Best Personal Loans for Good and Bad Credit in California of September 2024
If you are a resident of California, there are several excellent options for finding the best personal loans. Online lenders, banks, and credit unions offer competitive rates and terms on installment loans in California, making it easy for borrowers to find the perfect personal loan for their needs. The best personal loans in California offer loans between $100 and $100,000 with APRs ranging from 5.99% to 36% and terms ranging from 12 to 60 months. In addition, the best personal loans in California require a minimum credit score of at least 300, making them accessible to many borrowers. Without further ado, here are the best personal loans in California, why we chose them, and their pros. & cons., eligibility criteria, and what they are best for.
Best Personal Lenders in California of September 2024
| Lender: | Loan Amount: | APR: | Min. Credit Score: | Terms: | Best for: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SoFi | $5,000 – $100,000 | 7.99-19.39% | 680 | 24 – 72 months | No-fee personal loans |
| ZippyLoan | $100 – $15,000 | 7.04% – 35.89% | 0 | 6 – 72 months | Bad or no credit |
| Upstart | $1,000 – $50,000 | 4.6% – 35.99% | 300 | 36 – 60 months | Short and long-term personal loans |
| Upgrade | $1,000 – $50,000 | 8.49% – 35.99% | 560 | 24 – 84 months | Fast funding |
| LendingPoint | $2,000 – $36,500 | 7.99% – 35.99% | 580 | 24 – 72 months | A stable credit history |
| Wells Fargo | $3,000 – $100,000 | 5.99% – 21.74% | 700 | 12 – 84 months | Wells Fargo customers |
| U.S. Bank | $1,000 – $50,000 | 8.24% – 20.74% | 660 | 12 – 84 months | U.S. Bank customers |
| First Tech Federal | $500 – $50,000 | 7.70% – 18% | 660 | 24 – 84 months | Fast online application |
| PenFed | $600 – $50,000 | 7.74% – 17.99% | 670 | 12 – 60 months | Debt consolidation |
| Affirm | Up to $17,500 | 0% – 30% | 0 | 1 – 48 months | Clothing, electronics, and furniture purchases |
| Travis Credit Union | From as low as $500 | From 3.25% | 300 – 850 | 12 – 60 months | Home improvement projects |
| CU SoCal Credit Union | $500 – $30,000 | As low as 9.24% | 0 | 12 – 120 months | No-fee personal loans |
| SchoolsFirst Credit Union | $500 – $30,000 | 7% – 18% | 580 | 4 – 60 months | Consolidating higher-interest debt. |
Our Marketplace
Compare different lenders in our marketplace. Our marketplace is the largest place online to find and compare all lenders in one place. All of our lenders offer competitive rates and terms, making it easy for borrowers to find the best loan for their needs.
In addition, our marketplace includes lenders that specialize in personal loans for specific purposes such as debt consolidation, home improvement, and personal expenses.
Why Trust ElitePersonalFinance Guides?
We scrutinize over 50 lenders across California to bring our readers the best options for financial products, including personal loans. Our experienced analysts thoroughly evaluate each lender’s rates, terms, customer service, and overall trustworthiness before making any recommendations.
We only work with legit companies that adhere to state and federal regulations, ensuring the safety of our readers’ personal information and funds. Our top-tier editorial team also continually updates our guides to ensure they are accurate and up-to-date.
We regularly consult with our finance experts and conduct surveys of current borrowers to bring our readers the most comprehensive information possible.
So trust ElitePersonalFinance as your go-to guide for finding the best personal loans in California of September 2024.
Best Personal Loans in California of September 2024: Key Findings
The best personal loans in California start at $100 and go up to $100,000 with a repayment plan of 12 to 84 months.
APRs for the best installment loans in California range from 5.99% to 36%. Your chosen APR varies depending on your DTI ratio, credit score, income, and other factors.
You can get a personal loan even with bad credit. However, the APR is usually higher for those with low credit scores.
To qualify for a personal loan in California, you must have a credit score of at least 300, verifiable income and employment, and a current U.S. bank account.
Some lenders specialize in specific personal loan uses such as debt consolidation, home improvement, and personal expenses.
