Annie Millerbernd
Kim Lowe
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.
Checking rates is free and won't impact your credit score.
Best for small joint loans
7.89 - 18.00%
$500 - $50K
None
6 months to 7 years
First Tech Credit Union personal loans are a solid option for members seeking maximum flexibility.
Read our review of First Tech Credit Union Personal LoanFirst Tech Credit Union personal loans are a solid option for members seeking maximum flexibility.
Read our review of First Tech Credit Union Personal LoanBest for co-signed personal loans for fair-credit borrowers
2025 NerdWallet award winner
7.74 - 35.99%
$1K - $50K
600
2 to 7 years
Upgrade accepts lower credit scores than similar lenders, and it offers multiple rate discounts for its personal loans.
Read our review of UpgradeUpgrade accepts lower credit scores than similar lenders, and it offers multiple rate discounts for its personal loans.
Read our review of UpgradeBest for joint personal loans for debt consolidation
2025 NerdWallet award winner
7.90 - 35.99%
$1K - $60K
600
2 to 7 years
A LendingClub personal loan is a standout option for qualified borrowers who want to pay off debt with flexible terms.
Read our review of LendingClubA LendingClub personal loan is a standout option for qualified borrowers who want to pay off debt with flexible terms.
Read our review of LendingClubBest for joint personal loans with no fees
8.99 - 17.99%
$600 - $50K
None
1 to 5 years
PenFed offers a wide range of loan amounts and fast funding to its members.
Read our review of PenFed Credit Union Personal LoanPenFed offers a wide range of loan amounts and fast funding to its members.
Read our review of PenFed Credit Union Personal LoanBest for joint personal loans with rate discounts
2025 NerdWallet award winner
6.49 - 24.89%
$5K - $100K
660
2 to 7 years
LightStream is a solid option for good- and excellent-credit borrowers, with no fees and a promise to beat competitors’ rates.
Read our review of LightStreamLightStream is a solid option for good- and excellent-credit borrowers, with no fees and a promise to beat competitors’ rates.
Read our review of LightStreamBest for large joint loans
2025 NerdWallet award winner
8.99 - 35.49%
$5K - $100K
None
2 to 7 years
SoFi offers large online personal loans with consumer-friendly features for good- and excellent-credit borrowers.
Read our review of SoFi Personal LoanSoFi offers large online personal loans with consumer-friendly features for good- and excellent-credit borrowers.
Read our review of SoFi Personal LoanOur team of consumer lending experts follows an objective and robust methodology to rate lenders and pick the best.
30+
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.
We evaluate more categories than competitors and carefully weigh how each factor impacts your experience.
NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 30 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.
The following co-signed and joint loans are from some of the highest rated lenders that NerdWallet reviews. Among this list are lenders that offer a variety of loan amounts and have attractive features like rate discounts, no fees and low minimum credit score requirements.
Here’s what makes our top lenders for co-signed or joint loans stand out.
First Tech has personal loans as low as $500, which is uncommon among top lenders. Minimum personal loan amounts are typically $1,000 or more. If you and your co-borrower need to finance an amount under $1,000, First Tech is a solid option.
Upgrade is one of the rare personal loan lenders that offers co-signed personal loans rather than joint loans. (See below the lender list for an explanation of the differences between co-signed and joint loans.)
With a minimum credit score requirement of 600, Upgrade is a fitting option for fair-credit borrowers (those with credit scores from the mid-500s to the low 600s).
With a LendingClub joint personal loan, you can consolidate up to 12 personal loans, credit cards and retail accounts. This can be useful for couples paying off multiple debt accounts together.
LendingClub will send the loan funds directly to your creditors, and you’re left with one fixed-rate loan with a single monthly payment. The lender also has a rate discount of up to 5 percentage points, on average, for those who opt for direct pay to creditors.
Co-borrowers with a PenFed personal loan won’t have to pay extra fees, like an origination fee, which is common for personal loans.
LightStream has a 0.50 percentage-point rate discount for those who set up automatic payments on their personal loans. The lender also has a Rate Beat Program that promises to beat a competitor’s offer by 0.10 percentage points.
SoFi offers loans up to $100,000, while most lenders cap personal loan amounts at $50,000 or less. This can be helpful if you and your co-borrower need to borrow a large amount for an extensive home renovation, an RV or another big expense.
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. They also can’t see information about the loan, like how much you’ve repaid or if you missed a payment, unless they request that information to 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, shared by two co-borrowers, 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 the steps to get a personal loan with a co-applicant.
» Get started: Pre-qualify on NerdWallet
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 less debt to support your application gives a lender confidence that the loan will be repaid.
A co-signer or co-borrower can help if:
How much a co-signer or co-borrower helps depends on factors such as:
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:
