Best Personal Loans For Fair Credit 2024: Ranked & Review
Reviewed by Randolph Vialva, MBA
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For people with fair credit, securing a personal loan may seem challenging, though it’s definitely not impossible. According to FICO, a fair credit score is between 580 and 669, however, most lenders will have a minimum credit score higher than this range in order to get a personal loan.
So, for more tailored options that can fit individuals with a fair credit score, they can continue reading below as we highlight the lenders who will make loans to these borrowers. Even still, keep in mind that you likely will face less favorable terms in exchange for them accepting your lower credit score.
Best Personal Loans For Fair Credit 2024 Review
- Upgrade Personal Loan: Best Overall
- LightStream: Most Affordable
- Avant Personal Loans: Quickest Funding
- Upstart Personal Loan: Best for Short Credit History
- Rocket Loans: Best for Credit Histories of at Least 2 Years
- Discover® Personal Loans: Best for Debt Consolidation Loans
- Marcus by Goldman Sachs: Best for Longer Terms
- OneMain Financial: Best for Flexible Payment Options
What Is a Fair Credit Score?
As defined by FICO, a fair credit score is between 580-669. There are a number of factors that go into determining a credit score, like the length of credit history, credit utilization, debt mix, payment history, and more. Thus, people may have fair credit scores for a variety of reasons. This can limit the loans and financing they can secure, the terms they pay on debt, and other things. Most of the time, lenders will have minimum credit score requirements, which helps them exclude lenders that they don’t think will be likely to pay them back.
Best Personal Loans For Fair Credit 2024 Review
Let’s take a look at some of the top lenders for fair credit borrowers to choose from. These fair credit personal loans all come with different terms, loan amounts, and features, though they can each be a great match for the right borrower.
Upgrade Personal Loan
Upgrade is our top choice for fair credit lenders given their debt consolidation abilities and the way they help fair credit borrowers build their credit.
- Multiple interest rate discounts offered
- Both secured and joint loans are available
- Direct payments made to creditors with debt consolidation loans
- They charge an origination fee
- Can’t choose an initial payment date
Upgrade personal loans are a great option for personal loan lenders for those with fair credit scores. This is because they offer multiple ways to get interest rate discounts, and will make direct payments to creditors with their debt consolidation loans. They have a low credit score requirement, meaning it’s available to borrowers even when they don’t have the best credit reports.
With Upgrade, loan terms are two to seven years, and their minimum credit score requirement is 560. So, the perks they offer stand out even more given their loose qualification requirements.
LightStream
LightStream is a good personal loan option for those needing a fair credit loan, as they offer a range of loan amounts to individuals much wider than other lenders. The repayment terms are flexible and favorable, helping borrowers spread out their repayment over time.
- No origination fee or prepayment fees
- Low-interest rate
- Quick funding approval
- No option for prequalification
- No flexibility with due dates
- Limited use for loan proceeds
LightStream is a part of Truist, offering unsecured personal loans from $5,000 to $100,000, a much larger range than many lenders. They are favored for their lengthy repayment terms, which helps borrowers avoid making big expenses in a short amount of time. Plus, they don’t charge any loan origination fees, late payment fees, or prepayment penalties.
Additionally, the borrowers who sign up for autopay can receive an additional rate discount, and their services are widely available across the country. Even still, borrowers who are looking for lower minimum loan amounts may need to seek out other lenders.
Avant Personal Loans
Many people like the personal loans offered by Avant because they can be funded quickly; however, many customers like the flexibility and additional features that other lenders offer.
- Quick funding decisions
- Can pre-qualify with a soft credit check
- Great mobile app to manage the loan
- No option for co-signers
- No rate discounts offered
- May charge an origination fee
Avant does target lenders in the fair credit range, meaning they’re the perfect choice if you’re someone who has a credit score of around 600. Fair credit borrowers can enjoy how quickly Avant makes funding decisions, though there isn’t the flexibility for monthly payments you can get from other lenders.
Upstart Personal Loan
Upstart offers great options to low-credit borrowers who want to consolidate their existing debt, cover large expenses, or make a large purchase.
- Good options for borrowers with low credit scores
- Quick funding decisions
- They charge an origination fee
- There’s a high maximum APR
Upstart has a good fair credit personal loan option, though the range of interest rates that they charge is quite wide, and the loan origination fees vary depending on the loan amount, which can get pretty high. So for those who need personal loans up to a loan amount of $50,000, and have an okay credit score, Upstart can be a lender to consider
Rocket Loans
Rocket Loans are some of the best personal loan options out there for borrowers with fair credit, though they limit it to applicants who have at least two years of credit history.
- Can prequalify with a soft credit pull
- Can get a rate discount when you sign up for autopay
- Wide range of loan amount options
- Can’t choose initial payment date
- They charge an origination fee
Rocket Loans is one of the personal loan providers that will work with borrowers who have lower credit scores to provide quick funding, though they don’t have some of the helpful features that other lenders offer. For example, borrowers can’t set their initial payment date, and Rocket Loans won’t send the funds to creditors directly when you want to consolidate other loans or credit card balances.
