Best Egg Personal Loans Review 2021 – Forbes Advisor - Forbes

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Updated: Dec 20, 2021, 1:42pm
Best Egg is an online lending platform that offers unsecured and secured personal loans through Cross River Bank and Blue Ridge Bank. Qualified borrowers can choose from loans between $2,000 and $50,000 and take advantage of services like Direct Pay for credit card consolidation. That said, Best Egg doesn’t provide borrowers many bells and whistles, and customers pay origination fees up to 5.99%.
Best Egg is a no-frills lending platform that’s best for borrowers who want to consolidate credit card debt. Loan amounts start at just $2,000, so you don’t have to borrow more than you need, and the Direct Pay option can help you qualify for a lower rate while simplifying the credit card refinancing process.
Applicants should consider having a credit score of at least 640 and a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio under 30% before applying. Keep in mind, however, that Best Egg personal loans are not available in Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia, the District of Columbia or U.S. Territories.
Personal loan applications are approved or declined based on a number of factors. All lenders have their own unique underwriting requirements, but these typically include information from an applicant’s credit profile and other factors that demonstrate the ability to repay the loan, such as income. Meeting the requirements below won’t guarantee approval, but they can help you decide if a personal loan is the right fit for you.
Applicants must have a minimum credit score of 640 to qualify for a Best Egg personal loan. However, Best Egg’s lowest APRs are only available to applicants with a credit score of 700 or higher.
To qualify for a Best Egg personal loan, applicants should have a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio under 30%. This means that a borrower’s monthly debt payments cannot add up to more than 30% of her gross monthly income. As with Best Egg’s credit score requirements, the best APRs are only available to the most qualified applicants—those with a minimum individual annual income of $100,000.
Best Egg only offers individual loans. Therefore, applicants must qualify for a personal loan based on their own credit score, income and other qualifications.
Applying for a personal loan typically involves prequalifying for a rate, submitting a formal application and awaiting loan approval. Follow these steps to apply for a Best Egg personal loan:
Best Egg reports that around half of its borrowers receive their loan funds the next day after approval and verification. In general, though, funds are received from one to three business days after verification.
Best Egg has a 4.6-star rating on Trustpilot based on 5,575 ratings. The lending platform’s ratings on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website are also positive, and the company has earned a 4.91-star customer rating and A+ BBB rating.
In general, borrowers report satisfaction with the company’s customer support team and the streamlined application process. Customer reviews also reflect that borrowers are happy with available APRs and the ability to consolidate their debts and cover unanticipated expenses. Still, there is some negative feedback related to the application and verification process, including miscommunication around when a hard credit check is required.
The best personal loans offer competitive rates, flexible loan amounts and a wide range of terms. Here’s how Best Egg personal loans stack up against other popular lenders:
SoFi offers personal loans up to $100,000 compared to Best Egg’s maximum of $50,000, and the lender’s APRs only extend up to about 20%—much lower than Best Egg’s maximum rate. Likewise, SoFi’s loan terms are more extensive, with options ranging from two to seven years as compared to Best Egg’s three to five. As with other competitive lenders, SoFi does not charge any origination fees, making it a less expensive borrowing option than Best Egg.
Related: SoFi Personal Loans Review
LightStream offers personal loans between $5,000 and $100,000, depending on the purpose of your loan, and APRs starting below 3% with autopay (for some loan purposes). Beyond the higher loan amounts, LightStream’s rates max out at just over 20%—much lower than those offered by Best Egg. That said, LightStream imposes more stringent eligibility requirements than Best Egg, making it more difficult to qualify for a personal loan.
LightStream also offers a wide range of loan terms extending from just two years to 12 years, depending on the loan purpose. The lender also beats Best Egg when it comes to fees, as LightStream borrowers don’t pay prepayment penalties or origination fees.
Related: LightStream Personal Loans Review
Upgrade customers can borrow between $1,000 and $50,000, which is comparable to the loan amounts available through Best Egg. APRs are also similar between lenders, with Upgrade’s rates ranging from around 6% to around 36%. Upgrade does, however, offer more extensive loan terms than Best Egg, with terms between two and seven years, and imposes a lower minimum credit score requirement than Best Egg—just 580.

We reviewed Best Egg based on 16 data points in the categories of loan details, loan costs, eligibility and accessibility, customer experience and the application process. We rated Best Egg based on the weighting assigned to each category:
Within each category, we also considered several characteristics, including available loan amounts, repayment terms, APR ranges and applicable fees. We also looked at credit score requirements, whether the lender accepts co-signers or joint applications and the geographic availability of the lender. Finally, we evaluated Best Egg’s support tools, borrower perks and features that simplify the borrowing process—like prequalification options and mobile apps.