Prosper Loans: 2023 Personal Loan Review
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Our Take
4.5
Prosper accepts borrowers across the credit spectrum and offers competitive rates and fees, plus instant approval.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Instant approval.
- Joint loan option.
- Hardship program for borrowers in need.
- Mobile app to manage loan.
Cons
- No rate discount.
- Charges origination and late fees.
- No direct payment to creditors with debt consolidation loans.
Compare to Other Lenders
Full Review of Prosper
Prosper is an online peer-to-peer lending platform that provides personal loans to borrowers with credit scores from bad to excellent, as well as those with thin credit files.
To qualify applicants, Prosper uses a proprietary model that evaluates information like bank account transactions and ability to repay the loan. Then Prosper connects a borrower’s application with investors who can decide to fund the loan. A loan request expires if it isn’t at least 70% funded within 14 days, though most loans are funded within one to three days, according to the company.
Prosper offers a wide range of loan terms and amounts, making it a strong option for major and minor expenses.
Table of contents
Prosper at a glance
Minimum credit score | 560. |
APR | 6.99% - 35.99%. |
Fees |
|
Loan amount | $2,000 to $50,000. |
Repayment terms | 2 to 5 years. |
Time to fund after approval | 1 to 3 business days. |
Loan availability | Loans not available in IA, WV or U.S. territories. |
- Disclosure from Prosper
For example, a three-year $10,000 personal loan would have an interest rate of 9.88% and a 6.99% origination fee for an annual percentage rate (APR) of 14.93% APR. You would receive $9,301 and make 36 scheduled monthly payments of $322.11. A five-year $10,000 personal loan would have an interest rate of 11.64% and a 7.99% origination fee with a 15.36% APR. You would receive $9,201 and make 60 scheduled monthly payments of $220.63. Origination fees vary between 1% and 7.99%. Personal loan APRs through Prosper range from 6.99% to 35.99%, with the lowest rates for the most creditworthy borrowers. Eligibility for personal loans up to $50,000 depends on the information provided by the applicant in the application form. Eligibility for personal loans is not guaranteed, and requires that a sufficient number of investors commit funds to your account and that you meet credit and other conditions. Refer to Borrower Registration Agreement for details and all terms and conditions. All personal loans made by WebBank.
» COMPARE: Personal loans for good credit
Where Prosper stands out
Joint loan option. Prosper's platform allows two borrowers to apply together as joint applicants. Including a co-borrower with stronger credit can improve your chances of getting a loan or a lower annual percentage rate.
Fast funding. Prosper says next-day funding may be available for approved borrowers, and most receive loan funds within three days upon loan approval. While some lenders offer same-day funding, one to three days isn't uncommon.
Mobile app to manage the loan: Borrowers can apply for a loan, make payments and check their credit score on the Prosper mobile app. The app is a convenient benefit for borrowers who manage their finances on their phone.
Hardship relief support. Prosper offers a hardship relief program that may reduce your monthly payment or extend the loan term. The relief program is in place until the borrower is financially stable again.
» MORE: Best fair-credit lenders
Where Prosper falls short
Origination and late fees. Borrowers may be charged an origination fee ranging from 1% to 5% of the loan amount. Many online lenders charge an origination fee that can skim a few hundred to a few thousand dollars off the loan amount once approved.
Loan payments more than 15 days past due will draw a late fee, which is 5% of the monthly payment amount or $15, whichever is greater.
No rate discount for autopay. Unlike some lenders, Prosper does not offer an additional rate discount for setting up autopay. The discount usually ranges from 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points and motivates borrowers to pay on time.
No direct payment to creditors. Prosper does not send your loan proceeds directly to creditors when you consolidate debts with a loan. Instead, borrowers have to keep track of their own repayments.
» COMPARE: Best debt consolidation loans
Do you qualify for a Prosper personal loan?
Most lenders have basic requirements to apply, and some have financial requirements or recommendations to qualify. To apply for a personal loan through Prosper, you must be:
A U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
At least 18 years old.
Able to provide a verifiable bank account.
Able to provide a Social Security number.
Here are the lender’s minimum requirements to qualify for a loan. (Meeting these requirements doesn’t guarantee approval.)
Minimum credit score: 560.
Minimum credit history: None.
Maximum debt-to-income ratio: 50%, excluding mortgage.
