Editor’s Note: APRs listed in this article are up-to-date as of the time of publication. They may fluctuate (up or down) as the Fed rate changes. Select will update as changes are made public.

Personal loans are the fastest-growing debt category in the last decade. That’s due in part to the rise of fintech and peer-to-peer lending companies, which make accessing these loans cheaper and easier than ever before.

A form of installment credit, personal loans must be paid back in regular increments over a set period of time. Many see them as an affordable alternative to credit cards, because personal loans often have lower interest rates than credit cards, and consumers can use them to finance nearly every kind of expense, from home renovations to relocation costs and sometimes even paying off student loan debt. But that doesn’t mean they’re free money. Personal loan APRs average 12.17%, according to the Fed’s most recent data. Meanwhile, the average credit card interest rate is around 21.19%.

When compiling our list of the best personal loans, CNBC Select evaluated dozens of lenders. We looked at key factors like interest rates, fees, loan amounts and term lengths offered, plus other features including how your funds are distributed, autopay discounts, customer service and how fast you can get your funds. (Read more about our methodology below.)

This tool is provided and powered by Engine by MoneyLion, a search and comparison engine that matches you with third-party lenders. Any information you provide is given directly to Engine by MoneyLion and it may use this information in accordance with its own privacy policies and terms of service. By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from Engine by MoneyLion. Select does not control and is not responsible for third party policies or practices, nor does Select have access to any data you provide. Select may receive an affiliate commission from partner offers in the Engine by MoneyLion tool. The commission does not influence the selection in order of offers.

Who’s this for? Upstart is ideal for individuals with a low credit score or even no credit history. It is one of the few companies that look at factors beyond your credit score when determining eligibility. It also allows you to apply with a co-applicant, so if you don’t have sufficient credit, you still have the opportunity to receive a lower interest rate.

Standout benefits: You can choose a three-year or five-year loan and borrow anywhere from $1,000 to $50,000. Plus, Upstart has fast service — you’ll get your money the next business day if you accept the loan before 5 p.m. EST Monday through Friday. 

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, making it an ideal lender for when you need to refinance high-interest credit card debt.

Standout benefits: You can choose between a variable or fixed APR on your loan, whereas most other personal loans 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). However, fixed rates guarantee you’ll have the same monthly payment for the duration of the loan’s term, which makes it easier to budget for repayment.

Who’s this for? LightStream, the online lending arm of Truist Bank, offers low-interest loans with flexible terms for people with good credit or higher. LightStream is known for providing loans for nearly every purpose except for higher education and small business. You could get a LightStream personal loan to buy a new car, remodel the bathroom, consolidate debt, or cover medical expenses, according to the company’s website. 

Standout benefits: You can receive your funds on the same day, if you apply on a banking business day, your application is approved and you electronically sign your loan agreement and verify your direct deposit banking account information by 2:30 p.m. ET.

Who’s this for?  A Happy Money personal loan is a good choice if you’re looking to consolidate your credit card debt and pay it down over time at a lower interest rate. Borrowers can take out loan amounts between $5,000 and $40,000, and the loan terms range from 24 to 60 months. There’s a soft inquiry tool on its website, which allows you to look at possible loan options based on your credit report without impacting your credit score.

Standout benefits: Unlike some lenders, Happy Money allows you to deposit the money you borrow into your linked bank account or send it directly to your creditors. Another perk you get from taking out a Happy Money loan is access to various financial literacy tools, such as free FICO score updates, a team that performs quarterly check-ins with you during your first year of working with Happy Money and tools to help members improve their relationship with money through personality, stress and cash flow assessments.

Who’s this for? PenFed is a federal credit union that offers membership to the general public and provides a number of personal loan options for debt consolidation, home improvement, medical expenses, auto financing and more.

Standout benefits: 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. You don’t need to be a member to apply, but you will need to sign up for a PenFed membership and 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 (and the loan was funded on a weekday). Otherwise, your funds will take no later than a week. 

Standout benefits: If you’re getting a debt consolidation loan, Discover can pay your creditors directly. Once you’re approved for and accept your personal loan, you can link the credit card accounts so Discover will send the money directly. You just need to provide information such as account numbers, the amount you’d like paid and payment address information. Any money remaining after paying your creditors can be deposited directly into your preferred bank account.

Personal loans are a form of installment credit that can be a more affordable way to finance the big expenses in your life. You can use a personal loan to fund many expenses, from debt consolidation to home renovations, weddings, travel and medical expenses.

Before taking out a loan, make sure you have a plan for how you will use it and pay it off. Ask yourself how much you need, how many months you need to repay it comfortably and how you plan to budget for the new monthly expense. (Learn more about what to consider when taking out a loan.)