SoFi
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| Loan Amount: | $5,000 – $100,000 |
| APR: | 7.99% – 23.43% |
| Min. Credit Score: | 680 |
| Approval: | 1 – 7 Days |
| Terms: | 24- 72 months |
| Fees: |
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| Qualification Criteria: |
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| Average Borrower Profile: |
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| Best For: | No-fee personal loans |
| Check rates | |
SoFi is a great lender for borrowers who want no-fee, high-amount personal loans in California for good credit. SoFi offers good credit installment loans in California as low as $5,000 up to $100,000 with three or five years repayment terms. Additionally, this lender charges an APR of 7.99% to 23.43%, which is better than most lenders on our list.
To qualify for a SoFi personal loan, you must have a credit score of at least 680 and have either a job, a job offer with a start date within the next 60 days, or another reliable source of income.
You can use your SoFi personal loan for various reasons – from debt consolidation to medical expenses to home improvements.
Also, SoFi installment loans in California come with no origination fees, prepayment, and late payment fees.
SoFi is one of the best online loans in California because it offers unemployment protection. If you lose your job, SoFi will work with you to lower your monthly payments or put your loan payments on hold for some time. And this is an excellent safety net for borrowers who are worried about losing their income and unable to make their loan payments.
In addition, SoFi doesn’t have an origination fee, late fee, or insufficient funds fee. Nonetheless, SoFi offers a 0.25% rate discount for enrolling in Autopay.
Additionally, SoFi is an online lender for its bank products, so you can enjoy the convenience of an online application and personal loan management.
SoFi offers installment loans in California with no origination fee, no late fees, and no prepayment penalties. You can also enjoy low-cost deposits. Additionally, SoFi provides individualized career counseling available to borrowers to aid with job searches, career transitions, and developing a solid personal brand. In addition, we offer our clients discounted estate planning and no-cost budgeting guidance.
Pros:
- No origination fees.
- No late fees.
- No prepayment penalties.
- Low-cost installment loans in California with fixed rates and terms of 24 months up to 72 months.
- Accepts joint application options.
- Charges APRs between 7.99% and 23.43%.
- If you sign up for SoFi Money, you’ll receive a $10 bonus.
Cons:
- Requires a credit score of 680 or higher to qualify.
- Because of the minimum loan requirement of $5,000, many potential borrowers are kicked out from applying.
The Impact of Covid-19:
To help those who were having trouble making their loan payments, SoFi established a Special Handling Team. If you are experiencing problems making payments on time, contact SoFi at 1-855-456-7634 for more information about your options.
ZippyLoan
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| Loan Amount: | $100 – $15,000 |
| APR: | 7.04% – 35.89% |
| Min. Credit Score: | 0 |
| Approval: | 1 – 7 Days |
| Terms: | 6 Months – 72 months |
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| Average Borrower Profile: |
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| Best For: | Bad or no credit |
| Check rates | |
ZippyLoan provides the best installment loans for bad credit in California to people with bad or no credit because it offers access to financing from a vast network of lenders. To qualify, you must be at least 18 years old and have a regular source of income.
ZippyLoan provides borrowers with loan amounts of $100 to $15,000 and terms of 6 months to 72 months. The APR on a ZippyLoan range from 7.04% to 35.89%. The actual APR you receive will be based on your creditworthiness, loan amount, and loan term.
There is no origination fee with ZippyLoan, but unlike SoFi, late fees and prepayment fees vary by lender. Even better, most lenders on the platform do not charge prepayment fees.
ZippyLoan is one of the best bad credit online loans in California because it gives borrowers, regardless of their credit, an opportunity to access online installment bad credit loans in California. And this means that ZipplyLoan is an excellent choice for those with less-than-perfect credit.
Pros:
- No origination fees.
- A wide range of loan amounts and terms.
- Accessible to borrowers with bad or no credit.
- Reasonable APRs.
- Applying doesn’t affect your credit score.
Cons:
- Charges late fees and prepayment fees (varies by lender).
The Impact of Covid-19:
ZippyLoan is committed to working with lenders to help borrowers impacted by Covid-19. If you need assistance, don’t hesitate to get in touch with their customer service team at 1-844-379-8621 or email support@zippyloan.com.
Upstart
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| Loan Amount: | $1,000 – $50,000 |
| APR: | 4.6% – 35.99% |
| Min. Credit Score: | 300 |
| Approval: | 1 – 7 Days |
| Terms: | 3 – 5 Years |
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| Best For: | Low credit scores, high DTI ratios |
| Check rates | |
Terms: Your loan amount will be determined based on your credit, income, and certain other information provided in your loan application. Not all applicants will qualify for the full amount. Minimum loan amounts vary by state: GA ($3,100), HI ($2,100), MA ($7,000).
