6 Best Personal Loans of April 2026

Personal loans are a form of installment credit, repaid in regular increments over a set period. They have lower interest rates than credit cards, making them a good option for home renovations, weddings, medical bills and other needs.

When compiling the best personal loans, CNBC Select evaluated dozens of lenders using a variety of criteria, including interest rates, fees, loan amounts, term lengths, fund disbursement, discounts and customer service. Read more about our methodology below.

Who’s this for? Upstart is ideal if you have a low credit score or even no credit history, since it’s one of the few companies that looks at other factors when determining eligibility, including education, income and employment history. It also allows you to apply with a co-applicant.

Standout benefits: You can borrow anywhere from $1,000 to $75,000 and choose a three-year or five-year term. Funds are typically available the next business day if you accept the loan on a weekday before 5 p.m. ET.

Who’s this for? SoFi got its start refinancing student loans, but the company has since expanded to offer personal loans up to $100,000, depending on creditworthiness. This makes it an ideal lender for borrowing large amounts.

Standout benefits: You can choose between a variable- or fixed-rate APR on your loan, whereas most other personal loans just come with a fixed interest rate. Variable rates can go up and down over the lifetime of your loan, which means you could potentially save if the APR goes down (but it’s important to remember that the APR can also go up).

Who’s this for? LightStream, the online lending arm of Truist Bank, offers low-interest loans with flexible terms for people with good credit. Borrowers can secure a loan repayment term ranging from 24 to 240 months (two to 20 years), depending on the loan type.

Standout benefits: Funds may be available the same day if you apply on a business day and are approved by 2:30 p.m. ET.

Who’s this for? PenFed is a federal credit union that offers membership to the general public. While most lenders have a $1,000 minimum for loans, you can get a $600 loan from PenFed with terms ranging from one to five years.

Standout benefits: Some credit unions are difficult to become members of, but with PenFed, you just have to keep $5 in a qualifying savings account to receive your funds.

Who’s this for? Discover Personal Loans can be used for consolidating debt, home improvement, weddings and vacations. You can receive your money as early as the next business day, provided that your application was submitted without any errors. Otherwise, your funds will take no more than a week.

Standout benefits: If you’re getting a debt consolidation loan, Discover can pay your creditors directly.

Who’s this for? Since it will send payments directly to your creditors, Happy Money is great for consolidating credit card debt. It approves loans ranging from $5,000 to $40,000, with terms of 24 to 60 months.

Standout benefits: Happy Money’s team performs quarterly check-ins during your first year that help improve your relationship with money through personality, stress and cash flow assessments.

Personal loans are a form of installment credit that is often a more affordable way to finance major expenses. Before taking out a loan, however, make sure you have a plan for paying it off.

Loan terms usually range from six months to seven years. The longer the term, the lower your monthly payments will be. But you’re likely to pay more in interest in the long run.

Once you’re approved for a personal loan, the funds are typically deposited directly into your account. If you use the money for debt consolidation, however, you may be able to have the lender pay your creditors directly. (Any extra cash will be deposited into your account.)

Each month, you’ll make a payment that includes a portion of the money you borrowed plus interest. If you want to pay some or all of the balance before the due date, check whether your lender has a prepayment penalty. None of the lenders on our list have early payoff penalties.

• APR: Consider the interest rates you’re being offered. Having a higher credit score usually qualifies you for a lower interest rate.
• Fees: It’s common for personal loans to carry an application fee, origination fee and/or late payment fee. A lender may also charge a fee if you pay off the loan early.
• Loan terms: The term is the amount of time you have to repay the loan in full. In general, longer loan terms mean smaller monthly payments, which is advantageous for managing monthly cash flow. But it also means you’ll pay more in interest over the life of the loan.
• Disbursement timeline: Most lenders will fund personal loans within three to five business days of approval, though the most expedient lenders can disburse funds the same day or one business day later.

• Sit down with your budget and determine how much money you need to borrow and how much you can afford to repay each month.
• Shop for loans with several different lenders to find the best rate and term. You can usually enter your personal information into a rate estimation tool on the lender’s website. This is just a soft inquiry on your credit report, so your credit score shouldn’t take a hit. (You can also try out CNBC Select’s personal loan comparison tool for free.)
• Once you’ve decided on a lender, gather your required documents and submit your application. Aside from your name, address, Social Security number and contact information, you may need to submit pay stubs, proof of address and bank account information.
• After you’re approved, you’ll accept the terms by signing the loan agreement. Your money should be deposited into your account within a few days.

