Affirm Personal Loans Review

With an Affirm personal loan, you can buy now and pay for purchases over time with fixed monthly payments.

By Kat Tretina

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Kat Tretina

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Kat Tretina has been a personal finance writer for more than eight years, specializing in mortgages and student loans. Her work has been featured by Buy Side from WSJ, U.S. News & World Report, Yahoo Finance, and MSN.

Edited by Ashley Harrison

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Ashley Harrison

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Ashley Harrison has over six years of experience as an authority on personal finance. Her work has been featured by USA TODAY Blueprint, Forbes Advisor, Fox Business, and Yahoo Money.

Reviewed by Meredith Mangan

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Meredith Mangan

Senior editor, Credible

Meredith Mangan is a senior editor at Credible and expert on personal loans.

Updated July 2, 2024

Editorial disclosure: Our goal is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we receive compensation from our partner lenders, whom we will always identify, all opinions are our own. Credible Operations, Inc. NMLS # 1681276, is referred to here as “Credible.”

Credible Takeaways

Affirm personal loans are best if you need a relatively short-term loan for a retail purchase.
The company offers small personal loans, which typically range from $50 to $20,000.
Unlike most lenders, you do not apply for a loan directly with Affirm. Instead, you apply through the retailer you’re shopping with.

While going into debt is never ideal, there are times when you have to make a purchase before you have the money saved. If you don’t have a credit card or don’t have the credit to qualify for a low-interest personal loan, there’s another alternative: Affirm personal loans.

With Affirm, you can take out a personal loan to cover purchases at major retailers like Walmart and Rooms To Go. But Affirm isn’t for everyone. While Affirm reviews often focus on its convenience, you should be aware of its interest rates and other drawbacks — like a potentially negative impact on your credit — before making a purchase.

Affirm interest rates and loan details

Affirm offers small personal loans, which means you can typically borrow between $50 and $20,000 and have three to 36 months to repay the loan. Affirm loans also have no origination fee.

Once you apply for an Affirm loan online, you’ll receive a decision right away. If approved, your order will be processed immediately and the loan will be funded.


Fixed rates	0% to 36% APR
Loan amounts	$50 to $20,000
Loan terms	3, 6, or 12 months^[*] (up to 48 months may be available with select merchants)
Min. credit score	Check with lender
Time to fund	Immediate
Fees	None
Residency	Must be a resident of the U.S. or its territories, or Canada
Loan use	Retail purchases only
Key benefits	Loan prequalification available Quick funding Finance purchases without a credit card
Best if	You don’t have access to a credit card You can’t qualify for a low-interest personal loan
^[*]Very small loans might be limited to 1-3 month terms, without the option to pay over time. Very large loans might have the option for 48-month terms.

Affirm personal loans review

Unlike with most personal loans, you can’t apply for a loan directly through Affirm. Instead, you’ll apply once you’re ready to make a purchase through select retailers.

Affirm partners with over 1,000 merchants, including beauty, fashion, travel, and furniture companies. You can see the complete listing on Affirm’s Where to Shop page.

How to qualify

To get a personal loan through Affirm, you must:

Be a U.S. resident: Affirm loans are available in all U.S. states and territories.
Have decent credit and verifiable income: If you don’t have good credit, you might not be approved for the full amount you requested. If this happens, Affirm will ask you to make a down payment. It will process the payment after you confirm the loan.

Keep in mind that Affirm lets you see if you’ll prequalify for a loan before applying. This way, you’ll get a good sense of how much you can borrow. You can look for the option through the checkout section at partner retailers.

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Repayment

Repayment terms are typically three to 12 months in length, but some merchants offer loan terms as long as 48 months. Your first payment will be due about one month after your purchase is completed.

There are no prepayment penalties, so you can pay off your loan early to keep your interest charges low.

How Affirm compares to other lenders

Affirm is convenient, but there are other personal loan options that might be a better fit — especially if you’re looking for lenders that offer debt consolidation loans, credit card consolidation loans, or home improvement loans.

Here’s how Affirm stacks up against other personal loan lenders that cater to borrowers with less-than-perfect credit:

	Affirm	Upstart	Prosper
Fixed rates	0% to 36% APR	7.8% - 35.99% APR	8.99% - 35.99% APR
Loan terms	3, 6, or 12 months (terms up to 48 months may be available with select merchants)	3 or 5 years	2 to 5 years
Loan amount	$50 to $20,000	$1,000 to $50,000	$2,000 to $50,000
Time to get funds	Immediate	As soon as 1 - 3 business days	On average, within 5 days of accepting your offer
Min. credit score	Check with lender	620 (in most states)	Check with lender
Origination fee	None	0% to 12%	1% to 7.99%
Loan uses	Retail purchases only	Personal expenses or purchases	Debt consolidation Home improvement Personal expenses
Best for	Borrowers who don't: Have access to a credit card Can’t qualify for a low-interest personal loan	Debt consolidation Major purchases	Debt consolidation Home improvements
All APRs reflect autopay and loyalty discounts where available \| Read more about Rates and Terms

How to take out a personal loan with Affirm

To take out a personal loan with Affirm, you’ll need to shop through a partner merchant. Once you’ve chosen the items you want to order, select Affirm as your payment method during checkout.

Affirm will prompt you to enter a few pieces of information about yourself (like your name, date of birth, and address) to make its decision.

If you’re approved, you can select which payment schedule and term make the most sense for you, then confirm your loan.

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How Affirm can improve

An Affirm personal loan could be a good option if you don’t have access to a credit card or can’t qualify for a low-interest personal loan. But there are a few areas where Affirm could improve:

Have more consistent interest rates between merchants: With Affirm, the interest rate and loan term you’re approved for can vary depending on which partner merchant you’re shopping at — there isn’t one set rate or term for your credit profile. If you’re making multiple purchases, you’ll have to apply for a different Affirm loan each time, and you might get a different interest rate with each one.
Lower interest rates: The APR on Affirm personal loans can be as high as 36%. In some cases, you might be better off using a credit card if you can pay off the balance quickly or if you qualify for a card with an introductory 0% APR offer.
Offer longer repayment terms: Most Affirm merchants have short repayment terms — typically 12 months or less. If you need more time to repay your loan, you might be better off taking out a traditional personal loan.
Offer loans that cover multiple purchases: Each purchase you make with Affirm counts as a separate loan and hard credit inquiry. Multiple credit inquiries might harm your credit, which means using Affirm could negatively impact your credit score. This might make it more difficult to qualify for other forms of credit (like credit cards or personal loans) later on.

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Kat Tretina

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