Although educational information is collected as part of Upstart’s rate check process, neither Upstart nor its bank partners have a minimum educational attainment requirement in order to be eligible for a loan.
The full range of available rates varies by state. A representative example of payment terms for a Personal Loan is as follows: a borrower receives a loan of $10,000 for a term of 60 months, with an interest rate of 18.44% and a 8.64% origination fee of $864, for an APR of 22.88%. In this example, the borrower will receive $9136 and will make 60 monthly payments of $257. APR is calculated based on 5-year rates offered in March 2023. Your APR will be determined based on your credit, income, and certain other information provided in your loan application. Not all applicants will be approved.
If you accept your loan by 5pm EST (not including weekends or holidays), you will receive your funds the next business day. Loans used to fund education related expenses are subject to a 3 business day wait period between loan acceptance and funding in accordance with federal law.
While most loans through Upstart are unsecured, certain lenders may place a lien on other accounts you hold with the same institution. It is important to review your promissory note for these details before accepting your loan.
When you check your rate, we check your credit report. This initial (soft) inquiry will not affect your credit score. If you accept your rate and proceed with your application, we do another (hard) credit inquiry that will impact your credit score. If you take out a loan, repayment information may be reported to the credit bureaus.
The APR calculation compares the two models based on the average APR offered to borrowers up to the same approval rate. The hypothetical credit-score only model used in Upstart’s analysis was developed in connection with the CFPB No Action Letter access-to-credit testing program and was built from a traditional credit score only model trained on Upstart platform data. APR for the scorecard was averaged for each given traditional credit score grouping.
While automated recurring payments are easy to set up, payments by check or one time electronic payments can also be used to repay a loan. Borrowers have the flexibility to choose the repayment method that works best for them.
This information is based on actual borrowers as of 4/1/2023 who identified “credit card refinancing” as their primary use of funds and paid off at least 51% of their outstanding credit card debt within 3 months of taking out the loan. Out of these actual borrowers, some could have experienced an increase or decrease in their credit score. This information reflects the overall average change in credit score points experienced by this group of borrowers as identified above.
The majority of borrowers on the Upstart marketplace are able to receive an instant decision upon submitting a completed application, without providing additional supporting documents, however final approval is conditioned upon passing the hard credit inquiry. Loan processing may be subject to longer wait times if additional documentation is required for review.
Upstart offers the best installment loans in California for bad credit to borrowers with high DTI ratios and low credit scores. However, it would help if you had a minimum credit score of 300 to qualify, and your DTI must be below 50%.
Upstart’s artificial intelligence (A.I.) & underwriting algorithm utilizes alternative data such as employment history and educational background to boost acceptance and decrease interest rates. Therefore, if your credit score is average, you may still qualify for a personal loan with terms that are more favorable than average. Nonetheless, Upstart is a peer-to-peer lending platform that facilitates funding by connecting investors with borrowers based on their individual risk preferences and credit histories.
As one of the best installment loans in California, Upstart lets you borrow $1,000 to $50,000 with fixed APRs of 4.6% to 35.99%. However, the minimum amounts vary by different states. In addition, you can choose repayment terms of three to five years. The best part is that there are no origination fees or prepayment fees.
However, if you make a late payment, you will be charged a fee of 5% of the outstanding balance or $15, whichever is greater. Nonetheless, if you are looking for a legit personal loan in California and have average credit, Upstart is a great option.
Pros:
- Very accessible to borrowers with high DTI ratios and low credit scores.
- Applying won’t have any effect on your credit score.
- Upstart has flexible payment options of 3-5 years.
- Upstart requires a low minimum credit score of 300.
- Affordable APRs start at 4.6%.
Cons:
- If you make a late payment, you will be charged a fee of 5% of the outstanding balance or $15, whichever is greater.
- Upstart charges an origination fee of between 0% and 10%.
- Upstart charges an insufficient funds fee of $15.
- Upstart charges paper document fees of $10.
The Impact of Covid-19:
Upstart is committed to helping borrowers impacted by Covid-19. Don’t hesitate to