ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE

Upstart Personal Loans Review

Receive personalized loan offers through PrimeRates’ quick and simple pre-application online process.

How PrimeRates Works

PrimeRates provides access to personalized business loan offers through our simple and quick pre-qualification application. Once you're pre-qualified, you can select the best offer for you and finalize the business loan application with the lender.

  • Number Icon-1 50x50

    Apply in minutes

    Our simple application takes less than 5-7 minutes to complete.

  • Number Icon-2 50x50

    Select your business loan offer

    Choose the offer that best fits your needs by comparing loan amounts and terms.

  • Number Icon-3 50x50

    Receive funds quickly

    Finalize your loan offer with the lender you selected to receive your funds.

Smartphone-business-app

Upstart Personal Loan Review – Is Upstart Legit?

Upstart is an online lending marketplace that determines creditworthiness by accounting for nontraditional variables including education and employment, rather than approving or denying applicants based solely upon their credit reports. Founded in 2012 as an income-sharing service, Upstart pivoted to the personal loan space two years later and has since made a name for itself by helping ambitious students, recent graduates, and people from all walks of life find financial stability.

Good For: New Borrowers, Average Credit, Fast Cash

Upstart’s unique prediction model sets it apart from most other lenders in the marketplace, and it especially appeals to young people who haven’t yet established enough credit experience to qualify for attractive loans. Upstart is also positioning itself as a more tech-centric lender by offering to pay the tuition costs for borrowers who pursue coding as a career.

There’s a lot to like about Upstart, but is it the right personal loan provider for you? Here’s everything you need to know.

Upstart loan rates and terms

APR range 5.99% – 35.89%
Available loan terms 36 – 60 months
Loan amounts $1,000 – $50,000
Time to fund One business day
Origination fee 0% – 8%
Credit needed 620+
Income needed N/A
Soft Credit Check? Yes
Best for New Borrowers, Borrowers With Thin Credit, Fair Credit
Click “Check Rates” to apply to Upstart 

» MORE: Personal loans for fair credit

Upstart Personal Loan Review – Is Upstart Legit?

There are many sketchy lenders on the internet, which understandably leads some people to wonder, Is Upstart legit? Well, rest assured, not only is Upstart an upstanding and reputable lender, but it’s also among the best-reviewed institutions in the industry. Although some Upstart personal loan reviews call out the company for being too picky about who they approve, and some people have voiced complaints about the company’s customer service, for the most part, Upstart has earned overwhelmingly positive feedback from its customers.

In terms of Upstart loan requirements, the company doesn’t insist that borrowers have long financial histories in order to get approved, however, the prediction model does prefer FICO scores of 620 or above. As mentioned, aspects of an applicant’s education — including schools attended and areas of study — factor significantly into Upstart’s approval process, but that’s not to say that credit reports don’t play a role as well. In fact, having any negative remarks on your credit report could certainly stand in your way depending on whether it’s a minor blemish or a major eyesore.

How Upstart Compares

Are you wondering how Upstart compares to the competition? Prosper and LendingClub are two of the lenders Upstart is most often compared to. And while Upstart certainly holds its own against these two other companies, it doesn’t quite excel in all areas.

Upstart vs Lending Club: In terms of interest rates, reputation, and lending limits, Upstart outperforms Lending Club without question. However, depending on how fast you need to get your hands on the borrowed funds, Lending Club might have the edge here, as Upstart’s education-related loans can take longer to process. Also, Lending Club offers several types of loans that Upstart doesn’t currently support.

» MORE: LendingClub Personal Loan Review

Prosper vs Upstart: Weighing the pros and cons between these two lenders boils down to the borrower’s needs and how creditworthy they’re deemed to be. Upstart offers a far greater range of loans than Proper does, but, generally speaking, Prosper charges lower fees than Upstart. Prosper also offers lower APRs for highly qualified individuals, but charges higher maximum APRs for riskier borrowers. Overall, Upstart offers better rates and loan terms than Prosper, plus it has a better reputation according to each of the companies’ customers.

» MORE: Prosper Personal Loan Review

Upstart For Debt Consolidation

If you’re considering applying for a loan in order to consolidate credit card debt, Upstart offers a number of attractive features including rates up to 30% lower than other lenders. Borrowers can leverage Upstart debt consolidation with loans ranging from $1,000 to $50,000 and an APR as low as 8.16%. Terms are available on either a three- or five-year basis, and, with Upstart, there’s never any penalty for prepayment.

» MORE: Personal Loans For Debt Consolidation

How to Apply For An Upstart Loan

Applying for a personal loan from Upstart is easy and won’t negatively affect your credit score.

  • Visit upstart.com and click BORROW at the top of the screen.
  • From the drop-down menu, select the type of loan you’re interested in the click GET STARTED.
  • Spend a minute or two filling out the form. Include your contact information, the highest level of education you completed, and accurate information about your income. When completed, click AGREE AND SEE YOUR RATE.
  • After you agreed to the terms and conditions, you’ll immediately be able to see what loan offers you’re able to take advantage of.
  • Select the offer that’s best for your needs, finalize your selection, and wait for the internal review.

Ready to get pre-qualified for a personal loan?

DISCLAIMER
Information used in this tool has been gathered from the lenders’ websites and others publicly available sources. While we do our best to ensure our information is up to date and calculations are accurate, all information is presented without warranty. If you find information or calculations you believe to be in error, please contact us. Estimated interest rate, APR, and other terms are not binding in any way. Your actual interest rate and APR will depend on factors like credit score, requested loan amount, loan term, and credit history. Only borrowers with excellent credit will quality for the lowest rate. All loans are subject to credit review and approval by our lender partners. When evaluating offers, please review the lender’s terms and conditions for additional details.

The operator of this website is not a lender, does not broker loans to lenders and does not make personal loans or credit decisions. This website does not constitute an offer or solicitation to lend. This website will submit the information you provide to a lender. Providing your information on this website does not guarantee that you will be approved for a personal loan. The operator of this website is not an agent, representative or broker of any lender and does not endorse or charge you for any service or product.

ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE
The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from which PrimeRates receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). PrimeRates strives to provide a wide array of offers, but our offers do not represent all financial services companies or products.

Scroll to Top