Personal Loans for Excellent Credit: Best of April 2023
The best personal loans for excellent credit have low rates and amounts from $2,500 to $100,000. Compare multiple loan offers before you choose.
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Having excellent credit — a credit score of 720 or higher — puts you in a desirable group of least-risky borrowers. That means online lenders and banks may offer you the lowest rates and best terms on personal loans.
Rates and terms vary among lenders, so even those with stellar credit should shop around and compare personal loans. Here are our picks for excellent-credit borrowers:
Discover: Best for debt consolidation.
LightStream: Best for low rates.
SoFi: Best for high loan amounts.
Why trust NerdWallet? NerdWallet's editorial team has reviewed more than 35 personal loan providers and compared them to select the best personal loans for borrowers with excellent credit. We chose these lenders based on features like star ratings, APR ranges and minimum required credit scores.
Having excellent credit — a credit score of 720 or higher — puts you in a desirable group of least-risky borrowers. That means online lenders and banks may offer you the lowest rates and best terms on personal loans.
Rates and terms vary among lenders, so even those with stellar credit should shop around and compare personal loans. Here are our picks for excellent-credit borrowers:
Discover: Best for debt consolidation.
LightStream: Best for low rates.
SoFi: Best for high loan amounts.
Why trust NerdWallet? NerdWallet's editorial team has reviewed more than 35 personal loan providers and compared them to select the best personal loans for borrowers with excellent credit. We chose these lenders based on features like star ratings, APR ranges and minimum required credit scores.
Personal Loans for Excellent Credit: Best From Our Partners
Lender | NerdWallet rating | Est. APR | Loan amount | Min. credit score | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 SoFi Get rate on SoFi's website | Best for Excellent credit and high loan amounts | 8.99- | $5,000- | None | Get rate on SoFi's website |
 LightStream Get rate on LightStream's website | Best for Excellent credit and low rates | 6.99- | $5,000- | 660 | Get rate on LightStream's website |
 Discover® Personal Loans Get rate on Discover's website | Best for Excellent credit and debt consolidation | 6.99- | $2,500- | 660 | Get rate on Discover's website |
Our pick for
Excellent credit and high loan amounts
Our pick for
Excellent credit and low rates
Our pick for
Excellent credit and debt consolidation
» MORE: Personal loans for good credit
What is an excellent-credit loan?
Personal loans are unsecured loans, which means you don’t have to put up any collateral such as your car or house to get the loan. Instead, lenders evaluate your ability to repay by considering factors like credit score, debt and income.
Having excellent credit can get you access to the lowest annual percentage rates and most favorable terms available to borrowers. Personal loans are offered to excellent-credit borrowers by banks, online lenders and credit unions. Compare offers from multiple lenders to get the right loan for you.
» MORE: Where to get a personal loan
What are rates on excellent-credit personal loans?
As with most credit products, the rate you receive on a personal loan depends a lot on your credit score. Borrowers with excellent credit will pay less interest over the life of the loan than borrowers with lower credit scores. The interest rate also affects your total monthly payment, as does the term length; a longer term means lower monthly payments, but more interest.
Use our personal loan calculator to see estimated rates, total interest costs and payments for a personal loan.
Here is what interest rates on personal loans look like, on average:
How's your credit? | Score range | Estimated APR |
Excellent | 720-850. | 11.3%. |
Good | 690-719. | 15.6%. |
Fair | 630-689. | 22.3%. |
Bad | 300-629. | 25.2%. |
Source: Average rates are based on aggregate, anonymized offer data from users who pre-qualified in NerdWallet’s lender marketplace from July 1, 2022, to Oct. 31, 2022. Rates are estimates only and not specific to any lender. The lowest credit scores — usually below a 500 credit score — are unlikely to qualify. Information in this table applies only to lenders with APRs below 36%.
Best excellent-credit personal loans from banks
Banks that offer personal loans tend to cater to borrowers with excellent credit, and most offer low interest rates compared with other lenders. If you have an existing account with the bank, you could also benefit from an easier application process and discounted rates. The downside is some banks require you to visit a branch to complete the loan application process.
TD Bank offers fast funding of personal loans primarily to customers on the East Coast.
Wells Fargo allows existing customers to apply for personal loans online and offers comparatively high borrowing amounts that make it an option for funding home improvements.
Will a personal loan hurt my excellent credit score?
Most online lenders perform a soft inquiry on your credit when you pre-qualify, followed by a hard check during the approval process that can knock some points off your credit score. The setback to your score should be temporary, and making on-time payments helps build credit if the lender reports your borrowing activity to one or more of the credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
A personal loan also diversifies your debt. According to FICO, credit mix contributes 10% toward the calculation of your total credit score. (However, you shouldn’t get a personal loan just to improve your credit.)
How to choose the best personal loan for excellent credit
Having excellent credit is an advantage, but it can make choosing among multiple loan offers more difficult. Factor the overall cost of the loan and monthly payments against your budget, and carefully weigh the different features offered by each lender.
Here are three considerations to keep in mind:
Compare loans. Shop multiple lenders to compare rates and terms. The loan with the lowest APR is the least expensive and usually the best choice. Use this comparison tool to check rates at multiple online lenders without affecting your credit score.
Loan features. Some lenders will send loan proceeds directly to your creditors if you’re consolidating debt, allow flexible payment schedules or offer rate discounts if you agree to automatic payments.
Perks. Take advantage of resources offered by lenders such as free credit score monitoring, financial education or hardship assistance plans.
Next step: Pre-qualify for an excellent-credit personal loan
Pre-qualifying for an online loan allows you to see personalized terms, including the loan’s interest rate and monthly payments, before committing to the loan. You can pre-qualify with lenders on NerdWallet to compare offers and find the lowest rate.
Last updated on December 21, 2022
Methodology
NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 35 financial institutions. We collect over 45 data points from each lender, interview company representatives and compare the lender with others that seek the same customer or offer a similar personal loan product. 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. 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.
This methodology applies only to lenders that cap interest rates at 36%, the maximum rate most financial experts and consumer advocates agree is the acceptable limit for a loan to be affordable. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings. Read more about our ratings methodologies for personal loans and our editorial guidelines.
To recap our selections...
NerdWallet's Personal Loans for Excellent Credit: Best of April 2023
- SoFi: Best for Excellent credit and high loan amounts
- LightStream: Best for Excellent credit and low rates
- Discover® Personal Loans: Best for Excellent credit and debt consolidation
Frequently asked questions
Start by comparing loans from multiple lenders. With excellent credit, you'll likely have options, and pre-qualifying allows you to compare rates, terms and loan features to choose the best loan for you.
Interest rates for excellent-credit loans typically start around 6%, with an average APR around 12%. The rate you receive depends on your income and debt as well as your credit score.
There could be multiple reasons why you can't get a loan, even if you have excellent credit. Your income may be too low for the amount you want to borrow, or your debt-to-income ratio is too high. Having irregular income can impact your ability to get a personal loan, too.
