[2021] The 5 Best Personal Loans Companies

These awesome companies have earned a coveted spot on Best Company's top five best personal loans companies list for 2021. After factoring in each of the companies' overall services and over 10,300 customer reviews, you'll know why these personal loan companies are the best.

Discover which of these personal loan companies may be the best option for you:

1. Best Egg

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What to expect

Best Egg is known for having some of the speediest and easiest loan approvals in the industry — often times in as little as one business day. For customers that are in need of a quick loan approval, Best Egg is a great option.

Director of Content & Mass Media for Best Egg, Sarah Zangrilli, lays out what makes Best Egg a standout personal loan company:

“[Best Egg has an] amazing culture, top notch customer service, and quickly funded loans.”

Customer sentiment criteria

Value for your money — 4.5/5
Quality of product or service — 4.5/5
Customer service — 4.5/5
Company trustworthiness — 4.5/5

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2. FreedomPlus

What to expect

FreedomPlus has unique debt consolidation loan options and benefits. If you are wanting to pay down your credit card debt, FreedomPlus will exclude that debt from your debt-to-income ratio, helping you to qualify for more money and possibly better rates.

Senior Director of Marketing for FreedomPlus, Archuna Jagota, highlights two of FreedomPlus's strengths:

“Unmatched customer service — FreedomPlus offers a quick and easy online application process with a focus on personalized customer service via the phone. Our knowledgeable loan consultants make the application process informative, efficient, and easy for borrowers.

Smarter loan solutions — We go beyond the credit score to understand a customer’s full financial situation. We reward consumers through lower rates for doing responsible things like paying off debt with a FreedomPlus loan, adding a co-applicant who has income, and saving for their retirement. FreedomPlus has helped thousands of customers find a personal loan solution to fit their budget and goals.”

Customer sentiment criteria

Value for your money — 4.5/5
Quality of product or service — 4.5/5
Customer service — 4.5/5
Company trustworthiness — 4.5/5

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3. SoFi

What to expect

If you are wanting to borrow a large sum of money, SoFi is most likely your best option. Most other lenders cap their personal loans at around $40,000; however, SoFi will lend approved borrowers up to $100,000.

Affiliate Manager for SoFi, John Wong, explains more about why SoFi is different:

“We pride ourselves to be one of the top prime lenders on the market. We provide our over 900,000 members with the tools they need to borrow, save, spend, invest, and protect their money—all from the SoFi mobile app.

Customer sentiment criteria

Value for your money — 4.5/5
Quality of product or service — 4.5/5
Customer service — 4.5/5
Company trustworthiness — 4.5/5

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4. Upgrade

What to expect

Most personal loan companies require a credit score around 650. Upgrade has one of the lowest credit score minimums in the industry with a minium requirement of 600. For those that have poor credit and are having trouble finding approval for a personal loan, Upgrade may be worth looking into.

Marketing Manager for Upgrade, Kyle Wood, shares two additional characteristics that differentiates Upgrade from others:

"Fast funding — Applicants can get approved and receive their funds in as little as one day.

Co-applicants — We offer joint applications to our borrowers.”

Customer sentiment criteria

Value for your money — 4.5/5
Quality of product or service — 4.5/5
Customer service — 4.5/5
Company trustworthiness — 4.5/5

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5. Upstart

What to expect

Upstart has high approval odds, taking into consideration a number of different factors, such as education/area of study, job history, credit score, years of credit. For those with little to no credit history, but have a quality college degree or a high-paying job, you are likley to qualify for a personal loan from Upstart.

Head of Communications for Upstart, Diana Adair, expands on Upstart's unique personal loan qualification criteria:

“Upstart believes you are more than your credit score. Your education and job history help us understand more about your future potential. Upstart is the leading AI lending platform partnering with banks to expand access to affordable credit.

More than two-thirds of Upstart loans are approved instantly and are fully automated. In addition, Upstart's patent-pending platform is the first to receive a no-action letter from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau related to fair lending.”

Customer sentiment criteria