Most loan terms range anywhere from six months to seven years. The longer the term, the lower your monthly payments will be, but they usually also have higher interest rates, so it’s best to elect for the shortest term you can afford. When deciding on a loan term, consider how much you will end up paying in interest overall.

Once approved for a personal loan, the cash is usually delivered directly to your checking account. However, if you opt for a debt consolidation loan, you can sometimes have your lender pay your credit card accounts directly. Any extra cash left over will be deposited into your bank account.

Your monthly loan bill will include your installment payment plus interest charges. If you think you may want to pay off the loan earlier than planned, be sure to check if the lender charges an early payoff or prepayment penalty. Sometimes lenders charge a fee if you make extra payments to pay your debt down quicker, since they are losing out on that prospective interest. The fee could be a flat rate, a percentage of your loan amount or the rest of the interest you would have owed them. None of the lenders on our list have early payoff penalties.

Once you receive the money from your loan, you have to pay back the lender in monthly installments, usually starting within 30 days.

When your loan is paid off, the credit line is closed and you can no longer access it.

• APR: You’ll want to consider the interest rates you’re offered since a higher rate means you’ll be paying back more money over the loan’s lifetime. 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 late payment fee. The fewer fees you have to pay, the more money you save so make sure you compare fees between loans.
• Loan term: The loan term is the amount of time you have to repay the loan in full. In general, longer loan terms mean you’ll have smaller monthly payments, which are advantageous for managing your monthly cash flow. But long loan terms mean you’ll pay more in interest over the life of the loan. Shorter loan terms mean higher monthly payments but you’ll pay less in total interest.
• Disbursement timeline: Most personal loan lenders can get you funded within 3–5 business days of approval, but the most expedient lenders can disburse your loan within the same day. If you need money in a pinch for emergencies, you may want to go with lenders that have a faster turnaround time.

• Sit down with your budget and figure out how much money you need to borrow.
• Start shopping around for loans with different lenders to see where you can get the best terms. You can typically do this by entering your personal information into a free 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 the lender, gather all 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 for the deposit.
• After you’re approved, you’ll accept the loan by agreeing to and signing the terms and your funding should be deposited into your account within a few days.

• Co-applicants or joint applications: A co-applicant is a broad term for another person who helps you qualify by attaching their name (and financial details) to your application. A co-applicant can be a co-signer or a co-borrower. Having a co-applicant can be helpful when your credit score isn’t so great, or if you’re a young borrower who doesn’t have much credit history. If your co-applicant has a good credit score, you might be offered better terms, including qualifying for a lower APR and/or a bigger loan. At the same time, both applicants’ credit scores will be affected if you don’t pay back your loan, so be sure that your co-applicant is someone you feel comfortable sharing financial responsibility with. 
• Co-signers: 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 does not receive the loan, nor do they necessarily make decisions about how it is used. However, the co-signers credit will be negatively affected if the main borrower misses payments or defaults.
• Co-borrower: Unlike a co-signer, a co-borrower is responsible for paying back the loan and deciding how it is used. Co-borrowers are usually involved in decisions about how the loan is used. Some lenders will only consider two co-borrowers who share a home or business address, as this is a firm indicator that they are sharing the responsibility of money in mutually beneficial ways. Both co-borrowers’ credit scores are on the hook if either one stops making 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. Until you see your account balance is fully paid off, it’s best to keep making payments so that you don’t get hit with additional late fees and interest charges.
• 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 administration and processing costs. It is usually between 1% and 5%, but sometimes it is charged as a flat-rate fee. For example, if you took out a loan for $20,000 and there was a 5% origination fee, you would only receive $19,000 when you got your funds. Your lender would get $1,000 of the loan off the top, and you’d still have to pay back the full $20,000 plus interest. It’s best to avoid origination fees if possible. Having a good to excellent credit score helps you qualify for loans that don’t have origination or administration fees. 
• Unsecured versus secured loans: Most personal loans are unsecured, meaning they are not tied to collateral. However, if your credit score is less-than-stellar and you’re finding it hard to qualify for the best loans, 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 so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every personal loan review 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 which personal loans are the best, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of U.S. personal loans offered by both online and brick-and-mortar banks, including large credit unions, that come with no origination or signup fees, fixed-rate APRs and 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.
• Fixed-rate APR: Variable rates can go up and down over the lifetime of your loan. With a fixed rate APR, you lock in an interest rate for the duration of the loan’s term, which means your monthly payment won’t vary, making your budget easier to plan.
• 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 $500 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 overall financing needs, debt consolidation and refinancing, small loans, next-day funding and lower credit scores.

Note that the rates and fee structures advertised for personal loans are subject to fluctuate 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. 

Catch up on CNBC Select’s in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date

*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.