One of the most common personal loan fees is an origination fee, but some lenders don’t charge origination fees at all or make them optional. Our top pick for the best personal loans with no origination fee is Discover, which has relatively low rates and never charges origination fees.
An origination fee is generally deducted from your loan before you receive the funds. It’s reflected in the loan’s APR, and is more frequently charged for borrowers with fair or bad credit.
We'll cover where to find no-origination-fee loans, how to qualify, and how to lower other borrowing costs as well.
Why you can trust Credible
The Credible editorial team is independent and unbiased, which means that partners do not influence our editorial content. To help you find the best no origination fee loan for your situation, we analyzed over 1,000 personal loan data points. Using data-driven methodologies, we scored criteria that are important to you. This approach allows us to objectively rank personal loans. To learn more, read our methodology below.
Best personal loans with no origination fees
Before you take out a personal loan, it’s important to compare multiple lenders that meet your requirements. This way, you can find the right loan for your needs — such as a loan without an origination fee.
Here are Credible’s partner lenders that do not charge origination fees on personal loans:
Best for no origination fees (and low rates)
Discover Personal Loans
4.4
Credible Rating
Est. APR
-
Loan Amount
$2,500 to $40,000
Min. Credit Score
660
Pros and cons
More details
Best home improvement loans and low rates
LightStream
4.9
Credible Rating
Est. APR
6.94 - 25.29%
Loan Amount
$5,000 to $100,000
Min. Credit Score
700
Pros and cons
More details
Lenders that may not charge origination fees
Some lenders only offer no-origination-fee loans to certain borrowers. Here are Credible's partner lenders that may not charge an origination fee, depending on your income, credit, and other factors:
Excellent credit
SoFi
4.8
Credible Rating
Pros and cons
More details
Best fast personal loans for all credit types
Upstart
4.3
Credible Rating
Est. APR
7.80 - 35.99%
Loan Amount
$1,000 to $50,000
Min. Credit Score
620
Pros and cons
More details
Best for all credit types
Avant
4.1
Credible Rating
Est. APR
9.95 - 35.99%
Loan Amount
$2,000 to $35,000
Min. Credit Score
550
Pros and cons
More details
What is an origination fee?
A loan origination fee covers the costs of processing your application, underwriting the loan, funding it, and other associated administrative services.
Personal loan origination fees generally range from less than 1% to 12% of your loan amount, depending on the lender and your financial profile. For example, if you took out a $5,000 loan with a 5% origination fee, you'd pay a $250 origination fee.
It’s possible to find lenders that don’t charge origination fees, especially if you have good credit and a solid income. But if you have a low credit score, it's more likely you'll need to pay an origination fee.
Some lenders charge a flat origination fee, regardless of credit profile, while others have a range — for example, a personal loan from Upgrade could come with an origination fee from 1.85% to 9.99%. The actual fee the lender charges will depend on several factors, including your credit and income.
What is APR?
A loan's annual percentage rate (APR) is an expression of how much the loan costs, based on its interest rate and any origination or other upfront fees. It's important because it gives you a true sense of the cost of loans, and a more effective way to compare them side by side, relative to the interest rate alone.
For example, a five-year loan with a 10% interest rate and a 5% origination fee, would have a 12.2% APR. (The APR stays the same regardless of loan amount, but will change with the loan's repayment term.)
Check Out: Current Personal Loan Rates
Methodology
Credible evaluated 24 lenders to find the best no-credit history loans. Our team of experts gathered information from each lender's website, customer service department, directly from our partners, and via email support. We chose the best lenders based on the following weighted categories:
- Rates and fees: 18%
- Loan terms: 18%
- Customer experience: 17%
- Eligibility: 14%
- Customer satisfaction: 10%
- Efficiency: 10%
- Options for poor credit and no credit: 9%
- Discounts: 4%
Each data point was verified by a third party to make sure it was accurate and up to date.
Learn more about how Credible rates lenders by exploring our Personal Loans Lender Rating Methodology.
Other personal loans to consider
Here are other lenders that stand out for having no origination fees. Keep in mind that these lenders aren’t Credible partners, so you won’t be able to compare their rates on the Credible platform.
“You should consider a loan’s overall cost before taking one out. Comparing loans by APR is ideal, as a loan’s APR includes the interest rate and upfront fees (like origination fees). But be sure to read any fine print so you’re not blindsided by a fee down the road.” — Hannah Smith, Editor, Personal Loans
Other personal loan fees to consider
In addition to origination fees, personal loans may have other costs, depending on the lender. Some potential fees include:
- Application fees: Some lenders charge these when you apply for a loan, before you get an approval decision. This type of fee can range from $25 to $50.
