Best Joint Personal Loans in January 2026
Applying with a co-borrower can help you unlock lower rates and more money
Joint personal loan rates
| Lender | User rating | APR | Term | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
6.99% – 18.00% | 6 to 84 months |
$500 – $50k |
||
|
6.74% – 17.99% (with autopay) | 12 to 60 months |
$600 – $50k |
||
|
8.99% – 35.99% | 24 to 60 months |
$2k – $50k |
||
|
8.74% – 35.49% (with discounts) | 24 to 84 months |
$5k – $100k |
||
|
7.74% – 35.99% (with discounts) | 24 to 84 months |
$1k – $50k |
Read more about how we made our picks of the best joint personal loans.
Best for: Saving money with a short-term joint loan – First Tech
- APR
- 6.99% – 18.00%
- Save with one of the shortest starting loan terms on the market (lenders typically start loans at 24 months or more)
- Low rates
- Good for small or mid-sized loans
- Must become a member to get a loan
- May need good or excellent credit to qualify
First Tech Federal Credit Union’s low rates, short loan terms and low starting amounts can help you save money on your loan. Choosing short loan terms, like First Tech’s 6-month starting term, can help you save money on interest for your joint personal loan.
Plus, First Tech lets you borrow as little as $500 (compared to the standard $1,000 or higher), so you probably won’t have to borrow (and pay interest on) more than you need.
But you need to become a member to access affordable loans with rates under 18.00% from federal credit unions like First Tech. Fortunately, First Tech makes joining easy: You can apply for a loan and for membership at the same time.
You must meet at least one of the following criteria to join First Tech:
- Work for a partnering employer
- Be related to a current First Tech member
- Live in Lane County, Ore.
- Become a member of the Computer History Museum or Financial Fitness Association (First Tech may pay for your first year of membership, and you won’t have to maintain membership to keep your First Tech account)
Best for: Small, fast joint loans – PenFed Credit Union
- APR (with autopay)
- 6.74% – 17.99%
- Get money as soon as next day
- Borrow as little as $600 (typical starting point is $1,000 or higher)
- Low rates
- Need to join credit union to get your money
- May need good to excellent credit to qualify
Like First Tech, PenFed offers loans with affordable rates, low starting amounts and short starting loan terms — all things that help you save on your loan. However, PenFed also has a short funding timeline, so you can get your money as soon as the next day.
You’ll need to join PenFed in order to get a loan, but it’s easy — you can apply for your loan and PenFed membership at the same time.
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 a $5 deposit; may need to submit documents to verify your identity and income
Best for: Better approval odds with peer-to-peer joint loans – Prosper
- APR
- 8.99% – 35.99%
- Lets you combine two strategies to boost your approval odds
- Fair credit OK
- Get money as soon as one business day
- Charges fees on every loan
- Borrowers with fair credit will likely pay high rates
You may already know that it’s easier to qualify for a loan with a co-borrower who has excellent credit, but did you know that peer-to-peer loans are also typically easier to get? Prosper allows you to use both strategies to boost your odds of getting a loan (and getting lower rates).
But unlike PenFed and First Tech, Prosper charges a one-time origination fee of 1.00% – 9.99% on every loan. Prosper will take this fee out of your loan money before sending it to you.
To get a loan with Prosper, you must meet the following requirements:
- Age: Be 18 or older
- Administrative: Have a U.S. bank account and Social Security number
- Residency: Not live in Iowa or West Virginia
- Credit score: 560+
Best for: Large, fast joint loans – SoFi
- APR (with discounts)
- 8.74% – 35.49%
- Borrow up to $100,000 (other lenders offer $50,000 or less)
- Get your money as soon as the same day
- No required fees
- Not good for small loans (need to borrow at least $5,000)
- Need good credit to qualify
Consider SoFi if you need to borrow a lot of money fast. While lenders typically cap their loans at $50,000, SoFi offers up to double that amount. And with money available as soon as the same day, SoFi offers some of the quickest loans on the market.
Still, keep in mind that SoFi will have to check your credit and your co-borrower’s, which could take more time than an individual loan application. Further, SoFi loans start at $5,000, so consider the other lenders on this list if you need to borrow less.
You must meet the requirements below to get a loan from SoFi:
- Age: Be the age of majority in your state (typically 18)
- Citizenship: Be a U.S. citizen, eligible permanent resident or nonpermanent resident (a DACA recipient or asylum-seeker, for instance)
- Employment: Have a job or job offer with a start date within 90 days, or regular income from another source
- Credit score: 620+
Best for: Getting multiple discounts – Upgrade
- APR (with discounts)
- 7.74% – 35.99%
- Four ways to save
- Fair credit OK
- Get money as soon as one business day
- Charges fees on every loan
- Borrowers with fair credit will likely pay high rates
Many lenders only offer discounts for autopay, but Upgrade offers four ways to get lower rates: signing up for automatic payments, using your car as collateral, using your home’s fixtures as collateral and using the loan money to consolidate debt. If you’re applying with a co-borrower to get lower rates, you can lower your rate even more with one or more of these discounts.
