Personal Loans » Personal Loan Lender Reviews » Best Egg Personal Loan: 2023 Review
Advertiser Disclosure

This website is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The product offers that appear on this site are from companies from which this website receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). This website does not include all card companies or all card offers available in the marketplace. This website may use other proprietary factors to impact card offer listings on the website such as consumer selection or the likelihood of the applicant’s credit approval.

This allows us to maintain a full-time, editorial staff and work with finance experts you know and trust. The compensation we receive from advertisers does not influence the recommendations or advice our editorial team provides in our articles or otherwise impacts any of the editorial content on The Smart Investor. While we work hard to provide accurate and up to date information that we think you will find relevant, The Smart Investor does not and cannot guarantee that any information provided is complete and makes no representations or warranties in connection thereto, nor to the accuracy or applicability thereof.

Learn more about how we review products and read our advertiser disclosure for how we make money. All products are presented without warranty.

Best Egg Personal Loan: 2023 Review

Best Egg is competitive for borrowers with excellent credit and high income. Here are its top benefits - but also some drawbacks to consider
Author: Lorraine Smithills
Lorraine Smithills

Writer, Contributor

Experience

Lorraine is a freelance finance writer with years of experience in the banking sector and after a successful career in one of the largest retail and commercial financial services providers. She has a passion for helping people with less financial confidence to get control of their money through budgeting, saving, and responsible credit practices.

Review & Fact Check: Baruch Mann (Silvermann)

Baruch Mann (Silvermann)

Financial Expert, The Smart Investor CEO

Experience

Baruch Mann (Silvermann) is a financial expert and founder of The Smart Investor. Above all, he is passionate about teaching people how to manage their money and helping millions on their journey to a better financial future.
Author: Lorraine Smithills
Lorraine Smithills

Writer, Contributor

Experience

Lorraine is a freelance finance writer with years of experience in the banking sector and after a successful career in one of the largest retail and commercial financial services providers. She has a passion for helping people with less financial confidence to get control of their money through budgeting, saving, and responsible credit practices.

Review & Fact Check: Baruch Mann (Silvermann)

Baruch Mann (Silvermann)

Financial Expert, The Smart Investor CEO

Experience

Baruch Mann (Silvermann) is a financial expert and founder of The Smart Investor. Above all, he is passionate about teaching people how to manage their money and helping millions on their journey to a better financial future.

We earn a commission from our partner links on this page. It doesn't affect the integrity of our unbiased, independent editorial staff. Transparency is a core value for us, read our advertiser disclosure and how we make money.

best egg REVIEW

On Credible Website

Best Egg has very high ratings with Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau from many satisfied customers.

APR

8.99% – 35.99%

Loan Amount

$2,000 -$50,000

Term

36-60 months

Min score

640

Best Egg has very high ratings with Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau from many satisfied customers.

best egg REVIEW

On Credible Website

APR

8.99% – 35.99%

Loan Amount

$2,000 -$50,000

Term

36-60 months

Min score

640

Eligible to borrowers with a credit score of at least 640 , Best Egg is a lending company that offers loans for just about every aspect of life. Whether you’re looking to consolidate debt, refinance your home, or adopt a child, Best Egg has something available. Best Egg is included on our best personal loans for fair credit in 2023.

Best Egg has a simple application process and only uses soft pull inquiries for applicants. They offer competitive rates with quick turnaround times and they don’t charge any penalty fees for prepayment. They offer fixed rates and their loan amounts range from $2,000 -$50,000 .

Despite this, there are a few downfalls to using this company. Best Egg isn’t available in every state and they charge an origination fee when signing on. They also give large amounts in short terms, have restrictions on investing, and don’t allow joint applications either.

  • Soft Pull Inquiry
  • Quick Turnaround Times and Simple Application Process
  • Competitive Interest Rates
  • No Prepayment Penalty
  • More than One Loan
  • Have Many Loan Uses
  • Not Available in All States
  • Origination Fee
  • Restrictions for Investments
  • No Joint Applicants

Does Best Egg verify income?

Yes, as part of the personal loan application process, Best Egg will need to verify your identity and income. The bank may ask you to submit supporting documentation such as payslips or bank statements or give permission to connect to your bank.

Does Best Egg offer more financial products besides personal loan?

Best Egg does have a limited product line. In addition to personal loans for a variety of reasons, the bank’s only other financial product is a credit card with no annual fee.

So, if you’re looking for a lender that also offers a wide variety of financial products, Best Egg may not be your best option.

Does Best Egg personal loans offer prequalification? (soft credit check)

Best Egg does offer pre approval which has a soft credit check and no impact on your credit score.

Your pre qualified status is recorded, which will streamline the application process if you decide that you would like to go ahead with the loan.

Can I add a cosigner to Best Egg personal loan?

Unlike many personal loan providers, Best Egg does not allow co-signers on its personal loans. This means that you cannot add a cosigner to your application to boost your chances of approval.

