6 Best Student Loan Refinancing Companies of February 2023
The best student loan refinance company is the one that can reduce your rate the most. But certain lenders excel at serving certain types of customers.
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Student loan refinance is when you change private loan lenders. The new lender will pay off your old debt and typically offer you a better interest rate or more suitable terms. You can refinance federal and private student loan debt into one, new private loan. If you want to keep your federal loans federal, consider consolidation.
NerdWallet student loan experts evaluated dozens of data points to identify the best student loan refinance companies for different customers.
We've identified all our selections below.
Student loan refinance is when you change private loan lenders. The new lender will pay off your old debt and typically offer you a better interest rate or more suitable terms. You can refinance federal and private student loan debt into one, new private loan. If you want to keep your federal loans federal, consider consolidation.
NerdWallet student loan experts evaluated dozens of data points to identify the best student loan refinance companies for different customers.
We've identified all our selections below.
Best Student Loan Refinancing Companies
Lender | NerdWallet rating | Min. credit score | Fixed APR | Variable APR | Learn more |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laurel Road Student Loan Refinance Check rate on Laurel Road's website | Best for Dental school loan refinancing | 660 | 4.49- | 4.74- | Check rate on Laurel Road's website |
LendKey Student Loan Refinance Check rate on LendKey's website | Best for Student loan refinancing with low income | 660 | 4.49- | 4.38- | Check rate on LendKey's website |
![]() SoFi Student Loan Refinance Check rate on SoFi's website | Best for Banks to refinance student loans | 650 | 4.49- | 4.99- | Check rate on SoFi's website |
College Ave Student Loan Refinance Check rate on College Ave's website | Best for Overall | Mid- | 5.24- | 5.24- | Check rate on College Ave's website |
![]() RISLA Student Loan Refinance | Best for Overall | 680 | 5.29- | N/A | Read review |
![]() ISL Refinance Loan | Best for State-based refinancing | 670 | 6.93- | N/A | Read review |
Our pick for
Dental school loan refinancing
Refinancing dental school loans makes sense if you won’t use federal loan benefits and have good enough credit to qualify for a lower interest rate.
on Laurel Road's website
Laurel Road Student Loan Refinance
Min. credit score
660Fixed APR
4.49-Variable APR
4.74-on Laurel Road's website
Our pick for
Student loan refinancing with low income
You can refinance if you don't make a lot of money, but this may not make sense for federal loan borrowers.
on LendKey's website
LendKey Student Loan Refinance
Min. credit score
660Fixed APR
4.49-Variable APR
4.38-on LendKey's website
Our pick for
Banks to refinance student loans

on SoFi's website
SoFi Student Loan Refinance

Min. credit score
650Fixed APR
4.49-Variable APR
4.99-on SoFi's website
Our pick for
Overall
on College Ave's website
College Ave Student Loan Refinance
Min. credit score
Mid-Fixed APR
5.24-Variable APR
5.24-on College Ave's website
RISLA Student Loan Refinance

Min. credit score
680Fixed APR
5.29-Variable APR
N/AOur pick for
State-based refinancing
ISL Refinance Loan

Min. credit score
670Fixed APR
6.93-Variable APR
N/AHow to refinance student loans
Consider your goals and decide if refinancing can help you meet them. Refinancing is best for those who want to reduce their interest rate or change their loan term as a way to reduce their monthly payments or pay off student loans faster.
Evaluate your finances. For the best chances of approval, you'll likely need a credit score in the high 600's, a debt-to-income, or DTI, ratio of 50% or better and stable income.
Compare rates. Get prequalified with several lenders to see who gives you the best deal. The lenders on this list will show you your rate offer without affecting your credit score
Choose a lender, and complete the application. You may need some of the following information to complete the official application: loan verification statement, proof of employment, proof of residency, proof of graduation, proof of identity.
Sign the final documents, and wait for loan payoff. Once final underwriting is complete, you’ll need to sign some final paperwork to accept the loan. You'll have three days to cancel the refinance loan if you change your mind.
Best student loan refinance companies
Current student loan interest rates for the best refinance companies
The NerdWallet team of student loans experts analyzed reported refinancing rates from six lenders over a period of 39 months. We considered four variables — average maximum fixed rates, average minimum fixed rates, average maximum variable rates and average minimum variable rates — for each lender on a month-over-month basis.
The average rates as of Jan. 11, 2023, are:
Minimum fixed interest rate - 4.92%.
Maximum fixed interest rate - 8.79%.
Minimum variable interest rate - 4.23%.
Maximum variable interest rate - 7.79%.
The rates for top refinance lenders tend to follow the trend line of student loan refinance interest rates in general. Borrowers have seen a general upward trend starting in December 2021, though the average maximum variable interest rate decreased slightly over the past month.
Use this chart to gauge how your student loan refinance offers measure against average interest rate ranges.
STUDENT LOAN REFINANCE RATINGS METHODOLOGY
Our survey of more than 29 banks, credit unions and online lenders offering student loans and student loan refinancing includes the top 10 lenders by market share and the top 10 lenders by online search volume, as well as lenders that serve specialty or nontraditional markets.
We consider 41 features and data points for each financial institution. Depending on the category, these include the availability of biweekly payments through autopay, minimum credit score and income requirement disclosures, availability to borrowers in all states, extended grace periods and in-house customer service.
The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.
Read more about our ratings methodologies for student loan refinance and our editorial guidelines.
Last updated on January 11, 2023
To recap our selections...
NerdWallet's Best Student Loan Refinancing Companies of February 2023
- Laurel Road Student Loan Refinance: Best for Dental school loan refinancing
- LendKey Student Loan Refinance: Best for Student loan refinancing with low income
- SoFi Student Loan Refinance: Best for Banks to refinance student loans
- College Ave Student Loan Refinance: Best for Overall
- RISLA Student Loan Refinance: Best for Overall
- ISL Refinance Loan: Best for State-based refinancing