Best Online Loans in January 2026
You could get cash today with these online personal loans
| Lender | User rating | APR | Term | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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6.24% – 24.89% (with autopay) | 24 to 84 months |
$5k – $100k |
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6.50% – 35.99% | 36 to 60 months |
$1k – $75k |
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6.99% – 18.00% | 6 to 84 months |
$500 – $50k |
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7.99% – 24.99% | 36 to 84 months |
$2.5k – $40k |
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7.74% – 35.99% (with discounts) | 24 to 84 months |
$1k – $50k |
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8.01% – 29.99% (with autopay) | 36 to 60 months |
$2k – $45k |
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8.99% – 29.99% | 24 to 60 months |
$5k – $50k |
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8.74% – 35.49% (with discounts) | 24 to 84 months |
$5k – $100k |
| Lender |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| User rating | ||||||||
| APR | ||||||||
| Term | 24 to 84 months | 36 to 60 months | 6 to 84 months | 36 to 84 months | 24 to 84 months | 36 to 60 months | 24 to 60 months | 24 to 84 months |
| Amount | $5k – $100k | $1k – $75k | $500 – $50k | $2.5k – $40k | $1k – $50k | $2k – $45k | $5k – $50k | $5k – $100k |
Read more about how we made our picks for best online loans.
Online personal loan lenders at a glance
Best for: Competitive rates if you have excellent credit – LightStream
- APR (with autopay)
- 6.24% – 24.89%
- If you find a lower rate, LightStream will beat it (if the competing offer qualifies)
- Has a $100 customer satisfaction guarantee
- Get money as soon as today
- Won’t qualify if you don’t have at least good credit
- Must borrow at least $5,000
- Can’t check rates without taking a hard credit hit
LightStream’s process is quick and easy. You could get your loan the same day that you apply as long as you finalize your documents online by 2:30 p.m. ET on a business day.
If you have excellent credit, LightStream offers one of the lowest starting rates on the market. It also doesn’t charge any fees and offers Rate Beat, a rate-matching program. If a competitor offers you a loan with a lower rate, LightStream will beat it by 0.10 percentage points (stipulations apply).
Unlike many lenders, LightStream doesn’t let you prequalify for a personal loan. That means LightStream will run a hard credit pull when you check your eligibility, potentially dropping your credit score by a few points.
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 can handle paying their current debt obligations
- Savings, whether in a bank account, investment account or retirement account
Best for: Bad or no credit – Upstart
- APR
- 6.50% – 35.99%
- One of the lowest minimum credit score requirements around
- Don’t always need a credit score to borrow
- Allows one due date change per year (as long as your account is in good standing and meets other requirements)
- Can’t take a loan out with another person
- Can only choose between two repayment terms: 36 or 60 months
- Could keep a portion of your loan (0.00% – 12.00%) as an origination fee
Most people who apply for Upstart loans get an immediate decision and don’t have to submit more supporting documents to verify their identity or income.
Upstart is an online lending platform that connects borrowers with partner lenders. Although some of Upstart’s partners have loose eligibility requirements, prepare for a high origination fee. Typically, the worse your credit, the higher this fee will be.
Upstart has transparent eligibility requirements, including:
- Age: Be 18 or older
- Administrative: Have a U.S. address, personal banking account, email address and Social Security number
- Income: Have a valid source of income, including a job, job offer or another regular income source
- Credit-related factors: No bankruptcies within the last three years, reasonable number of recent inquiries on your credit report and no current delinquencies
- Credit score: 300+ (unless you’re an eligible college student or graduate, in which case Upstart could approve you with no credit)
Best for: Small loans – First Tech Federal Credit Union
- APR
- 6.99% – 18.00%
- Loans start at $500
- Won’t charge a rate higher than 18.00%
- Bad credit may not disqualify you
- Have to join the credit union in order to get a loan (but it’s easy to become a member)
- Could take up to three days to get your money
First Tech Federal Credit Union conducts most of its business online. It has physical branches in a handful of states, but it serves members nationwide. If you don’t live near a branch, you can schedule a phone call with a representative for help. Otherwise, you can apply for and manage your loan entirely online and via mobile app.
Most personal loans start at $1,000. With First Tech Federal Credit Union, you can borrow as little as $500. First Tech Federal Credit Union also offers a wide range of loan repayment terms, with the shortest being six months. Paying your loan off fast (no matter the size) can help you pay less interest over time.
