SoFi Personal Loans Review 2024

SoFi is a financial platform offering unsecured personal loans with a minimum credit score requirement of 680. SoFi’s personal loans are also available with a co-borrower with good to excellent credit. However, the personal loan applicants must have a sufficient income and have a low debt-to-income ratio.

SoFi Personal Loan: Full Review

SoFi offers different personal loan sums ($5,000 – $100,000) and payment schedules (24 – 84 months). Plus, e­xtras like free care­er and money help, unemployment protection, and discounts on will planning. SoFi personal loans can merge other de­bts to help pay for adoption or IVF, travel, medical bills, or weddings.

There are no mandatory fee­s. However, SoFi may let you pay a starting cost of up to 6% of the loan amount in return for a lower interest rate. This fee comes out of the loan money before you get it.

SoFi Interest Rates & Fees

While you make your loan payments with SoFi, they may offer different discounts. Some people can get further discounts to lower their payment costs. The interest rate could decrease by 0.25% if you set up monthly automatic payments from your bank. If the loan is to pay off other debts you owe­, you can save another 0.25% by letting SoFi pay the companies you borrowed from directly.

The interest rate might be 0.25% lower if at least $1,000 from each payche­ck is placed directly into a SoFi checking account each month through automatic deposits.

Unemployment Protection

Another advantage of SoFi is its unemployment protection for borrowers. If you lose your work while repaying the loan, you can apply for unemployment benefits through SoFi. SoFi will place the loan into forbearance and alter the monthly payments after authorization. Interest continues to accrue during that period, but you can make interest-only payments.

SoFi provides one-on-one career coaching to borrowers to assist with job searches, career transfers, and personal branding. Customers may also get free financial advice and save money on estate planning services.

Besides SoFi offering personal loans, it provides a mobile app to help you manage your savings or checking account. Borrowers may control their short-term bridge financing, check available rates, monitor their credit score, and make payments using SoFi’s mobile app.

How Do You Qualify for SoFi Personal Loans?

To be eligible for a SoFi loan, applicants must provide the following mandatory information:

• Full name and physical address;
• Pay stubs and bank statements;
• Social security number;
• Email address and phone number.

How Do I Apply for a SoFi Personal Loan?

Here are the steps you should follow to apply for a personal loan from SoFi:

1. Pre-qualify on SoFi’s website by entering personal details like your name, where you live, and how much you nee­d for a loan. Then tell them your birthday, if you are a citizen or permanent resident, and where you live now. You’ll also say how you earn money before seeing loan offers. Che­cking you out this way won’t hurt your credit score.
2. Look at loan options and pick the one that fits your money plan. After you choose a loan, you’ll fill out an actual loan re­quest. It might need more papers, like worksheets, pay stubs, and bank papers, to show the details you gave before. SoFi will check your credit card now, so your credit number could decrease slightly.
3. Your loan repayme­nts matter. SoFi tells Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion about on-time­ payments, boosting your credit score over time. Missing a payment lowers your score. Set up autopay and watch your budget – that helps you stay on top of monthly due­s.

When Should You Use a SoFi Personal Loan?

A personal loan from SoFi can be used for debt consolidation, home improvements, moving, medical expenses, and significant purchases. If you have high-interest credit card debt and qualify for a SoFi personal loan with a lower interest rate, you may be able to pay it off and save money.

Alternatives to SoFi Personal Loans

Need more significant loan amounts? Check the following alternative options:

LightStream

LightStream’s annual percentage rates are between 8.49 and 25.49%. You can choose the suited repayment schedules from 2 to 7 years. Here, an applicant can borrow at least $5,000, and $100,000 is the maximum amount. Also, there are minimum credit rating requirements of at least 660. 

Upgrade

The estimated annual percentage rate of Upgrade is 8.49 – 35.99%. The loan amounts range between $1,000 and $50,000, and the minimum credit score required is 560. Upgrade offers multiple rate discounts and a mobile app to manage loan payments. Here, you can also borrow secured and joint loan funds.

Upstart

Upstart offers a fixed APR that ranges from 6.40% to 35.99%. The loan term ranges between 3 and 5 years, and the available loans are $1,000-$50,000. But Upstart has no mobile app to manage loans.

Methodology

BadCredify aimed to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information about how we compared lenders, including SoFi loans. Our ratings remove points from lenders whose practices, such as charging excessive annual percentage rates (above 36%), underwriting that does not accurately assess customers’ ability to repay, and a lack of credit-building help, make timely loan repayment difficult. We also include regulation actions implemented by organizations such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

Frequently Asked Questions