How personal loans work: terms, rates and the application process (2026)
Edited by Moe Ameen · Published
A personal loan is an installment loan. You get a lump sum and pay it back in fixed monthly payments over a set term, usually one to seven years, and most need no collateral. Many online lenders let you check your rate with a soft inquiry that doesn't touch your score. The hard inquiry comes later. Commercial banks averaged 11.90% on 24-month personal loans in August 2026, according to the Federal Reserve.
Key takeaways
- You get one lump sum and repay it in equal monthly payments at a fixed rate.
- Most lenders offer terms of one to seven years. Longer terms cut the payment and raise the total interest.
- Commercial banks averaged 11.90% on 24-month personal loans in August 2026 (Fed G.19, preliminary).
- Eight of the nine lenders we read that publish an APR range top out at 35.99%.
- Checking your rate is usually a soft inquiry. The hard inquiry comes when you apply, sign or fund, depending on the lender.
What is a personal loan?
An installment loan with a fixed rate and a fixed monthly payment. You get the money all at once and pay it back over a set number of months.
Bankrate defines it the same way: an installment loan with a fixed rate and monthly payment [1]. Most personal loans are unsecured, so you don't put up a car or a house to get one, and lenders price them mainly on your creditworthiness and your debt-to-income ratio [1]. If you don't know your ratio, the debt-to-income calculator works it out.
Some lenders offer a secured version too. OneMain, for example, makes both secured and unsecured offers, and its larger loans need a first lien on a vehicle no more than ten years old [13].
How long are personal loan terms?
Bankrate says most lenders offer one to seven years. The lenders we read mostly publish ranges between 24 and 84 months.
- Upgrade: 24 to 84 months [3].
- Happen Bank (formerly LendingClub): 24 to 84 months [5].
- Discover: 36, 48, 60, 72 or 84 months [6].
- Best Egg: 36 to 60 months [7].
- Upstart: 3 or 5 years [4].
- LightStream: 24 to 240 months, depending on the loan type [8].
A longer term lowers the monthly payment, but you pay interest for more months, so the loan costs more in total. Our personal loan calculator shows both numbers side by side.
What interest rate do personal loans charge?
Commercial banks averaged 11.90% on 24-month personal loans in August 2026, per the Fed. Online lenders publish APRs from about 6% up to 35.99%.
The Fed's G.19 release of October 7, 2026 puts the commercial bank average for a 24-month personal loan at 11.90% for August 2026, a preliminary figure. It was 11.86% for the second quarter of 2026 and 11.50% for 2025 as a whole [2]. Credit card plans averaged 21.19% in the same month [2].
Rates are fixed for the life of the loan [1]. Many lenders also charge an origination fee. Upgrade's runs 1.85% to 9.99% and comes out of the loan proceeds [3], and Happen Bank's runs 0% to 8% [5]. Discover and LightStream both say they charge no fees [6][8]. A fee is why a loan's APR can sit above its interest rate; APR vs interest rate and origination fees go through the math.
What can you use a personal loan for?
Almost anything legal. Bankrate names debt consolidation as the most common use, ahead of home improvements, emergencies and medical bills.
Bankrate's list also covers moving costs, weddings, vacations and large purchases [9]. Consolidation is the use where the arithmetic matters most, because the loan only helps if it costs less than the debt it replaces. Debt consolidation loans runs a worked example.
How do you apply for a personal loan?
Check your rate with a soft inquiry, compare offers by APR, then submit a full application. That step brings a hard inquiry and income checks.
- Know your numbers Look up your credit score and your debt-to-income ratio first. Those are the two things lenders price on [1].
- Check your rate with a soft inquiry Upgrade says checking your rate is a soft inquiry and won't affect your score [3]. Best Egg, Prosper and Happen Bank say the same [7][11][5].
- Compare offers by APR Compare the APR, the monthly payment and the total you'll repay. The interest rate on its own leaves out the origination fee.
- Submit the full application This is where the hard inquiry usually happens. Discover asks you to consent to one when you submit a full application [6].
- Verify, sign and get funded Upgrade says it sends funds within one business day once verification clears [3]. Upstart says funds can arrive in as little as 24 hours [4].
Does checking your rate hurt your credit?
Not at lenders that use a soft inquiry for rate checks. The hard inquiry comes later, and its timing differs from lender to lender.
Timing varies. Upgrade treats accepting an offer as a soft inquiry and does the hard one when the loan funds [3]. Happy Money does it when you sign the loan agreement [10]. LightStream's FAQ says its application pulls a hard inquiry from TransUnion or Equifax and doesn't mention a soft check [8]. Hard inquiries covers how much one can move a score and for how long.