To join First Tech (a requirement to get a loan), you must:
- 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 will pay for your first year of membership, and you don’t have to maintain membership to keep your First Tech account)
Best for: Excellent customer service – Discover
- APR
- 7.99% – 24.99%
- Has a financial assistance program if you’re having trouble paying
- Customer service is based in the U.S. and available seven days a week
- 97% of LendingTree users recommend Discover
- Need good credit and $40,000+ annual income
- Can’t add a second person to your loan
Discover makes it easy to apply for your loan online — you can even use your phone to upload supporting documents. Once you’ve accepted your loan, you can manage your payments on your phone with the Discover app.
The vast majority of LendingTree customers who’ve worked with Discover recommend it. Discover is willing to work with eligible borrowers during times of financial hardship. If you need help, Discover’s customer service is available seven days a week, with extended hours. Discover also doesn’t charge any fees, although late payments will still hurt your credit.
You can finalize your loan online and get your money as soon as the following business day. Unfortunately, Discover doesn’t let you add a co-borrower to boost your odds of getting a loan.
Best for: Those wanting to switch banks – Upgrade
- APR
- 7.74% – 35.99%
- Can earn a $200 welcome bonus for signing up for Rewards Checking Plus
- Allows you to take photos and upload any required documents with your phone
- By banking and borrowing, you can get 10-20% lower rates on future Upgrade loans and cards
- Requires at least $1,000 in monthly direct deposits to get full benefits
- Will have to wait at least one business day to get your loan
- Charges an origination fee of 1.85% – 9.99% on every loan, regardless of credit score
Upgrade makes uploading your documents easy – no scanning required. You can use your phone to take and upload a photo of any documents that Upgrade requires.
Opening a Rewards Checking account while getting an online loan through Upgrade could net you some awesome benefits. For instance, you could qualify for a lower rate on future Upgrade products and earn up to 2% cash back for using your debit card. To get all of the banking benefits through this offer, you must get at least $1,000 a month in direct deposit.
If you aren’t looking to open a new checking account, Upgrade could still be a solid choice — especially if you have fair credit. Upgrade’s partners have a low credit score minimum (580), and you can add a second person to your loan to get a lower rate. The company also offers secured loans, which are typically easier to qualify for.
Best for: An easy application process – Rocket Loans
- APR (with autopay)
- 8.01% – 29.99%
- Easy application, responsive customer service
- Same-day loan is possible
- Has an autopay discount
- Only two repayment terms (36 or 60 months)
- Mobile app applies only to mortgages, not personal loans
- Not available in Iowa, Maryland, Nevada or West Virginia
As long as you finalize your loan documents online by 4 p.m. ET on a business day, you could get your loan deposited into your bank account the same day that you apply. Rocket Loans also says that it answers nearly 90% of its customer service calls within 30 seconds, during business hours.
Rocket Loans is an online-only lender that provides funding between $2,000 and $45,000. It might not have the lowest rates if you have excellent credit. But with a rate cap at 29.99% (with autopay), Rocket could be a good choice if you have a few blemishes. It accepts scores as low as 620.
Best for: Interest rate discounts – Achieve
- APR
- 8.99% – 29.99%
- Offers three interest rate discounts
- Can get help from a personally assigned loan consultant if you have questions throughout the process
- Accepts less-than-perfect credit
- Will lose 1.99% – 9.99% of your loan funds as an origination fee
- Can’t borrow less than $5,000
- No live chat (loan consultant helps over the phone)
You can apply for a personal loan from Achieve directly on the Achieve website. Once you’re pre-approved, you can finish the process over email. It also offers plenty of ways to save.
Achieve offers three interest rate discounts.
By adding a second person to your application, you could get a discount (assuming that person has good credit). Achieve also gives a discount on certain debt consolidation loans, as long as you let it pay your creditors directly. Finally, proving you have a healthy retirement savings could also snag you a lower rate.
Other than a credit score of at least 640, Achieve will typically ask you to provide the following documents and information:
- Proof of income
- Social Security number
- Government-issued ID
- Employment status
Additionally, Achieve is not available in Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Dakota, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia or Wyoming.
