Best Personal Loans for Bad Credit in September 2026: 4 Top Lenders Compared
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Direct answer: Yes, you can get a personal loan with bad credit. LendingTree users with credit scores under 580 receive an average of four loan offers and get offered an average APR of 30.51%, well under the legal maximum of 36%. The strongest options for bad credit right now are Upstart (no formal minimum credit score), OneMain Financial (funding in as soon as an hour), Avant (580+ score, live support seven days a week) and Upgrade (600+ score, longer terms for lower payments). Compare multiple lenders with a soft credit check before you apply — LendingTree users can save $1,787
Best bad credit personal loans at a glance
| Lender | Best for | Minimum credit score | Amount | Funding speed | Origination fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Overall bad credit loans | None | $1,000 to $75,000 | May receive funds as soon as one business day | Varies |
 | Same-day funding | None | $1,500 to $30,000
Borrowers in these states are subject to these minimum loan amounts: Alabama: $2,100; California: $3,000; Georgia: $3,100; North Dakota: $2,000; Ohio: $2,000; Virginia: $2,600.
| May receive funds as soon as one hour | $25 to $500, or 1.00% – 10.00% |
 | Live application support | 580 | $2,000 to $35,000 | May receive funds as soon as the next business day | Up to 9.99% |
 | Spreading out payments/longer terms | 600 | $1,000 to $50,000 | May receive funds as soon as one business day | 1.85% – 9.99% |
What counts as “bad credit” for a personal loan?
Credit-scoring frameworks generally define poor credit as a FICO Score below 580 and fair credit as 580 to 669. Below that threshold, mainstream banks typically decline applications, which is why lenders like Upstart, OneMain Financial, Avant and Upgrade exist specifically to underwrite borrowers in this range using factors beyond the credit score alone.
Bad credit doesn’t automatically mean no loan — it means a narrower set of lenders and a higher APR. Some lenders have no formal minimum score requirement at all and instead weigh income, employment history and, in Upstart‘s case, education.
What are the best personal loans for bad credit right now?
Best for: Overall – Upstart
- APR
- 6.30% to 35.99%
- Amount
- $1k – $75k
- Term
- 36 or 60 months
- Origination fee
- Varies
- Min. credit score
- None
- May receive funds as soon as one business day
- Considers factors beyond your credit score such as income, employment and, in some cases, education
- May let you use a paid-off car as collateral to improve approval odds
- 99% recommendation rating from LendingTree users who borrowed from Upstart
- Can’t boost approval odds with a co-borrower or cosigner
- An origination fee may be deducted from your loan proceeds
Who it’s for: Borrowers with a stable income or employment history but a low or thin credit file.
Upstart has no formal minimum credit score requirement — but while it will take into account factors such as your credit and credit history, it will also screen for things like your education, employment history, income and no bankruptcies within the last three years.
Read our Upstart personal loan review.
Best for: Same-day funding – OneMain Financial
- APR
- 11.99% to 35.99%
- Amount
- $1.5k – $30k
Borrowers in these states are subject to these minimum loan amounts: Alabama: $2,100; California: $3,000; Georgia: $3,100; North Dakota: $2,000; Ohio: $2,000; Virginia: $2,600.
- Term
- 24 to 60 months
- Origination fee
- $25 to $500, or 1.00% – 10.00%
- Min. credit score
- None
- May receive funds as soon as one hour
- Can use a vehicle as collateral for a larger loan or easier approval
- 94% recommendation rating from LendingTree users
- Charges an upfront origination fee on every loan
- Paying the loan off early may not save you money
Who it’s for: Borrowers who need cash immediately.
OneMain Financial doesn’t have a minimum credit score requirement but does require proof of ID, residence and income before closing. It’s not available in Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, D.C., or U.S. territories. Keep in mind, some states have minimum borrowing amounts.
Read our OneMain Financial personal loan review.
Best for: Live application support – Avant
- APR
- 9.95% to 35.99%
- Amount
- $2k – $35k
- Term
- 24 to 60 months
- Origination fee
- Up to 9.99%
- Min. credit score
- 580
- Live phone/email application support seven days a week
- May receive funds as soon as the next business day
- 95% recommendation rating from LendingTree users
- Origination fee (Up to 9.99%)
- No option to add collateral or a co-borrower to boost approval odds
Who it’s for: Borrowers who want a person to walk them through the process.
Avant requires a 580+ credit score and is not available to residents of Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Washington or West Virginia. If you need assistance before or after you get your loan, Avant offers customer service hours seven days a week.
Read our Avant personal loan review.
