Prosper Personal Loan Review

Prosper is unique because it offers peer-to-peer loans. A peer-to-peer loan is funded by individual investors instead of a single lender. Peer-to-peer loans tend to be easier to qualify for, but at times, slower to fund. Here’s what you can expect with a Prosper personal loan.

• Midsize loans: Prosper offers loans with a low minimum and a high maximum borrowing amount ($2,000 to $50,000). Unless you need a very small or very big loan, Prosper can probably accommodate.
• Open to those with less-than-perfect credit: Prosper only requires a credit score of at least 560 to qualify.
• Not as competitive if you have excellent credit: Prosper’s starting annual percentage rate (APR) is 8.99%. Respectable, but you can probably find a better deal with a lender that specializes in excellent credit.
• Charges an origination fee: Prosper will keep 1.00% - 9.99% of your loan for itself as an origination fee. Origination fees tend to be higher the lower your credit score is.
• Investors might not pick up on your loan, even if Prosper approves you: Investors have 14 days to fund at least 70% of your loan after Prosper approves your loan application. If not, your listing will be cancelled.
• Can add a second person to your loan: If you don’t meet Prosper’s eligibility requirements on your own, consider a joint loan. Adding a second person to your application can increase your chances of getting approved (or a better rate) if that person has strong credit.
• Best for fair-credit borrowers who don’t need same-day funds: With a minimum credit score of just 560, Prosper may be a good option if you have a less-than-perfect credit score. However, unlike some lenders, you can’t get your money the same day that you apply.

Prosper pros and cons

Signing a personal loan agreement is serious business. Unless you refinance your personal loan, you’ll be with your lender until you’ve paid off what you borrowed. Review Prosper’s pros and cons before making your decision.

However, peer-to-peer loans aren’t always the quickest.

With Prosper, investors have 14 days to fund at least 70% of your loan. If they don’t, your loan listing will be cancelled and you’ll have to try again. Although this isn’t typical (it usually only takes one to three days for investors to bite), this scenario is possible.

Prosper requirements

To qualify for a personal loan with Prosper, you must be at least 18 years old and meet these additional requirements:

If Prosper’s loan options won’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 Prosper

Though it may take some time before you actually receive your personal loan funds from Prosper, this lender’s application process is simple and straightforward.

Prequalify

First, you’ll need to see if you prequalify for a personal loan with Prosper. During the initial application process, you’ll need to specify how much you need, the purpose of the loan and your personal information. You’ll also need to disclose whether you plan to apply as an individual or with a co-borrower.

Hard credit pull

After you find out whether you prequalify, you’ll need to choose which of Prosper’s loan offers best suit your needs. Should you decide to proceed with the loan, you’ll have to submit documentation verifying your identity as well as your income. You may also have to submit to a hard credit pull. Approval can take up to five business days.

Sign loan contract

If you’re officially approved for a Prosper personal loan, you’ll need to sign a loan agreement. From there, it can take one to three business days to receive your funds, depending on how interested investors are in your loan request.

How Prosper compares to other personal loan companies

Even if you believe Prosper aligns with what you’re looking for in a personal loan, it never hurts to shop around and compare other lenders. Here’s how Prosper stacks up against similar personal loan lenders.

How we rated Prosper

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.

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.