- Late fees: Lenders assess these if you make a past-due payment. On average, late fees can range from $25 to $50, or from 3% to 5% of the monthly payment amount.
- Returned check fees: Lenders may charge these if you make a loan payment that’s returned for insufficient funds. These typically range from $20 to $50.
- Payment protection insurance: This is a type of insurance that can help cover your loan payments if you’re unable to work. Not all lenders offer payment protection insurance (PPI), but those that do might encourage you to sign up — keep in mind that it isn’t required, and it's usually not necessary if you have a life insurance or other policy that offers similar protections.
- Prepayment penalties: Few lenders assess these if you pay off your loan ahead of schedule (no Credible partners do). While these are relatively rare, if a lender does charge them they could cost you 2% to 5% of the loan amount or a flat fee.
Tip
If you opt to get PPI, you’ll typically pay at least 1% of your loan amount. Be sure to closely read any fine print to make sure you'd be eligible for coverage and so you know exactly what would be covered, and for how long.
You can estimate how much you’ll pay for a loan using our personal loan calculator.
How to take out a no-origination-fee personal loan
If you’re ready to take out a personal loan, ideally with no origination fee, follow these four steps:
- Research and compare lenders: Look for personal loan lenders that offer loans for the amount you need and the term you're aiming for, with eligibility requirements you can meet. If you need funds quickly, be sure to take a lender's funding time into account. If you’re looking to avoid origination fees, limit your search to lenders that don't charge them.
- Prequalify: Then, if it is offered, prequalify with the lenders that seem the most promising. This can give you an idea of the APRs and terms you may qualify for, without affecting your credit score. Just remember that prequalification is not an offer of credit, so your final rate may differ. When you proceed to formally apply for a loan, the lender will conduct a hard credit pull that will temporarily drop your score by a few points.
- Pick a loan option: After you’ve done your lender research and prequalified, where possible, choose the loan option and lender that looks like it will best suit your needs.
- Complete the application: Once you’ve chosen a lender, fill out a full application and submit any required documentation, such as tax returns or pay stubs. It is at this point that the lender will conduct a hard credit inquiry that will ding your score slightly. Feel free to apply for more than one personal loan (just be sure to do so within a two-week time frame to avoid any additional hit to your credit).
- Get your funds: If you’re approved, the lender will have you sign for the loan so your money can be released to you. Some lenders will fund loans as soon as the same or next business day after approval, while some lenders can take up to a week.
Learn More: How To Get a Personal Loan
How to keep personal loan costs low
Although you might be able to get a personal loan with no origination fee, you’ll still pay interest on your loan. Interest is essentially the cost of borrowing money and is the main factor that affects your total repayment costs.
However, a few strategies could help you keep your personal loan costs as low as possible:
Have good credit
To get the best personal loan rates, you’ll typically need good to excellent credit. A good credit score is usually considered to be a FICO score of 670 or higher. Several lenders offer personal loans for bad credit, but these loans usually come with higher interest rates and more fees (such as origination fees) compared to good-credit loans.
Lenders will consider your credit score to determine your rate. In general, the higher your credit score, the better your interest rate is likely to be, the lower your chances of paying a high origination fee, and the less you’ll pay overall on your loan.
Important
Lenders will also look at your debt-to-income ratio (DTI). This is how much of your gross monthly income goes toward debt payments. If your DTI is too high — under 35% is typically preferred — it might signal that you’ll have trouble taking on more debt.
Several strategies could help you build your credit and qualify for better rates in the future.
For example, you might be able to improve your credit over time by making on-time payments on all of your bills, paying down credit card balances, or taking out a credit-builder loan.
Apply with a cosigner
If you have bad credit, applying with a cosigner who has good credit could make it easier to get approved for a loan with no origination fee. Not all lenders allow cosigners on personal loans, but some do — including a few no-origination-fee personal loan lenders like PenFed.
Keep in mind
A cosigner can be anyone with good credit — such as a parent, another relative, or a trusted friend — who is willing to share responsibility for the loan. Just remember that they’ll be on the hook if you can’t make your payments.
Even if you don’t need a cosigner to qualify, having one could get you a better interest rate than you’d get on your own — which could help you keep your overall costs lower.
Choose a shorter repayment term
While picking a longer repayment term could get you a lower monthly payment, you’ll also pay more in interest over time. Because of this, it’s usually a good idea to choose the shortest term you're sure you can afford — this way, you can keep your interest costs as low as possible. Many lenders also offer better rates to borrowers who opt for shorter repayment terms.
Compare lenders
Taking your time to shop around and compare lenders can help you find the most cost-effective loan for your financial needs (and avoid origination fees, if that's your goal). In addition to the APR, be sure to consider repayment terms and any fees the lender charges, as well as funding times and eligibility requirements.
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