Best Signature Loans: What You Need to Know
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Signature loan lenders at a glance
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What is a signature loan?
Signature loans come in a lump sum of money that you pay back each month for a set term. Instead of collateral, signature loan lenders rely on the promise of your word — or your signature — that you’ll pay back the loan. Here’s what you need to know:
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Approval
Lenders use your credit score, credit history and income to decide your rates — and whether to offer you a loan at all. You can get a signature loan for bad credit, but you’ll have limited options and your loan will be more expensive. -
Risks
Since your property isn’t up for grabs, your credit score suffers when you stop making payments or default on a loan. If your debt goes to collections, debt collectors can sue you. -
Cost
Signature loans typically have lower rates than credit cards, which can help you save money on interest when you’re consolidating debt or making a large purchase. As of June 2025, signature loan interest rates range from 6.60% – 35.99% for the best lenders. -
Time
It’s possible to get same- or next-day funding when you apply for signature loans online. Still, in general, it can take anywhere from the same day up to five business days to get your personal loan money.
Signature loans come with fixed monthly payments and a set end date. You’ll know your monthly payment, how long you have to pay off your loan and the total loan cost upfront when you sign.
How to find a signature loan with LendingTree
Shopping around for a personal loan on LendingTree can save you an average of $1,659 over the life of your loan. Here’s how it works.
Tell us what you need
Take two minutes to tell us who you are and how much money you need. We’ll take care of the rest. It’s free, simple and secure.
Shop your offers
We’ll send you offers from up to five trusted lenders. Compare your offers side by side to see which one will save you the most money.
Get your money
Pick a lender and finalize your loan quickly. You could see money in your account in as soon as 24 hours, depending on the lender you choose.
Signature loan document checklist
Find these documents before you apply to save yourself time.
- Proof of identity — Social Security number and government-issued IDs, like a driver’s license or passport
- Proof of income/employment — W-2s, tax returns, pay stubs
- Proof of address/residence — Lease, utility bill
Boost your chances of getting a signature loan
Apply with a cosigner
Cosigners with good or excellent credit can improve your odds of getting a loan — and getting lower rates. Learn more about the best personal loans with a cosigner.
Boost your credit
Improving your credit score will help you qualify for loans and save money. Raising a “fair” credit score to “very good” helped people save an average of $1,804 on personal loans.
Check your credit reports
Check your credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com and take the time to dispute any errors that might bring down your score.
Signature loan risks: Expert insights
Watch out for high rates and fees as you could get stuck paying your lender hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest, costing you more in the long run.
Personal loans do come with risks, especially if you don’t understand the terms. Here are a few risks to watch out for:
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Unexpected fees
If you don’t understand how origination fees work, you could be surprised to see that the amount of money you borrowed isn’t how much you ultimately get. Lenders typically take the origination fee off the top before sending you the loan money. In addition, some lenders charge late fees or fees for paying off your loan early. -
Expensive interest payments
Choosing a longer loan term can make your loan payments cheaper, but it’ll also make your loan more expensive overall. Choose the shortest loan term you can comfortably afford to make your loan as inexpensive as possible. -
Damage to your credit
If you miss a payment, your credit score can take a hit, and if you default — meaning you’re late or missing payments for 120 to 180 days — your credit score can drop by more than 100 points. -
Legal consequences
Once your debt is sent to a debt collection agency, they can sue you for payment and even take you to court to garnish your wages.
The best ways to avoid the risks of taking out a personal loan are to make sure that you fully understand the fees, payments and terms of your loan, and that you can afford it.
Calculate your monthly payments with a personal loan calculator to make sure they fit into your budget.
Frequently asked questions
Signature loans can be a good idea, especially if you’re using them to consolidate debt or as an alternative to high-interest credit cards.
However, it’s a bad financial move to use a signature loan to pay for nonessential expenses, like a vacation or another luxury expense — especially if you can’t afford the monthly payments. This is a form of bad debt, the type of debt that doesn’t help you reach your financial goals.
Every lender has its own minimum credit score for a personal loan, though few lenders offer loans to people with credit scores below 580. Still, there are exceptions like .
It can be hard to get approved for a signature loan if you have bad credit, but there are lenders that specialize in offering poor credit signature loans. Keep in mind, though, that one of the consequences of bad credit is paying higher rates on loans, meaning you’ll pay more to borrow money.
Our methodology
We reviewed more than 30 lenders that offer signature loans to determine the overall best five lenders. To make our list, lenders must offer competitive APRs and unsecured loans. From there, we prioritize lenders based on the following factors:
Accessibility. Lenders are ranked higher if their personal loans are available to more people and require fewer conditions. This may include lower credit requirements, wider geographic availability, faster funding and easier and more transparent prequalification and application processes.
Rates and terms. We prioritize lenders with more competitive fixed rates, fewer fees and greater options for repayment terms, loan amounts and APR discounts.
Repayment experience. For starters, we consider each lender’s reputation and business practices. We also favor lenders that report to all major credit bureaus, offer reliable customer service and provide any unique perks to customers, like free wealth coaching.
According to our systematic rating and review process, the best signature loans come from PenFed, Prosper, SoFi, Upgrade and Upstart.