Minimum annual income: None; this lender accepts income from alimony, retirement, child support, Social Security payments and other sources.
Here are details about Prosper’s average borrower, according to the lender:
Average credit score: 710.
Average annual income: $122,000.
Average loan amount: $13,969.
Average APR: 20.2%.
Most common loan term: 5 years.
Most common loan purposes: Debt consolidation and home improvement.
Before you apply
Check your credit. You can get your free credit report on NerdWallet or at AnnualCreditReport.com. Doing so will help you spot any errors and fix them before you apply.
Calculate your monthly payments. Use a personal loan calculator to determine what APR and repayment term you’d need to get a loan with affordable monthly payments.
Make a plan to repay the loan. Review your budget to see how the loan’s monthly payments will affect your cash flow. If you have to cut other expenses to repay the loan, it’s better to know that before you borrow.
Gather your documents. Prosper requires proof of income, which can be a W-2 or paystub, as well as identifying documents like a driver’s license. Having these documents handy can speed up the application process.
How to apply for a loan through Prosper
Here are the steps to apply for a Prosper loan.
Pre-qualify on Prosper’s website. You’ll be asked how much you want to borrow and what the funds are for as well as personal information like your name, birthdate and email address. Then, Prosper will ask for information about your income before you can preview loan offers. There’s no hard credit pull at this stage.
Preview loan offers and accept the one that fits your budget. Once you accept a loan offer, you’ll submit a formal personal loan application. This could require more documents, like W-2s and pay stubs, to confirm the information you gave during pre-qualification. Prosper will also do a hard credit check when you apply, so your credit score could temporarily dip.
Make a plan to repay the loan. Prosper reports payment to all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) so on-time payments will help build your credit score, but missed payments will hurt it. Setting up automatic payments and watching your budget are ways to manage your loan payments.
Compare Prosper to other lenders
Personal loan lenders offer different rates, loan amounts and special features, so it pays to weigh other options. The best personal loan is usually the one with the lowest APR.
Prosper, LendingClub and SoFi are solid options for debt consolidation. But there are differences when it comes to fees and qualifying credit scores for borrowers.
Prosper vs. LendingClub
Like Prosper, LendingClub offers personal loans to fair- and good-credit borrowers. LendingClub has a rate discount on loans for debt consolidation. Prosper accepts borrowers with lower credit scores and has a wider range of loan amounts and terms.
» MORE: Read our review of LendingClub
Prosper vs. SoFi
SoFi and Prosper offer a wide range of loan amounts. SoFi has a higher minimum loan amount than Prosper and offers personal loans without fees, but borrowers must have good to excellent credit to qualify. Although Prosper charges an origination fee, borrowers with lower credit scores can apply for a loan.
» MORE: Read our review of SoFi
How we rate loans through Prosper
NerdWallet writers rate lenders against a rubric that changes each year based on how personal loan products evolve. Here’s what we prioritized this year:
Category | Star rating |
|---|---|
Affordability | |
Underwriting | |
Loan flexibility | |
Transparency | |
Customer experience | |
Overall |
- Category definitions
Affordability (30%) An affordable loan has low rates and fees compared to other similar loans and may offer rate discounts.
Underwriting and eligibility (25%) The lender reviews borrowers credit reports and credit history, and tries to understand their ability to repay a loan, before making a final application decision.
Loan flexibility (20%) A flexible loan is one that lets users customize terms and payments. That means offering a wide range of repayment term options, allowing the borrower to change their payment date, offering loans in most states and funding it quickly.
Customer experience (15%) A good customer experience can include a fully online application process, financial education on the lender’s website and a customer service team that’s available most of the time and can be reached multiple ways.
Transparency (10%) A transparent lender makes information about the loan easy to find on its website, including rates, terms and loan amounts. Transparency also means allowing users to pre-qualify online to preview potential loan offers and reporting payment information with the major credit bureaus.
Ready to apply? Click the button below and head to Prosper's website to pre-qualify.
Find the Best Personal Loan
NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 35 technology companies and financial institutions. We collect over 50 data points from each lender 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.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take to approve a Prosper loan?
Prosper says loan approval can be instant while funding can take one to three days, depending on factors like how quickly your loan documents are received and verified.
- What is the minimum credit score for a Prosper loan?
Prosper has a minimum credit score requirement of 560. On average, Prosper borrowers' score is 710.
