flexible lenders can be with borrowers, including whether they offer multiple loan types, personal loan amounts and repayment term options and whether they offer direct payment to creditors on debt consolidation loans.
Application process
15%
We consider the lender’s full application process, including a borrower’s ability to preview their loan offer via pre-qualification, whether basic loan information such as APR range and repayment terms are available and easy to find online and how quickly a loan can be funded after approval.
5.0
Overall score
NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 35 financial technology companies and financial institutions. We collect over 70 data points and cross-check company websites, earnings reports and other public documents to confirm product details. We may also go through a lender’s pre-qualification flow and follow up with company representatives. NerdWallet writers and editors conduct a full fact check and update annually, but also make updates throughout the year as necessary.
Our star ratings award points to lenders that offer consumer-friendly features, including: soft credit checks to pre-qualify, competitive interest rates and no fees, transparency of rates and terms, flexible payment options, fast funding times, accessible customer service, reporting of payments to credit bureaus and financial education. Our ratings award fewer points to lenders with practices that may make a loan difficult to repay on time, such as charging high annual percentage rates (above 36%), underwriting that does not adequately assess consumers’ ability to repay and lack of credit-building help. We also consider regulatory actions filed by agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We weigh these factors based on our assessment of which are the most important to consumers and how meaningfully they impact consumers’ experiences.
See how different loan amounts, rates, and terms affect your monthly payment
Estimated monthly payment
$309.92
Total interest over 3 years
$1,156.95
Total loan payment
$11,156.95
Loan amount
$10,000
$10,000
Interest rate
7.25%
7.25%
Loan term (years)
3
3 years
PRINCIPAL AMOUNT — $10,000TOTAL INTEREST PAID — $1,156.95
90%
10%
What’s the difference between a co-signer and a co-borrower?
Though some people use the terms “co-signer” and “co-borrower” interchangeably, they have distinct meanings. Co-signers and co-borrowers have different responsibilities for repaying a personal loan and accessing funds.
Co-signer: A co-signer vouches for someone else’s loan application and agrees to repay it if the borrower doesn’t. The co-signer can’t access the loan proceeds, nor can they see information about the loan, like how much you’ve repaid or if you missed a payment, unless they request that information be sent to them.
Co-borrower: A co-borrower is a partner applicant on a joint personal loan and shares responsibility for repayment. This person has equal access to loan funds and payment information.
Lenders more commonly offer joint personal loans rather than co-signed personal loans. If you’re looking to boost your odds of personal loan approval, applying with a co-borrower who has better credit or a higher income might be the way to go.
Here are lenders that offer either co-sign or joint personal loans (or both):
How to get a personal loan with a co-signer or co-borrower
Here are the steps to get a personal loan with a co-applicant.
Check both of your credit and financial information. The lender will weigh both applicants’ credit scores, incomes and debt-to-income ratios. Familiarize yourself with this information to set expectations before applying.
Compare lenders. Some lenders have specific requirements for joint loan applicants, while a co-signer is typically expected to have better credit and income than the primary borrower. Compare personal loan requirements and features from multiple lenders and select a few that meet your needs.
Pre-qualify and add a co-applicant. Pre-qualify with multiple lenders to compare estimated rates and terms. The pre-qualification process can be different for joint and co-signed loans. Joint loan applicants can sometimes pre-qualify together to preview potential rates and loan amounts. Applicants who want to add a co-signer may need to pre-qualify by themselves and, depending on the results, the lender may provide a co-signed loan option.
Submit your application and get funded. Once you select your preferred lender and submit an application, the lender will likely do a hard credit check on you and your co-applicant. If approved, expect to receive your funds within a few days.
Lenders use information like your credit and income to decide whether you qualify and what your loan amount and annual percentage rate should be. Adding someone with better credit, higher income and low debt to support your application gives a lender confidence that the loan will be repaid.
A co-signer or co-borrower can help if:
You have bad credit. There are personal loans for bad credit, but few lenders approve applicants with credit scores below 600. If that’s you, a co-applicant with better credit could increase your approval odds.
You want a larger loan. Lenders offer the largest loans to well-qualified applicants, so including a co-applicant could increase the size of your loan.
You need a lower rate.Adding someone to the application could get you a lower rate, meaning lower monthly payments and a less expensive loan overall.
How much a co-signer or co-borrower helps depends on factors such as:
The co-applicant’s credit score.
The co-applicant’s credit history.
The co-applicant’s debt-to-income ratio.
The lender’s underwriting criteria.
Risks of adding a co-signer or co-borrower
It’s important for you and your co-applicant to understand the risks of co-signing or co-borrowing before submitting an application. These can include:
A hard credit inquiry, which will lower both of your credit scores by a few points.
Higher debt-to-income ratios for both of you, which could make it harder to access credit during the life of the loan.
Damage to both of your credit scores if a payment is missed.
Damage to the relationship if you default on the loan, which could be harder to salvage than your credit.
