Best Swimming Pool Loans in 2025
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Best pool loans
GETTING CHEAPER RATES WITH A SECURED POOL LOAN – BEST EGG
- Better rates when you use your home’s fixtures as collateral
- Get money as soon as 24 hours
- Fair credit OK
- Charges one-time fee of 0.99% – 9.99% on every loan
- Need 700+ credit score and income of $100,000+ to qualify for best rates
- Not good for large pool loans or extensive remodels (can only borrow up to $50,000.00)
If you want the lower rates of a home equity loan or HELOC without having to use your home as collateral, check out Best Egg’s secured loans for your pool loan. Best Egg offers cheaper rates when you use your home’s permanent fixtures (like cabinets or lighting) as collateral.
But Best Egg loans do come at a price: You’ll need to pay a one-time origination fee, which Best Egg will keep before sending you your loan money. And if you need a large pool loan, consider LightStream or SoFi — you can only borrow up to $50,000 with Best Egg.
Best Egg uses your home’s permanent fixtures as collateral, but no appraisal is needed. Instead, Best Egg will review your credit history and home equity to see if you qualify.
You’ll also need meet the requirements below to qualify for a Best Egg loan:
- Age: Be of legal age to borrow in your state of residence
- Citizenship: Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident living in the U.S.
- Administrative: Have a personal checking account, email address and physical address
- Residency: Not live in the District of Columbia, Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia or U.S. territories
- Credit score: 580+
SAME-DAY POOL LOANS WITH NO FEES – LIGHTSTREAM
- Get money as soon as the same day
- No fees
- Get lower payments with an extra-long repayment term
- Competitive rates and Rate Beat Program
- Seeing your rates requires a hard credit check
- Won’t qualify with bad or fair credit
LightStream is hard to beat when it comes to pool loans. In fact, LightStream’s Rate Beat program is designed to blow competitors out of the water — LightStream will beat a competitor’s rate by 0.10 percentage points, as long as the loan offer meets certain criteria. Plus, LightStream offers quick loans with no fees, which could make your loan cheaper and more convenient.
But not everyone will qualify for a loan with LightStream: You’ll need good or excellent credit to meet their eligibility requirements. Plus, LightStream does a hard credit check before showing you rates, so you can’t see what you’re eligible for without taking a hit to your credit.
LightStream doesn’t specify its exact credit score requirements, but you’ll need to 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
BETTER ODDS OF APPROVAL WITH PEER-TO-PEER LOANS – PROSPER
- Boost odds of approval by applying for a peer-to-peer loan
- Joint loans OK (can get lower rates and better approval odds with a co-borrower)
- Fair credit OK
- Not good for large pool loans or extensive remodels (can only borrow up to $50,000.00)
- Charges one-time fee of 1.00% – 9.99% on every loan
Check your rates with Prosper if you’re worried about getting approved for your pool loan. Prosper’s loans are peer-to-peer, which tend to have better approval odds. Plus, Prosper lets you further boost your odds of approval by applying for a joint loan with a borrower who has good or excellent credit.
However, Prosper loans do come with a one-time fee of 1.00% – 9.99% of the amount you borrow. This fee will be taken out of your loan before Prosper sends it to you.
SAME-DAY POOL LOANS WITH NO REQUIRED FEES – SOFI
- Get money as soon as the same day
- No fees required
- Joint loans OK (can get lower rates and better approval odds with a co-borrower)
- Need at least good credit
- You may need to pay an upfront fee to get the lowest rates
If you need fast cash for your pool contractor bills, try SoFi. If you qualify, SoFi will send your money as soon as the same day, and there are no required fees. Plus, if you want to add a co-borrower to your loan to get lower rates or improve your chances of qualifying, SoFi lets you do so.
But with so many perks, it’s no wonder that SoFi loans are limited to people with good to excellent credit. Further, in order to get the lowest rates, you may have to pay an upfront origination fee.
You’ll need 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, 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: 680+
POOL LOANS WITH DISCOUNTS – UPGRADE
- Discounts for autopay and using car as collateral
- Get money as soon as one business day
- Fair credit OK
- Charges one-time fee of 1.85%-9.99% on every loan
- Not good for large pool loans or extensive remodels (can only borrow up to $50,000.00)
If you’re on the hunt for pool loan deals, check out Upgrade’s discounts. You can get a lower APR by signing up for autopay and by using your car as collateral. You won’t have to sacrifice time, either — Upgrade will send you your money in as soon as one business day.
Still, like many lenders, Upgrade charges a one-time fee on each loan. It’ll take 1.85%-9.99% from the amount you borrow before sending you your money.
BAD OR FAIR CREDIT POOL LOANS – UPSTART
- One of the lowest minimum credit scores on the market
- Competitive starting rates for excellent credit
- Get money as soon as one business day
- Charges one-time fee of 0.00% – 12.00%
- Only two repayment terms: 36 months to 60 months
Worried you won’t qualify for a pool loan with poor credit? Try your luck with Upstart. Upstart’s minimum credit score is 300, offering loans to borrowers with bad and fair credit. And it’s also a great option if your credit is in the excellent range — Upstart’s low starting rates could mean big savings on your pool loan.
But if you do have bad or fair credit, expect to pay APRs as high as 35.99%, including a one-time fee of 0.00% – 12.00%. And if you want to customize your loan term, consider other lenders on this list. Upstart only offers repayment terms of 36 months to 60 months.
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)
What is a pool loan?
A pool loan is a personal loan you use to pay for your pool when you can’t cover the full cost upfront. This is also called pool financing.
Home improvement loans like swimming pool loans tend to come with lower rates than typical personal loans, but rates are still high for borrowers with bad or fair credit. Consider alternatives if you’re concerned that a pool loan isn’t in your budget.
Can I afford a pool loan?
