Lender | User ratings | Best for… | APR range | Loan terms | Loan amounts | Credit score required |
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User Ratings & Reviews
Ratings and reviews are from real consumers who have used the lending partner’s services. | Short-term loans for fair credit | 9.95% to 35.95% | 12 to 60 months | $2,000 to $35,000 | 580 | |
User Ratings & Reviews
Ratings and reviews are from real consumers who have used the lending partner’s services. | Short-term loans for customer satisfaction | 7.49% to 25.49% (with autopay) | 24 to 144 months | $5,000 to $100,000 | Not specified | |
User Ratings & Reviews
Ratings and reviews are from real consumers who have used the lending partner’s services. | Small short-term loans | 8.49% to 17.99% | 12 to 60 months | $600 to $50,000 | 700 | |
User Ratings & Reviews
Ratings and reviews are from real consumers who have used the lending partner’s services. | Quick short-term loans | 8.99% to 25.81% (with discounts) | 24 to 84 months | $5,000 to $100,000 | 680 | |
User Ratings & Reviews
Ratings and reviews are from real consumers who have used the lending partner’s services. | Secured short-term loan | 8.49% to 35.99% (with autopay) | 24 to 84 months | $1,000 to $50,000 | 580 | |
User Ratings & Reviews
Ratings and reviews are from real consumers who have used the lending partner’s services. | Short-term loan for bad or no credit | 6.40% to 35.99% | 36 and 60 months | $1,000 to $50,000 | 300 |
APR range | 9.95% to 35.95% |
Loan amounts | $2,000 to $35,000 |
Loan terms | 12 to 60 months |
Origination fee | Up to 4.75% |
Funding timeline | As soon as the next business day |
Minimum credit score | 580 |
Pros | Cons |
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Offers loans to those with bad and fair credit Highly rated mobile app for account management Offers approval in minutes | APRs not as competitive as some Possible origination fee $25 late payment fee Not available in all states |
Although you might have to pay an origination fee, it could still be worth it if you’re looking for a short-term loan.
Read our full Avant personal loan review.
Avant loans are unavailable in Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and West Virginia.
APR range | 7.49% to 25.49% with autopay |
Loan amounts | $5,000 to $100,000 |
Loan terms | 24 to 144 months |
Origination fee | None |
Funding timeline | As soon as the same day |
Minimum credit score | Not specified |
Pros | Cons |
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Offers unique programs aimed toward customer satisfaction Competitive maximum APR Flexible term lengths No origination or late payment fees | Must have good-to-excellent credit to qualify No prequalification Cannot change monthly due date |
At 24 months, LightStream may not have the shortest minimum term length, but it doesn’t charge any fees or a prepayment penalty. Not all borrowers will qualify, however, since LightStream only approves those with at least good credit.
Read our full LightStream personal loan review.
APR range | 8.49% to 17.99% |
Loan amounts | $600 to $50,000 |
Loan terms | 12 to 60 months |
Origination fee | None |
Funding timeline | As soon as the next business day |
Minimum credit score | 700 |
Pros | Cons |
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Low minimum loan amount Offers joint loans Can prequalify | Must join credit union to borrow High credit score requirement $29 late payment fee |
Like many credit unions, PenFed’s APRs are lower than many online lenders, but its credit score requirements are steep. Only those with a score of 700 or higher may qualify. However, PenFed might approve you if you add a creditworthy co-borrower to your application.
Read our full PenFed personal loan review.
Other than its minimum credit score requirement, PenFed’s borrower criteria is vague. During the process, it may verify your income through your paystubs, retirement statements, bank statements or tax returns.
APR range | 8.99% to 25.81% with discounts |
Loan amounts | $5,000 to $100,000 |
Loan terms | 24 to 84 months |
Origination fee | 0% to 6% (not required) |
Funding timeline | As soon as the same day |
Minimum credit score | 680 |
Pros | Cons |
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Offers quick loans Unemployment Protection benefit could bring peace of mind No late payment fees | Must pay origination fee for lowest APR High minimum loan amount Not available to bad-credit borrowers |
You need to pay an optional origination fee to get SoFi’s lowest APRs. This lender also only makes sense if you need a large loan, as its minimum loan is $5,000.
