Social Finance, also known as SoFi, is a bit of an elite club in the online lending world. First started as a student loan refinancing company in 2011 by an alum of Stanford University, SoFi has made a name for itself in several financial sectors including personal loans and home mortgages in the ensuing years.
The company is known for its personal loans in amounts up to $100,000 and for the fact that the company reserves its underwriting only for highly qualified borrowers, making a SoFi personal loan one of the more desirable offers on the market for those who qualify.
What to Expect from a SoFi Personal Loan
Getting a SoFi loan is, in many ways, more about the perks than the actual loan itself. This company positions itself to specifically service the highest-qualified borrowers.
SoFi still follows the path of its roots in the student loan business, looking for borrowers with degrees, high-income job prospects and a strong history of responsible credit usage. As a result, SoFi has become one of the top providers of personal loans for good credit on the market, thanks in large part to its many perks and add-on benefits, such as:
- Unemployment Protection for up to 12 months through the life of the loan
- Career counseling and other specialized job services and resources
- Fixed and variable interest rates
- Interest rate discounts for auto-pay customers
- Exclusive social and networking events across the country
SoFi Personal Loan Terms
Here’s a closer look at the terms that borrowers can expect from a SoFi loan. Note that the lower range of interest rates represents the 0.25% decrease borrowers can enjoy by setting up auto-pay.
- Principal Amount: $5,000–$100,000
- Interest Rates:5.99 %–18.64% fixed APR with auto-pay
- Terms: 2-7 years
SoFi Personal Loan Fees & Penalties
SoFi personal loans are meant for qualified borrowers and therefore carry less risk than other loans aimed at people with lower credit scores. As such, the company eliminates most fees and penalties associated with its loans.
- Origination Fee: None
- Prepayment Fee: None
- Late Fee: None
SoFi Student Loans
The origins of Social Finance date back to a Stanford Business School graduate and his friends’ efforts to balance new jobs with their incredible student loan debt. SoFi was the answer to that, and it began to offer graduates an opportunity to consolidate their loans – both federal and private – into one easy payment. Like its personal loans, SoFi offers Unemployment Protection with all its student loan packages along with career counseling and other perks. Like a personal SoFi loan, the company’s student loans have no origination fees or prepayment penalties.
SoFi New Undergraduate Student Loan Terms
- Minimum Loan Amount: $5,000
- Interest Rates: 4.73%-11.46% fixed APR with auto-pay OR 2.05%-10.63% variable APR with auto-pay
- Terms: 5, 10, or 15 years
SoFi Loan Comparison: Personal Loan Options for Borrowers with Good Credit
SoFi is strictly a company dedicated to highly qualified borrowers with excellent credit and high incomes (or high income-earning potential). Many borrowers don’t belong to this group. Therefore, it’s important to consider other options for consolidating debt or making high-end purchases, such as 0% interest credit cards and other personal loan options for borrowers with good credit but not excellent credit or lower incomes.
Lending Club
Lending Club is a peer-to-peer lending platform that offers personal loans to well-qualified borrowers with good to excellent credit. Although Lending Club’s investors fund the loans, its association with WebBank, an FDIC-insured lender, gives borrowers all the traditional protections of a standard bank loan. Borrowers must have a minimum 600 credit score to qualify for a Lending Club personal loan. From there, the company places loans on its open marketplace website, and ultimately private investors can individually choose to fund a loan based on an internal “score” that the lending platform generates.
Lending Club Personal Loan Details
- Principal Amount: $1,000 – $40,000
- Interest Rate: 10.68%–35.89% fixed APR
- Terms: 36 or 60 months
Prosper
Prosper is another peer-to-peer lending company that allows investors to fund personal loans for borrowers with a minimum credit score of 640. Unlike Lending Club, Prosper borrowers make a personal profile that allows them to appeal to potential investors and possibly aid in their search for a loan. As a result, a Prosper personal loan may be a better option for borrowers with a specific backstory that makes lending to them more appealing, despite their credit score and other numeric factors.
Prosper Personal Loan Details
- Principal Amount: up to $40,000
- Interest Rates: 7.95% to 35.99% fixed APR
- Terms: 36 or 60 months
Summary
SoFi personal loans are certainly generous in terms of available principal amounts and interest rates, but this financial product is more than a loan; it’s an experience. This is because the target market for SoFi includes borrowers who would have no problem acquiring a loan from virtually any other lender or obtaining 0% interest credit cards and other funding options. Therefore, choosing SoFi personal loan is primarily all about those perks and the social community of borrowers.
