SoFi Personal Loans: 2024 Review

SoFi’s personal loans have the standard features of a five-star lender: a wide variety of loan amounts, flexible repayment terms, plus special features like free career and financial advising, unemployment protection and estate planning discounts. SoFi loans can be used for common purposes like debt consolidation, as well as for adoption or in vitro fertilization procedures, travel or weddings.

While there are no required fees, SoFi may offer the option to pay an origination fee up to 7% of the loan amount. The fee amount is deducted from the loan proceeds before disbursement.

Table of Contents

SoFi loans at a glance

Where SoFi personal loans stand out and fall short

Do you qualify for a SoFi personal loan?

How to apply for a SoFi personal loan

How SoFi personal loans compare

How we rate SoFi personal loans

SoFi personal loans at a glance

• Disclosure from SoFi

  Fixed rates from 8.99% APR to 29.99% APR. APR reflects the 0.25% autopay discount and a 0.25% direct deposit discount. SoFi Platform personal loans are made either by SoFi Bank, N.A. or , Cross River Bank, a New Jersey State Chartered Commercial Bank, Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. SoFi may receive compensation if you take out a loan originated by Cross River Bank. These rate ranges are current as of 3/06/23 and are subject to change without notice. Not all rates and amounts available in all states. See SoFi Personal Loan eligibility details at https://www.sofi.com/eligibility-criteria/#eligibility-personal. Not all applicants qualify for the lowest rate. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on a variety of factors, including evaluation of your credit worthiness, income, and other factors. Loan amounts range from $5,000– $100,000. The APR is the cost of credit as a yearly rate and reflects both your interest rate and an origination fee of 9.99% of your loan amount for Cross River Bank originated loans which will be deducted from any loan proceeds you receive and for SoFi Bank originated loans have an origination fee of 0%-7%, will be deducted from any loan proceeds you receive. Autopay: The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi. Direct Deposit Discount: To be eligible to receive an additional (0.25%) interest rate reduction on your Personal Loan (your “Loan”), you must set up Direct deposit with a SoFi Checking and Savings account offered by SoFi Bank, N.A., or enroll in SoFi Plus by paying the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee, all within 30 days of the funding of your Loan. Once eligible, you will receive this discount during periods in which you have enabled Direct Deposit to an eligible Direct Deposit Account in accordance with SoFi’s reasonable procedures and requirements to be determined at SoFi’s sole discretion, or during periods in which SoFi successfully receives payment of the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee. This discount will be lost during periods in which SoFi determines you have turned off Direct Deposit to your Checking and Savings account or in which you have not paid for the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee. You are not required to enroll in Direct Deposit or to pay the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee to receive a Loan.

Where SoFi personal loans stand out

Joint loans. Borrowers can add a co-applicant to their application. Adding someone with better credit or higher income can improve your chances of qualifying or getting a lower rate. Co-borrowers on a joint loan are both responsible for repaying the loan. Unlike single-borrower applications, which may be approved the same day, joint applications may require up to 10 business days to process.

» MORE: Best co-sign and joint loans

Multiple discounts. Borrowers may qualify for multiple discounts that can lower their interest rate. A rate discount of 0.25 percentage points is available for setting up autopay. If the loan is for debt consolidation, borrowers can get another 0.25 percentage point discount for having SoFi directly pay off creditors.

An additional rate discount of 0.25 percentage points may apply for borrowers who set up a monthly direct deposit of at least $1,000 to a SoFi checking account.

Unemployment protection. If you lose your job while paying off the loan, you can apply for SoFi’s unemployment protection program. Once approved, SoFi will put the loan into forbearance and modify the monthly payments. Interest still accrues during that time, but you can make interest-only payments.

Career and financial advising. SoFi gives borrowers access to one-on-one career coaching to help with job searches, career transitions and personal branding. Customers can also receive free financial advice and discounted estate planning services.

