How to Get a Loan With Bad Credit + 5 Best Options

You might think that having bad credit means your only option is a payday loan if you ever have to deal with a financial emergency. This is 100% false.

People with bad credit are able to raise money all the time. Sometimes it’s done by borrowing from a lender who specializes in lending to those with bad credit. Other times it’s done via a peer-to-peer loan or crowdfunding. Cash advance apps can also carry you through. If you’re facing an unexpected expense or financial emergency, here are a bunch of better alternatives to payday loans.

Disclaimer: Credit Summit may be affiliated with some of the companies mentioned in this article. Credit Summit may make money from advertisements, or when you contact a company through our platform.

5 Best Personal Loans for Bad Credit

There are personal loans available for people who have low credit scores. A simple Google search will turn up thousands of potential lenders. It is vital, however, that you don’t just take the first loan you’re offered. There are a lot of scam artists out there! It is important to make sure your potential lender is on the up and up. Here are a few trustworthy online lenders to help you start your search.

Avant

Avant was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. To date, the company has lent more than six billion dollars to its customers. Avant offers personal loans and personal lines of credit. They also offer mobile banking. Here’s the important stuff:

• Loan amount: $2,000 to $35,000
• Repayment period: 2 to 5 years
• Interest rates: 9.95% to 35.95%
• Minimum credit score required: 580
• Hard inquiry to your credit report: Only if you actually submit a loan application — there’s no hard inquiry to see the rates/terms for which you might qualify
• Origination fee: Up to 4.75% (Avant calls this an “administration” fee)
• Funding timeframe: Funds usually arrive the business day after your application has been approved
• Availability: In most states, but not all — their website lets users check their state’s individual rates/terms
• Review scores: 4.5 stars on Trustpilot
• Can you use a cosigner or take out a joint loan? You can add an authorized user to your loan account, but there is not a way for you to add a co-signer to your application

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Lending Club

Lending Club has been around since 2007. The company offers personal loans, business loans, automobile refinancing, investment products, and even help for medical and dental patients who need help paying for their care.

• Loan amount: $1,000 to $40,000.
• Interest rates: Fixed between 6.34% to 35.89%
• Minimum credit score: 600
• Hard inquiry to your credit report: Only once you’ve qualified for and accepted a loan
• Origination fee: Between 3 to 6% of your loan amount, taken from the loan itself — your rate will depend on your credit score
• Funding timeframe: Most applicants are approved within 24 hours — if approved, you’ll get your money deposited within two business days
• Availability: As of 2020, it was available in every state except for Iowa
• Review scores: 4.8 on Trustpilot
• Can you use a cosigner or take out a joint loan? Yes, joint loans are available

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LendingPoint

LendingPoint is based out of Atlanta, Georgia. The company offers personal loans to help with debt consolidation, home improvement projects, tax payments, weddings, medical bills, etc. They also have products for business owners.

• Loan amount: $2,000 to $36,500
• Interest rates: Between 7.99% to 35.99%
• Minimum credit score: 580
• Hard inquiry to your credit report: No
• Origination fee: Between 0% and 6% — your amount will depend on the state in which you live
• Funding timeframe: Super fast — most approvals happen within minutes and funds get deposited on the next business day
• Availability: 48 states (Nevada and West Virginia don’t allow it yet)
• Review scores: 5 stars on Trustpilot
• Can you use a cosigner or take out a joint loan? No

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Upgrade

According to Upgrade’s website, the team that created Upgrade is the same team that “pioneered fintech 15 years ago.” That team launched Upgrade in 2017 and now they have offices in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Montreal. The company offers personal loans for refinancing credit cards, major purchases, debt consolidation and home improvement projects.

• Loan amount: Between $1,000 and $50,000
• Interest rates: 8.49%-35.97% (Effective Feb. 1, 2023)
• Minimum credit score: 560
• Hard inquiry to your credit report: Only if you decide to accept your loan offer — checking your rates won’t affect your report at all
• Origination fee: 2.9% to 8%, deducted from your loan deposit
• Funding timeframe: It can take a day or two to get approved, depending on whether Upgrade needs any additional documents from you, then funds are deposited one business day after approval
• Availability: Everywhere but Washington D.C.
• Review scores: 4.5 stars on Trustpilot
• Can you use a cosigner or take out a joint loan? Yes

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Upstart

Upstart is an AI-powered lending platform. It is among the first of its kind in the world of fintech. They tend to approve people who have trouble getting loans elsewhere. Upstart offers personal loans, debt consolidation loans, and automobile refinancing. It is important to know, however, that Upstart itself is not a bank or a lender. Instead, it pairs with banks to get you the funds you need.

