4.4 _/5

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Private Student Loan Marketplace

100% free to use
Takes 3 minutes to prequalify
See rates with no negative impact on credit score
Shows results for parent loans and international student loans in addition to undergraduate and graduate loans

Fewer options than some other online platforms
Is not a lender
No promotions available
Newer company (launched in 2020)
Lacks rate transparency on its website
Few reviews on Trustpilot (with a low average rating)

Rates (APR)	Not disclosed
Loan amounts	$1,000 – 100% of costs
Loan types	Undergraduate, graduate, parent, international, refinance

Refinance Student Loan Marketplace

Compare 17+ lenders in one place (and lenders can’t pay for rankings)
No impact on credit for basic search
Loans with and without a cosigner
No fees for using Sparrow

Rates (APR)	Varies by lender
Loan amounts	Varies by lender, but most allow between $5,000 and $500,000
Repayment terms	5 – 20 years

Sparrow is a student loan marketplace that incorporates helpful charts and visuals to help you make your lending decisions. You can use Sparrow’s tools to compare student loans from more than 17 private lenders. It’s free to use, and it only takes a few minutes to prequalify. (Bonus: Prequalifying won’t hurt your credit score.)

Better-known comparison websites, including Credible, which earns our best marketplace designation, have thousands of happy customer reviews online. Sparrow is newer to the marketplace, but it’s worth checking out if you’re an international student because of its lending partnerships. Here’s more information about how Sparrow works, the process, and who we recommend it for.

Table of Contents

How Sparrow loans work
Rates, terms, and fees
Who is eligible?
Can you refinance student loans with Sparrow?
How does repayment work?
How Sparrow compares to other loan marketplaces
Sparrow student loan customer reviews
Who should use the Sparrow student loan marketplace?
FAQ

How Sparrow loans work

Enterval Analytics estimates that borrowers have $130.28 billion in outstanding private student loan debt. Unlike federal student loans, private lenders set their own interest rates and terms. That means lenders compete for your business. As a student loan marketplace, Sparrow allows you to compare several different lenders to find the lowest rate and best term available.

Sparrow is not a lender, but the platform allows you to fill out one form to see several loan options. Previously, you would have to complete multiple applications at different lenders to compare rates. A student loan marketplace like Sparrow saves you time and only conducts a soft credit check, so you won’t hurt your credit by applying.

Sparrow is unique because it gives you payment charts, which help you compare lenders. For visual learners or those who struggle to calculate which loan is best, these charts can make your borrowing decision easier. Here is an example of a lender comparison chart from Sparrow, which shows you what your total loan costs would be with each lender.

Screenshot captured 2/26/25 showing how Sparrow's comparison works

Sparrow student loans: Rates, terms, and fees

Here are essential details about Sparrow rates, terms, and fees. Because Sparrow is a marketplace, rates and terms will vary based on the lender you choose. However, it is free to use Sparrow to compare lenders. One drawback is that Sparrow is a newer company and only lists partnerships with 21 lenders on its website.

Sparrow’s partners include MPOWER and Prodigy Finance, which specifically benefit international borrowers. In contrast, the marketplace Credible has more lending partners but fewer options for international students.

Term	Detail
Loan types	Undergraduate, graduate, parent, international
Lenders	Banks, credit unions, and nonprofits, including LendKey, Prodigy Finance, MPOWER, Brazos, Funding U, INvestED, ISL, SoFi, Earnest, College Ave, and Ascent
Rates (APR)	Vary by lender
Loan amounts	$1,000 – 100% of costs
Repayment terms	Terms vary by lender
Cosigner allowed?	Yes, you can apply and prequalify with a cosigner
Fees	None
Unique features	Payment charts for each lender

Who is eligible to apply for Sparrow loans?

Several different types of borrowers are eligible to apply with Sparro, including undergraduate and graduate students, international students, and parents of college students.

Undergraduate students: Undergraduate students can apply with or without a cosigner, and you don’t need an income or credit history to qualify. Sparrow has a few more lending options than Credible for students without a credit score.
Graduate students: No income or cosigner is required to apply for graduate student loans. However, if graduate students don’t have a positive credit history, they can apply with a cosigner to help them get approved.
International students: Sparrow has a page dedicated to international students and partners with lenders that help fund international students. Other comparison websites focus more on U.S.-based undergraduate and graduate students. International students don’t need a credit score, income, or employment to apply.
Parents of students: Parents of students can apply independently using Sparrow, but Credible has more lending partners that offer parent loans.

Requirement	Detail
Credit history	No credit history needed for undergraduate or international student loans
Min. credit score	Varies by lender
Min. income	No income necessary for undergraduate or international student loans
Citizenship	Borrowers from more than 190 countries can prequalify

Can you refinance student loans with Sparrow?

Sparrow’s marketplace doesn’t just help you find new loans—it also offers options for refinancing existing student loans. Refinancing may help you lower your interest rate, consolidate debt, or adjust your repayment terms.

Who is eligible for refinancing?

To refinance a student loan through Sparrow’s partner lenders, you typically need:

A credit score of 650 or higher (or a cosigner who qualifies)
A minimum income of $24,000
A completed degree (though some lenders accept non-graduates)

Borrowers can apply alone or with a cosigner to increase their approval chances.