Glisten data
What 10 lenders publish about terms, rates and rate checks
| Lender | Published terms | Published APR range | Rate check, in the lender's words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avant [12] | 24 to 60 months | 9.95% to 35.99% | Checking your loan options does not impact your credit score |
| Best Egg [7] | 36 to 60 months | 6.99% to 35.99% | Checking your rate won't impact your credit score |
| Discover [6] | 36 to 84 months | 6.99% to 24.99% | No impact to your credit score |
| Happen Bank, formerly LendingClub [5] | 24 to 84 months | 5.96% to 35.99% | Soft credit pull, no impact |
| Happy Money [10] | 24 to 84 months | 8.95% to 35.99% | Soft inquiry only visible to you |
| LightStream [8] | 24 to 240 months, by loan type | Not published on the page we read | Application pulls a hard inquiry |
| OneMain Financial [13] | 24 to 60 months | 11.99% to 35.99% | Looking won't impact your credit score |
| Prosper [11] | 2 to 6 years | 8.99% to 35.99% | Checking your rate won't affect your credit score |
| Upgrade [3] | 24 to 84 months | 7.74% to 35.99% | Soft inquiry only |
| Upstart [4] | 3 or 5 years | 6.3% to 35.99% (5-year rates offered in June 2026) | Initial soft inquiry won't affect your score |
Eight of the nine lenders here that publish an APR range stop at 35.99%. Discover is the exception at 24.99%. Your own rate depends on your credit, income and term, so treat the low end of any range as the best case.
At the Fed's August 2026 bank average [2], a $10,000 loan over 24 months with no fee comes to $470.27 a month and $1,286.43 in total interest, by our own amortization math. Plug in a different rate or term below.
Glisten tool · Personal loan calculator
— a month
Enter a loan amount, a rate from 0 to 100% and a term of 1 to 600 months. Leave the fee blank if there isn't one.
Estimates only. If a lender quotes you an APR that already includes its fee, enter that APR as the rate and leave the fee blank. The grey example figures are illustrations, not rates offered to you. Your loan agreement sets the real numbers. This runs in your browser, and nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved.
Is this right for you?
Best for
- Borrowers who want one fixed payment and a set payoff date.
- Comparing lenders' published terms, APR ranges and rate checks before applying anywhere.
Not ideal for
- Predicting the rate you'll be offered. Ranges are published bounds, not quotes.
- Short gaps you could cover from savings. Interest and fees still add up over a 24-month term.
Frequently asked questions
Are personal loan rates fixed?
Yes, at the lenders we read. Bankrate says personal loan lenders charge fixed rates, so the payment stays the same for the whole term [1].
What's the average personal loan rate right now?
At commercial banks, 11.90% on a 24-month loan in August 2026, a preliminary Federal Reserve figure released October 7, 2026 [2].
Does checking my rate lower my credit score?
Not at lenders that check rates with a soft inquiry, such as Upgrade, Best Egg and Prosper [3][7][11]. Applying brings a hard inquiry.
How fast can I get the money?
Upgrade says within one business day of clearing verification [3], and Upstart says in as little as 24 hours [4]. Your bank's processing time comes on top.
Do personal loans have fees?
Many do. Upgrade's origination fee runs 1.85% to 9.99% and is taken out of the proceeds [3]. Discover and LightStream say they charge none [6][8].
Does Glisten lend money?
No. Glisten isn't a lender. We show what lenders publish and link to where they publish it.
How we know this
On November 2, 2026 we read each lender's own personal loan page or FAQ for its published terms, APR range, fees and how it describes rate checks, and the Federal Reserve's G.19 release of October 7, 2026 for the commercial bank average. We checked the general definition, term range and common uses against Bankrate. Where a page didn't state a figure, we left it out rather than fill it from a review site. The payment example is our own calculation.
- What is a personal loan?, Bankrate. Checked November 2, 2026.
- G.19 Consumer Credit, release of October 7, 2026, Federal Reserve. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Personal loans, Upgrade. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Personal loans, Upstart. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Personal loans (formerly LendingClub), Happen Bank. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Personal loans, Discover. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Personal loans, Best Egg. Checked November 2, 2026.
- FAQ, LightStream. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Reasons to get a personal loan, Bankrate. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Personal loans, Happy Money. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Personal loans, Prosper. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Personal loans, Avant. Checked November 2, 2026.
- Personal loans, OneMain Financial. Checked November 2, 2026.