• Loan amount: $1,000 to $50,000 (minimum amounts vary by state)
• Interest rates: 6.5% to 35.99%
• Minimum credit score: 300
• Hard inquiry to your credit report: Checking your rates/eligibility only requires a soft pull on your credit history, then if you decide to formally apply with a partner bank, a hard inquiry might happen
• Origination fee: 0% to 8%
• Funding timeframe: It depends on how quickly you complete the application steps — typically 1-2 business days
• Availability: In most states, though fewer states allow Upstart Car Refinance loans
• Review scores: 4.9 stars on Trustpilot
• Can you use a cosigner or take out a joint loan? No

What is Considered Bad Credit?

Bad credit, for starters, is just a general term used to describe a poor credit history. Lenders use this to identify risky borrowers.

Some of the missteps that could negatively affect someone’s credit in such a way include:

• Filing for bankruptcy to escape debt
• Repossession of your financed properties
• Going through mortgage foreclosure
• Letting unpaid debts proceed to collections
• Multiple late or missed monthly payments
• Defaulting on debt repayments for more than 90 days
• Higher than average debt-to-income ratio

All these are usually tracked by credit reporting agencies, which then proceed to award credit scores that summarize your entire credit history. And while they use different credit scoring models, the FICO system happens to be the one that most lenders refer to when making loan decisions.

To be specific, FICO scores range from 300 to 850, which are further grouped into five credit rating categories. Borrowers with a FICO score of 800 and above is considered excellent credit, while 740 to 799 is in the “very good” category, and 670 to 739 is rated “good” credit. On the other end of the spectrum, anything less than 580 is considered “poor”, while “fair” lies between 580 and 669.

That said, the current average FICO credit score in the U.S. is 711, which represents a significant improvement since bottoming out at 686 in October 2009.

Make no mistake about it, though. A lower-than-average score doesn’t necessarily place you in the “bad credit” bracket. And neither do the “fair credit” or “poor credit” ratings of the FICO scoring system.

As it turns out, “bad credit” is relative to a certain extent. As long as they follow the laws prohibiting discrimination, lenders get the privilege of dictating what they consider to be “bad credit.”

While some lenders might only be open to borrowers with an “exceptional” rating, others are willing to accept borrowers with “subprime” or less-than-ideal credit. It all depends on the levels of risk that the lenders are comfortable taking.

All in all, however, it’s generally accepted that a credit score of less than 550 will attract rejections from most lenders. This is where you find borrowers with a history of bankruptcy filings, and a debt default rate of around 75%.

Individuals with credit scores of 550 to 619, on the other hand, are widely considered to be subprime borrowers – since they come with a history of slip-ups like account rejections and credit delinquencies. Although they might qualify for loans, they tend to attract high interest rates because of their high-risk status.

What are Bad Credit Loans?

Just like the name suggests, bad credit loans are special loans reserved for borrowers who happen to have a poor credit rating, or in other cases, no credit history at all.

And instead of basing lending decisions on credit checks, lenders typically determine eligibility according to a borrower’s ability to repay the loan. In other words, they review your financial circumstances at the time of application to establish if you can indeed afford the loan.

As such, it’s possible to qualify for bad credit loans even when you have a history of missing debt repayments.

It’s worth noting, though, that to cover the high risk that comes with such borrowers, the lenders charge considerably higher than normal interest rates. What’s more, the principal amounts are usually much lower than in other types of loans.

Types of Loans for Borrowers with Bad Credit

Because of the huge profit margins that bad credit loans generate, this space continues to attract a wide range of players – who, in turn, offer interested borrowers a host of loan products to choose from.

Personal Loans

Among the more than 23 million personal loans issued to U.S. borrowers are bad credit loans that operate differently from regular personal loans.

For instance, while regular personal loans and installment loans are handled by registered banks, bad credit personal loans are offered by non-mainstream lenders with an appetite for higher risks accompanied by higher returns.

Personal loan lenders don’t spend a lot of time on credit checks. Instead, they tend to focus more on the borrowers’ income sources, along with factors like your employment history, schooling history, college degree status, etc.