• Co-applicant / Co-borrower: A co-applicant, or co-borrower, is a person who helps you qualify for a loan by attaching their name (and financial details) to your application. They jointly own the asset or debt and are equally responsible for repaying it back.
• Co-signer: A co-signer agrees to help you qualify for the loan, but they are only responsible for making payments if you are unable to. The co-signer’s credit will be negatively affected if the main borrower misses payments or defaults.
• Direct payments: Some lenders offer direct payments when you select debt consolidation as the reason for taking out a personal loan. With direct payments, the lender pays your creditors directly and then deposits any leftover funds into your checking or savings account.
• Early payoff penalty: Before you accept a loan, look to see if the lender charges an early payoff or prepayment penalty. Because lenders expect to get paid interest for the full term of your loan, they could charge you a fee if you make extra payments to pay your debt down quickly. The fees could equal either the remaining interest you would have owed, a percentage of your payoff balance or a flat rate.
• Origination fee: An origination fee is a one-time upfront charge that your lender subtracts from your loan to pay for administrative and processing costs. It is usually between 1% and 5%, but sometimes it is charged as a flat-rate fee. It’s best to avoid origination fees if possible.
• Unsecured versus secured loans: Most personal loans are unsecured, meaning they are not tied to collateral. However, if your credit score is poor and you’re finding it hard to qualify for a loan, you can sometimes use a car, house or other assets to act as collateral in case you default on your payments. When you put an asset up as collateral, you are giving your lender permission to repossess it if you don’t pay back your debts on time and in full.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice to help them make informed financial decisions. Every personal loan list is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of loan products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best personal loans.

To determine the best personal loans, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of U.S. personal loans offered by online and brick-and-mortar banks, including large credit unions. We focused on those that offer no origination or signup fees, as well as flexible loan amounts and terms to suit an array of financing needs.

When narrowing down and ranking the best personal loans, we focused on the following features:

• No (or low) origination or signup fee: The majority of lenders on our best-of list don’t charge borrowers an upfront fee for processing your loan. For the ones that do, the fee is relatively low and only applies if you have a low credit score.
• Flexible minimum and maximum loan amounts/terms: Each lender provides a variety of financing options that you can customize based on your monthly budget and how long you need to pay back your loan.
• No early payoff penalties: The lenders on our list do not charge borrowers for paying off loans early.
• Streamlined application process: We considered whether lenders offered same-day approval decisions and a fast online application process. 
• Customer support: Every loan on our list provides customer service available via telephone, email or secure online messaging. We also opted for lenders with an online resource hub or advice center to help you educate yourself about the personal loan process and your finances.
• Fund disbursement: The loans on our list deliver funds promptly through either electronic wire transfer to your checking account or in the form of a paper check. Some lenders (which we noted) offer the ability to pay your creditors directly.
• Autopay discounts: We noted the lenders that reward you for enrolling in autopay by lowering your APR by 0.25% to 0.50%.
• Creditor payment limits and loan sizes: The above lenders provide loans in an array of sizes, from $600 to $100,000. Each lender advertises its respective payment limits and loan sizes, and completing a preapproval process can give you an idea of what your interest rate and monthly payment would be for such an amount.

After reviewing the above features, we sorted our recommendations by best for a lower credit score, best for borrowing large amounts, best for flexibility, best for smaller loans, best for next-day funding and, lastly, best for debt consolidation.

Note that the rates and fee structures advertised for personal loans are subject to fluctuation in accordance with the Fed rate. However, once you accept your loan agreement, a fixed-rate APR will guarantee interest rate and monthly payment will remain consistent throughout the entire term of the loan. Your APR, monthly payment and loan amount depend on your credit history and creditworthiness. To take out a loan, lenders will conduct a hard credit inquiry and request a full application, which could require proof of income, identity verification, proof of address and more. 

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*Your LightStream loan terms, including APR, may differ based on loan purpose, amount, term length, and your credit profile. Excellent credit is required to qualify for lowest rates. Rate is quoted with AutoPay discount. AutoPay discount is only available prior to loan funding. Rates without AutoPay are 0.50% points higher. Subject to credit approval. Conditions and limitations apply. Advertised rates and terms are subject to change without notice. Payment example: Monthly payments for a $10,000 loan at 7.99% APR with a term of three years would result in 36 monthly payments of $313.32.

Fixed rates from 8.74% APR to 35.49% APR. APR reflect the 0.25% autopay interest rate discount and a 0.25% SoFi Plus interest rate discount. SoFi Platform personal loans are made either by SoFi Bank, N.A. or, Cross River Bank, a New Jersey State Chartered Commercial Bank, operating from its Delaware branch, Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. SoFi may receive compensation if you take out a loan originated by Cross River Bank. These rate ranges are current as of 02/23/26 and are subject to change without notice. Not all rates and amounts available in all states. See SoFi Personal Loan eligibility details at https://www.sofi.com/eligibility-criteria/#eligibility-personal. Not all applicants qualify for the lowest rate. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on a variety of factors, including evaluation of your credit worthiness, income, and other factors.