The complete personal loan guide

Most personal loans from our lending partners are unsecured and fixed rate. With no collateral involved, the lender prices the loan almost entirely on how likely it believes you are to repay. That judgment is built from your credit history, your income relative to your existing debt, how long you have been employed, and the amount and term you ask for.

Personal loans can also be secured by collateral, such as a motor vehicle. Pledging collateral can support a larger amount or a lower rate, but it puts the vehicle at risk if the loan is not repaid. Secured options vary by lender and may not be available through the lenders currently listed here.

The number that matters is the APR, not the interest rate. APR folds in the interest rate plus any origination fee, so it is the only figure that lets you line two offers up fairly. A loan quoted at a lower interest rate can easily cost more once a 6% origination fee is deducted from the money you actually receive.

• Credit history and score band: the single biggest driver of the rate you are offered
• Debt-to-income ratio: monthly debt payments measured against gross monthly income
• Loan amount and term: longer terms usually carry higher rates
• Income stability: length of employment and whether income is verifiable
• Whether the loan is secured: collateral can lower the rate a lender is willing to offer
• State of residence: not every lender lends in every state

An unsecured loan is backed by nothing but your promise to repay. A secured loan is backed by an asset, most often a car, truck or motorcycle you already own outright. Because the lender can recover something if the loan goes bad, a secured offer can come with a lower APR, a larger amount, or approval where an unsecured application would be declined.

The trade-off is real and worth stating plainly: miss enough payments on a secured loan and the lender can repossess the vehicle backing it. An unsecured default damages your credit and can end in collections or a judgment, but the lender has no automatic claim on a specific asset. Only pledge collateral you could genuinely afford to lose, and only when the saving on the rate is large enough to justify it.

• Collateral is usually a vehicle no more than about ten years old, titled in your name and meeting the lender's value requirements
• You will normally need to keep valid insurance on the vehicle for the life of the loan
• The lender records a first lien on the title, so the vehicle cannot be sold cleanly until the loan is settled
• Borrowers covered by the Military Lending Act cannot pledge a vehicle as collateral
• Compare the secured and unsecured offer from the same lender on APR and total cost before deciding the collateral is worth it

Advertised APRs are only part of the picture. Read the loan agreement for the charges below before accepting any offer, and confirm the amount that will actually land in your bank account.

• Origination fee: commonly 0% to around 10%, usually deducted from the amount disbursed
• Late payment fee: a flat charge or a percentage of the missed payment
• Returned payment fee: charged when a direct debit fails
• Prepayment penalty: rare on personal loans, but worth confirming if you plan to pay early
• Autopay discount: many lenders reduce the rate slightly when you enroll in automatic payments
• On a secured offer: title, lien recording and insurance requirements on the vehicle you pledge

Requirements differ from lender to lender and none of them publish a guaranteed approval threshold. In broad terms, the criteria below are what most personal loan underwriting checks.

• You are 18 or older and a US citizen or permanent resident
• A verifiable, regular source of income
• A bank account in your own name for disbursement and repayment
• A credit file the lender can price, or alternative data where the lender accepts it
• A debt-to-income ratio that leaves room for the new monthly payment

The process is deliberately short, and nothing is committed until you sign a loan agreement directly with the lender.

• 1. Tell us the amount, the purpose, your income and your credit range
• 2. We match your profile against partner criteria and show what is available
• 3. You review APR, term, monthly payment and total cost side by side
• 4. You continue with the lender you choose and complete their application
• 5. The lender verifies your details and, if approved, funds the loan, often within a few business days

WalletScout is not a lender. We are a comparison and connection service. You tell us the amount, the purpose, your income and your credit range once, and we check that profile against the published criteria of our lending partners rather than asking you to fill in the same form on eight different sites.

Lenders that cannot serve your profile are filtered out first. Those that remain are ordered by the lowest APR, not by what they pay us. Checking your options does not affect your credit score, and you are never obliged to accept anything you are shown.