It normally takes only a couple of hours to review and process the applications, after which the funds are disbursed directly to your bank account. The minimum loan amount is higher than a payday loan or what you’d get through a cash advance app. You can borrow as little as $500 to as much as $50,000, which is usually payable in 24 to 60 months – at an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of up to 36%.

READ MORE: Best personal loans

Peer-to-Peer Loans

Peer-to-peer loans – or P2P lending – is another popular option for people who intend to get a loan with bad credit.

In this system, both good and bad credit individuals get to borrow loans directly from other individuals – instead of relying on banks to act as the middlemen. The whole process is actually facilitated by P2P lending websites, which freely link up borrowers with various individual lenders.

Investors are first required to register personal accounts on the P2P lending websites, and then load them with the amounts they wish to disburse in loans. The loan borrowers, on the other hand, just need to set up a financial profile, and the system will subsequently place them in an appropriate interest rate category based on their overall risk rating.

At that point, it’s up to the borrower to assess offers from different investors before choosing one. The system will then automatically handle the transfer of funds, as well as the corresponding repayment process. In the meantime, you won’t be required to provide collateral or any form of security.

So, all things considered, peer-to-peer lending is convenient for both investors and borrowers. The only problem is the accompanying annual interest rates, which can stretch up to 36% for bad credit loans.

READ MORE: Best peer-to-peer loans for bad credit

Want to know more about peer-to-peer lending? Check out this video for a quick lesson:

Credit Union Loans

The U.S. currently hosts more than 5,400 credit unions, which serve all sorts of groups – from local communities to professional societies and welfare organizations. They are growing increasingly popular among borrowers because, unlike banks, credit unions offer very flexible loan terms.

Some, for instance, allow their members to conveniently get a loan with bad credit. They just review your application based on your character, membership level, and maybe the projected repayment schedule.

The benefits don’t stop there, though. If you go for a federal credit union loan, you’ll notice that the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) maxes out at 18%. That’s according to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), whose data additionally places the average APR for a three-year federal credit union loan at 8.86%. Banks, on the other hand, charge an average rate of 9.98% over the same period.

READ MORE: What is a Payday Alternative Loan?

Cash Advance Apps

Cash advance apps like Dave, Brigit, Albert and Cleo can be a great way to help bridge the gap between paydays. Instead of relying on your credit history like lenders do, cash advance apps use your banking history to determine your eligibility. They also charge significantly lower loan rates than payday loan lenders. Some charge no interest or late fees at all.

Here’s how it works: After you download the app to your mobile device, give it access to your bank account. Most apps do this through Plaid to help protect your information. Once your bank account is connected, the app uses an algorithm to analyze your deposit and spending activity to make sure you meet the app’s lending criteria.

READ MORE: Best cash advance apps

Home Equity Loan or Line of Credit

Home equity loans and lines of credit allow you to borrow against the equity you’ve built up in your home.

“Equity” is the difference between what your house will sell for on the current market and how much you still owe on your mortgage. For example, if your house is currently valued at $550,000 and you still owe $225,000 on your mortgage, you will have built up $225,000 in equity.

A home equity loan is like other loans. You apply for a specific amount and, if approved, you receive the total amount in a single lump deposit. You then pay off the loan like you would any other loan.

A home equity line of credit is more like having a credit card. Your equity is your credit limit. Unlike a loan, you are usually given a card to use for purchases. Your payments are applied the same way they would be with any other credit card — as you pay off your balances, your credit limit increases.

READ MORE: What is a second mortgage?

Payday Loans

Payday loans are designed to target borrowers with bad credit. They’re an emergency loan that you’re usually required to repay on your payday.

The payday loan application process itself is pretty straightforward. You just need proof of income and a checking account and the funds will be processed in hours based on affordability. There is no credit score requirement.

But although payday loans are designed to offer short-term credit, the repayment process is incredibly difficult to to the extremely short loan terms and sky-high interest rates. The average APR, according to research by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), is almost 400%. Some states even outlaw payday loans. As such, it’s no surprise that 80% of payday loans are rolled over or renewed within 14 days, or that more than 90% of payday loan borrowers end up regretting their original payday loan.

Subprime Loans

Subprime is a blanket term used by financial institutions and commercial banks to describe bad credit scores. And while the precise score threshold isn’t universal across all institutions, the generally accepted subprime range stretches from the “fair” to the “poor” FICO rating category.

These are the types of individuals who are given subprime loans that come with higher than average interest rates – while the opposite, prime loans, are exclusively reserved for low-risk borrowers with satisfactory credit scores. They are the ones who get to enjoy fair interest rates.

