Best Personal Loans in Illinois

LightStream, a division of Truist Financial Corporation, is an online company that provides personal loans for almost any use. In addition to a Better Business Bureau A+ rating, LightStream has other attributes that justify its ranking as the best overall lender. The company charges no hidden fees and provides autopay discounts and joint loans without requiring a minimum income. Furthermore, the vast majority of applications are handled in one day.

Conversely, those with credit ratings lower than 660 cannot apply for a loan with the lender. It's also not a good choice if you're looking to get a loan with a co-signer. A personal loan from LightStream cannot be used to pay off an existing LightStream loan, pay college tuition or other postsecondary education costs or pay for investments or acquisitions of businesses.

Pros

• No origination fee, late fees or prepayment penalty
• No minimum income requirement
• Loans of up to $100,000
• Same day loan processing
• Auto-pay discount
• Joint loans

• APR range: 4.49%–20.49%
• Minimum/maximum loan amount: $5,000 to $100,000
• Minimum credit requirements: 660
• Repayment terms: 24–84 months
• Time to receive funds: Minimum of one business day

Upstart, launched in 2012, is an artificial intelligence lending platform with an A+ rating from BBB. Its personal loans come with no usage limits. Upstart lends to people with credit ratings as low as 300, so it is among the best options if you have bad credit and its low minimum income requirement makes it widely accessible. The lender also processes loans in one or two days and performs soft credit checks to prevent further damage to your credit score. Notably, Upstart accepts borrowers with debt-to-income ratios as high as 45%, significantly higher than the average for other lenders.

If you do not want to pay high interest rates on your loan or require a loan amount higher than $50,000, you should avoid this lender. If you want to apply for a loan with a cosigner, it might not be your best option.

Pros

• Low credit score requirement
• Soft credit inquiry that doesn’t affect your credit score
• No prepayment penalty
• Low minimum income requirement of $12,000
• Next day funding

• APR range: 3.22%–35.99%
• Minimum/maximum loan amount: $1,000 to $50,000
• Minimum credit requirements: 300
• Repayment terms: 36–60 months
• Time to receive funds: Next day

SoFi lets you choose from a wide range of financial services, including personal loans. As of 2021, the company served more than 2.5 million consumers. MoneyGeek considered the lender’s unique features, like its BBB A+ rating, before ranking it the best for borrowers with good credit.

If you are unexpectedly laid off, SoFi’s Unemployment Protection offers forbearance of your payments. SoFi’s customers can also obtain loans of up to $100,000 after two days of loan application approval with no origination, late or prepayment penalties, and its soft credit inquiry has no impact on your credit score. To save on monthly premiums, you can set up automatic payments and reduce them by 0.3%.

This lender may not be the best fit for you even if your credit score is excellent, if you have other requirements like a cosigner or if you don't earn $50,000 a year.

Pros

• No origination fee, late fee or prepayment penalty.
• Loan amount up to $100,000
• Autopay discount
• Unemployment protection
• Soft credit inquiry

• APR range: 5.74%–20.28%
• Minimum/maximum loan amount: $5,000 to $100,000
• Minimum credit requirements: 680
• Repayment terms: 12–60 months
• Time to receive funds: Two days

Despite being relatively young in the market, Upgrade received an A+ rating from the BBB. One of the reasons MoneyGeek ranks it best in this category is the loan goes straight to the third-party lender if you’re using it for debt consolidation. Also, their loans are processed in a short time. Since the lender conducts a soft credit check, there's no need to worry about a credit inquiry affecting your credit score.The lender also reduces premiums if you set up auto payments.

Upgrade’s loans come with some restrictions. The lender doesn’t offer loans for post-secondary education, gambling or investing. Depending on your credit score, the annual percentage rate (APR) on the loans may be higher, which makes the lender unsuitable for people who want a low APR.

Pros

• Same day loan processing
• Soft credit check has no impact on credit scores
• Pays third-party creditors directly for debt consolidation loans
• No prepayment penalty
• Auto payment discount

• APR range: 5.94%–35.47%
• Minimum/maximum loan amount: $1,000–$50,000
• Minimum credit requirements: 560
• Repayment terms: 36–60 months
• Time to receive funds: Same day

Best Egg is an online lending platform that was founded by Marlette Funding in 2014. Cross River Bank and Blue Ridge Bank are underwriters for the company's loans. MoneyGeek ranked Best Egg as the best lender for home improvement loans. In addition to an A+ rating from the BBB, the lender does a soft credit check that has no impact on your credit score. There is no penalty for paying off your loan early, and if you automate your payments you get an automatic 0.5% discount.

If you want a joint loan or a loan with a co-signer, this lender is not for you. A $50,000 annual income requirement is also in place, preventing those who do not earn that much from applying.

Pros

• Next day funding
• Soft credit inquiry
• Auto payment discount of 0.5%
• No loan usage restriction
• Reports to all the three major credit agencies

• APR range: 4.99%–35.99%
• Minimum/maximum loan amount: $2,000–$50,000
• Minimum credit requirements: 700
• Repayment terms: 36–60 months
• Time to receive funds: Next day