Best for: Spreading out payments – Upgrade
- APR (with discounts)
- 7.74% to 35.99%
- Amount
- $1k – $50k
- Term
- 24 to 84 months
- Origination fee
- 1.85% – 9.99%
- Min. credit score
- 600
- Discounts for autopay and paying creditors directly
- Can use a car or home fixtures as collateral for better odds
- Longer loan terms available for lower monthly payments
- 97% recommendation rating from LendingTree users
- May receive funds as soon as one business day
- Origination fee of 1.85% – 9.99% on all loans
- Credit score requirement higher than other LendingTree picks
Who it’s for: Borrowers who want the lowest possible monthly payment and are comfortable paying more interest over a longer term.
Upgrade requires a higher minimum credit score than some other companies on our list (600+). To qualify for a loan, you’ll also need U.S. citizenship/residency and a valid bank account, among other requirements.
Read our Upgrade personal loan review.
Can you get a personal loan with a 500, 600 or 650 credit score?
Below 580 (poor credit): Your options narrow to lenders like Upstart and OneMain Financial that don’t set a formal minimum score but instead evaluate income and employment (on top of your credit score and history). Expect the highest end of any lender’s advertised APR range.
580 to 669 (fair): If your credit is in this range, you may have more options for loans. Avant‘s stated minimum credit score is 580, while Upgrade’s is 600. You’ll still likely land near the upper end of most APR ranges.
Users with credit scores under 580 who prequalify through LendingTree receive an average APR of 30.51%, based on typical loan amounts of $5,000 to $54,999 and terms of 36 to 83 months — and an average of four offers to compare.
How much will a bad credit personal loan actually cost you?
Many personal loan companies charge up to 36% APR and bad credit borrowers will likely be offered close to that rate. For context, the average APR for LendingTree users with excellent credit is 15.75% — meaning bad credit borrowers may pay twice as much (or more) than what borrowers with excellent credit pay.
Always compare APR, not just the advertised interest rate. APR folds in the interest rate plus any origination fee, giving you the true annual cost of borrowing — a distinction the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) specifically recommends when shopping for loans.
Use the LendingTree personal loan calculator to estimate how much a personal loan could cost you.
On a $10,000 personal loan with a five-year term, a 26.59% APR, and a 10% origination fee, you would receive roughly $9,000 if the fee is deducted from the loan proceeds. Your monthly payments would be based on the full $10,000 loan amount and would total about $18,200 over the life of the loan. The origination fee does not compound, but it increases the effective cost of borrowing because you repay interest on the full loan amount while receiving less cash upfront.
This is why comparing multiple prequalified offers matters more with bad credit, not less: LendingTree users can save $1,787 on average by comparing rates instead of accepting the first offer.
How do you spot a predatory “no credit check” or “guaranteed approval” loan?
No legitimate lender guarantees approval before reviewing your application. If a website promises “guaranteed approval” or “no credit check” with instant funding, treat it as a potential red flag for predatory lending or fraud.
For scale, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) notes that a typical $15 fee on a $100, two-week payday loan works out to roughly a 391% APR — more than 10 times the maximum personal loans typically charge. That gap is evidence that a bad credit personal loan, even at a high APR, is a fundamentally different (and far less costly) product than a payday or “guaranteed approval” loan.
Before you apply anywhere, check for these signs of a legitimate lender:
- No guaranteed approvals
- No pressure to make an immediate decision
- Discloses its licensing and is registered to lend in your state
- Deducts any origination fee from the loan proceeds rather than asking you to pay money upfront
- Publishes a real APR range, not a flat promotional rate
Are there alternatives to a bad credit personal loan?
- Payday Alternative Loans (PALs): Offered by federal credit unions, payday alternative loans are often offered in amounts of $200 to $1,000 with one- to six-month terms, and are designed as a regulated substitute for payday loans.
- Secured personal loans: Using a savings account, CD or vehicle as collateral can lower your APR versus an unsecured loan. However, the tradeoff is that the asset is at risk if you don’t repay.
- 0% APR balance-transfer credit cards: If you (or a co-applicant) have good credit, transferring high-interest credit card debt to a 0% introductory APR card can beat any personal loan APR for the promotional window — typically for 12 to 21 months.
- Nonprofit credit counseling: If the loan is meant to address existing debt rather than fund a new expense, a nonprofit credit counselor may identify a debt-management plan that costs less than taking on additional borrowing.