Read our full SoFi personal loan review.
APR range | 8.49% to 35.99% (with autopay) |
Loan amounts | $1,000 to $50,000 |
Loan terms | 24 to 84 months |
Origination fee | 1.85% - 9.99% |
Funding timeline | As soon as the next business day |
Minimum credit score | 580 |
Pros | Cons |
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May offer lower APRs if you use your car as collateral Lower minimum credit score requirement Wide range of loan amounts | Not all cars qualify as collateral Charges an origination fee $10 late payment fee |
Secured loans can be risky. However, if you’re able to unlock Upgrade’s minimum APR by putting your car on the line, a secured loan could be worth it for the right borrower. Keep in mind that your car must be less than 20 years old and meet Upgrade’s other collateral requirements.
Read our full Upgrade personal loan review.
For Upgrade’s secured loans, your vehicle must meet the following requirements:
APR range | 6.40% to 35.99% |
Loan amounts | $1,000 to $50,000 |
Loan terms | 36 and 60 months |
Origination fee | 0.00% - 12.00% |
Funding timeline | As soon as the next business day |
Minimum credit score | 300 |
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
May be available if you have no or bad credit Low minimum APR Customer service available seven days a week (excluding major holidays) | Potential for high origination fee Only two term lengths offered Charges 5% of unpaid amount or $15 (whichever is greater) for late payments |
But just because Upstart approves you doesn’t mean your loan will be cheap. Its bad credit loans could come with an APR as high as 35.99%. Additionally, Upstart’s origination fee caps out at 12%, much higher than traditional lenders.
There is no standard definition of short-term loan, but generally, it’s a personal loan with short repayment terms. A term is the amount of time you have to repay your lender, and you choose it before the lender finalizes your loan. Sometimes, you can refinance a personal loan after the fact to make your term longer or shorter.
Short loan terms can range between 12 and 36 months, though they may be even shorter depending on the lender and type of loan. Short-term loans may also come with higher minimum monthly payments, but you’ll pay less interest than you would with long-term loans.
Some lenders will allow you to modify your loan in the middle of your term; others are less flexible. In other words, you should choose a loan term you can handle — you might be stuck with it.
Like any financial product, short-term loans come with pros and cons. Consider below:
Pros | Cons |
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Less interest. The shorter your term, the less interest you’ll pay over the life of your loan. Lower interest rates. Personal loans with shorter loan terms typically have lower interest rates. Less time in debt. Taking out a short-term loan means you’ll be in debt for a shorter period of time. | Higher monthly payments. Since you’ll have less time to spread out your balance, your monthly payments will be higher. Limited availability. Not all lenders offer short-term loans. Can come with risk. Short-term loans usually have higher monthly payments. If you run into financial hardship, a short-term loan could put strain on your budget. Predatory lending. A days- or months-long loan term can be a sign of predatory lending. |
Comparing short-term loans can be confusing, especially if this is your first time borrowing money. Referencing the definitions below while reviewing your loan offers might make the process easier.
Taking out a short-term loan with bad credit may be possible, but you might want to take the steps below to boost your personal loan approval odds.
Your credit score is more than just a number — so much of your life can be dictated by these three digits. Your credit score can make or break your ability to take out a loan, buy a new home or even land that dream job.
Keep your finger on your finances with LendingTree Spring. With Spring, you can check your credit score and see how it may be affected if you take out a short-term loan.
Short-term loans can be helpful, but this product is often used in predatory lending. To avoid being taken advantage of, you might want to avoid a short-term loan if it also:
Doesn’t require a credit check
Carries an APR above 36%
Comes with a prepayment penalty
Requires a days- or weeks-long loan term
Has a lot of negative feedback on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s complaint database
If your short-term loan comes with any of these red flags, you might want to move on to another lender. A predatory loan (such as a payday loan) will likely leave you worse off than where you started.
Thanks to excessively high APRs or extra-short repayment terms, we recommend skipping many of the short-term loans below. Still, knowing what’s out there could help you avoid the cycle of debt.
Some employers may let you take a paycheck advance, which is like getting paid before you’ve completed the work. With this type of loan, you’ll be borrowing a portion of your next paycheck. This can be handy in the present moment, but not so much for your future self.
