Best Short-Term Loans in December 2024

Avant is the best short-term lender for fair credit because it offers short loans to borrowers with scores as low as 550. If you want an even shorter loan, you can pay off your Avant loan early without paying fees called prepayment penalties. Plus, Avant’s mobile app allows you to adjust your due dates, enroll in autopay and sign up for payment reminders.

If you have good or excellent credit, you’ll likely qualify for better rates with another lender. Note that Avant does charge late fees and an upfront loan processing fee called an origination fee.

Read our full Avant personal loan review.

To get a loan with Avant, you’ll need to meet the following minimum requirements:

• Residency: Not available to residents of Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont or West Virginia.
• Administrative: May need to submit bank statements, pay stubs or tax documents to prove your income. Avant may also call your employer to verify your employment.
• Credit score: 550

Few lenders offer more customer satisfaction guarantees than LightStream. LightStream will beat any competitor’s loan offer by 0.10 percentage points, and it’ll send you $100 if you aren’t satisfied during the first 30 days of your loan (stipulations apply to both offers).

LightStream repayment terms start at 24 months. But if you need a shorter loan, don’t sweat — you can pay off your LightStream loan early without worrying about prepayment penalties. Note that LightStream only approves borrowers with at least good credit, and you can’t check your rates without submitting a formal loan application.

Read our full LightStream personal loan review.

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 the ability to handle paying their current debt obligations
• Savings, whether in a bank account, investment account or retirement account

If you need a small loan, PenFed Credit Union offers loans starting at $600 and repayment terms as short as 12 months. Borrowers looking for even shorter loan terms should note that they can repay their loan early without PenFed charging prepayment penalties.

PenFed Credit Union is an excellent alternative to a payday loan because it offers small short-term loans with much lower interest rates. Note that you have to join PenFed to take out a loan, but it’s easy to become a member.

Read our full PenFed personal loan review.

To qualify for a PenFed loan, you must meet the following requirements:

• Membership requirements: PenFed membership (anyone can join)
• Administrative: Open a PenFed savings account with $5 deposit; may need to submit documents to verify your identity and income

PNC Bank offers repayment terms starting at six months, making it the best choice for saving on interest with a very short loan. Borrowers with excellent credit can take advantage of PNC’s low starting rates, and you won’t pay a fee for taking out a loan or for paying off your loan early.

PNC Bank doesn’t specify what credit score you’ll need to qualify for a loan. You can only take out up to $35,000 with PNC, which may not be enough to cover your expenses.

Read our full PNC personal loan review.

PNC Bank considers the following when deciding whether to approve you for a loan:

• Residency: PNC offers loans in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. Restrictions apply to loans in New York, Connecticut and Tennessee.
• Credit history
• How long you’ve been employed
• Citizenship

Learn more about personal loan requirements and how lenders like PNC make approval decisions.

SoFi offers quick loans — it gives same-day funding to the majority of applicants (with the exception of debt consolidation loans). SoFi loans don’t come with late payment fees or prepayment penalties, meaning you can pay off your loan early if you want an even shorter loan.

You’ll pay an upfront origination fee to get SoFi’s lowest annual percentage rates (APRs). And if you need a small loan, choose another lender. SoFi’s loans start at $5,000, and you should only borrow as much as you need.

Read our full SoFi personal loan review.

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: 680

Upstart considers more than your credit score, funding applicants who have been denied for other loans. Upstart’s AI-powered algorithm evaluates your education, income, employment status, financial history and identity.

But Upstart’s bad-credit loans don’t come cheap — rates go up to 35.99%. And Upstart charges upfront loan processing fees as high as 12%, when other lenders don’t charge an origination fee at all.

Read our full Upstart personal loan review.

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
• Employment: Have a job or job offer that starts within six months, or have regular income
• Credit-related factors: Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio no higher than 50% (45% in Connecticut, Maryland, New York and Vermont), no bankruptcies within the last year, fewer than six inquiries on your credit report in the last six months and no current delinquencies
• Credit score: 300