However, Best Egg does consider far more parameters than just your credit score and income, so you may be able to qualify even if you have less than ideal credit without the need for a cosigner.

In this Review..

Requirements & Repayment Options

Best Egg offers loans ranging from $2,000 to $50,000. It requires a minimum annual income of $45,000 and a maximum debt-to-income ratio of 40%. Each of these lenders will require that you be at least 18 years old and a US resident or citizen.

Best Egg gives you the option to change the repayment due date. You can do so twice during the loan's life cycle. You will be able to send payments directly to creditors if you take out a debt consolidation loan. There is a late fee in place, as well as no discount for setting up automatic payments. Best Egg does not offer a discount for autopay.

Compared to other fair credit lenders, the required score is quite high. For example, Upstart required score is 600 while Upgrade minimum score is 620 .

Pros & Cons

As we know, each lender has its own pros & cons – here are the relevant things we found for potential borrowers:

Best Egg allows for an initial soft pull inquiry so the borrower can get an idea of the options for which they may qualify.

Best Egg has a simple application process and one of the quickest turnaround times since the loan is usually funded in about 1 to 3 days.

Interest rates are competitive for borrowers with good credit histories and strong cash flow.

The borrower can pay off their loan early without any fees.

A borrower can get multiple loans at a time from Best Egg, but they do have stipulations

Best Egg allows for many different uses for their loans.

Best Egg does not operate in Iowa, Vermont, or West Virginia

Best Egg deducts a one-time origination fee of .99% to 5.99% of your loan amount directly from your loan funds. This should be considered in the pricing of your loan when you apply. Take into consideration that there are other lenders who do not charge an origination fee.

Best Egg loans cannot be used for investment securities.

The application is based on the applicant alone. Best Egg does not allow for joint applicants

Customer Satisfaction

Best Egg has a comprehensive resource center as well as a top-tier financial education component. The support team operates six times per week and during specific hours. 

There is currently no way for you to manage your Best Egg personal loan via the mobile app. Finally, Best Egg got 831 out of 1000 possible points in the 2020 J.D Power research, lower than industry average.

Best Egg Rating
Best Company
4.9
TrustPilot
4.7
BBB Rating
A+
WalletHub
4.8
Contact Options
phone/mail
Availability
8 am – 10 pm (ET)

What Can a Best Egg Personal Loan Be Used For?

Best Egg can be used for consolidating debt, credit card refinancing, vacations, special occasions, baby-related costs and adoption fees, home improvements, moving expenses or large purchases. It cannot be used for any post-secondary education expenses, investments, or illegal activities of any kind.

Best Egg debt consolidation takes one or more loans or bills and pays them off with the new Best Egg loan. Instead of multiple payments to multiple lenders, you can create one payment to one lender. 

Best Egg credit card refinancing pays off one or more credit card bills. If you pay just the minimum required payment on your credit cards it could take years, if not decades, to pay off your balances. Best Egg credit card refinancing will make those many credit card payments into one fixed payment with an end date.

Best Egg vacation loans or special occasions loans offer a fast and easy way to get money for your events without having to deal with credit cards.

A Best Egg home improvement loan is for home repairs or renovations. The advantage of using a Best Egg home improvement loan is the promptness of receiving the funds.

How to Apply For a Personal Loan With Best Egg

The Best Egg application process only takes a few minutes. You will fill out a short form with some basic questions about yourself, including your full name, contact information, date of birth, and income. You will need to consent to Credit Profile Authorization, allowing Best Egg to check your credit.

Best Egg Personal Loan

Then Best Egg does a soft credit pull and you’ll be presented with loan options for which you are pre-qualified. You can get an idea of how much you’ll be paying before they do a hard pull inquiry on your credit.

Best Egg Personal Loan

You may get a notification that the application has been declined. If you decide to move forward you will need to answer more verification questions, and allow a hard credit pull.

Best Egg Personal Loan

If Best Egg approves your credit application you will also need to provide verifiable banking information and possibly some documentation to verify your information.

Best Egg Personal Loan

The process is relatively quick – the average turnaround time for Best Egg is 1 to 3 days. Once the information has been verified you will need to sign loan documents.

Best Egg Personal Loan

Best Egg FAQs

Best Egg is an online lender offering personal loans to those with good or fair credit. You can borrow up to a decent maximum with reasonable rates and a term of three to five years.

However, you do need a fair or good FICO score. You can use the loan funds to refinance credit cards, consolidate debt or cover a large expense such as moving home or home improvements. If your score is higher, check out a personal loan for good credit.

The application process for a Best Egg loan does require you to provide some important financial details including your income, employment status, and your typical household expenses. You may also need to verify these details by providing bank statements, pay stubs, or a W-2.

Depending on how quickly you provide this supporting information, the approval process typically takes one to three days for approval and funding.

If you can't meet the minimum requirements, you can compare other personal loan lenders or check out alternatives to personal loans.

Upgrade minimum credit score requirement is higher, but you can borrow more compared to Best Egg. However, Upgrade is less flexible in regards to loan terms, as there is only the option of three years or five years. Additionally, the APR rates are generally higher than Best Egg.

