Best Personal Loans from Upstart of November 2024

Upstart Review

Founded by ex-Google employees, Upstart utilizes Artificial Intelligence to make lending decisions. Their underwriting process incorporates alternative data such as the applicant’s work experience and education level. As a result, it gives people with low FICO scores a better chance to get approved for unsecured loan products.

You can apply and qualify for loans offered by creditors in the Upstart Network. We’ll be reviewing available loan types, eligibility criteria, interest rates, and more.

Upstart loan types

Upstart offers various personal loan types; you can easily find what suits your current financial needs. You can utilize personal loans for individual use without any restriction — the loan amount goes from $1,000 - $50,000.

• Credit card consolidation: This loan allows you to consolidate outstanding credit card debt. As a result, you may end up with a lower APR on your new loan and save on interest charges.
• Debt consolidation loans: Dealing with one single monthly payment and one interest rate is far easier than having to pay off multiple debts. A debt consolidation loan allows you to clear all your outstanding debts and deal with one lender.
• Home improvement loans: Unexpected home emergencies such as roof repairs can be quite expensive and challenging to fund out of pocket. Upstart home improvement loans can help pay for upgrades, remodels, and repairs.
• Medical loans: Upstart provides loans to cover medical emergencies and elective surgeries. Medical loans can also help you pay costs that insurance might not cover, such as infertility treatments.
• Wedding loans: Weddings are quite expensive. You have to pay for venues, catering services, gowns, and many other things. Fortunately, Upstart provides wedding loans that can help to cover all these costs.
• Moving loans: With local moves costing about $2300 and long-distance moves $4300, according to The American Moving and Storage Association, the costs may be hard to finance without sufficient savings. Upstart moving loans can fund relocation expenses and security deposits.
• Car refinancing: Upstart allows you to refinance your current auto loan for a new interest rate that may be more affordable. You can even receive a cash-back if you have built up equity in your car.

Loan specifications

You can apply for the following types of loans: credit card consolidation, debt consolidation, home improvement, medical loans, wedding loan, moving and relocation, and car financing.

As you can see from the table the maximum loan amount is $50,000, and the APR starts at 5.6% for the best graded borrowers. The loan period varies from 3 to 5 years.

Upstart: pros and cons

Applying for an Upstart loan

All borrowers on Upstart have to meet certain minimum requirements:

• A minimum credit score of 600. Borrowers with no or limited credit history may be accepted.
• A minimum debt-to-income ratio of 45% for residents of Connecticut, Maryland, New York, and Vermont; 50% for residents of other states.
• No bankruptcies or other public records within the last 12 months.
• Less than 6 hard inquiries in credit reports within the last 6 months, excluding hard inquiries related to student, vehicle, or mortgage loans.

Upstart will conduct a soft inquiry that doesn’t affect your credit score to determine if you qualify for an Upstart loan. Get started by visiting the loan application page and select your intended loan use. Next, fill out an online loan application form that asks for various details such as personal identification information, work experience, primary income source, and education level. You will then receive an estimated rate. The process is relatively fast and may take you only 5 minutes.

If you choose to proceed with your loan offer, the platform will perform a hard check, verify your credit score and credit history as part of the formal approval process. Upstart may require documentation to verify your income. They ask for recent pay stubs, W2 forms, or bank statements.

Self-employed and independent contractors can submit their last year's tax return, along with other documents that can verify income, such as business invoices or digital images of deposited checks. Persons with alternative income sources such as retirement benefits, alimony, disability payments, or child support can also supply evidence of their income by providing relevant documents.

Every customer has access to an online dashboard to communicate with the customer support team and upload relevant documents. Funding is facilitated through direct deposits to your bank account via ACH payments. For credit card consolidation loans, funds can be sent directly to creditors.

Note that the maximum and minimum loan limits are subject to state laws. Upstart doesn’t issue loans to applicants residing in West Virginia or Iowa.

Example: For a $10,000 personal loan with a three-year term and interest of 25.06%, you will pay $4,324.96 in interest with monthly payments of $398. Upstart charges an origination fee of 10%. If you pay an origination fee of 5%, you’ll only receive $9,500 in your bank account.

Is Upstart worth it?

Upstart is a good loan company because of three primary reasons:

• They offer a wide range of unsecured loans that you can obtain without providing collateral. The loans have flexible limits — for instance, you can apply for a personal loan between $1,000 - $50,000.
• Borrowers with no or limited credit history can qualify.
• The platform is highly trusted, with excellent ratings from past customers.