What refinance lenders does Sparrow partner with?

Sparrow partners with several refinance-focused lenders, including:

Earnest – known for flexible repayment terms
SoFi – excellent member benefits
Brazos – super low rates for Texas residents

All of Sparrow’s partners conduct soft credit checks for prequalification and offer no-fee refinancing.

While PenFed Credit Union no longer offers its own student loan refinancing, it has partnered with Sparrow to help borrowers compare refinancing options.

How does repayment work on a Sparrow student loan?

Sparrow is not a lender; it is a student loan marketplace where borrowers choose the best student loan company for their circumstances. Each lender offers its own repayment plans.

Here are examples of repayment plans lenders might offer:

Deferred payments: Some lenders won’t start payments until you’ve graduated, although your loans can still accrue interest.
Interest only: You can just pay the interest on your loan each month, which keeps your balance from growing.
Immediate repayment: Begin making full principal and interest payments while in school to pay off your loan as soon as possible.

Repayment examples

Here is an example of what repayment could look like for a 10-year, $30,000 loan with a fixed 8% interest rate:

You would accrue $200 of interest every month, and your monthly payment would be around $364.

You can use our loan payment calculator to see how other terms affect your monthly payment.

How Sparrow compares to other loan marketplaces

Sparrow offers advantages for international students who typically don’t qualify for federal student loans. However, compared to Credible and LendKey, it lacks several borrower-friendly features. Here’s what we recommend:

Credible is the best choice if you want the most transparency about lender options and rates before applying. It also offers extra tools like free credit score monitoring, allows cosigners, and has over 8,000 Trustpilot reviews, making it the most established option.
Sparrow is a strong option if you’re an international student or want another cosigner-friendly marketplace. While it doesn’t disclose as much information about its lending partners upfront, it provides a streamlined application process and is continuing to grow its reputation.
LendKey is worth considering if you prefer borrowing from credit unions or community banks. These lenders can sometimes offer lower interest rates or more flexible repayment terms than national lenders. However, LendKey rates slightly lower than Sparrow and offers fewer lender options.

If reputation and user feedback are priorities, Credible is the strongest option with thousands of customer reviews. Sparrow, in contrast, is newer to the space but is gaining traction.

Sparrow student loan customer reviews

Sparrow was founded in 2020 and is considered an early-stage company. Since its founding by Stanford classmates, the company has acquired key partnerships with lenders and raised nearly $6 million in its most recent funding round, according to Business Wire.

However, as we mentioned, Sparrow has limited customer reviews online. The company is not listed on the Better Business Bureau website, but it is listed on Trustpilot. Its Trustpilot rating is a poor 2.7 out of 5, but the sample size is only 17 reviews.

As the company grows, the number of ratings and reviews will grow, too, which will allow for a more comprehensive review of what it’s like to use the platform. Until then, it’s hard to assess what the customer experience is like at Sparrow without a larger sample size.

Who should use the Sparrow student loan marketplace?

If you want to apply for student loans or a student loan refinance with a cosigner, we recommend trying Sparrow. Sparrow allows you to apply for student loans with a cosigner on the same application. Once you prequalify, you can go to your dashboard and add your cosigner’s information yourself.

Sparrow is also beneficial if you are an international student who wants to take out student loans to attend college or graduate school in the United States. In the past, it’s been challenging for international students to secure student loan funding, but Sparrow has options that have helped international students from over 100 countries.

A drawback is that Sparrow is still a relatively new company and is still adding lending partners. If you can’t find a lender that meets your criteria, it might be wise to use a different student loan marketplace, like Credible.

FAQ

What types of loans can you find on the Sparrow marketplace?

Sparrow offers a wide variety of student loans through its marketplace, including undergraduate, graduate, parent, and international student loans, as well as student loan refinancing options. You can compare loans from more than 17 private lenders, some of which specialize in loans for students without credit history or cosigners.

The platform supports borrowers at nearly every stage of their education journey and provides options for those who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or international students. It also includes lenders that fund nontraditional borrowers, making it a versatile tool for shopping around.

Is Sparrow a legit student loan marketplace?

Yes, Sparrow is a legitimate student loan marketplace. Founded in 2020 by Stanford classmates, the company has since raised funding, formed partnerships with over 17 reputable lenders, and gained positive attention for its streamlined application process and helpful comparison tools.

While it’s newer than competitors like Credible, Sparrow is transparent about how it works and doesn’t charge fees to use the platform. It also performs only a soft credit check when you prequalify, so there’s no risk to your credit score. Its growing list of partners and borrower-friendly features make it a trustworthy option worth considering.

How we rated Sparrow lending platform

We designed LendEDU’s editorial rating system to help readers find companies that offer the best student loans. Our system awards higher ratings to companies with affordable solutions, positive customer reviews, and online transparency of benefits and terms.

We compared Sparrow to several student loan lenders and marketplaces, using hundreds of data points from company websites, public disclosures, customer reviews, and direct communication with company representatives. We weighted, scored, and combined each factor to produce a final editorial rating. This rating is expressed on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest possible score. Our take is represented in our rating, recapped below.

Product	Rating
Sparrow student loan marketplace	4.4/5
Sparrow student loan refinance marketplace	4.4/5