SoFi Personal Loans Review 2024

SoFi is a top personal loan option for prospective borrowers who have good to excellent credit and generally have free cash flow, that is, excess income at the end of each month. It’s also an excellent choice if you need a large loan—up to $100,000.

Personal loans are not available for education-related costs through this lender, which may deter some customers.

SoFi Loan Purposes

Permitted uses	Prohibited uses
Credit card consolidation	Real estate
Home improvements	Business purposes
Relocation assistance	Investments
Medical procedures	Purchases of securities
	Post-secondary education
	Short-term bridge financing

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Loan Amounts & Terms

• Loan amounts. In general, SoFi offers unsecured personal loans from $5,000 to $100,000. However, minimum loan amounts are higher in certain states—$10,001 in Arizona, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and $15,001 in Kentucky.
• Loan terms. SoFi’s personal loans are available for terms between two and seven years—or 24 and 84 months.

Loan Costs

• APR. SoFi offers APRs between 8.99% to 29.99% (with autopay). Maximum interest rates are lower in several states: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming.
• Origination fees. No origination fees are required.
• Late fees. Borrowers are not charged late fees—although late payments will result in higher interest accrual.
• Prepayment penalty fees. SoFi does not impose prepayment penalties, so borrowers have the freedom to pay off their loans prior to the end of their loan term.

Perks & Features

In addition to the 0.25% APR reduction for autopay enrollees, SoFi offers customers a few other helpful perks:

• Flexible payment date. SoFi borrowers have the ability to change their payment dates once per year. This can be helpful if your employer has a unique payment schedule or if you prefer to cluster bill payments around specific dates.

Personal loan applications are approved or declined based on a number of factors. All lenders have their own unique underwriting requirements, but these typically include information from an applicant’s credit profile and other factors that demonstrate the ability to repay the loan, such as income. Meeting the requirements below won’t guarantee approval, but they can help you decide if a personal loan is the right fit for you.

Credit Score Requirements

Personal loan applicants must have a minimum FICO credit score of 650 to qualify for a SoFi personal loan. As with other popular lenders, not all applicants who meet the minimum credit score requirements will be approved for a SoFi personal loan, and most successful applicants have a score of 700 or higher.

Income Requirements

SoFi requires personal loan applicants to have an annual income of at least $45,000 to qualify. Even so, the average income of a SoFi borrower is over $100,000. SoFi also evaluates applicants based on their debt-to-income (DTI) ratio and how much income they have left after covering other monthly expenses. Ideal applicants have at least $1,500 in free cash flow each month.

Co-signers and Co-applicants

If your credit isn’t where you’d like it to be, SoFi also allows would-be borrowers to apply with a co-applicant. Co-applicants—also known as a co-borrower once a loan is funded—are jointly responsible for loan repayment and must live at the same address as the primary applicant.

Applying with a co-applicant requires the applicant to add the co-applicant’s employment, income and education information to the application. Keep in mind that the addition of a co-applicant may add one to two weeks to the loan application process, so plan ahead. A co-borrower cannot be removed from a loan, even if the primary applicant improves their credit score or establishes a good payment history.

SoFi doesn’t allow co-signers on personal loans. A co-signer is similar to a co-applicant but does not have to live in the same household.

1. Prequalify. To apply for a SoFi personal loan, visit the SoFi website or mobile app to find out what APR you may qualify for in as little as two minutes. This prequalifying step only involves a soft credit pull, so your credit score won’t be impacted if you’re still shopping for the best rates and loan terms.
2. Complete online application. When you’re ready to apply for a personal loan, complete an application online or through the SoFi app. A loan consultant will guide you through the process and address any questions. At this stage, SoFi will request a full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, resulting in a hard credit pull.
3. Await approval. In general, application review and approval takes between two and four days. However, applicants report that a decision can take much longer—up to 15 days—if you’re self-employed.
4. Sign loan agreement. Once you sign, you’ll typically receive funds within a few days, but this may take longer for larger loans.
5. Receive funds. Loan proceeds are sent directly to the borrower’s personal bank account.
6. Make payments. After loan funds are disbursed, borrowers can find their first due date in their final disclosure and first billing statement. SoFi borrowers can make loan payments on the mobile app or by logging into the SoFi website. Payments can be made via ACH, online bill pay or paper check. Credit card payments are not accepted.