The good thing about subprime loans is, they qualify you for asset financing with bad credit. For example – you can go ahead and borrow a mortgage or an auto loan in the form of a subprime loan. Reputable lenders will take into account your income, asset down payment amount, past credit delinquencies, plus loan size.

On the flip side, however, the interest rates here are not very friendly. In 2018, for instance, CFPB tracked interest rates across various subprime credit card accounts and revealed that borrowers were being charged as much as 21.50%.

So, in a way, you could say that subprime loans are a form of predatory lending. Industry regulators and experts even claim that their high interest rates had a lot to do with the 2008 housing crisis.

Student Loans

People with bad credit should apply for student loans from the government before they do anything else. This is because the interest rates charged by the government are much lower than you will get from a private lender.

The application (called the FAFSA) can be filled out and submitted online. It utilizes your tax info and the income/tax information of any family who might be helping you fund your education (this is usually a parent, though sometimes it is a spouse).

The great thing about federal student aid is that it goes straight to the school. The school tells you how much you qualify for and you tell the school whether you want to accept or reject the loans offered. You don’t have to deal with the bank directly.

If federal aid won’t cover everything, ask your school for help. Many colleges and universities have “in house” funds that can be granted/lent to students who need help paying for classes. They will also be able to point you to scholarships and grants to help you cover expenses.

You can get student loans from private lenders. This should be your absolute last resort. These lenders charge higher interest rates, have stricter repayment terms, and report everything on your credit.

Whatever route you choose, take your student loans seriously. Student loans stay on your credit report longer than any other type of debt. And if you wind up defaulting on them, your credit can be affected for decades.

READ MORE: Most affordable universities in the U.S. and abroad

Secured vs. Unsecured Bad Credit Loans

There are two different approaches one could take when getting a loan with bad credit. You could either go for a secured loan or settle for an unsecured one.

Wondering which is a better option for bad credit borrowers? That depends on your specific financial situation.

• Secured loans: These require an asset as collateral. Lenders typically ask borrowers to submit assets such as deeds, personal property, bonds, or stocks. Then in the case of an asset financing loan, the item being purchased ultimately becomes the security for the loan. Mortgages and auto loans are examples of secured loans.
• Unsecured loans: On the other hand, unsecured personal loans are not accompanied by any form of collateral. Lenders simply assess your financial situation, and then take your word that you’ll faithfully honor the payments. As such, unsecured loans pose a greater risk to lenders. That’s why only a few of them are willing to extend the offers to people with bad credit. Student loans, personal loans and credit cards are examples of unsecured loans.

How to Get a Bad Credit Loan

Here is a step-by-step breakdown of how to get a loan with bad credit:

Review your credit report: Before you even begin the actual loan application process, you should review your credit report in detail. You can get it for free every 12 months from the three popular credit bureaus – Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. Alternatively, you could still request it at no charge from the federal site, AnnualCreditReport.com. Whichever you choose, take the time to keenly assess your credit history, scores, and ratings. You never know – you might find errors that could be holding back your score and overall creditworthiness.

Come up with a budget: To determine the loan amount you can afford, you need to evaluate your finances and then come up with a budget that stretches through the entire loan repayment period.

You might, in particular, want to break it down into its constituent months – taking note of all your projected living expenses, savings, extras, and loan repayment amounts. The goal here is to find a balance that allows you to live comfortably as you settle the debts.

Pre-qualify with different lenders: This is the part where you shop around to identify the best bad credit loan providers. You can start on the web by comparing various lenders based on their loan products, interest rates, loan terms and conditions, approval criteria, as well as reviews from previous borrowers.

While you’re at it, consider running scans on their online eligibility checker to evaluate your qualification status without denting your credit score. Or rather, you could proceed with online pre-qualification checks to get a better idea of the loan amounts, rates, and repayment terms offered by various lenders. That might trigger soft credit checks, which won’t hurt your score.

Minimize your borrowing risks: The riskier you seem as a borrower, the harder it is to qualify for a loan. And even if you manage to successfully get a loan with bad credit, the risks only increase the interest rates, and possibly reduce the loan amount. To improve your prospects, you should minimize your borrowing risks. Offer collateral to secure the loan, or add a bigger down payment if you’re dealing with asset financing. Some lenders even allow you to bring in additional parties as co-signers.