Just starting to look at pool loans? It can be hard to tell whether you can afford a pool loan at this stage. Here are three easy ways to see if a pool loan will break the bank.
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Review your budget
Use a budgeting app like YNAB or Monarch Money to see how much room you have in your budget for a pool loan. You can also create a budget yourself. If you’re making more than you’re spending, measure the gap between your income and expenses and use this number as a starting point. -
Check your rates
You can check your rates by prequalifying for a loan on lender websites or by using the LendingTree marketplace. This means you can see your potential rates without any damage to your credit or any obligation to actually get the loan. -
Use a personal loan calculator
A personal loan calculator can help you calculate your potential monthly pool loan payments. Use our data to estimate your rates, then plug your approximate rate into our pool loan calculator.
Current pool loan rates
Home improvement loans, including swimming pool loans, tend to come with lower rates than other kinds of personal loans, meaning it’s less expensive to borrow the same amount of money.
Banks and online lenders charge different rates based on your loan purpose, which is how you’ll use the loan. Lenders have determined that home improvement loans are less risky than loans used for other purposes, like car repairs or everyday bills. The riskier the loan, the higher the rates.
Use the table below to compare home improvement loan rates and personal loan rates. You can also estimate your pool loan rates by finding your credit band and looking under the home improvement loan column.
| Credit score range | Average home improvement loan APR | Average personal loan for any purpose APR |
|---|---|---|
| 800-850 (excellent) | 10.91% | 12.50% |
| 740-799 (very good) | 14.93% | 15.74% |
| 670-739 (good) | 26.13% | 28.72% |
| 580-669 (fair) | 75.77% | 92.45% |
| 300-579 (poor) | 255.79% | 260.34% |
Check your credit score for free with LendingTree Spring. You’ll get personalized recommendations on how to boost your score, and you can use Spring to track your score over time.
Pool finance calculator
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In 2024 alone, LendingTree helped find funding for over $2.8 billion in personal loans.
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LendingTree users save $1,659 on average just by shopping and comparing rates.
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In 2024, LendingTree helped find funding for over 309,000 personal loans.
When banks compete, you win
You’d shop around for flights — why not your pool loan? LendingTree makes it easy. Fill out one form and get lenders from the country’s largest network to compete for your business.
Tell us what you need
Take two minutes to tell us who you are and how much money you’ll need for your pool — we’ll take care of the rest. It’s free, simple and secure.
Shop your offers
Receive offers from up to five trusted lenders. Our users get 18 personal loan offers on average. Compare your offers side by side to see which is the best deal.
Get your money
Pick a lender and sign your loan paperwork quickly. You could see money in your account in as soon as 24 hours, depending on the lender you choose.
We funded $2.8 billion in personal loans in 2024 alone. Shopping for a personal loan on LendingTree can save you an average of $1,659 over the life of your loan.
Other ways to pay for your pool
You have several pool financing options to choose from if a pool loan just doesn’t work for your budget. Pool loans typically require less paperwork, and with an unsecured pool loan, you won’t risk losing collateral like your home and car if you can’t make payments.
But putting your home on the line could help you qualify for lower rates. Here’s what you need to know about how to use your home equity to get cheaper pool financing.
Home equity loans
Best if: You have a lot of equity and need a long time to pay off your pool
You can pay for your pool with a home equity loan, and you’ll likely get lower rates because you’re using your home as collateral. But home equity loan terms typically start at five years, so you’ll be in debt longer than you would with a personal loan. Plus, you risk losing your house if you can’t make payments.
Home equity lines of credit
Best if: You don’t know how much money you’ll need
Like home equity loans, home equity lines of credit (or HELOCs) allow you to borrow against the equity you have in your home. But since HELOCs let you borrow money and repay it again and again, they’re a better option for ongoing home improvement projects with no definitive final cost.
Make sure you can afford to pay off what you borrow, since you risk losing your house if you don’t make payments.
Cash-out refinance
Best if: You already want to refinance your mortgage and rates are low
If you’re looking to refinance your mortgage and borrow money to pay for your pool, you’re in luck — a cash-out refinance accomplishes both. You’ll borrow more money than you currently owe on your home and pocket that money to pay for your pool. You’ll also refinance your mortgage in the process.
However, taking out money for your pool could mean higher monthly payments on your mortgage, so make sure you can afford the new payments. If you stop paying, you risk losing your home to foreclosure.
Frequently asked questions
The best pool loans come from Best Egg, LightStream, Prosper, SoFi, Upgrade and Upstart, according to our unique methodology.
You can get lower rates with pool loan alternatives like home equity loans or HELOCs, but these loans require more paperwork and put your home on the line. If you’re looking for a quick way to finance your pool that doesn’t risk your home to foreclosure, personal loans are the smarter option.
The average interest rate for home improvement loans like pool loans depends on your credit, but average APRs for excellent credit are currently 10.91%. Read more about average pool loan rates.
Our methodology
We reviewed more than 30 lenders that offer pool loans to determine the top six pool loans. To make our list, lenders must offer pool loans with competitive annual percentage rates (APRs). From there, we prioritize lenders based on the following factors:
Accessibility. Lenders are ranked higher if their personal loans are available to more people and require fewer conditions. This may include lower credit requirements, wider geographic availability, faster funding and easier and more transparent prequalification and application processes.
Rates and terms. We prioritize lenders with more competitive fixed rates, fewer fees and greater options for repayment terms, loan amounts and APR discounts.
Repayment experience. For starters, we consider each lender’s reputation and business practices. We also favor lenders that report to all major credit bureaus, offer reliable customer service and provide any unique perks to customers, like free wealth coaching.
According to our standardized rating system, the best pool loans come from Best Egg, LightStream, Prosper, SoFi, Upgrade and Upstart.