Time to Receive Funds

After signing the loan application and confirming your address with a SoFi rep, borrowers can expect to receive their funds within a few days—or as soon as the next business day after approval and acceptance of terms. Funding times can be longer than a few days (especially for loans over $20,000), but customer reviews confirm that borrowers typically receive money quickly and are pleased with the overall turnaround time from application to funding.

Related: Best Personal Loans Of 2024

SoFi is generally well-reviewed, with 3.2 stars on TrustPilot. Clients say they are pleased with the ease of the application process, speed of funding and helpfulness of customer support.

Negative reviews reveal concerns about turnaround time and the responsiveness of customer support and are largely related to SoFi’s home mortgage products, rather than personal loans. However, some loan applicants and borrowers reported dissatisfaction with qualification requirements, the approval process and available APRs.

The best personal loans offer competitive rates, flexible loan amounts and a wide range of terms. Here’s how SoFi personal loans stack up against other popular lenders:

SoFi vs. LightStream

SoFi and LightStream both offer personal loans between $5,000 and $100,000, depending on the loan purpose. However, LightStream beats SoFi by a hair when it comes to interest rates and available term lengths. If you have a strong credit score, you may be able to score a more affordable loan with LightStream.

SoFi vs. Upgrade

While SoFi is tailored to borrowers with strong credit, Upgrade makes financing available to those with credit scores as low as 580. Upgrade may be a good option if you don’t meet SoFi’s minimum score requirement of 650. However, Upgrade only offers loans between $1,000 and $50,000, much less than SoFi’s $100,000 maximum loan amount.

SoFi vs. Upstart

Unlike SoFi, Upstart supports borrowers with damaged or limited credit. While SoFi’s minimum credit score requirement is 650, Upstart’s is 600. However, if you qualify for Upstart, you can only receive loan limits of up to $50,000 and terms of three or five years.

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Loan amounts

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APR range

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7.99% to 35.99%

Minimum credit score

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Minimum credit score

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APR range

8.99% to 29.99%

Loan amounts

$5,000 to $100,000

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Loan amounts

Example: A $5,900 loan with an administration fee of 4.75% and an amount financed of $5,619.75, repayable in 36 monthly installments, with an APR of 29.95% would have monthly payments of $250.30. If approved, the actual loan terms that a customer qualifies for may vary based on credit determination, state law, and other factors. Minimum loan amounts vary by state.

$2,000 to $35,000

APR range

If approved, the actual loan terms that a customer qualifies for may vary based on credit determination, state law, and other factors. Minimum loan amounts vary by state.

9.95% to 35.99%

Minimum credit score

580

3

Avant

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Upgrade Personal Loans

Minimum credit score

580

APR range

8.49% to 35.99%

Loan amounts

$1,000 to $50,000

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We reviewed SoFi based on 16 data points in the categories of loan details, loan costs, eligibility and accessibility, customer experience and the application process. We rated SoFi based on the weighting assigned to each category:

• Loan cost: 35%
• Loan details: 20%
• Eligibility and accessibility: 20%
• Customer experience: 15%
• Application process: 10%

Within each category, we also considered several characteristics, including available loan amounts, repayment terms, APR ranges and applicable fees. We also looked at credit score requirements, whether the lender accepts co-signers or joint applications and the geographic availability of the lender. Finally, we evaluated SoFi’s support tools, borrower perks and features that simplify the borrowing process—like prequalification options and mobile apps.

To learn more about how Forbes Advisor rates lenders, and our editorial process, check out our Loans Rating & Review Methodology.