Best Personal Installment Loans of 2026

More about our picks for the best personal installment loans

Upstart: If you have thin credit

Many lenders rely heavily on an applicant’s credit history to determine approval for a personal installment loan, but Upstart considers applicants with low credit scores or no credit history at all. Instead, the lender factors in nontraditional data, like education and work experience, when making loan approval decisions.

However, you may pay a high origination fee — up to 12% of the loan proceeds. Other lenders charge these fees, too, but typically keep them to below 10%.

Universal Credit: If you have fair or bad credit

Universal Credit’s minimum credit score of 560 is among the lowest of the lenders we review. It offers a wide range of loan amounts, from $1,000 to $50,000, as well as next-day funding.

Note that Universal charges an origination fee from 5.25% to 9.99%.

Patelco Credit Union: If you have strong credit

Patelco caps its APR at 17.9%, while the other lenders on this list charge up to around 36%. We also appreciate its wide range of amounts ($300 to $100,000) and terms (six months to seven years).

Heads up that you need at least a 630 score to qualify, although you could potentially boost your approval odds by securing your loan with collateral or adding a co-signer or co-borrower. Also note that funding typically takes two to three days, while the other lenders on our list have faster turnarounds.

Happen Bank: If you’re consolidating debt

Happen Bank (formerly LendingClub) can directly pay creditors with your loan proceeds, which saves you some effort and prevents you from accidentally spending that money. The lender may also discount your rate by 0.5 percentage points if you choose direct pay.

Note that Happen Bank may charge an origination fee up to 8% of the loan amount.

Prosper: If you want a joint loan

Prosper offers both individual and joint loans. With a joint loan, you and a co-borrower have access to the funds and share responsibility for repayment. A co-borrower with a higher credit score or income may help you qualify. Prosper also has a low minimum credit score of 560.

Keep in mind that Prosper charges an origination fee of 1% to 9.99%. Its $2,000 minimum loan amount is higher than minimum amounts of other lenders on this list.

Upgrade: If you want a secured loan

Securing your loan with collateral can often help you qualify or receive a lower rate. Upgrade lets you secure your loan with either home fixtures or a vehicle. If you use a vehicle, the lender may knock 1 to 10 percentage points off your rate. The lender also allows you to add a co-signer to your application, which could potentially improve your approval odds.

Keep in mind that Upgrade charges an origination fee of 1.85% to 9.99%.

How to get a personal installment loan

1. Review your credit report and score

Lenders check your credit report and score when evaluating your loan application. They weigh that information to determine whether you qualify and with what APR.

Before applying for a loan, check your credit report and correct any errors you spot. Review your credit score, too, so you know which lenders you may qualify for and what kind of APR to expect. If you have the time, consider these steps to improve your credit before applying.

You can view your credit report and score for free through NerdWallet.

2. Check your budget

Review your income and expenses to see how much you can afford to pay toward an installment loan each month. Then, use an installment loan calculator to determine what APR and repayment term you’d need to get affordable monthly payments.

Applicants with lower credit scores can expect to pay higher interest rates. A longer repayment term can result in lower monthly payments, but you’ll end up paying more in overall interest.

Calculate your monthly personal loan payments

3. Pre-qualify

Many lenders let you preview potential loan offers through pre-qualification. You can pre-qualify online by giving the lender some information about yourself and the loan you want. If you meet the requirements, the lender will show your potential loan amount, rates and repayment terms.

Pre-qualifying typically takes only a few minutes and doesn’t affect your credit score. Review offers from multiple lenders to find the best one.

4. Accept a loan offer

Once you’ve chosen a lender, you’ll formally apply for a personal loan. Gather documents like W-2s, pay stubs and bank statements to make the application process go smoothly. At this time, the lender will do a hard credit pull, which can cause your credit score to dip by a few points.

If you qualify, expect your loan to be funded within a week — though some lenders offer same- or next-day funding. Your first loan payment is typically due a month later.

Tips for getting a personal installment loan with bad credit

While many personal loan lenders require good or fair credit, there are ways to boost your chances of approval if your score is lower.

Get a joint or co-signed personal loan. Adding someone with a higher credit score or income to the application can improve your chance of qualifying or getting a lower rate.

A co-borrower on a joint personal loan shares access to the funds and information about the loan. A co-signer cannot access the loan funds but vouches for your ability to repay the loan. In both cases, your co-borrower or co-signer must repay the loan if you don’t.

Get a secured personal loan. Putting up collateral for the loan — like a car, home fixture or savings account — gives the lender something valuable to take if you stop making payments. This often makes a secured loan easier to qualify for.

Secured loans also typically come with lower rates than unsecured loans. Weigh the benefit of getting a secured loan against the risk of losing your collateral.

Ask for less money. Lenders try not to provide loans that are too large for the borrower to repay. A lender could decide you qualify for a smaller installment loan than you requested.

» COMPARE: Best personal loans for borrowers with bad credit

How to compare personal installment loan offers

Check the APR. APR is the best cost-comparison tool for installment loans and other types of credit. The best personal installment loan is usually the one with the lowest APR and affordable monthly payments.

Calculate monthly payments. Since missed payments can damage your credit score, it’s important to find an installment loan that you can comfortably repay each month. If the monthly payments don’t fit your budget, you may need a longer repayment term or to shop for more affordable offers.

Look for funding speed. Some personal loan lenders can provide funds the same or next day after you’re approved, while others may take up to a week.

Compare other features. If you’re deciding between similar offers, compare other loan features, like credit-building tools, budgeting help and the ability to change your payment date.

Alternatives to personal installment loans

Buy now, pay later. “Buy now, pay later” is an installment plan you can use for a large purchase, like a laptop or mattress. When you check out online or at a store, the retailer may offer to let you split your purchase into four biweekly payments.

BNPL plans typically don’t charge interest or require a hard credit pull, but the ease of getting these payment plans could lead to overspending.

Cash advance apps. You may be able to borrow a few hundred dollars using a cash advance app. These apps let you borrow money from your next paycheck with no credit check and mostly optional fees. This option only works if your budget can withstand that gap in your next paycheck.

Family loans. You likely won’t have to meet strict credit or income requirements when borrowing money from family or friends. A family loan can also save you the interest or fees a traditional lender would charge.

owever, you can jeopardize a personal relationship if you default on a family loan. Come up with a mutual agreement on how the loan will be repaid, put it in writing and stick to the terms.

Local financial assistance programs. There may be charities and nonprofit organizations in your area that provide assistance with bills and essential needs or offer low-cost loans for those in need. Contact 211 to get connected to an organization near you.

Extra income. If you have enough time, consider pursuing ways to make extra money, such as freelancing, babysitting, dog walking or selling items you no longer use. The amount you may make can vary.

Next steps

If a personal installment loan is the right borrowing option for you, pre-qualify with NerdWallet to get offers from our partner lenders.

Pre-qualifying is quick, free 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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