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Borrowers with good credit will appreciate the many benefits of LightStream personal loans. Not only does it make the unusual promise to beat any qualifying offer, LightStream personal loans also come with a $100 loan experience guarantee. We'll cover the pros and cons in our full LightStream personal loans review.
LightStream offers some of the lowest rates on personal loans, as well as high loan limits. Also, LightStream doesn't charge fees. All in all, this is one of the most competitive personal loan lenders you'll come across. The catch is that LightStream has stricter borrowing requirements than some other lenders.
Rates quoted are with AutoPay. Your loan terms are not guaranteed and may vary based on loan purpose, length of loan, loan amount, credit history and payment method (AutoPay or Invoice). AutoPay discount is only available when selected prior to loan funding. Rates without AutoPay are 0.50% points higher. To obtain a loan, you must complete an application on LightStream.com which may affect your credit score. You may be required to verify income, identity and other stated application information. Payment example: Monthly payments for a $10,000 loan at 8.49% APR with a term of 5 years would result in 60 monthly payments of $205.12. Some additional conditions and limitations apply. Advertised rates and terms are subject to change without notice. Truist Bank is an Equal Housing Lender. © 2024 Truist Financial Corporation. Truist, LightStream, and the LightStream logo are service marks of Truist Financial Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Lending services provided by Truist Bank.
Get the best rates and terms to fit your needs. Here are a few loans we'd like to highlight, including our award winners.
This personal loan is a good fit for: Borrowers with strong credit in search of extremely low interest rates.
Low-rate guarantee: If you can provide evidence a competing lender offered a lower loan interest rate on the same terms, LightStream will beat it by 0.10 percentage points. On top of that, LightStream's published APRs are some of the lowest we've found.
Fast funding: The loan application process can be completed online with timely responses during business hours. Approved borrowers can receive funds the same day. That's one of the quickest turnaround times in the business.
A customer experience guarantee: If you've received a loan but are not satisfied with your experience, LightStream wants to hear from you. It will offer you the chance to complete a questionnaire and receive $100 for your trouble.
Flexibility: LightStream has very few restrictions on how borrowed funds can be used. Consumers can obtain loans for most purposes, including paying medical expenses, financing home renovations, buying a car, or debt consolidation. You can't borrow to fund higher education (pre-K-12) tuition, or refinance existing LightStream loans. Loans are only available to individuals, not businesses.
No fees or prepayment penalties: You will pay no fees with LightStream, even if you want to repay your loan early. Keep the lack of fees in mind as you compare loans, as many lenders charge origination fees that can be in the hundreds or thousands of dollars. Another lender may offer a lower interest rate, but a LightStream loan could ultimately cost less because there are no pesky fees involved.
Large loan amounts: LightStream offers between $5,000 and $100,000 in financing to qualified borrowers. In addition, loan terms can run from two years to 12 years, depending on the loan type.
0.50% AutoPay discount: This is one of the larger autopay rate discounts on offer. To be perfectly clear, LightStream's published APR range and the rates borrowers are quoted assuming you'll be using AutoPay.
Strict qualification requirements: The lender is very restrictive in its approval process. It could offer loans to a wider pool of would-be borrowers, even if it had to do so at higher rates -- but it chooses not to.
No prequalification: Most personal loan companies will let borrowers check their rates without a hard credit pull (no impact on their credit score), but LightStream doesn't. This can be a major differentiator, especially for borrowers who prefer to shop around with a few lenders before applying.
You'll generally need the following to qualify for a LightStream loan:
LightStream's entire application process can be completed online in four steps:
If you apply during business hours, you should receive a swift response. LightStream may ask you to submit additional documents and provide information on funding. If it approves your application, you'll need to e-sign a loan agreement.
Once you've finished these steps, you can get funding as soon as the same day.
If LightStream doesn't sound like a fit for you, we'd suggest exploring your options among the best personal loans available now.
LightStream is known for being one of the more difficult personal lenders to qualify with, as it expects a borrower to have an excellent credit score and payment history, significant assets, relatively low debt, and enough documented income to justify the loan.
There's no set-in-stone income requirement for a LightStream personal loan, but the company expects borrowers to have stable income that is enough to justify the loan. LightStream will also look at an applicant's other debts to be sure they can comfortably afford the new loan payments as well as all of their existing obligations.
Our Loans Experts
We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent, a Motley Fool service, does not cover all offers on the market. The Ascent has a dedicated team of editors and analysts focused on personal finance, and they follow the same set of publishing standards and editorial integrity while maintaining professional separation from the analysts and editors on other Motley Fool brands.
