How To Get a $2,000 Loan Guide

There's a wide range of ways to borrow $2,000, including small personal loans from online lenders, credit cards, bank or credit union loans, and some BNPL plans. We'll cover which $2,000 loans are most suitable for different situations, how much it costs to borrow $2,000, and which lenders have some of the best terms. Plus, find tips on getting a $2,000 loan even if you have bad or no credit. 

Compare $2,000 personal loan rates

How to get a $2,000 loan

1. Check your credit

Start by checking your credit score for free using Credible's credit-monitoring tool. Knowing your credit score will help you see which lenders you might qualify with based on their minimum credit score requirements. Also, reporting any errors on your credit report can boost your score. Visit AnnualCreditReport.com for a free credit report. 

2. Compare lenders

Shop around to see which lenders approve borrowers with your credit score. If you have an excellent credit score, focus on lenders with the lowest overall APRs. If you have poor credit, you'll need to check each lender's minimum credit score requirement and then compare top-end APRs. 

3. Prequalify

Prequalifying is a way to quickly understand which lenders might approve your application and at what rate. You can prequalify with multiple lenders at once using a personal loan marketplace like Credible. It won't impact your credit, but prequalification is not a guaranteed loan offer, and the final rate you receive may be different from the estimate. 

4. Submit the full application

Once you've chosen a lender, fill out the application and apply. The lender will perform a hard credit pull, which can impact your credit score temporarily. The lender may also ask you for additional documentation, such as W-2s, pay stubs, or other personal identification.

5. Get your funds

After you've been approved and agreed to the loan documents, expect to get your funds as soon as the same or the next business day. Some lenders can take up to a week.

How to get a $2,000 loan with bad credit

If you need a loan with bad credit, qualifying can be more difficult. But there are a few ways to improve your odds.

Consider secured loans

First, try exploring secured loan options. A secured loan uses an asset you own to reduce the lender's risk in offering you a loan. Doing so can help to compensate for your lack of credit. As long as you pay off the loan as agreed, you won’t have to worry about losing the collateral.

Check with credit unions and community banks

Credit unions and community banks tend to be much smaller than online lenders and big-name banks and are more relationship-focused. If you're already a member of one, you may find more flexible eligibility requirements than larger institutions.

Use a cosigner

If you know someone with good credit who is willing to cosign a loan for you, they may help you get approved or even lower your rate. However, if you're unable to pay back the loan, your cosigner will become responsible for making payments. Note that even making late payments could hurt your cosigner's credit as well as your own.

Compare: Co-applicant vs. Cosigner

Build your credit

If possible, focus on improving your credit score before seeking a loan. The most important factor in credit scores is your payment history, so ensure you make all payments on time. 

Credit utilization is the second most important factor, which means you should keep your credit card balances paid down. Aside from that, it helps to limit new credit applications and maintain a mix of credit products that are open over many years.

Compare: Payday Loan vs. Cash Advance

Where to get a $2,000 loan

You can find a $2,000 loan from a variety of financial institutions, including traditional banks, credit unions, and online lenders. The right choice will depend on the type of loan you want, your financial situation, and which lender offers you the best deal.

• Online lenders: Many online lenders offer $2,000 loans and can get you money as soon as the same or next business day after you apply. The application process is fairly straightforward and is 100% digital in most cases. 
• Banks: $2,000 loans may also be available from banks. Some may even offer an interest rate discount if you're already a customer.
• Credit unions: You typically must be a credit union member to get a loan with one, but qualification criteria may be more lenient relative to a loan from a bank. In addition to regular loans, many credit unions offer payday alternative loans (PALs) for amounts up to $2,000. These are an especially good option if you have fair or bad credit, as rates are capped at 28% and designed for borrowers who struggle to be approved for credit.

