Best Lenders for a $50,000 Personal Loan in 2026

NerdWallet’s picks for the best $50,000 personal loan

In assessing lenders for our list of the best $50,000 loans, we prioritized lenders with maximum loan amounts at or above $50,000 and with longer loan terms. That’s because you may need more time to pay off a larger loan. We also included lenders with competitive interest rates because you want the lowest rate possible on a large loan.

Here’s what makes our picks stand out.

Earnest: Best for rate discounts

Earnest is one of our highest-rated lenders, not only for its range of loan amounts (from $3,000 to $50,000) and terms (two to seven years), but also for its affordable loans. In addition to competitive interest rates, Earnest offers multiple incentives to lower your rate. Choosing autopay will reduce your rate 0.25 percentage points, and making on-time payments can lower your rate by up to 0.75 percentage points.

SoFi: Best for fast-funded loans

SoFi, which offers loans up to $100,000, says it can typically approve and fund your loan all in the same day. That’s particularly fast; while most lenders offer instant or same-day approvals, many need a day or more to send funds.

SoFi doesn't allow you to choose your initial payment date, but you can change the date once a year during the repayment term.

Upgrade: Best for debt consolidation

If you’re using your loan to consolidate debt, Upgrade will send the loan proceeds directly to your creditors, saving you a step in the process. The lender also offers a rate discount from 1 to 4 percentage points if you opt for direct payment for debt consolidation.

Upgrade accepts borrowers with scores as low as 600, but its average customer's score is closer to 700. All Upgrade loans come with origination fees, ranging from 1.85% to 9.99%.

Happen Bank (formerly LendingClub): Best for joint loans

Happen Bank (which rebranded from LendingClub in June 2026) lets co-borrowers apply together for a joint personal loan, which may increase your odds of being approved. A joint loan also means you share responsibility for repayment, which can make the large monthly payments on a $50,000 loan more manageable.

Happen Bank's starting rates are competitive, but the lender may charge an origination fee up to 8% of the loan amount.

Patelco Credit Union: Best for low rates

In general, credit unions offer their members competitive rates on personal loans, and Patelco is no exception. Its maximum interest rate of 17.9% is the lowest among lenders we review, and you won’t pay an origination fee. Like Earnest, Patelco rewards on-time payments with opportunities to reduce your rate.

Anyone can pre-qualify for a loan with Patelco, but you must become a member if you choose to take the loan.

LightStream: Best for home improvement loans

LightStream offers repayment terms up to 20 years when you borrow $25,000 or more to fund home improvement projects. Its maximum loan amount is $100,000.

LightStream can send funds the same day, or you can schedule funding up to 5 days after your loan approval date.

Unlike most other lenders, LightStream doesn’t allow you to pre-qualify on its website. You may be able to get personalized rates through partner websites like NerdWallet.

» MORE: Compare the best personal loans

How much will a $50,000 loan cost

How much you’ll pay each month for a $50,000 personal loan will depend on your annual percentage rate and the loan’s repayment term. The lower the APR, the lower the cost of the loan. Any origination fees will be included in the APR.

A loan with a shorter repayment term will have larger monthly payments, but you’ll pay less in interest overall. A longer term gives you lower monthly payments but will result in a higher total interest cost.

Here are the costs of a $50,000 personal loan at various rates and repayment terms. When comparing loans, try to balance an affordable monthly payment with low total interest costs.

Calculate your monthly payments

Use a personal loan calculator to see how different rates and terms affect the monthly payments and total interest.

» MORE: How to choose the best personal loan term length

How to qualify for a large personal loan

Lenders review your credit, income and current debts to evaluate the likelihood you’ll repay the loan on time. Approval chances for a $50,000 personal loan are better if you have good or excellent credit (which NerdWallet defines as 690 or higher), steady income and a low debt-to-income ratio.

Make sure to check your credit reports from all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) before applying for a loan. Look for errors that may be bringing down your score. Unfamiliar accounts or incorrect balances on your reports are things you can dispute with the credit bureaus.

You may increase your odds of being approved for a $50,000 loan by adding a co-borrower with a higher credit score or annual income or pledging a valuable asset as collateral for a secured personal loan.

How to get a $50,000 personal loan

Alternatives to a large personal loan

Depending on your purpose for borrowing the money, there may be cheaper alternatives than a personal loan.

Home equity loan or home equity line of credit: Rates on home equity financing are generally lower, and repayment terms can be longer than personal loans. However, the lender can take your home if you don’t keep up with the payments.

401(k) loan: If you contribute to a 401(k) plan, you may be able to borrow up to half of your vested account balance or $50,000 — whichever is less. This reduces your retirement savings, however, and may have tax consequences, so carefully weigh this option.

Next steps

If a personal loan is the right option for you, pre-qualify through NerdWallet to check for offers from our partner lenders. Pre-qualifying is free, quick and does not impact your credit score.

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.

60+

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 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 60 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.

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