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Personal Loans

SoFi vs. LendingClub: Personal Loan Comparison

Updated Mar 18, 2024   |   4-min read

Online lending has exploded in the last few years. The idea of applying for a loan while sitting on the couch at home is enticing enough, but online lenders also offer some of the lowest rates and most attractive benefits as well.

Two popular companies are SoFi and LendingClub. Both companies offer personal loans to creditworthy customers, but how do they stack up against each other? It depends on what you’re looking for.

SoFi Personal Loans

SoFi is a heavy hitter in the online loan market. It was launched in 2011 and has since expanded rapidly to offer a broad variety of loan types and perks. The company also offers other benefits, such as career coaching or an interest-rate discount if you borrow multiple loans.

You can easily apply for a rate quote online and find out if you’re approved in minutes. You can learn more in our full SoFi Personal Loans Review.

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LendingClub Personal Loans

Like SoFi, LendingClub offers personal loans for a variety of reasons and has a no-hassle online application process. However, the way it disburses loans is different.

While SoFi operates more like the online version of a traditional lender, LendingClub is a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform. This means an individual will fund your LendingClub loan rather than a larger institutional investor.

After filling out the basic pre-approval online form, LendingClub will give you several loan options to choose from, with different payment plans and interest rates from their investors. You can learn more in our LendingClub Personal Loans Review.

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SoFi vs. LendingClub: Which is right for you?

With so many rates, terms, and other factors to compare, you may have a hard time determining which lender is right for you. To help, we’ve broken down some scenarios where one option stands out.

If you have good credit: SoFi

If you have a good credit score, SoFi should be your first option. SoFi targets good credit borrowers, and it offers lower interest rates to earn their business. If your credit is excellent, you could score a lower rate from SoFi than LendingClub offers on any of its loans.

On the other hand, if your credit is only fair, you may get a better offer from LendingClub. Rates vary based on a number of factors, so it’s always smart to get quotes from multiple lenders before making a decision.

If you want to avoid fees: SoFi

If you borrow from SoFi, you won’t need to worry about running into any unexpected fees. The lender doesn’t charge any required fees.

LendingClub charges a loan origination fee of 2% – 6% and a late payment fee of $15 or 5%.

If you only need to borrow a little: LendingClub

If you only need to borrow a small amount, LendingClub is likely the better option. The lender allows borrowers to take out loans of just $1,000. SoFi doesn’t offer loans of less than $5,000.

It’s hard to find loan amounts so low from reputable online lenders since businesses need to earn enough to make facilitating the loan worthwhile. But since individual investors use their own money to fund LendingClub loans, it’s able to keep its minimum loan amounts low.

To see more options, check out our guide to small personal loans.

If you need to borrow a large amount: SoFi

If you need to borrow a very large amount, SoFi may be the winner. SoFi allows you to borrow up to $100,000, while LendingClub only lets you take out $40,000.

LendingClub’s maximum loan amount may still be enough for most borrowers, but those who have a very large amount of debt to consolidate or who are eyeing expensive home repairs may need more.

If you want more flexibility in your repayment term: SoFi

If you’d like more (or less) time to pay off your personal loan, SoFi has better options. You can opt for both a shorter or longer repayment term than LendingClub.

Since neither lender charges prepayment fees, the shorter repayment term doesn’t matter quite as much. But if you’re borrowing a large loan amount, having a longer repayment term can make a huge difference in the amount you have to pay each month.

Where to find other lenders

As you can see above, SoFi is the stronger option for most prospective borrowers. However, both LendingClub and SoFi are legitimate loan options.

Still, it doesn’t hurt to get quotes from multiple lenders and compare your options. Check out these guides to see how SoFi and LendingClub stack up against other lenders.