Employers are not allowed to make a profit through paycheck advances, but they can charge a fee or interest to pay for the extra accounting needed to provide this short-term loan.
Not all employers allow paycheck advances, but there are mobile paycheck advance apps that can help you borrow funds sans credit check. When you get your next paycheck, the amount you borrowed will be deducted from your account, usually with no fees or interest.
Paycheck advance apps usually only lend a couple of hundred of dollars at a time, at least to start. Take the mobile app EarnIn. When you first sign up, you can only borrow up to $100. But over time, you may be able to increase your paycheck advance amount, up to $750.
You can borrow against your current credit card and get a cash loan by taking a cash advance. Since you’ve already been approved for the card, you don’t have to go through another credit check to get this short-term loan.
You may be able to withdraw funds from an ATM using your credit card that allows credit advances or through a convenience check sent by the credit card company. How much you can access generally depends on your credit limit, but some lenders may have a separate cash advance credit limit.
Beware: Using your credit card to get access to cash can be expensive. You’ll probably have to pay extra fees, but companies might charge a higher interest rate, too. That interest also begins to accrue immediately, leading you to owe more than you borrowed by your first billing cycle.
If you have a valuable item — such as jewelry or a musical instrument — that you’re willing to risk, you could get a pawnshop loan. With this short-term loan, you’ll use your valuable item as collateral. If you can’t hold up your end of the loan, the pawnshop gets your item (for good).
To make a profit, pawnshops usually offer loans for 25% to 60% of your item’s worth. Since the pawnshop undervalues your collateral, you might be forced to put up something very valuable to get the loan amount you need.
According to the National Pawnbrokers Association, the average pawnshop loan is $180, and the shop will usually require you to pay back your loan within 30 days. Most pawnshops don’t charge interest, but don’t think you’ll get away scot-free. Instead of interest, they’ll charge fees. Many times, these fees reach predatory levels.
On the plus side, you don’t need to pass a credit check to get a pawnshop loan. Also, defaulting or making late payments won’t impact your credit score.
Car title loans are another type of short-term loan that requires collateral. This time, you’ll use your car title, motorcycle title or truck title rather than a valuable personal item. Like pawnshops, car title loan lenders undervalue your collateral, typically to the tune of 25% to 50%.
Since the lender knows it can recoup some of its losses through repossession, it doesn’t check your credit or have stringent requirements. On the other hand, you may lose your vehicle if you don’t make payments. Title loans also come with fees that may equate to 300% APR, and you’ll probably only have 30 days or less to pay back what you borrowed.
Payday loans are similar to paycheck advances, but they’re offered by lenders rather than your employer or an app. These short-term loans have lax requirements. You usually only need to provide proof of income and have a bank account — no credit check is required.
While these loans are easy to get, payday loans come with colossal interest rates, like 400% APR. Payday loans typically come with a fee between $10 and $30 for every $100 borrowed, but this depends on state laws. You might also face fees for accessing your loan through a prepaid debit card, if that’s how you opt for payment.
Even though you’ll pay dearly for a payday loan, you’ll only get a small amount of money in return. While this varies by state, $500 is a common loan size. You’ll also need to repay your loan (plus interest) in one lump sum, usually through your next paycheck.
We reviewed more than 28 lenders to determine the overall best short-term personal loans. To make our list, lenders must offer personal loans with a minimum term between 12 and 36 months. The lender must also offer competitive annual percentage rates (APRs). From there, we prioritize lenders based on the following factors:
Whether a short-term loan is hard to get depends on your credit and the lender in question. Many of the best short-term loans are simply standard personal loans with a repayment term between 12 and 36 months.
Generally, it can be harder to qualify for an affordable personal loan with a credit score below 640, but some lenders are willing to loan to bad-credit borrowers at a higher APR.
The length of a personal loan term varies by lender and the type of loan you choose. For example, payday loans tend to have terms that only extend a few weeks. Traditional lenders may have terms that span at least one to three years.
As long as your lender reports your payments to the credit bureaus, on-time payments can build your credit. On the flip side, that means that late payments can hurt your credit, too. Not all lenders report to the bureaus, so you may want to spend time researching before taking out your short-term loan.