So, unless you need the larger loan amount, Best Egg is likely to offer better rates and loan terms.

Freedom Plus has a similar credit score requirement to Best Egg and similar rates. However, where Freedom Plus differs from Best Egg is that you can borrow a smaller amount with Freedom – anywhere between $7,500 -$40,000 . So, if you’re looking to borrow that bit extra, Best Egg is a better option.

Also, Freedom Plus has a higher lowest loan amount.  

Best Egg is a solid alternative to Marcus for your personal loan. This lender does have a higher maximum loan amount, you can also qualify with a lower credit score. However, the maximum loan term is five years, while Marcus loan term is 36-72 months .

However, what really makes Marcus better than Best Egg is the loan rates. While Best Egg has a lower starting rate, at the higher end of the scale, Marcus has a lower maximum rate.

Alternative Fair Credit Personal Loans

lendingclub_logo svg

Upstart logo

bestegg_logo svg
APR Range The annual percentage rate (APR) is the total annual cost of borrowing money. This rate includes the interest rate as well as any additional finance charges. When you take out a personal loan, for example, you may be required to pay loan origination fees.
9.57% – 36.00%
5.40% – 35.99%
8.99% – 35.99%
Term The term of your loan is the amount of time you have to repay it. For example, if you get a 24 months personal loan, the loan term is 24 months.
36 – 60 months
36-60 Months
36-60 months
Loan Amount
$1,000 – $40,000
$1,000 – $50,000
$2,000 -$50,000
Minimum Score
600
600
640
Funding Time
Up to 7 days
1-2 Days
N/A

Review Personal Loan Top Lenders

Compare Alternative Lenders

When it comes to these various lenders, Marcus is clearly the leader. It has the best reputation, no fees, and a lot of flexibility when it comes to repayments. However, the funding process can be a little slow. Prosper offers a wide range of repayment options and accepts lower credit scores, whereas Best Egg provides secured loans and preferable debt consolidation options.

Read Full Comparison: Best Egg Vs Prosper Vs Marcus: Choose The Right Personal Loan For You

Best Egg has been in operation since 2014 and has serviced over 785,000 loans in that time. It accepts low credit scores and secured loans, as well as a wide range of loan sizes. Rocket Loans is a well-known online lender that takes pride in providing customers with quick access to funds.

Finally, Upgrade has served over 500,000 customers and provided borrowings totaling more than $7 billion during its tenure in business. It offers a slew of great benefits, such as quick funding, substantial autopay discounts, and flexible repayment terms.

Read Full Comparison: Best Egg vs Rocketloans vs Upgrade: Which Personal Loan Is Best?

Upstart is one of the more notable online lenders because it employs artificial intelligence (AI) to guide the process of evaluating applications. As a result of this system, it frequently deals with people who have relatively low credit scores, or even those who do not yet have a credit score.

Best Egg is an online lender that has received numerous awards in recent years for its service, which includes quick approvals and competitive rates. Marcus, a Goldman Sachs offering, is one of the most reputable online lenders you will come across. It promises no-fee personal loans as well as a variety of loan types.

Read Full Comparison: Upstart vs Best Egg vs Marcus: Compare Personal Loan Lenders

Upstart is one of the more notable online lenders because it employs artificial intelligence (AI) to guide the process of evaluating applications. As a result of this system, it frequently deals with people who have relatively low credit scores, or even those who do not yet have a credit score.

Best Egg is an online lender that has received numerous awards in recent years for its service, which includes quick approvals and competitive rates. Marcus, a Goldman Sachs offering, is one of the most reputable online lenders you will come across. It promises no-fee personal loans as well as a variety of loan types.

Read Full Comparison: Upstart vs Best Egg vs Marcus: Compare Personal Loan Lenders

Lorraine Smithills

Lorraine Smithills

Lorraine is a freelance finance writer with years of experience in the banking sector and after a successful career in one of the largest retail and commercial financial services providers. She has a passion for helping people with less financial confidence to get control of their money through budgeting, saving, and responsible credit practices.
Compare Personal Loans

Best Rate Guarantee – $200 giftcard if you find and close with a better rate elsewhere (terms apply)

Advertiser Disclosure

The product offers that appear on this site are from companies from which this website receives compensation. 

Table of Contents

Loan Reviews Methodology

When it comes to choosing personal, student or car loans, we make sure that we evaluate all of the different products and services that are available for the lender we review. 

The Smart Investor’s selection of loan providers for inclusion here was made based on key areas we evaluated: loan types and loan products offered, fees, and APR. We also considering customer satisfaction and reliable external ratings such as J.D power/Trustpilot.

Cutting fees is now table stakes in the personal and student loans market. In addition, the most valuable loan products tend to offer a deep bench of options that meet a wide array of customer needs. These include a diverse range of loan amounts and terms, as well as loan structures. We also make sure that you’re going to save money by cutting down on the APR that goes along with the loans offered.