How to Get Personal Loan If You Have Really Bad Credit

ElitePersonalFinance
Last Update: September 25, 2023 Credit Report Loan Reviews Loans

If you have a FICO score between 300 and 579, then lenders consider you have bad credit. FICO credit score rating looks like this:

  • Excellent (800 to 850)
  • Very Good (740 to 799)
  • Good (670 to 739)
  • Fair (580 to 669)
  • Bad (300 to 579)

However, just because you have bad credit doesn’t mean you can’t qualify for a personal loan. Getting a personal loan is possible even if you have really bad credit. Still, you have to be really careful because many predatory lenders are trying to scam people in a situation like yours.

Here are our best picks for those looking for a loan now and are with bad credit.

Loan Company:Min. Credit Score:APR:Amount:
ZippyLoan0Vary$100 – $15,000
LifeLoans0Vary$100 – $40,000
NextDayPersonalLoan0Vary$100 – $40,000
VivaLoan0Vary$100 – $15,000
PickALender0Vary$100 – $40,000
FundsJoy0Vary$100 – $5,000
WhiteRockLoans0Vary$100 – $5,000
OppLoans059% – 160%$500 – $4,000
RiseCredit060% – 299%$500 – $5,000
NetCredit034% – 155%$1,000 – $10,000
PossibleFinance0150% – 200%$50 – $500
FigLoans0176% – 229%$50 – $800

Watch our video that shows how people with bad credit can get a personal loan.


This guide will walk you through all the steps you can take to get personal loans and even lower your rates with really bad credit. But before that, we want to make one very important clarification!

There is another big problem apart from getting the loan, and this is if you can repay the loan on time. Many people reading this guide have a very bad credit score or are in a very bad financial situation, so they will probably not repay their loan on time. Most of the blogs that discuss getting a loan with very low credit don’t spend too much time speaking about this problem. But we will. Our guide is slightly different. In this article, we will put people into these two categories (and we will give exact tips for each of them):

  • People with really bad credit who are sure that they can repay their loans on time.
  • People with really bad credit who are almost sure that they cannot repay the loan on time.

But before we start, a few words about these two categories of people.

  • People who are sure that they can pay back the money on time

These probably are people with a regular job, who make some money, or have other options when the payment date comes. It won’t be a problem for these people to find a personal loan at reliable rates (even if rates are more expensive than loans for people with great credit scores, it will still be much cheaper than payday loans). In fact, many loan companies are really flexible these days. Many lenders try to evaluate your real financial situation (work history, education, income, and so on) and your ability to repay the loan instead of only looking at what your credit score says about you. We will show you exactly how to get a personal loan later in the guide.

  • People who are almost sure that they don’t have the ability to repay the loan on time

These aren’t only people with bad credit, but also those in a very bad financial situation – possibly unemployed or with many monthly expenses and a very low income. We are really sorry if you are in such a situation and do our best to help. We don’t want to be responsible for getting you into big trouble, so we recommend that you avoid getting a loan! If you really need to get a loan, you can apply almost the same strategies as other people, but you need to be careful. You have to understand the consequences of not paying back the money on time, which we will explain later in this guide. We will also give tips on avoiding getting a loan, including some fast ways to make money.

How to Get a Reliable Loan With Really Bad Credit?

BadCreditLoans

Loan Amount:$500 – $10,000
APR:5.99% – 35.99%
Min. Credit Score:0
Approval:1 Day
Terms:3 – 36 months
Origination Fee:N/A
DTI Ratio:N/A
Check rates

BadCreditLoans.com is a company specifically designed for people with really bad credit. And it really works. If you have really bad credit, start from them. According to the information on their site, you can get between $500 and $10,000 with an APR of 5.99% to 35.99%, which is absolutely in the range of a personal loan.

However, there are cases when people receive offers with a higher APR. Also, if your credit score is really bad, you probably can’t expect a loan over $500 or $3,000. There are also cases where they won’t trust you, and you won’t receive an offer from them at all. Make sure you read the contract carefully before accepting the offer because, in some cases, the APR can be higher than what is mentioned on their website.

But no one stops you from trying. The registration is free, and there is no obligation to accept the offer.

Shop Around and Compare Offers!

Will I lower my credit score if I apply for many loan companies? NO! You lose some points only if the lender makes a hard inquiry. But this happens only after you have been approved the loan and you accept. The application process doesn’t require a hard inquiry, so registering with many loan companies won’t lower your credit score.

The most important thing before you get a loan with bad credit is to shop around. Some sites won’t accept you, others will accept you but won’t send you offers, some will give you expensive offers explaining that your present risk for them will give you a great offer. So, the more you apply, the more options you will find.

Here are some of the big names in the personal loan business.

All legit companies that we list have no registration fees, and there is no obligation to accept the offer if you don’t approve it.

PersonalLoans