Best for: Same-day loans – SoFi
- APR (with discounts)
- 8.74% – 35.49%
- Same-day loans
- Able to add a second person to your loan
- Lots of membership perks, like free financial planning
- Won’t work if you only need a little bit of money, since its loans start at $5,000
- May need to pay an origination fee to unlock SoFi’s lowest rates
- Doesn’t approve bad credit
You can use the SoFi app to apply for your loan and manage your payments. After you apply, you can use the app to check the status of your application and sign your loan agreement electronically. You can even check and download all of your loan documents directly on the SoFi site.
You can borrow up to $100,000 with SoFi. And as long as you apply before 5:30 p.m. ET on a business day, you’ll likely get your money that same day. Other lenders offer same-day funds but generally have a shorter cut-off time (2:30 p.m. ET, for example).
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+
Online loan calculator
Online loans: The basics
An online loan is a personal loan that you get online instead of at a physical bank or credit union. An online loan will give you a lump sum of money that you pay back in monthly installments, plus interest.
Online loans have fixed interest rates, so your monthly payment will be the same each month (unlike with a credit card). You can use a personal loan for nearly anything, including emergencies like car repairs and moving costs.
Online loans for bad credit
When your score is too low for a traditional lender, it’s hard to know where to turn. The lenders below specialize in bad credit online loans.
Before you borrow from these lenders (or any lender that charges high interest rates), have a plan to pay your loan off early. The longer your loan is open, the more interest you’ll rack up. These loans are very expensive and not something to take lightly. Use a personal loan calculator to see how much your loan will cost you.
The lenders below are not available in all states. Rates, terms and available loan amounts also depend on where you live.
| Lender | APR range | Loan amounts | Repayment terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACE Cash Express* | Not specified | $100-$2,500 | Varies |
| CheckSmart* | 146.74%-391.07% | $100-$825 | 14 to 30 days |
| Credit Ninja | Starting at 35.99% | $300-$5,000 | 3 to 24 months |
| OppLoans | 129.00%-195.00% | $500-$5,000 | 9 to 18 months |
| Plain Green Loans | Up to 699.00% | Up to $4,500 | 6 to 24 months |
| RISE | 59.80%-299.00% | $500-$5,000 | 7 to 36 months |
Types of online loans
It can be hard to tell the difference between traditional online personal loans, bad credit online loans and online payday loans. Take a look at the definitions below to see the variations between these three options.
Online personal loan: An online personal loan has longer repayment terms, larger loan amounts and lower APRs. You generally need a credit score of at least 670 to get an affordable rate, but you may still qualify with fair or bad credit. The maximum APR on these loans is usually 35.99%.
Bad credit online loan: Bad credit loans have shorter repayment terms, smaller loan amounts and very high APRs. Many of these lenders don’t have a minimum credit score requirement. They may also not report on-time payments to the three credit bureaus. If this is the case, the loan won’t help your FICO score.
Online payday loan: Online payday loans charge outrageous APRs (or excessive fees) and have super-short repayment terms. Typically, the lender will automatically deduct what you owe on the date your next paycheck hits. If you don’t have enough to pay your original loan, you might be forced to take out another loan to pay for it, snowballing into a cycle of debt.
Average online loan rates by credit score
Loan rates vary by credit score, and improving yours is a great way to save money. Raising your credit from fair (580 to 669) to very good (740 to 799) could save you $1,804 in personal loan interest, according to a LendingTree study.
We used LendingTree data to find average online loan APRs by credit score. Find yours to get an idea of what rate you might qualify for.
| Credit tier | Average APR |
|---|---|
| Excellent (800 and above) | 11.77% |
| Very good (740-799) | 14.74% |
| Good (670-739) | 22.72% |
| Fair (580-669) | 30.17% |
| Poor (under 580) | 32.19% |
Get free, personalized recommendations on how to improve each of the factors that affect your credit score with LendingTree Spring. We’ll show you how your credit stacks up and what to do to boost your score.
Easiest loans to get online
Some lending platforms offer easy online experiences when it comes to applying for a personal loan. You can avoid having to visit a branch and apply for an online loan from the comfort of your home. Here are some of the easiest online loans you can get:
- LightStream:Competitive rates for excellent credit
- Upstart:Bad or no credit
- First Tech Federal Credit Union: Small loans
- Discover: Excellent customer service
- Upgrade: Those who want to switch banks
- Rocket Loans: Easy application process
- Achieve: Interest rate discounts
- SoFi: Same-day loans
Qualifying for online loans with bad credit
If you have bad or no credit, there are steps you can take to make it easier to qualify for online loans.
