Best Personal Loans With No Origination Fee in 2026
Skip origination fees with these lenders
| Lender | User rating | Best for | APR | Term | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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No-fee loans for superior borrower experience | 7.99% – 24.99% | 36 to 84 months |
$2.5k – $40k |
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No-fee loans for doctors, dentists and residents | 8.99% – 24.25% (with autopay) | 36 to 60 months |
$5k – $45k |
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|
No-fee loans for excellent credit | 6.24% – 24.89% (with autopay) | 24 to 84 months |
$5k – $100k |
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Small no-fee loans | 6.74% – 17.99% (with autopay) | 12 to 60 months |
$600 – $50k |
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No-fee loans with interest rate discounts | 8.74% – 35.49% (with discounts) | 24 to 84 months |
$5k – $100k |
Read more about how we made our picks for the best personal loans with no origination fee.
No-fee personal loan lenders at a glance
Best for: No-fee loans for superior borrower experience – Discover
- APR
- 7.99% – 24.99%
- Repayment options in case you have trouble making payments
- Customer service available seven days a week
- Can pay creditors directly
- See rates without affecting credit
- Highest credit score requirement on our list (720)
- Can’t apply for a loan with another person
LendingTree users have given Discover personal loans a nearly perfect customer satisfaction score, with 4.9 stars out of 5. Furthermore, Discover has repayment assistance options, which might come in handy in case of financial hardship. Its customer service department is also open seven days a week.
Discover personal loans come with no fees.
You’ll need to meet these eligibility criteria to get a Discover loan:
- Age: Be at least 18
- Citizenship: Have a Social Security number
- Administrative: Have a physical address, email address and internet access
- Income: Minimum income of $40,000 (individually or as a household)
- Credit score: 720+
Best for: No-fee loans for doctors, dentists and residents – Laurel Road
- APR
- 8.99% – 24.25%
- Available to anyone, but doctors, dentists and residents can get more money and lower rates than the ones listed here
- 0.25% discount for signing up for autopay
- See rates without impacting credit
- Doesn’t specify minimum credit score
- Not good for very small loans
All Laurel Road personal loans come with low starting rates and competitive terms, but this online bank offers even better rates and terms for doctors and dentists. The rates and terms listed here are available to everyone, but eligible medical professionals may qualify for even lower rates. This can come in handy when you’re starting your practice.
You’ll need to look elsewhere for a small loan, since Laurel Road requires that you take out at least $5,000.
Laurel Road doesn’t provide much insight into how it evaluates personal loan applications, but you must be at least the age of majority in your state (typically 18 or 19).
While Laurel Road doesn’t specify a minimum credit score, it does state that it offers low rates because it works with creditworthy borrowers. The lender may assess this creditworthiness by evaluating your debt-to-income ratio, employment, income and credit history.
Best for: No-fee loans for excellent credit – LightStream
- APR
- 6.24% – 24.89%
- Very low starting rates for borrowers with excellent credit
- No late payment fees
- Large loans with long repayment terms
- Offers Rate Beat program
- Not available if you have bad credit
- Not good for small loans
- Must take a credit hit to see rates
Borrowers with excellent credit could save on interest rates with LightStream’s low starting rates and its Rate Beat program. Plus, unlike most lenders, LightStream doesn’t charge a late payment fee, making their loans truly fee-free.
If you have poor credit, you’ll need to look elsewhere. LightStream doesn’t disclose its exact requirements, but it only approves borrowers with good to excellent credit. It also doesn’t allow you to check rates without taking a small, temporary hit to your credit with a hard credit pull.
LightStream doesn’t specify its exact credit score requirements, but you must have good to excellent credit to qualify. Most of the applicants that LightStream approves have the following in common:
- At least five years of on-time payments under a variety of accounts (credit cards, auto loans, etc.)
- Stable income and the ability to handle paying their current debt obligations
- Savings, whether in a bank account, investment account or retirement account
Best for: Small no-fee loans – PenFed Credit Union
- APR
- 6.74% – 17.99%
- Offers some of the smallest loans on the market
- Check rates without impacting your score or becoming a member
- Joint personal loans available
- Must join credit union to get loan
- Cannot pay your creditors directly
PenFed’s small loans with short repayment terms are an affordable alternative to payday loans with high APRs. It’s worth your time to check your interest rates with PenFed, since its APRs are capped at 17.99%.
PenFed won’t pay your creditors directly, which could be inconvenient if you need a debt consolidation loan.
To qualify for a PenFed loan, you must meet the following requirements:
- Membership: PenFed membership (anyone can join)
- Administrative: Open a PenFed savings account with $5 deposit; may need to submit documents to verify your identity and income
Best for: No-fee loans with interest rate discounts – SoFi
- APR (with discounts)
- 8.74% – 35.49%
- APR discounts for autopay and direct deposit
- No late payment fees
- Same-day funding available
- Not good for small loans
- May need to pay an optional origination fee for the lowest APRs
SoFi offers a 0.25% interest rate discount for signing up for autopay and a 0.25% interest rate discount for using direct deposit with an eligible SoFi account.
While not required, you can opt to pay an origination fee to get SoFi’s lowest APRs. Keep this extra expense in mind when you’re comparing rates between lenders.