Discover® Personal Loans
Even though Discover is more known for being a credit card brand, they also have fair credit personal loans for borrowers who don’t have stellar credit ratings, though they do prefer borrowers on the higher end like the mid-600 range. They have flexible repayment terms of up to seven years, making them a great option for those who want to stretch out their payments.
- Direct payments to consolidate debt
- No origination fee
- Funding decisions made quickly
- They charge a late fee
- Don’t allow for co-signers
- Minimum annual income to qualify
The qualifications of Discover’s personal loans mean people with fair credit around 600 may be able to qualify, though the borrowers with a lower rating may not be eligible. However, the long repayment term is a great reason why borrowers choose to get funding from Discover, as it allows them to take their time repaying the loan amount. But, it’s important to note that they will charge a late fee. So, borrowers with fair credit or lower will probably want to consider other lenders.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs
If you need a loan with fair credit, Marcus by Goldman Sachs is a great fair credit lender to consider. They don’t charge any fees and offer flexible repayment options where borrowers can change the payment date up to three times over the lifetime of the loan.
- No origination fee or late fees
- Debt consolidation payments to third parties
- Flexible payment dates
- No option for co-signers
- Cannot be used to refinance a student loan
- No same-day funding
Marcus is a part of the investment bank Goldman Sachs, offering personal loan amounts in the range of $3,500 to $40,000. So borrowers who need to access more funds should consider the other lenders on this list. However, the repayment terms are flexible and favorable for borrowers with fair credit. They offer a discount if you enroll for autopay, and don’t charge any fees, which is a great option for low-credit applicants.
Another great benefit is that borrowers can prequalify for their fair credit personal loans with a soft credit pull, which won’t hurt their credit even further. There is no app to manage the fair credit personal loan once you’ve received it; however, there are plenty of customer support options to access support as needed.
OneMain Financial
OneMain Financial offers fair credit loans to individuals with lower credit scores, and are preferred by customers for the payment flexibility they offer, and the options to lower your rates.
- Payment dates flexible
- Joint and secured loan options
- Quick loan approval
- Higher rates than competitors
- They charge a loan origination fee
- No discounts on interest rates available
Above all, OneMain Financial offers some of the best fair credit loans given the support they provide to borrowers with repayments. The annual percentage rate they charge is higher than what you can find from many lenders on this list; however, the options for borrowers with low credit scores cannot be overlooked and are the main draw of their secured loans.
Plus, borrowers can choose and change their payment date, giving them control over their monthly payments. Additionally, they operate branch locations in 44 states, making them highly accessible and easy to access for additional support with the loan agreement, monthly payment, and more.
How To Choose a Personal Loans for Fair Credit
Let’s go over some of the things to consider as you’re choosing between the lenders on this list.
Rates and Fees
Each lender here has different fee schedules and interest rates they’ll charge. These varying loan terms may lead you towards one lender over another, though many lenders offering fair credit personal loans on this list won’t charge fees like origination, late, or a prepayment penalty. Plus, the interest rate you can expect will likely depend on your credit score,
Repayment Term
Many of the lenders here have flexible repayment terms, meaning borrowers can choose their payment dates and length of the repayment term. This can help borrowers who are in a tough financial situation or have a lower FICO credit score to spread out their payments over years. However, it’s important to note that with a longer repayment term, you will generally pay more interest.
Loans Amount
Another factor you may consider is the loan amount that lenders offer you. If you’re looking for a lower loan amount, only certain lenders offer personal loans below a few thousand dollars. Or, if you’re looking for a higher loan amount for any reason, you will need to make sure to consider a lender that will make a big enough loan for your needs.
Features and Benefits
Aside from the loan among, origination fee charged, and schedule for monthly payments, lenders may offer other features and benefits that could draw you more to their loan product. Some have a great mobile app where you can manage your loan, others have the flexibility to change your payment date a certain number of times, and many other features that could be helpful to low credit applicants.
How Personal Loans Affect Credit Score
A personal loan can both improve and hurt your credit score, depending on what you do with it. It’s important to note that you may receive a hard credit check when you’re applying for a personal loan, which will show up as an inquiry on your credit report and could detract from your overall score for a while. On the other hand, if you make your payments on time it could actually help your score. Plus, it could improve your credit mix and other aspects of your credit score could actually make it go up rather than down. However, you need to be sure to make on-time payments.
Final Thoughts
As you can see from the large list of loans for fair credit that are out there, borrowers have plenty of options to choose from if they have a credit score in the middle range. Each lender offers different terms and ways for you to borrow money, though it’s important to know that you still have options even if you don’t have the best credit.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You can check your credit score with Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.
The different components that make up your credit score include the length of credit history, credit usage, inquiries, new credit, and payment history.
You may see a financial institution will make a “soft credit check” on your credit score before qualifying you for a product. This means someone you authorize, will check your credit score to preapprove you for an offer. These don’t impact your credit score, and won’t be reported to the credit bureaus or show up on your credit report.
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