Best Egg vs. LendingClub Personal Loans

When it comes to financing major expenses, personal loans are a go-to tool. They typically come with solid rates, you can get them quickly, and you can use them for almost anything you’d like.

LendingClub and Best Egg are two personal loan lenders on the market, although each take a different approach to how they fund loans. This Best Egg vs. LendingClub personal loan comparison will show you how they compare.

In this review:

Which lender is right for you?
How do they compare to other lenders

Best Egg is a typical lender offering online loans. You can apply online in minutes, and it will evaluate your application before deciding whether to approve you for a loan underwritten by one of its institutional investors.

Best Egg offers a standard range of loan amounts—although some lenders offer more—at modest interest rates. You will have to pay an origination fee, which is deducted from the loan amount.

LendingClub takes a different approach by letting other individuals—and some bigger players—invest in loans on its platform. This peer-to-peer lending process means you may be indirectly doing business with another person just like you rather than a big bank.

Lending Club has similar origination fees to Best Egg, which come out of your loan at disbursal.

LendingClub vs. Best Egg: Which is right for you?

If you have good credit
If you only need to borrow a small amount
If you live in Iowa or a U.S. territory
If you’d like to circumvent institutional investors

If you have good credit: Best Egg

As you may have noted above, we rated Best Egg as a good credit lender, but LendingClub as a fair credit lender. This was based on the credit profile each lender targets, as well as the approval and interest rates you’re likely to receive with each lender.

If your credit score is good (read: 700 or higher), you’re better off going with Best Egg. It has lower minimum rates and will likely be the better deal for you.

On the flip side, if your credit is only fair (650–699), you’ll likely have a better shot with LendingClub. If your credit is bad, check out these bad credit loans instead.

>> Learn more on Best Egg’s website.

If you only need to borrow a small amount: LendingClub

If you only need to borrow a small amount, LendingClub may be the better option. LendingClub allows you to borrow as little as $1,000, while Best Egg offers a minimum of $2,000 (and some states have higher minimums).

You don’t want to borrow more than necessary, or you’ll end up paying more in interest and fees.

LendingClub ends up winning on the high end of loan amounts, too. Best Egg loans max out at $35,000, but LendingClub allows you to borrow up to $40,000, so keep that in mind as you work through your budget.

>> Learn more on LendingClub’s website.

If you live in Iowa or a U.S. territory: Best Egg

LendingClub loans are currently available across the nation, with the exception of Iowa and U.S. territories. Best Egg doesn’t do business in every state either, but it doesn’t disclose which states are ineligible.

>> Learn more on Best Egg’s website.

If you’d like to circumvent institutional investors: LendingClub

If you’d rather pay interest to an individual like you, rather than a big institutional investor, LendingClub may interest you. As a P2P lender, LendingClub cuts big banks out of the lending process, so more money ends up with normal people down the food chain.

>> Learn more on LendingClub’s website.

How do they compare to other lenders

Curious to see how Best Egg and LendingClub compare to other personal loan lenders? Check out the comparison reviews below, or visit our guide to the best personal loan lenders.