What do lenders look at besides your credit score?
| Factor | Likely improves your odds | Likely lowers your odds |
|---|---|---|
| Employment | Long, stable job history | Unemployed or short job history |
| Income | High income, regular paychecks | Low income, erratic paychecks |
| Debt (including housing) | Low debt payments relative to income | High debt payments relative to income |
| Credit history | Long history of on-time payments | Short history, missed payments, bankruptcy |
| Loan amount requested | Smaller loans | Larger loans |
Some lenders, including Upstart, also weigh factors like education in their underwriting model.
How to apply for a personal loan with bad credit
-
Check your credit score.
You can go through a free source (many card issuers and the credit bureaus provide this) so you know which lenders are realistic matches. -
Prequalify with at least three lenders.
Use their soft-credit-check tools — this shows estimated rates without a hard inquiry. -
Compare total cost, not just APR.
Factor in the origination fee and total repayment amount, not only the headline rate. -
Gather documentation.
Government ID, proof of residence and proof of income (pay stubs or tax returns) are commonly required before final approval. -
Choose your offer and finalize.
Review the final APR, term and fees against what you were quoted at prequalification before signing. -
Set up autopay if offered.
Several lenders, including Upgrade, discount your rate for enrolling.
How to improve your approval odds
- Add a cosigner or co-borrower with stronger credit, where the lender allows it. OneMain Financial and Upgrade both support this; Upstart does not.
- Offer collateral, such as a paid-off vehicle, to qualify for a secured loan with better terms. Upstart, OneMain Financial and Upgrade all allow this.
- Request a smaller loan amount — smaller requested amounts generally improve approval odds across lenders.
- Wait and rebuild if you can — even a few months of on-time payments and lower credit utilization can move you into a better score tier and a wider set of lenders.
Why use LendingTree to find a bad credit personal loan?
$200,000,000+ in funding
In 2025, LendingTree helped find funding for over $200 million in personal loans for people with credit scores below 580.
$1,787 in savings
LendingTree users save $1,787
360,000+ loans
LendingTree helped find funding for more than 360,000 personal loans in 2025.
Four offers on average
For users with credit scores under 580, you could receive four offers on average on LendingTree’s marketplace of lenders competing for your business rather than a single application to a single lender.
How we chose the best personal loans for bad credit
LendingTree’s team of expert writers and editors reviewed more than 40 lenders and loan marketplaces — and shopped directly with 15 of them — to find the best personal loans for bad credit. To make our list, lenders must advertise a minimum credit score of 600 or lower and cap their annual percentage rates (APRs) below 36%.
From there, we assessed each lender across four categories: eligibility and access; cost to borrow; loan terms and options; repayment support and tools.
According to our systematic rating and review process, the best personal loans for bad credit come from Upstart, OneMain Financial, Avant and Upgrade. LendingTree reviews and fact-checks our top lender picks on a monthly basis.
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. Read more about our editorial guidelines.
Rates, fees, and lender availability change frequently. Confirm current terms directly with each lender before applying. This article was last updated in September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Some bad credit lenders, like Upstart, don’t set a formal minimum credit score at all. Others, like Avant (580+) and Upgrade (600+), do. The higher your score, the more offers you’re likely to receive.
Some lenders offer same-day or next-day funding OneMain Financial can deposit funds in as soon as an hour. Others can take up to five business days, and bad credit applications sometimes take longer to review.
A hard credit pull at application typically causes a small, temporary dip of five to 10 points. Your score generally returns to baseline within a few months as you make on-time payments, and prequalification tools use a soft pull that doesn’t affect your score at all.
A bad credit personal loan typically carries a capped APR of up to 36% and fixed monthly payments over months or years. A payday loan is typically due in full within weeks and can carry an APR-equivalent cost of around 391% based on typical fee structures — dramatically more expensive for the same borrowed amount.
No. Legitimate lenders cannot guarantee approval before reviewing your application, income and credit history. Any site promising guaranteed approval or charging an upfront fee before funding should be treated as a potential scam.
LendingTree is a loan marketplace, not a lender — it connects your loan request to multiple partner lenders who compete for your business. LendingTree is compensated by lenders when you’re matched or funded, not by charging you a fee to compare offers. Checking your rate through LendingTree typically uses a soft credit pull that doesn’t affect your score.
Full details are available in LendingTree’s advertising disclosure.
Yes, though approval depends on your full financial profile, not your credit score alone. Many borrowers use personal loans to combine credit card balances into one fixed monthly payment; lenders like Upgrade offer a rate discount for paying your creditors directly.
A previous decline doesn’t guarantee another one. Lenders weigh different combinations of credit history, income and debt levels, so improving any of those — or simply applying with a different lender — can change the outcome.