We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent, a Motley Fool service, does not cover all offers on the market. The Ascent has a dedicated team of editors and analysts focused on personal finance, and they follow the same set of publishing standards and editorial integrity while maintaining professional separation from the analysts and editors on other Motley Fool brands.
*SoFi Personal Loan Disclaimer
Fixed rates from 8.99% APR to 29.99% APR reflect the 0.25% autopay interest rate discount and a 0.25% direct deposit interest rate discount. SoFi rate ranges are current as of 02/06/2024 and are subject to change without notice. The average of SoFi Personal Loans funded in 2022 was around $30K. 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 and will depend on the term you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, and a variety of other factors.
Loan amounts range from $5,000–$100,000. The APR is the cost of credit as a yearly rate and reflects both your interest rate and an origination fee of 0%-7%, which will be deducted from any loan proceeds you receive.
Autopay: The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi.
Direct Deposit Discount: To be eligible to potentially receive an additional (0.25%) interest rate reduction for setting up direct deposit with a SoFi Checking and Savings account offered by SoFi Bank, N.A. or eligible cash management account offered by SoFi Securities, LLC (“Direct Deposit Account”), you must have an open Direct Deposit Account within 30 days of the funding of your Loan. Once eligible, you will receive this discount during periods in which you have enabled payroll direct deposits of at least $1,000/month to a Direct Deposit Account in accordance with SoFi’s reasonable procedures and requirements to be determined at SoFi’s sole discretion. This discount will be lost during periods in which SoFi determines you have turned off direct deposits to your Direct Deposit Account. You are not required to enroll in direct deposits to receive a Loan.
Impact to credit score: To check the rates and terms you may qualify for, SoFi conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score. However, if you choose a product and continue your application, we will request your full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit pull and may affect your credit.
*Upstart Loan Disclaimer
The full range of available rates varies by state. The average 3-year loan offered across all lenders using the Upstart platform will have an APR of 21.97% and 36 monthly payments of $35 per $1,000 borrowed. For example, the total cost of a $10,000 loan would be $12,646 including a $626 origination fee. APR is calculated based on 3-year rates offered in the last 1 month. There is no down payment and no prepayment penalty. Your APR will be determined based on your credit, income, and certain other information provided in your loan application.
Citi Personal Loan disclaimer:
**Rates as of 10-06-2023 . Your APR may be as low as 10.49% or as high as 19.49% for the term of your loan. The lowest rate quoted assumes excellent credit, and a loan term of 36 months or shorter. Otherwise, a higher rate will apply. For example, if you borrow $10,000 for 36 months at 15.99% APR, to repay your loan you will have to make 36 monthly payments of approximately $351.52.
There is a 0.5% APR discount if you enroll in automatic payments at loan origination. Additionally, existing Citigold and Citi Priority customers will receive a 0.25% discount to the interest rate. If you are in default, your APR may increase by 2.00%. No down payment is required. Rates subject to change without notice.
You must be at least 18 years of age (21 years of age in Puerto Rico). Co-applicants are not permitted. Loan proceeds cannot be used for post-secondary educational or business purposes.
If you apply online, you must agree to receive the loan note and all other account disclosures provided at loan origination in an electronic format and provide your signature electronically.
Credit cards issued by Citibank, N.A. or its affiliates, as well as Checking Plus and Ready Credit accounts, are not eligible for debt consolidation, and Citibank will not issue payoff checks for these accounts. If you are unsure of the issuer on the account, please visit https://www.citi.com/affiliatesproducts for a list of Citi products and affiliates.
Rates quoted are with AutoPay. Your loan terms are not guaranteed and may vary based on loan purpose, length of loan, loan amount, credit history and payment method (AutoPay or Invoice). AutoPay discount is only available when selected prior to loan funding. Rates without AutoPay are 0.50% points higher. To obtain a loan, you must complete an application on LightStream.com which may affect your credit score. You may be required to verify income, identity and other stated application information. Payment example: Monthly payments for a $10,000 loan at 8.49% APR with a term of 5 years would result in 60 monthly payments of $205.12. Some additional conditions and limitations apply. Advertised rates and terms are subject to change without notice. Truist Bank is an Equal Housing Lender. © 2024 Truist Financial Corporation. Truist, LightStream, and the LightStream logo are service marks of Truist Financial Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Lending services provided by Truist Bank.