LendingClub Personal Loan Review
- APR
- 6.53% – 35.99%
- Eligibility and access: 5/5
- Cost to borrow: 3.6/5
- Loan terms and options: 5/5
- Repayment support and tools: 4/5
- Offers joint applications: LendingClub lets you boost your chances of approval by offering joint personal loans. These are loans you get with another person, called a co-borrower.
- Fast funding: LendingClub offers quick loans — 56% of people get their money in as little as 24 hours.
- Direct payment to creditors: If you plan to use a your loan for debt consolidation, LendingClub will send your loan money directly to your original creditors.
- Charges fees: You may have to pay an origination fee — an administrative fee commonly associated with personal loans — that can range anywhere from 0.00% - 8.00% of your loan amount.
- Charges high rates for fair credit: LendingClub charges annual percentage rates (APRs) as high as 35.99%, while other lenders have a lower cap.
- Best for joint loans: Since LendingClub allows joint applications and can make direct payments to creditors, its loans are a solid option if you’re applying with a co-borrower or consolidating debt.
LendingClub pros and cons
LendingClub offers benefits to its customers, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right fit for everyone.
Pros
- Offers joint loans
- Makes direct payments to creditors
- Get money as soon as 24 hours
Cons
- Charges an upfront origination fee
- High rates for fair credit
- Charges late fees
You could qualify for lower rates and get better approval odds when you apply for a LendingClub loan with a co-borrower with excellent credit. A co-borrower is a second person who has good credit and shares the legal responsibility of repaying the loan.
LendingClub sometimes charges an origination fee of 0.00% - 8.00% of the total loan amount. Plus, LendingClub APRs go as high as 35.99%, while competitors like Discover and SoFi cap APRs at much lower rates.
LendingClub requirements
LendingClub doesn’t provide many specifics about personal loan eligibility criteria, aside from requiring borrowers to be at least 18 years old. Here’s what we know:
| Minimum credit score | 600 |
| Residency requirements | LendingClub provides personal loans in all 50 states. However, you must be one of the following:
|
| Required documents |
|
If you meet the basic requirements listed above, you may need to disclose how you plan to use your personal loan. While LendingClub does allow borrowers to use its funding for a variety of purposes, there are certain expenses for which you cannot use the borrowed money.
LendingClub loans CAN be used for…
- Debt consolidation/credit card refinancing
- Home improvement projects
- Major purchases
- Green loan for sustainability projects
- Business
- Medical expenses
LendingClub loans CANNOT be used for…
- Secondary education
- Illegal activity
- Investments
- Cryptocurrency
If LendingClub’s loan options don’t work for your borrowing needs, be sure to shop around for a lender that helps you meet your financial goals and can offer you the best-fitting rates, terms and amounts.
How to get a loan with LendingClub
Because LendingClub is an online loan lender, you won’t have to worry about visiting a branch in person. The application process can be done from the comfort of your home.
Check if you prequalify
If you want to shop around for personal loans without impacting your credit score, LendingClub offers the option to prequalify for a loan. Prequalification involves a soft credit inquiry to show you the rates and loan terms you may qualify for. While prequalified offers are not guaranteed, they can give you a good idea of which lenders might be the right fit for your needs.
During this process, you’ll have to provide personal information such as your date of birth, annual income and contact information.
Verify your information
If you prequalify for a LendingClub personal loan, you can formally apply and verify your information with official documentation like pay stubs or recent W-2s.
You’ll also need to submit to a hard credit inquiry. As opposed to the previously mentioned soft credit pull, this can cause your credit score to drop by a few points. A hard credit inquiry allows lenders to have a more detailed account of your credit report.
Sign your loan agreement
If LendingClub officially approves you for a loan, you’ll have to sign a loan agreement outlining the terms, fees and conditions of your personal loan. Then, LendingClub will either deposit your money into your personal bank account or repay your original creditors.
If your application for a personal loan is denied, work on improving your credit score and beefing up your credit profile. To increase your chances of getting approved for a loan, you can try strategies like checking your credit report for errors or locking down a steady source of income.
How LendingClub compares to other personal loan companies
Even if you believe LendingClub aligns with what you’re looking for in a personal loan, it never hurts to shop around and compare lenders. Here’s how LendingClub stacks up against similar personal loan lenders.
| LendingClub | Avant | Best Egg | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LendingTree’s rating | 4.4/5 | 4.3/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Minimum credit score | 600 | 580 | 580 |
| APRs | 6.53% – 35.99% | 9.95% – 35.99% | 6.99% – 35.99% |
| Loan amount | $1,000 – $60,000 | $2,000 – $35,000 | $2,000 – $50,000 |
| Repayment term | 24 – 84 months | 24 – 60 months | 36 – 60 months |
| Origination fee | 0.00% – 8.00% | Up to 9.99% | 0.99% – 9.99% |
| Funding timeline | Get money as soon as 24 hours | Get money as soon as one business day | Get money as soon as the next day |
| Bottom line | LendingClub offers competitive rates and long loan terms if you need to stretch out your payments. But if you have bad credit, you won’t qualify with LendingClub — try applying with bad-credit lenders like Avant. | Avant offers loans for bad credit at reasonable rates, but keep in mind you may need to pay a high upfront origination fee on your loan. | Best Egg offers low starting rates, has a fast funding timeline and lets you borrow up to $50,000 — but it charges upfront fees on every loan. |
How we rated LendingClub
We evaluate personal loan lenders on more than just interest rates. Our goal is to show how accessible, affordable, transparent and supportive each lender really is.
Our categories
Every lender is scored out of 5 stars, with 5 stars being the highest rating. LendingTree loan experts determine this score using dozens of underlying data points across four weighted categories covering the full borrowing journey.
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.
In some cases, our editors may apply a small adjustment (no more than 4% of the overall score) to account for factors not captured by the methodology. This could include J.D. Power customer satisfaction surveys, recent regulatory actions or features that stand out in ways our rubric doesn’t measure directly.
Our editorial team applies the same scoring model and standards to every lender. Lenders cannot pay to influence our ratings.
Frequently asked questions
LendingClub is a legitimate loan company that offers loans ranging from $1,000 to $60,000. It also offers flexible loan terms and APRs that don’t currently go above 35.99%, which fits within what is considered to be responsible lending practices by policy advocates.
LendingClub has a minimum credit score requirement of 600 but also considers other factors when reviewing your personal loan application.
The lender will also look at your credit history and debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, which is how much debt you have compared to your income. Try to keep your DTI ratio below 35% for the best odds of approval.
Checking to see whether you prequalify for a LendingClub personal loan won’t hurt your credit, but if you officially apply, you’ll have to go through a hard credit inquiry. This can cause your credit score to drop slightly and will stay on your credit report for up to two years.
Any trustworthy lender will do a hard credit inquiry at some point in the application process.
After you’re approved for a personal loan, it may take a few days to receive your funds.
Typically, it can take anywhere from one to five business days to receive your money from a lender, but many other lenders also offer quick funding.
Get personal loan offers from up to 5 lenders in minutes