Approval estimates for $2,000 loans

We crunched a year's worth of data to find the average $2,000 loan rates that borrowers using the Credible marketplace received and how likely they were to prequalify for a $2,000 loan. Not surprisingly, borrowers with excellent credit received the lowest rates and were the most likely to qualify.

Most common loan purposes for $2k loans

Most people who got a $2,000 loan through Credible used it for bills or rent and debt consolidation. You can also see that most people who borrowed $2,000 through Credible had fair credit (a FICO score of 580 to 669) or good credit (a FICO score of 670 to 739).

Interest rates for $2,000 loans by loan purpose and credit score

In addition to your credit score, lenders consider how you want to use the loan when determining what APR to offer. The chart below shows how APRs varied across the most common loan purposes for borrowers who used the Credible personal loan marketplace to get a $2,000 loan.

Types of $2,000 loans

You can find $2,000 loans in the form of unsecured loans, secured loans, and credit card advances. But which is best? Here’s a closer look at each.

Personal loans

Personal loans are typically unsecured lump-sum loans that you repay through a series of monthly payments over a set term, often from one to seven years. They’re available from banks, credit unions, and online lenders. 

Many personal loan lenders, including most Credible partner lenders, offer $2,000 loans — and some can send money the same day you apply for a loan. To qualify, you’ll need to meet the lender’s minimum income and credit score requirements, plus other criteria. 

Prequalify with multiple lenders to get an estimate of your rate and terms. When you prequalify, it won't impact your credit, but once you formally apply for a loan, your credit score could drop temporarily by a few points. 

Why we recommend them

Personal loans are a great option for borrowing $2,000 because they tend to have lower annual percentage rates (APRs) than credit cards. For instance, the average APR on a two-year personal loan was 11.65%, while the average APR for a credit card was 22.30%, according to data from the Federal Reserve.

Secured loans

Secured loans are similar to unsecured loans but have one important difference. Secured loans require you to pledge collateral in exchange for the loan. The collateral must be an asset you own, such as a vehicle, home, or bank account.

If you don’t repay the loan as agreed, the lender can seize and sell your collateral to help pay off the outstanding loan amount. Secured loans are often easier to get because the collateral reduces the lender’s risk, but in doing so, it increases the risk for you. 

Why we recommend them

Secured loans often have lower interest rates and higher loan amounts than unsecured loans, making them easier to qualify for if you have bad credit.

Compare: Secured vs. Unsecured Personal Loans

Credit card cash advances

Credit card cash advances involve going to an ATM and pulling cash out using your credit card. But you can’t pull out your entire credit limit. Credit card providers typically limit cash advances to a percentage of your credit limit.

For example, the Chase Freedom Unlimited card had a purchase APR of 18.24% to 27.74%, depending on your credit, and a cash advance APR of 28.49% in February. The card also has a cash advance fee equal to the greater of $10 or 5% of the advance amount.

Be aware that the card's purchase APR and cash advance APR are both variable. Personal loan APRs are typically fixed.

When it comes to repayment, the cash advance amount is lumped into your overall credit card balance, and you’re only required to make the minimum payment each month. However, you’ll be charged the elevated cash advance APR on the outstanding advance amount until it’s paid off. Plus, interest on credit card cash advances is typically charged immediately, unlike interest on regular purchases, which isn't charged until after a 30-day grace period. 

Why we don’t recommend them

In addition to high cash-advance APRs and cash advance fees, interest on credit card cash advances is charged immediately — unlike interest on regular purchases, which isn't charged until after a 30-day grace period. 

$2,000 loan cost comparison

This graph illustrates how different APRs can affect how much you'll pay over the life of the loan. The difference in total interest costs can be particularly significant with higher APRs.

Calculate my loan payment

If you decide to take out a personal loan, use a personal loan calculator to determine interest charges over time.

Disclosure: Some lending partners that participate in Credible’s comparison marketplace offer loans to borrowers with scores as low as 550. Borrowers with low scores will have fewer lending options than borrowers with higher credit scores.