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The average overall interest rate for personal loans is 20.77%, down from last week. 

You can use a personal loan to pay for anything from a wedding to home renovations, dental work, and even income taxes. However, most borrowers use them to consolidate debt. That purpose is so popular that some lenders, including Happy Money and Reach Financial, specialize in debt consolidation loans.

Average Overall Personal Loan Rates

We've put together a database of 28 personal loan products and averaged their rates to help you get a handle on the current landscape of loans for all purposes. You're more likely to get a lower rate with a better credit score.

The lowest rate of the companies we track is from American Express Personal Loan, which has a minimum APR of 5.91%. The highest rate is from NetCredit, which has a maximum APR of 99.99%.

All borrowers aren't necessarily qualified for the rates above. The rates you'll get depend on your credit score and other aspects of your financial situation. 

Compare Personal Loan Rates

Next Step: See if you're prequalified for a loan without affecting your credit score.

Average Personal Loan Rates by Credit Score

These rates are based on data from borrowers who applied for loans and received rates on loans for all purposes.

See Insider's picks for the best personal loans and best debt consolidation loans »

Percentage of Borrowers by Loan Purpose

These loan purposes are based on data from 149 borrowers who applied for personal loans and received rates.

Average Debt Consolidation Rates

We've put together these average rates from our database of 25 debt-consolidation loan products for this past week: 

Debt Consolidation Rates by Credit Score

A higher credit score generally means you'll receive a lower rate — but not always. 

The average rates (APRs), terms, and loan amounts were provided by Even Financial sourced through Fiona.com. This information is based on aggregated, anonymized offer data from Fiona's lender marketplace of financial services providers as of December 18. The data presented in this table applies only to lenders with APRs below 30%, and is not specific to any individual lender or consumer. 

Best Personal Loan Interest Rates

Borrowers with excellent credit typically can get the best low-interest personal loans, while borrowers with bad credit will be offered the highest personal loan rates.

Generally speaking, a good loan interest rate is in the single digits. The lower the interest rate, the less you'll pay over the life of the loan. These are the top three best APRs available among the 28 lenders we track:

American Express: 5.91%

Reach Financial: 5.99%

Upstart: 6.40%

Personal Loan Interest Rate FAQs











Ryan Wangman, CEPF

Loans Reporter




Ryan Wangman was a reporter at Personal Finance Insider reporting on personal loans, student loans, student loan refinancing, debt consolidation, auto loans, RV loans, and boat loans. He is also a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF).
In his past experience writing about personal finance, he has written about credit scores, financial literacy, and homeownership. He graduated from Northwestern University and has previously written for The Boston Globe. 
Learn more about how Personal Finance Insider chooses, rates, and covers financial products and services here >>

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