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Best debt consolidation loans of July 2025
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Best debt consolidation loans of July 2025

Last updated on June 18, 2025

Jackie Veling

Written by 

Lead Writer & Content Strategist
Kim Lowe

Edited by 

Head of Content, Personal & Student Loans
Jackie VelingKim Lowe
Written by 
edited by 
You could save up to $3,000 by consolidating $10,000 of debt. Answer a few questions and get offers in minutes.
 

This service is free and will not affect your credit score.

Compare the best debt consolidation loans for you, in one place
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Methodology

Best for overall debt consolidation loan

Est. APR

7.90 - 35.99%

Loan amount

$1K - $50K

Min. credit score

600

Loan term

2 to 6 years

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Why our Nerds love it

LendingClub personal loans are a solid option for good-credit borrowers looking to consolidate debt and build their credit. Read our review of LendingClub

Best for debt consolidation loan for good credit

Est. APR

8.99 - 35.49%

Loan amount

$5K - $100K

Min. credit score

None

Loan term

2 to 7 years

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Why our Nerds love it

SoFi offers online personal loans with consumer-friendly features for good- and excellent-credit borrowers. Read our review of SoFi Personal Loan

Best for Flexible repayment terms

Est. APR

5.99 - 35.99%

Loan amount

$3.5K - $40K

Min. credit score

660

Loan term

2 to 5 years

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Why our Nerds love it

Reach Financial provides credit card consolidation loans to borrowers with good credit. The lender offers customizable repayment terms, but lacks other flexible features and transparency. Read our review of Reach Financial Personal Loans

Best for Low annual percentage rates

Est. APR

6.49 - 25.29%

Loan amount

$5K - $100K

Min. credit score

660

Loan term

2 to 7 years

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Why our Nerds love it

LightStream is a solid option for good-credit borrowers, with no fees and a promise to beat competitors’ rates. Read our review of LightStream

Best for Joint debt consolidation loans

Est. APR

7.99 - 35.99%

Loan amount

$1K - $50K

Min. credit score

580

Loan term

2 to 7 years

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Why our Nerds love it

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

Best for Secured debt consolidation loans

Est. APR

6.99 - 35.99%

Loan amount

$2K - $50K

Min. credit score

600

Loan term

3 to 5 years

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Why our Nerds love it

Best Egg offers personal loans for borrowers who want to consolidate debt and need cash fast. Read our review of Best Egg

Best for Consolidating credit card debt

Est. APR

8.95 - 29.99%

Loan amount

$5K - $40K

Min. credit score

640

Loan term

2 to 5 years

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Why our Nerds love it

Happy Money offers loans and ongoing support to help fair- and good-credit borrowers consolidate credit card debt. Read our review of Happy Money

Best for Rate discounts

Est. APR

8.99 - 29.99%

Loan amount

$5K - $50K

Min. credit score

640

Loan term

2 to 5 years

Get My Rate

Why our Nerds love it

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

Best for Borrowers with bad credit

Est. APR

11.69 - 35.99%

Loan amount

$1K - $50K

Min. credit score

580

Loan term

3 to 5 years

Get My Rate

Why our Nerds love it

A Universal Credit loan is a sound option for bad-credit borrowers looking to build credit, but rates are high compared to similar lenders. Read our review of Universal Credit

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How we chose the best personal loans

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.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings. Read more about our ratings methodologies for personal loans and our editorial guidelines.

Debt consolidation calculator

See if debt consolidation is for you by estimating how much you can save

New monthly payment$573

New monthly payment

Current monthly payment$1,000

Current monthly payment

With an excellent credit score, we estimate a 13.31% APR for a 5-year personal loan.

Total interest saved$1,314.63

How to get a debt consolidation loan with NerdWallet

  1. Check your credit score before applying Before applying for a debt consolidation loan, it’s important to check your credit score. You can do this for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. This will give you an idea of where you stand in terms of the credit brackets — excellent, good, fair or bad — and which lenders may be the best fit based on their minimum credit score requirements. You can also take steps to quickly boost your credit. Checking your credit report for errors (more common than you think) or paying down a small debt before you apply for a loan can make it easier to qualify.
  2. Pre-qualify and compare multiple loan offers Once you know your credit score, it’s time to compare loan offers. The best way to do this is by pre-qualifying, which includes filling out a short, online application with a lender and viewing your potential loan terms and APR, without any effect on your credit score. Though not all banks or credit unions offer pre-qualification, most online lenders do. Try to pre-qualify with multiple lenders, so you know you’re getting the lowest rate possible.
  3. Submit your application Once you’ve decided on a lender, it’s time to apply for the loan. Most loan applications are online and ask you to supply personal information like your Social Security number, address and other contact details. You also may be asked to provide proof of identity, employment and income. Once you’ve submitted your application, the lender will make an approval decision. If you’re approved, you’ll sign the loan agreement and receive the funds. Funding time varies among lenders, but some lenders can fund the same day you’re approved.
  4. Pay off your creditors Here’s the most important step: Use the loan proceeds to pay off your existing debts. Some lenders send the funds to your creditors for you, so you’ll need to provide account information about your existing debts — and check the accounts to make sure they’re paid off. If a lender doesn’t offer direct payment, they’ll deposit the funds in an account of your choosing or mail a check, if you prefer. It’ll be up to you to make sure the right amount goes to each debt.
  5. Start making payments on your new loan Once your existing debts are paid, you’re left with your new loan. Personal loan payments are monthly, though there’s usually no fee for paying off a loan early. Make a plan now to manage your personal loan payments. As you make progress on paying off your loan, try to keep your credit card balances at or near zero until you’re debt-free. But avoid closing the accounts, which can lower your credit score. You’ll also want to focus on staying debt-free in the long-run. This can look different for everyone, but creating a monthly budget and building an emergency fund are two key universal steps that will keep you out of debt in the future.

How to choose the best loan for you

  • Does the lender’s loan amounts and terms match your debt? Personal loans for debt consolidation come in a wide range of loan amounts ($1,000 to $50,000) and repayment terms (two to seven years). Make sure the lender offers the loan amount you need and enough time to pay it off.
  • Does the lender offer an annual percentage rate lower than your existing debts? The loan's annual percentage rate, or APR, represents its true annual cost and includes interest and any fees. The most affordable loan is the one with the lowest APR.
  • Do you meet the lender’s qualification criteria? Some lenders openly disclose their borrower requirements, including minimum credit score, credit history and income. You can check the lender’s website for this information or call and ask to speak to a loan officer.
  • Does this lender charge an origination fee? This one-time fee may range from 1% to 10% of the loan amount and is deducted from the loan proceeds or added to the loan balance. To keep costs down, avoid loans with this fee — unless the APR (which includes the origination fee) is still lower than loans with no origination fee.
  • Does this lender offer special debt consolidation features? Some lenders offer extra perks, like sending the loan funds directly to your creditors or free credit score monitoring. Consider these features, but always prioritize an affordable loan you can repay on-time.

Frequently asked questions

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