Compile your loan application paperwork: Once you identify the best bad credit loan provider and then settle on an appropriate loan type, you can go ahead and gather all the documents that you’ll need in your loan application. Most lenders will require you to submit copies of your identification documents, along with the social security number, and proof of income. You might also want to have the corresponding pay stubs in hand, as well as your bank statements, tax documents, and W-2s.

Complete and submit the application: Finally, you can proceed to fill in the loan application forms as required. You should then counter-check all the details, and submit the application along with its document attachments.

Once the lender receives the application, you can expect them to get back to you within one day to a week. They’ll review all your particulars, and maybe even perform a hard credit check, which could slightly dent your credit score. That’s nothing to worry about, though. You’ll get the chance to repair the damage when the loan application sails through. Making timely payments on the loan will ultimately go a long way towards improving your credit status.

Pros and Cons of Bad Credit Loans

Getting a loan with bad credit is like working with a double-edged sword. It has its benefits as well as drawbacks.

So, to help you make an informed decision, here’s a breakdown of both sides of the coin…

Pros

• Quick cash: Bad credit loan lenders don’t spend a lot of time on credit checks and background reviews. They are known to process their loan applications pretty quickly – you could have the funds approved and deposited to your bank account in less than one business day. So, you could count on bad credit loans during emergency situations.
• Helps rebuild credit: For people who have poor credit ratings, bad credit loans offer one of the quickest ways to boost creditworthiness. You just need to maintain timely repayments, and the positive history will reflect accordingly on your credit score.
• Overlooks credit history: Bad credit lenders are not the type to rely entirely on your credit history. They are always willing to overlook past blunders if you prove that you can afford to repay the loan on time.

Cons

• Exorbitant APR range: The bad credit status makes you a high-risk borrower. So, of course, it’s only natural that lenders will apply equally high interest rates on the loans to cover the risks on their end.
• Multiple extra fees: Bad credit loans are often accompanied by a series of additional fees, some of which might be hidden during the application process. You could, for instance, be required to pay origination fees, personal check use fees, and perhaps returned payment fees for payments that fail to clear. Then if you happen to miss a payment, you’ll be charged exorbitant late payment fees.
• Fixed repayment terms: In addition to high interest rates and multiple additional fees, bad credit loans come with fixed repayment terms that are very strict. Borrowers, in most cases, don’t get the privilege of renegotiating anything.
• Limited lenders and loan options: Most mainstream financial institutions, including banks, only give loans to people with good credit. That leaves bad credit borrowers with quasi-regulated lenders, who in most cases, turn out to be exploitative.

How To Improve Creditworthiness

The good thing about bad credit is, it can be improved over time to give you greater qualification possibilities, better rates and more favorable loan terms. That translates to more loan options, higher loan amounts, and lower interest rates.

Here are six steps you could take to achieve that:

• Review your credit reports: Pull copies of your credit report from all the three leading credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian, Equifax), and then study everything in detail to gain insights into what’s working in your favor, and what’s hurting your credit.
• Open new accounts: Lenders and card issuers usually report their clients’ accounts to credit bureaus. So, you should consider setting up new credit card accounts, and then maintaining timely repayments that’ll progressively rebuild your profile.
• Limit your loan/account applications: While it’s a good idea to open new accounts, you might want to limit the number of applications submitted to lenders, card issuers, and banks. That’s because each application leads to a hard inquiry, which will always show up on your credit report, as well as hurt your overall credit score.
• Make your monthly payments on time: Don’t focus only on settling your debt. You should ensure everything is paid on time, as payment history happens to be the leading influencing factor on your credit score. It has a 35% impact, while credit utilization accounts for 30%, age of credit accounts 15%, credit mix 15%, and new credit inquiries 10%.
• Maintain 30% or less credit utilization: Credit utilization refers to the used-up fraction of your credit limit. After payment history, this is the second most critical determining factor for FICO credit scores. As such, you might want to play it safe by ensuring that the outstanding balance never stretches beyond 30% of your credit card limit.
• Consolidate your debts: If you’re facing multiple outstanding debts, you should consider getting a debt consolidation loan to pay all of them off. And in case of several card balances, you could easily consolidate them with a balance transfer credit card. Whichever method you choose, at least you’ll finally be left with one debt to worry about – which you should then be able to repay at a much lower interest rate than the previous debts.

The Bottom Line

Bad credit doesn’t automatically disqualify you from getting the funding you need. It can, however, make getting loans more expensive. If you’re strapped for cash, try the options we’ve listed here to help you cover your expenses.

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