You must meet the requirements below in order to get a loan from SoFi:
- Age: Be the age of majority in your state (typically 18)
- Citizenship: Be a U.S. citizen, an eligible permanent resident or a non-permanent resident (a DACA recipient or asylum-seeker, for instance)
- Employment: Have a job or job offer with a start date within 90 days, or have regular income from another source
- Credit score: 620+
What is a loan origination fee?
A personal loan provides a lump sum of funds that you can use for almost anything. Some lenders will charge an origination fee during the process.
Generally, an origination fee is a percentage of your total loan amount. Origination fees typically range from 1% to 6%, although some can exceed 10%. If your lender charges an origination fee, the lender will usually deduct the fee from your loan before it is sent to you.
While origination fees are referred to as “upfront fees,” you don’t typically have to pay them out of pocket before you get your loan.
How a loan origination fee works
Imagine that a lender approves you for a $50,000 personal loan that has a 5% origination fee. Your origination fee would be $2,500 (or 5% of $50,000). That means you will receive $47,500 (assuming your loan doesn’t have any other upfront fees).
Why do I have to pay an origination fee?
Lenders sometimes charge an origination fee to help cover the cost of providing a loan. For example, a lender might put your origination fee toward ordering your credit report or processing your loan application.
You might also have to pay an origination fee if you have bad credit. Lenders prefer to work with good-credit borrowers since they are more likely to make on-time payments.
Other personal loan fees
Origination fees aren’t the only ones associated with personal loans. On top of your APR (which measures the total cost of your loan, including your interest rate and fees), your loan may have:
Prepayment penalties
The longer your loan is active, the more you’ll pay in interest. For this reason, some lenders will charge a prepayment penalty, or a fee for paying your loan off before your term ends. Prepayment penalties aren’t common on personal loans, so if your loan offer has one, consider moving on to a different lender.
Late payment fees
A missed payment can drop your credit score, and your lender might charge a fee, too. Ask your lender about its late payment procedure and whether it offers a grace period before a fee applies.
How to avoid personal loan origination fees
Some lenders charge an origination fee on every loan. Others only charge loan processing fees to borrowers with poor credit.
The simplest way to avoid personal loan origination fees is to stick with no-fee lenders. Still, there are ways to avoid origination fees, even when the lender you’re targeting sometimes charges them.
Improve your credit score
Improving your credit score isn’t an overnight fix, but the effort is worth it. Having a good credit score can help you qualify for lower APRs, and lenders are less likely to charge origination fees to borrowers with good or excellent credit.
Apply with banks and credit unions
Bank loans and credit union loans usually come with lower APRs and no origination fees. They aren’t ideal for emergency loans, though, since banks and credit unions can take longer than online lenders to deposit your loan money.
Get a joint loan
Taking out a joint loan with a creditworthy family member or friend could help you qualify for a no-fee loan. Joint loans come with added risk. Both you and your co-borrower have equal responsibility (and access to the loan). If one of you makes a late payment, both of your credit scores will be affected.
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How we chose the best personal loans with no origination fee
We reviewed more than 40 lenders to determine the overall best personal loans with no origination fee. To make our list, lenders must offer personal loans with no origination fee that also carry competitive APRs.
From there, we assessed each lender or marketplace across four categories: eligibility and access; cost to borrow; loan terms and options; repayment support and tools.
According to our standardized rating and review process, the best personal loans with no origination fee come from Discover, Laurel Road, LightStream, PenFed Credit Union and SoFi.
Our categories
We assess how easy it is for people to qualify and apply. This includes state availability, soft-credit prequalification, membership requirements, funding speed and whether borrowers with less-than-excellent credit can get a loan.
We evaluate how affordable the loans are based on minimum and maximum APRs, loan fees and rate discounts. Lenders with unclear or potentially predatory costs receive lower scores.
We consider repayment term flexibility, loan amount ranges and whether options like secured loans, joint loans or direct-to-creditor payments are offered — plus whether the lender clearly communicates these options.
We evaluate borrower experience after funding: customer service access, hardship or forbearance programs, payment flexibility and digital tools like mobile apps or credit monitoring.
Our process
We gather data directly from lenders through their websites, disclosures and direct communication with company representatives. Our editorial team verifies and updates information regularly. We value transparency and award less favorable scores when lenders obscure or omit details.
Our editorial team applies the same scoring model and standards to every lender. Lenders cannot pay to influence our ratings.
Why trust LendingTree’s methodology?
Our writers and editors dig through the facts, contact lenders directly and even go through the application process ourselves if it helps better explain what you can expect. As a Certified Financial Education Instructor℠, I’m committed to breaking down complex financial details so people can make confident, informed decisions with their money.
Jessica’s experience in editing and financial education helps shape LendingTree articles that are clear, accurate and truly useful to readers. Her certification means our recommendations are built on a foundation of consumer-first financial knowledge — not just numbers.
Frequently asked questions
The best origination fee for a personal loan is none at all. If you must pay an origination fee, aim for one between 1% and 5%. Borrowers with fair or bad credit will likely need to pay higher fees.
No. Even if you need a bad credit loan, steer clear of loans with upfront fees (aside from origination fees, which may be unavoidable). Other out-of-pocket fees are a common sign of predatory lending.
Maybe. Some lenders — SoFi , for instance — allow some borrowers to pay an origination fee in exchange for lower rates.