Mobile app to manage the loan. Borrowers can use SoFi’s mobile app to manage their money, check available rates, monitor their credit score and make payments.

» MORE: Best good-credit lenders

Where SoFi personal loans fall short

High minimum loan amount: SoFi loans start at $5,000, which could be too high for borrowers looking to fund a small project or other minor expense.

» MORE: Best small personal loans

No secured loan option: Borrowers can’t secure a SoFi loan with collateral such as a car or savings account. A secured loan often helps in getting a lower annual percentage rate or higher loan amount.

» MORE: Best secured personal loans

Do you qualify for a SoFi personal loan?

Most lenders have basic requirements to apply, and some have financial requirements or recommendations to qualify. SoFi doesn’t have specific credit scores or income requirements for applicants, but the average borrower has excellent credit.

To apply for a SoFi personal loan, you must be:

• At least 18 years old in most states. 

• A U.S. citizen, permanent or non-permanent resident, including DACA recipients and asylum seekers.

• Employed, have sufficient income, or have an offer of employment to start within the next 90 days.

» MORE: Can non-U.S. citizens get a personal loan?

To qualify borrowers, the lender evaluates your overall cash flow, ability to pay, credit history and additional factors.

Before you apply:

Check your credit. You can get your free credit report on NerdWallet or at AnnualCreditReport.com. Doing so will help you spot and fix any errors before you apply.

Calculate your monthly payments. Use a personal loan calculator to determine what APR and repayment term you’d need to get a loan with affordable monthly payments.

Make a plan to repay the loan. Review your budget to see how the loan’s monthly payments impact your cash flow. If you have to cut other expenses to repay the loan, it’s better to know that before you borrow.

Gather your documents. SoFi requires a valid U.S. or state government ID, proof of income, address and Social Security number. Having these documents handy can speed up the application process.

How to apply for a SoFi personal loan

Here are the steps to apply for a SoFi loan.

1. Pre-qualify on SoFi’s website. You’ll be asked for personal information like your name, email and state of residence, as well as how much you want to borrow and the purpose of the loan. Then, the lender will ask for your birthdate, citizenship status, address and sources of income before you can preview loan offers. There’s no hard credit pull at this stage.

2. Preview loan offers and accept the one that fits your budget. Once you accept a loan offer, you’ll submit a formal personal loan application. This could require more documents, like W-2s, pay stubs and bank statements, to confirm the information you gave during pre-qualification. SoFi will do a hard credit check at this stage, so your credit score could temporarily dip.

3. Stay on top of your loan payments. SoFi reports payment to all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion), so on-time payments will help build your credit score, but missed payments will hurt it. Setting up automatic payments and keeping an eye on your budget are two ways to manage your loan payments.

Compare SoFi to other lenders

Personal loan lenders offer different rates, loan amounts and special features, so it pays to weigh your options. The best personal loan is usually the one with the lowest APR.

Upstart and LightStream are online lenders that offer a range of loan sizes and terms, like SoFi. But SoFi’s unique benefits can be a strong choice for qualifying borrowers.

SoFi vs. Upstart

Upstart offers quick funding time after approval, similar to SoFi, but loans come with a required origination fee and a late fee if you miss a payment.

Upstart uses alternative data like education and work experience to evaluate applicants, and borrowers with thin or no credit history may qualify. Upstart lets borrowers pre-qualify online and customer service is available seven days a week. SoFi offers a wider array of member benefits and a mobile app to manage your loan.

» MORE: Read our review of Upstart

SoFi vs. LightStream

LightStream boasts a wide loan amount range and no fees. However, SoFi offers perks for borrowers, like unemployment protection and the option to pre-qualify. With an extended repayment period, LightStream can be a good option for borrowers looking to finance a home improvement project.

» MORE: Read our review of LightStream

How we rate SoFi personal loans

NerdWallet writers rate lenders against a rubric that changes each year based on how personal loan products evolve. Here’s what we prioritized this year:

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