If you decide to go with Upgrade, make sure your discounts and lower joint loan rates more than make up for the one-time origination fee that Upgrade charges (1.85% – 9.99%). Upgrade will take this fee from your loan before sending you the loan money.
To qualify for a loan through Upgrade, you must meet the requirements below:
- Age: Be at least 18 years old (19 in some states)
- Citizenship: Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or live in the U.S. with a valid visa
- Administrative: Have a valid bank account and email address
- Credit score: 580+
What is a joint loan?
A joint personal loan is a loan you apply for together with someone else, known as a co-borrower. Both you and your co-borrower have equal right to the loan money and equal responsibility for repaying the loan.
A co-borrower with excellent credit can improve your chances of getting a loan. It can also help you get lower rates — lower rates mean cheaper loans.
Pros and cons of joint loans
-
Potentially lower rates
If your co-borrower has a higher credit score than you do, you could get lower rates (and a cheaper loan) by applying jointly. -
Better approval odds
Applying with another person is an easy way to boost your approval odds if you have fair or bad credit. -
More money
If you need to borrow a lot of money but you have poor credit, adding a co-borrower can help you qualify for the amount you need.
-
Both people are responsible
You and your co-borrower are equally responsible for paying back the loan. If you or your co-borrower stop making payments as agreed, both of your scores will drop. -
Borrowers have equal access to the money
If you’re looking to boost your approval odds without allowing the other person to have access to the funds, consider getting a personal loan with a cosigner. -
Hard credit checks on both applicants
When the lender checks your credit, they’ll also run your co-borrower’s credit. This can cause your scores to drop by a small amount temporarily. -
Can take longer to get
Since the lender will check the credit of two borrowers instead of one, it may take longer for them to approve you and send you the money when you apply for a joint loan.
How to apply for a joint personal loan
Applying for a joint personal loan is similar to applying for a regular loan. Here’s how it works.
- Complete a form (or several). This is the prequalification stage, where you can check your rates without affecting your credit. Lenders may ask for co-borrower info upfront. With LendingTree, you’ll enter only your details to start.
- Review and compare your offers. The lender(s) will send you offers with potential interest rates and loan terms. Comparing several offers can help you save thousands on your loan, so apply directly with several lenders or use the LendingTree marketplace for convenience.
- Submit an application. Choose an offer and submit a formal application with your co-borrower. The lender will do a hard credit pull on both of you. If approved, the lender will send you your money, typically via direct deposit and within one to five business days.
Don’t wait to discuss repaying your loan until your first payment is due (typically 30 days after signing your paperwork) with your co-borrower. Get ahead of any potential disagreements by talking about how you plan to split payments before you sign the loan agreement.
Why use LendingTree?
$2.8B in funding
In 2024 alone, LendingTree helped find over $2.8 billion in funding for people seeking personal loans.
$1,659 in savings
LendingTree users save $1,659 on average just by shopping and comparing rates.
308,000 loans
In 2024, LendingTree helped find funding for over 308,000 personal loans.
When banks compete, you win
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Tell us what you need
Take two minutes to tell us who you are and how much money you need. It’s free, simple and secure.
Shop your offers
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Get your money
Pick a lender and sign your loan paperwork. You could see money in your account in as soon as 24 hours.
Co-borrowers vs. cosigners
Co-borrowers and cosigners sound the same, but the terms mean different things. A co-borrower has equal access to the money and shares responsibility for paying back the loan.
A cosigner doesn’t have equal right to the money and is only responsible for paying back the loan if you, the primary borrower, stop making payments.
Which should you choose? Read more about cosigners vs. co-borrowers to decide which option is best for you.
How we chose the best joint personal loans
We reviewed more than 30 lenders and loan marketplaces to determine the overall best five joint personal loans. To make our list, lenders must offer joint loans with 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 joint personal loans come from First Technology Federal Credit Union, PenFed Credit Union, Prosper, SoFi and Upgrade.
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 companies 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 our 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.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Many reputable personal loan lenders — including the lenders on this page — allow you to apply for a joint loan with another person.
Yes. There are two ways to apply for a loan with another person. You can apply for a joint loan with a co-borrower who is equally responsible for paying back the loan, or you can apply with a cosigner who’s only responsible for paying back the loan if you stop making payments.
Joint personal loans come with pros and cons. Applying for a joint loan with someone who has excellent credit can help you get lower rates — or qualify for a loan in the first place. But the other person will be responsible for repaying the loan, so have a frank conversation about money before mixing finances with family or friends.