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Credible Personal Loans Review
Credible removes the stress of searching for a personal loan or student loan by displaying all lenders on one screen. Users only need to fill out one form and they get access to several potential lenders.
Credible is a marketplace; it doesn’t issue loans, it instead connects borrowers with an array of lenders. Credible’s personal loan service started in 2012 with CEO Stephen Dash. Dash’s mission was to help borrowers manage large amounts of student loan debt by partnering up with lenders and displaying those lenders one dashboard. Since then, Credible has added personal loans, mortgage refinance, home loans, credit card balance transfers and more for its customers. Credible is based in San Francisco, has 157 employees and works with more than 280 partners.
Credible at a glance
| Min. Loan | Max. Loan | APY Range | Terms | Key Benefit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credible | $1,000 | $100,000 | 4.99% to 35.99% | 2 – 7 years | Compare multiple lenders at once |
What we like about it
Since Credible is a marketplace, users can fill out one form that takes two minutes and immediately get access to multiple offers from potential lenders. This considerably lowers the effort and time needed in researching various lenders. Additionally, Credible has partnered with credit bureaus such as Experian and Equifax, so only a soft credit check is done when checking rates. Furthermore, Credible lenders don’t just look at the credit score, the lenders look at a person’s entire financial profile. This can make it easier for those with low credit scores to get a personal loan.
The other advantage of Credible’s personal loans service is that it’s extremely fast, with most people receiving their funds within a couple of days of approval. On top of that, Credible’s Best Rate Guarantee means you get a $200 cash bonus if you find a better rate somewhere else.
In terms of service, Credible is very highly rated with an A+ Better Business Bureau grade. It’s also known for its great customer service, a team of people who are available through phone, email and online chat 24/7.
Things to consider
The main disadvantage is that the selection of lenders is not as wide as it could be, considering the hundreds of lenders in the market. And although Credible displays all lenders in one place, it’s always recommended to do your own research on the fees, terms and conditions of each one. This can increase time spent researching the lenders that Credible partners with, instead of securing your loan and receiving funds quickly.
Credible is free to use and none of the lenders charge prepayments, however, lenders may charge an “origination fee” which can be anything between 1.5-6%. One other disadvantage is that the loan repayment terms on Credible are between two and seven years. If you want access to lenders with longer terms, you’ll need to search elsewhere.
Keep in mind that once you submit your application, there will be a hard credit check, so make sure to do your research before going through with the application. Credible has two lending partners that offer cosigned loan options for those with poor credit scores.
What you need to know
To get started you’ll fill out a two-minute form on Credible.com. You’ll need to give information on your loan: the total amount, how you’re going to use it, credit score, employment and educational information. Then, fill in your personal details and create an account. A dashboard will come up with several lenders that meet your criteria. Make sure to do your research before going through with the application, as this will involve a hard credit check which could affect your credit score.
The loan range on Credible is anything between $1,000 to $100,000, with an APR of between 3.99 to 35.99% with repayment periods of two to seven years.
Fees and penalties
As mentioned above, Credible’s personal loan marketplace is completely free to use. Having said that, the lender you pick may have some fees such as processing, late payment, returned payment and origination fees. However, no lenders charge application, disbursement or prepayment fees. Before applying to one of the lenders on Credible’s site, make sure to read the terms and conditions.
Collateral and criteria
In order to be considered on Credible, you will need to meet the minimum criteria. Borrowers must be U.S. citizens and have a Social Security number. Meeting the recommended criteria such as a credit score higher than 620 and a debt-to-income ratio of under 40% can significantly improve your chance of getting cheaper loans.
Too long, didn’t read?
Credible is a great option to help you find a loan that fits you best. It’s a company that is trusted by both partners and customers, and its great customer support and intuitive design make it easy to use. Credible is also great for those with low or no credit scores since you’ll still be able to apply for personal or student loans. The advantage of using a marketplace is you don’t need to spend hours shopping around, and thanks to its soft credit check there is no downside to simply checking the platform out.
Editorial Note: Compensation does not influence our recommendations. However, we may earn a commission on sales from the companies featured in this post. To view a list of partners, click here. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by our advertisers. Reasonable efforts are made to present accurate info, however all information is presented without warranty. Consult our advertiser’s page for terms & conditions.
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Methodology
The SimpleScore is a proprietary scoring metric we use to objectively compare products and services at The Simple Dollar.
For every review, our editorial team:
- Identifies five measurable aspects to compare across each brand
- Determines the rating criteria for each aspect score
- Averages the five aspect scores to produce a single SimpleScore
Here’s a breakdown of the five aspect scores and their rating criteria for our review of the best personal loans of 2020.
Why do some brands have different SimpleScores on different pages?
To ensure the SimpleScore is as helpful and accurate as possible, we developed unique criteria for every category we compare at The Simple Dollar. Since most brands offer a variety of financial solutions, their products and services will score differently depending on what we’re scoring on a given page.
However, it’s also possible for the same product from the same brand to have multiple SimpleScores. For instance, if we compare NetCredit’s personal loans according to our criteria for the best personal loans, it scores a 2.3 out of 5. But when we compare NetCredit according to the criteria for the best bad credit personal loans, it scores considerably higher, since the criteria for the latter review are more lenient (lenders who serve borrowers with bad credit will always offer higher rates, so we needed to adjust our category methodology to account for different industry standards).
Questions about our methodology?
Email Hayley Armstrong at hayley@thesimpledollar.com.
Rates
We looked at the maximum APR for each lender — the lower their maximum rate, the higher their score.
Loan Size
We awarded higher scores to lenders with more generous loan sizes.
Customer Satisfaction
We leveraged the J.D. Power 2019 Personal Loan Satisfaction Study℠ to see how customers rated their experience with each lender. (If a lender wasn’t included in J.D. Power’s study, we skipped this aspect and averaged the four remaining aspect scores.)
Support
We awarded higher scores to lenders with the most channels for customer support.
Fees
We looked at the three most common fees — origination, late payment, and pre-payment — and penalized lenders for each fee charged.