Secured loans: A secured loan requires collateral. For online personal loans, collateral is usually your car or a bank account. If you don’t pay back your loan, the lender will take your collateral. Since it knows it can recoup some of its losses, the lender might be more willing to give you a loan.
Joint loans: A joint loan is one that you take out with another person, called a co-borrower. Your co-borrower acts as a guarantee, and they have the same access to the loan as you. If you make late payments, both of your credit scores will go down.
How to find an online loan with LendingTree
Shopping around for a personal loan on the LendingTree can save you an average of $1,659 over the life of your loan. Here’s how it works.
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
LendingTree users who get at least one offer receive 20 personal loan offers on average. Compare your offers side by side to get the best deal.
Get your money
Pick a lender and sign your loan paperwork. You could see money in your account in as soon as 24 hours.
Why do millions of Americans trust LendingTree?
25+ years in business. 110+ million Americans served. $260+ billion in funded loans.
Security
Instead of sharing information with multiple lenders, fill out one simple, secure form in five minutes or less.
Savings
We’ll match you with up to five lenders from our network of 300+ lenders (America’s largest) who will call to compete for your business.
Support
We provide ongoing support with free credit monitoring, budgeting insights and personalized recommendations to help you save.
Online loan alternatives
Online payday alternative loan (PAL)
A payday alternative loan (PAL) is a more affordable version of a payday loan available only at federal credit unions.
You can borrow from $200 to $2,000 and have one to 12 months to pay it back, depending on the size of your loan. Best of all, interest rates are capped at 28.00%.
Here are some credit unions that offer easy online membership as well as online PALs:
-
Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU)
DCU calls its PAL a Quick Loan. Rates start at 17.99%, and loans have maximum repayment terms of 12 months. You can meet DCU’s membership requirements by joining a partner organization for a small fee (starting at $10 a year). -
Teachers Federal Credit Union
You can get $200-$1,000 with a Teacher’s Short-Term Loan. Repayment terms range from 1 to 6 months. You must be a member for at least a month before you’re eligible. Membership is open to everyone. -
Veridian Credit Union
To get a PAL from Veridian Credit Union, you must have direct deposit set up with a Veridian checking account. Still, with a rate of 19.00% (with autopay), it could be worth it. You can join Veridian Credit Union by donating at least $5 to Habitat for Humanity of Iowa.
Paycheck advance apps
Paycheck advance apps let you borrow money early from your paycheck. When payday comes, the app will deduct what you borrowed from your checking account. Most paycheck advance apps don’t charge interest. Instead, they charge fees or ask for a tip.
If you only need a little bit to get through the week, a paycheck advance app could be a good option. Don’t get into the habit of using them all the time, though. The cycle can be hard to break.
Buy now, pay later
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) apps let you break up retail purchases into smaller payments, usually four paid over six weeks. Like paycheck advance apps, BNPL apps don’t usually charge interest unless you’re getting longer-term financing. But fees can add up, and you could end up buying stuff you don’t really need since they’re so easy to use.
Howe we chose the best online loans
We reviewed more than 40 lenders and loan marketplaces to determine the overall best five same-day emergency loans. To make this list, the company must have the ability to send funds the same day that it approves an applicant.
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 system, the best online loans come from: LightStream, Upstart, First Tech, Discover, Upgrade, Rocket Loans, Achieve 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.
Frequently asked questions
No-credit-check loans and payday loans are easy online loans. But the easier a loan is to get, the higher the interest usually is. It’s not uncommon for these loans to come with triple-digit APRs.
If you’re worried that you won’t qualify for an online personal loan, consider Upstart. Loans through the Upstart platform only require a score of 300 and have a maximum APR of 35.99%.
You could use a paycheck advance app like EarnIn or Dave. Paycheck advance apps lend smaller amounts and don’t typically charge interest (instead, they may charge fees).
You could also apply for an emergency loan — most of these lenders offer same- or next-day funds. These personal loans usually start at $1,000, but you might find smaller loans with a bank or credit union.
They can be, but fully vet your lender and know the signs of predatory lending. Read LendingTree’s lender reviews to get a feel for what the company has to offer, and read customer reviews to hear other borrowers’ experiences.
Also, always make sure the lender’s website is secured and encrypted. Look for the lock symbol at the left side of your address bar. If the website has a lot of typos or otherwise seems sketchy, move on to another lender.