Upstart personal loans review

In a nutshell

Upstart views prospective borrowers as more than just a credit score. Instead, it evaluates your employment and educational background to gauge your eligibility for a personal loan with a competitive rate.

• Upstart is an online lending marketplace you can use to find the best deal on a personal loan or car loan refinance.
• Upstart focuses on improving accessibility to affordable credit to individuals from varying backgrounds.
• Upstart leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to simplify the lending process for borrowers and lenders in its vast network.

Best for bad credit

Upstart

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Best for bad credit

Upstart

APR

6.4% - 35.99%

Loan amount

$1,000 - $50,000

Min. credit score

All credit scores considered

Who are Upstart personal loans for?

Upstart is worth a shot if you have a limited or poor credit history and can’t get approved elsewhere for a personal loan. The platform is also ideal for borrowers with no credit or past credit challenges who have a favorable employment and educational history.

Eligibility requirements for getting Upstart personal loan

You must meet these guidelines to qualify for funding:

• Be 18 years of age or older with a verifiable name, Social Security number and date of birth.
• Have an email address.
• Earn at least $12,000 annually.
• Have an active bank account at a U.S.-based financial institution.

If you aren't currently employed full-time, you must have part-time employment or another consistent income source. Upstart will also consider your application for a personal loan if you have a full-time employment offer slated to begin within six months.

Upstart personal loans: Just the facts

• Loan amount: $1,000 - $50,000.
• APRs: 7.8% - 35.99%.
• Terms: 3 or 5 years.
• Minimum credit score: Not specified.

Benefits of Upstart personal loans

Eligibility guidelines

A less-than-perfect credit score isn’t necessarily a deal breaker for Upstart. The lender looks beyond your credit rating by evaluating your academic and work history to determine if you’re a good fit for a loan.

Simplicity

Upstart boasts a seamless online application process with a prequalification timeline of no more than five minutes. Even better, most qualified borrowers can move through the lending process without providing documentation.

Flexibility with payments

Borrowers aren’t limited to single monthly installment payments to repay the loan. Instead, this amount can be split into two monthly installments if it works better for your budget. Eligibility guidelines apply to qualify for this perk.

Rapid funding

There’s no shortage of online lenders offering fast funding times, generally as soon as two business days. However, Upstart beats this timeline by funding most loans as soon as the next business day.

How to apply for an Upstart personal loan

When you’re ready to apply for funding, here’s what to expect:

• Get prequalified: You’ll start by answering questions about your income, employment and educational background. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes and won’t impact your credit score.
• View potential loan offers: If you prequalify, Upstart will present you with options on the dashboard. Compare loan offers to find the best fit for your financial situation.
• Submit a formal application: Apply with the lender you select. In most cases, you won’t need to provide additional paperwork to receive final loan approval, but the lender will perform a hard credit check.
• Receive the loan proceeds: Upon approval, the lender will disburse the loan proceeds electronically to your bank account. For applications approved before 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, most borrowers receive funds the next business day.

Where Upstart personal loans don’t measure up

Borrowing costs

The maximum APR isn’t as steep as you’ll find with payday loans, but it’s still on the higher end of the spectrum. Still, Upstart’s lenders charge loan origination, late payment and returned payment fees, which could increase your borrowing costs.

Loan terms

Many lenders offer several loan terms from which to choose. However, Upstart limits borrowers to three- or five-year repayment periods, which could be less than ideal if you want an extended loan term to make the monthly payments more affordable. The same applies if you prefer a shorter term to lower interest costs. (Note: For the latter, you can pay the loan off early without incurring a prepayment penalty to accomplish this objective.)

How does Upstart compare?

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Is Upstart a safe place to get a loan?

Upstart is BBB-accredited with an A+ rating. It also partners with over 100 reputable financial institutions to offer personal and auto refinance loans. Upstart has served over 3 million customers through more than $38 billion in loan originations.

Is it hard to get approved with Upstart?

Upstart features a straightforward application process that makes it easy to view loan offers from lenders in its network. You could qualify for funding even if you have no credit or bad credit, as the lender also assesses your work history and academic background.

What are the risks of choosing Upstart?

If you receive a high APR, you risk taking on monthly loan payments that stretch your budget thin. This is especially true given the ability to only choose a three- or five-year loan term. Origination fees are another cause for concern — borrowers pay up to 12% — along with the late payment and returned payment penalties.