Business Insider's personal finance team compared the LendingTree Personal Loan Marketplace to the best private student loans and found it to be a standard offering with competitive interest rates and the ability for borrowers to prequalify with multiple lenders in one place.
LendingTree Personal Loan Marketplace can be a good choice for borrowers who want to compare several personal loan offers at once. Some of LendingTree's partner lenders will get you your loan funds quickly.
Depending on your credit score and annual income, your APR will range from 5.99% to 35.99%. If you need to get a loan with a bad credit score, it's a good option to have.
LendingTree Personal Loan Pros & Cons
LendingTree Personal Loan Pros
- Prequalify for loans all in one place. You'll be able to look at different rates from LendingTree's partner lenders at the same time, which is easier than filling out multiple applications.
- No prepayment penalty. You can make additional payments toward your loan, and you won't be charged an extra fee.
- Low minimum rates. If you have excellent credit, you may be able to get low rates with a partner lender.
- Fast personal loan funding with some partners. Some of LendingTree's partner lenders offer funding as quickly as the same day.
LendingTree Personal Loan Cons
- Multiple types of fees. Depending on the partner lender, you may have to pay origination fees and late fees.
- High maximum rates. Some of LendingTree's partners have rates that touch 35.99%, which is particularly high.
Apply Now
5.99% to 35.99%
$1,000 to $50,000
- Prequalify for loans all in one place
- Low minimum rates
- Some partner lenders have same-day funding
- Some partner lenders charge high fees
- High maximum rates
- 12 to 144 month repayment term lengths
- LendingTree may share your information with its network of lenders
Check Your Loan Rates
LendingTree Personal Loans Overview
LendingTree is an online lending marketplace. Its platform allows borrowers to compare offers from multiple providers to find the best terms on a wide range of products, including personal loans, mortgages, credit cards, and more.
Types of Personal Loans Offered by LendingTree
Unsecured Personal Loans
Most of LendingTree's personal loans are unsecured. This means the loans don't require you to put down collateral. Generally, unsecured personal loans require good credit or a cosigner with a good credit score to qualify for the lowest rates and terms.
Secured Personal Loans
LendingTree can also connect you with lenders that offer secured personal loans. Secured loans require you to put down collateral, such as a car or a valuable investment account. These loans are typically easier to qualify for because the lender is taking on less of a risk by having you guarantee repayment with your assets.
How Does LendingTree's Personal Loan Marketplace Work?
By providing your information one time, you can get rate quotes and other details about loans you may qualify for all at the same time and compare them side by side. This can save a lot of time and make it much easier to find a lender that's right for your credit profile than going through the process of prequalifying for a personal loan with each one individually.
LendingTree Personal Loan Features and Benefits
LendingTree loan amounts range from $1,000 to $50,000. LendingTree works with more than 300 partner lenders that offer loans all across the country.
You can find loans at LendingTree with APRs ranging from 5.99% to 35.99%. The minimum loan term is 12 months, and the maximum is 84 months. You can pay off loans from LendingTree's partner lenders in full at any time with no early payment penalty.
After you've verified your information, the partner lender will get your money at varying speeds, sometimes by the next business day.
If LendingTree shows you loan offers with high interest rates, you may want to look into credit cards for bad credit and compare rates between a card and a loan. You might be eligible for a lower APR and better terms with a credit card. Weighing the benefits and drawbacks of personal loans vs. credit cards will help you get the best financial deal possible.
How to Apply for a LendingTree Personal Loan
Steps to Apply Through LendingTree
- Provide details on LendingTree's website. You'll need to input your email and basic personal information. Then, you'll be asked how much you want to borrow and how you plan to use the money. To get you a rate quote, LendingTree will run a soft credit check, which doesn't affect your credit score.
- Preview different loan offers and choose an option. LendingTree will give you loan offers from partner lenders with a variety of rates and term lengths. Pick one you can fit into your monthly budget.
- Submit a full application. After you've been preapproved, you'll need to fill out a comprehensive application with more detail about your credit history than was part of the initial application. The final approval will require a hard credit check, which will reduce your credit score slightly for a short period of time.
- Receive your funds after signing your agreement. After you're approved, you will be presented with a loan agreement spelling out all the details. The time it will take to get your money after you sign off on it will vary depending on the partner lender you choose.
- Work loan payments into your monthly budget. Make sure you have enough money to cover all of your financial responsibilities.
Required Information and Documentation
Getting approved for a personal loan can require extensive documentation. While this varies among lenders, you can expect to need at least the following:
- Pay stubs/proof of income
- The last couple of years of tax returns
- Documentation of 401(k)s and other financial accounts
- Photo ID
- Rent/mortgage history
- Proof of collateral (if you're pursuing a secured loan)
Make sure you have these on hand before starting the application process.
