Best Personal Loans for Fair Credit in 2026

NerdWallet's picks for the best personal loans for fair credit

Our picks for the best personal loans for fair credit have minimum credit score requirements that range from 600 to 640. In addition, we selected lenders that have favorable features such as fast funding, rate discounts, and the ability to secure a loan or add a co-borrower.

Here’s how the top personal loans for fair credit stand out.

Upgrade: Best for debt consolidation

Why we chose this lender: If you need a debt consolidation loan, Upgrade can send loan funds directly to your creditors, streamlining the debt payoff process. You can also get a rate discount of 1 to 4 percentage points when you opt for direct pay on a debt consolidation loan.

What to be aware of: Be prepared to pay an origination fee that can range from 1.85% to 9.99% of the loan amount.

Happen Bank (formerly LendingClub): Best for joint loans

Why we chose this lender: Happen Bank (which rebranded from LendingClub in June 2026) offers the option to apply for a joint loan with a co-borrower, which can be especially useful when you have fair credit. Adding a co-borrower with a higher credit score or income could boost your loan approval chances or help you get a lower rate or higher loan amount. The lender doesn’t require you to be married or related to your co-borrower.

What to be aware of: This lender charges origination fees that can be up to 8% of your loan amount.

PenFed Credit Union: Best for low rates

Why we chose this lender: The maximum APR for PenFed personal loans is 17.99%, which is significantly lower than the other lenders on this list. A lower APR means lower monthly payments and overall interest throughout the life of the loan.

What to be aware of: To get a PenFed loan, you must be a member of the credit union. You can join by opening a PenFed account with a minimum deposit of $5.

Upstart: Best for loan approval

Why we chose this lender: Upstart does not have a strict credit score requirement. It considers alternative criteria, such as your employment history and education, rather than relying dominantly on credit scores. Upstart claims its AI-powered underwriting model approves 41% more applicants than traditional loan approval models — and at lower interest rates.

What to be aware of: Your origination fee could be as high as 12%, which is the highest of the lenders on this list. Additionally, you can only get a three-year, five-year or seven-year repayment term — and the seven-year loans are very rare.

Rocket Loans: Best for fast funding

Why we chose this lender: Rocket Loans provides instant loan approval decisions and same-day funding, making this a fitting option when you need money fast. Other lenders on this list might make you wait an additional day or two. Make sure to sign loan documents before 4 p.m. E.T. in order to take advantage of Rocket’s same-day funding.

What to be aware of: Rocket Loans only offers three-year or five-year repayment terms, and loans come with origination fees that can be as high as 9.99%.

Best Egg: Best for secured personal loans

Why we chose this lender: You can secure a Best Egg personal loan using permanent home fixtures like kitchen cabinets or bathroom vanities, which are unique collateral options. You don’t risk losing your vehicle or restricting access to your savings account, like you would with other secured personal loans. You also aren’t pledging your entire home as collateral, like you would with a home equity loan. And you still benefit from lower rates with this secured loan option.

What to be aware of: You’ll need to be a homeowner to get a Best Egg secured loan. Also, keep in mind that Best Egg charges an origination fee ranging from 0.99% to 9.99% of the loan amount.

The loan rates you can expect with fair credit

Your credit score is a significant factor in how lenders determine your loan’s APR. Individuals with fair credit who pre-qualified for a personal loan through NerdWallet in the last 30 days received an average APR of 23.80%.

To compare, those with good credit (scores of 690 to 719) received an average APR of 19.51%, and those with bad credit (scores of 300 to 629) received an average APR of 27.18%.

Rates vary from lender to lender. The rate one lender offers you may differ from another lender’s offer — even if you applied for loans from both lenders on the same day. Your income, existing debts and the type of loan you request may also impact your loan’s APR.

What the nerds think

Personal loans are likely a less expensive borrowing option than credit cards if you have fair credit and carry a balance on your cards. You may qualify for a personal loan with a rate close to 20%, while credit cards geared to fair-credit borrowers could have rates at nearly 30%.

Nicole DowLead Writer & Content Strategist

Calculate your estimated loan costs

Before applying for a loan, use our personal loan calculator to estimate your monthly loan payment and total interest costs, based on your desired loan amount, repayment term and estimated APR.

Follow these steps to get a personal loan

1. Review your credit

Check your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus to spot any errors or opportunities to improve your credit. If you don’t need a loan right away, consider taking extra time to build your credit before you apply for a personal loan.

» MORE: If your credit score actually falls within the bad-credit range (300 to 629), check out our recommendations for the best loans for bad credit.

2. Pre-qualify with multiple lenders

Pre-qualifying for a personal loan lets you see how likely you are to be approved and preview potential offers. Pre-qualifying typically involves filling out a few questions about yourself and your desired loan on the lender’s website.

The lender will likely use a soft credit check to determine whether you pre-qualify. This won’t impact your credit score. Pre-qualify with multiple lenders to compare offers and find the best rate and terms.

» MORE: How to compare personal loan offers

3. Submit a formal application

Once you’ve selected the right lender for you, it’s time to apply. Online applications usually take only a few minutes to complete, but some banks and credit unions may require an in-person visit.

A tip to speed things up: Gather documents, including W-2s, pay stubs and government-issued IDs, before you apply.

Lenders will often perform a hard credit check once you apply, which can cause your credit score to dip by a few points.

4. Sign loan documents and receive funding

If approved, your final step is to sign your loan documents. Read the fine print so you understand all aspects of the loan agreement. Most lenders will fund a loan within a couple of days, and your first payment is often due about 30 days after funding.

» MORE: How to get a personal loan

How to boost your chances of loan qualification

Here are things you can do to increase your chances of loan approval without having to build your credit score.

Put down collateral to secure the loan

Most personal loans are unsecured, but some lenders offer secured personal loans, which require you to put down a valuable asset you own as collateral — typically a vehicle or savings account. The lender can take your collateral if you can’t repay the loan. This makes the loan less risky for the lender, which may mean better approval odds for you.

Apply with a co-applicant

Adding a co-signer with better credit or a higher income may help you qualify for a lower rate. A co-signer is someone who agrees to pay the loan if you can’t, but that person doesn’t have access to the money.

You may also consider a joint personal loan, which is similar to a co-signed loan except that your co-applicant — also known as your co-borrower — can access the funds. Your co-borrower is equally responsible for making loan payments.

If you miss payments on either a co-signed or joint loan, it can negatively affect your credit score and your co-applicant’s.

Include all sources of income on the application

Lenders verify your income to make sure you’re able to repay a loan. Many personal loan lenders accept income not just from employment, but from alimony, Social Security payments, child support or retirement accounts. Be sure to account for all your income on a personal loan application.

» MORE: How to boost your chances of personal loan approval

Personal loan alternatives

Consider these alternative options based on what type of loan you need.

For large or mid-sized loans:

For everyday spending:

» MORE: Best credit cards for fair credit

For small loans:

Next steps

Ready to move forward with getting a personal loan? Pre-qualify with NerdWallet to get offers and compare rates from our trusted lending partners.

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.

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.

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 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.

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