LendingTree Personal Loan Interest Rates and Fees
This personal loan marketplace offers a wide range of APRs from various lenders. LendingTree APR rates range from 5.99% to 35.99%. Compared to average personal loan rates, LendingTree's minimum APR is lower than that of its competitors, but its maximum APR is higher.
LendingTree also only offers personal loans from $1,000 to $50,000, which is lower than some of its competitors. For example, SoFi personal loans let you borrow up to $100,000.
With LendingTree, you may be connected with a lender that charges high origination fees. Remember, LendingTree is a personal loan marketplace, so the exact fees will vary by lender.
Regular APR: 5.99% to 35.99%
Loan amounts: $1,000 to $50,000
Fees: Varies by lender
Term lengths: One to seven years
LendingTree Personal Loan Customer Experience
Customer reviews of LendingTree are mixed.
The lending platform has a rating of 4.2 out of five on TrustPilot, with 80% of more than 14,000 reviewers giving it five stars. Positive reviewers touted fast and easy application and approval, as well as quick funding times after they were approved for loans. Many of the complaints from dissatisfied customers included unwanted phone calls and text messages after sharing their information with LendingTree and disappointment that they didn't qualify for a loan after receiving marketing solicitations from LendingTree indicating that they had already been preapproved.
Is LendingTree Trustworthy?
The Better Business Bureau assigns LendingTree an A+ rating, which is the highest available. However, customer ratings on the BBB website — which aren't used in the calculation of its ratings — are skewed heavily toward the low end of the 1-to-5 scale, averaging a little more than 1 out of 5 among 104 reviews. The complaints are similar to those found on TrustPilot about unwanted solicitations after sharing their information with LendingTree.
LendingTree Personal Loan Alternatives
LendingTree Personal Loans vs. Credible Personal Loans
LendingTree and Credible are both free-to-use personal loan marketplaces, meaning they will connect you with lenders. LendingTree APR rates start lower than Credible's. Credible offers interest rates from 6.94% to 35.99%, with terms ranging from 12 to 120 months. With LendingTree, repayment terms range from 12 to 84 months.
You won't pay origination fees with either platform. However, with Credible, borrowers can access loans up to $200,000, whereas with LendingTree, the maximum loan amount is only $50,000.
LendingTree Personal Loans vs. FinMkt Personal Loans
Both companies are personal loan marketplaces, but FinMkt is more opaque about its terms. Both lenders have partners that can deposit money into your account in as little as a day.
Both marketplaces allow you to use your loan funds for just about anything, including debt consolidation, vacations, and home improvement.
LendingTree Personal Loans vs. AmONE Loans
Like LendingTree, AmONE is a personal loan marketplace. The former offers APR rates that are lower than AmONE. AmONE APR rates range from 6.99% to 35.99% APR, depending on the lender and credit profile.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Rated LendingTree Personal Loans
We rate all personal loan products in our reviews and guides on a 1 to 5 scale. The overall rating is a weighted average that takes into account seven different categories, some of which are judged more heavily than others:
- Interest rate (20% of rating)
- Fees (20% of rating)
- Term lengths and loan amounts (15% of rating)
- Funding speed (15% of rating)
- Borrower accessibility (15% of rating)
- Customer support (7.5% of rating)
- Ethics (7.5% of rating)
Each category's weighting is based on its importance to your borrowing experience. Rates and fees have the most direct impact on the overall cost of your loan, so we weigh those the most heavily.
See our full ratings methodology for personal loans for more details.
FAQs
How does LendingTree make money if I don't pay for its service?
LendingTree's partners pay a commission when borrowers are matched and decide to proceed with a loan offer, allowing the service to be free for consumers.
Can LendingTree guarantee the best personal loan interest rates?
LendingTree provides access to a wide range of interest rates by allowing multiple lenders to offer loans through its platform. However, it cannot guarantee the best rate because individual borrowers' qualifications and market conditions vary.
Will using LendingTree affect my credit score?
LendingTree performs a soft credit check when it matches you with potential lenders, which does not affect your credit score. However, proceeding with a full loan application through a lender will involve a hard credit pull, which is likely to lower your credit score slightly for a short time.
How quickly can I receive funds after finding a lender through LendingTree?
The funding time can vary depending on the lender, but some borrowers may receive funds as soon as the next business day after loan approval.
How does LendingTree handle my data?
LendingTree's marketplace states that its communications with banks, lenders, and loan brokers are encrypted in a way that prevents third parties from accessing your personal data. You can read the full security policy on LendingTree's website.
