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If you’ve got unexpected expenses like home repairs, medical bills or moving expenses, a $5,000 loan might be a more affordable alternative than racking up charges on a credit card.
Keep reading to find out where to get a personal loan, what to consider, and how to apply for one that fits your needs.
Quick navigation:
- Where to get a $5,000 loan
- What to consider when comparing loans
- Cost to repay a $5,000 personal loan
- Alternatives to personal loans
Where to get a $5,000 loan
Since every lender has its own method of evaluating borrowers, it’s important to check prequalified, low interest personal loan rates from multiple lenders, rather than relying on advertised rates or comparison tables. Here are some places to look when you’re looking for $5,000 personal loan options.
Online lenders
Online lenders can be a good source for $5,000 loans because they typically offer a streamlined, digital loan application process. Some might even be able to approve and fund your loan the next business day. Depending on the lender, you might also be able to get a better interest rate from an online lender than a bank or credit union.
The personal loan companies in the table below compete for your business through Credible. You can request rates from all of these partner lenders by filling out just one form (instead of one form for each) and without affecting your credit score.
| Lender | Fixed rates | Loan amounts | Check rates |
|---|---|---|---|
Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 9.95% - 35.99% APR | $2,000 to $35,000** | |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 11.79% - 20.84% APR | $10,000 to $50,000 | |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 6.99% - 35.99% APR | $2,000 to $50,000 | |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 7.99% - 24.99% APR | $2,500 - $40,000 | |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 7.95% - 29.99% APR | $3,000 to $40,000 | |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 7.9% - 35.99% APR | $1,000 to $40,000 | |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 6.49% - 25.29% APR with autopay | $5,000 to $100,000 | |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 18.0% - 35.99% APR | $1,500 to $20,000 | |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 8.49% - 17.99% APR | $600 to $50,000 (depending on loan term) | |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 7.99% - 35.99% APR | $3,500 to $40,000 | |
|
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 8.99% - 35.49% APR10 | $5,000 to $100,000 | |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 11.69% - 35.99% APR7 | $1,000 to $50,000 | |
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 7.99% - 35.99% APR | $1,000 to $50,000 | |
|
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 6.6% - 35.99% APR4 | $1,000 to $50,0005 | |
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See the Full List: The Best Personal Loan Companies
Check out: How to Check If a Personal Loan Company Is Legitimate
Banks
Although the application process might not be as effortless, there can be advantages to borrowing from a bank. You might be able to get a small interest rate discount if you already have a bank account with a certain institution.
Like other lenders, banks often offer autopay discounts if let them take your monthly loan payments directly out of your checking account or savings account. Surprisingly, some big banks like Chase, Bank of America, and Capital One don’t offer personal loans.
Credit unions
You do have to join a credit union before it will consider lending money to you. But many have loose membership requirements that make it easy to join. If you’re borrowing from a credit union, check to see if it offers an autopay interest rate discount.
Check out: 4 Ways to Get a Loan for a Motorcycle
What to consider when comparing loans
If you’re looking for the right personal loan for your financial situation, here’s everything you should consider.
Amount
A $5,000 personal loan might seem like a lot of money, but most lenders will go higher. The upper limit for many lenders is $35,000, but many will lend up to $50,000 or $100,000 — since some people take out larger loan amounts to consolidate credit card debt or pay off other high-interest debt.
Many lenders, however, won’t bother with loans of less than $1,000. If you need to borrow less than $1,000, you might run into some payday loans. You should proceed with caution, since payday loans often carry high interest rates and finance charges.
Interest rates
To get the lowest interest rate, it’s important to compare the rates and terms you can qualify for with multiple lenders. For example, although you might be able to get a $5,000 loan with poor credit, expect to pay a higher interest rate than you would with excellent credit.
Repayment terms
Repayment terms for personal loans are typically two to seven years. The shorter the loan term, the lower the interest rate offered by most lenders. But because you’ll be making fewer payments, you’ll also have a bigger monthly payment.
Choosing the loan term with the shortest repayment term and highest monthly payment you can afford can help you get a better interest rate and pay less in interest.
Fees and total cost
Although it’s easy to get fixated on interest rates and monthly payments, you should also keep a close eye on fees and total repayment costs.
Review the federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) disclosure provided by your lender. When comparing loans, there are two numbers in the disclosure that are typically helpful:
- The finance charge: This outlines the costs associated with your loan, including interest and fees.
- Total payments: This is how much you’ll pay back altogether, including the loan principal and finance charges.
Note that the above costs can increase if you miss a payment or make a late payment.
See: Personal Loans With 550 Credit Score: Can I Get One?
[ Jump to top ]Cost to repay a $5,000 personal loan
The table below shows the relationship between the loan repayment term, interest rate, monthly payment, and total interest charges. The interest rates in the table are hypothetical and are for purposes of illustration only.
| Repayment term | Interest rate | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 years | 6% | $222 | $318 |
| 3 years | 7% | $154 | $558 |
| 4 years | 8% | $122 | $859 |
| 5 years | 9% | $104 | $1,228 |
| 7 years | 10% | $83 | $1,972 |
You can use our personal loan calculator to estimate the monthly payment and total interest charges for loans with other rates and terms.
Enter your loan information to calculate how much you could pay
With a $ loan, you will pay $ monthly and a total of $ in interest over the life of your loan. You will pay a total of $ over the life of the loan.
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Personal loan alternatives
If the limits on your credit cards are high enough, or you have multiple credit cards, you can consider using them for the amount you need — especially if it’s on the lower end, like $5,000 or less. But make sure you’re able to pay off your balance in full each month. If not, you’ll end up paying a lot in interest.
Since personal loans typically have a much lower interest rate than credit cards, getting a personal loan might be the better choice if you don’t expect to be able to pay it back quickly. Just make sure to do your research and choose whatever makes sense for your finances.
About Rates and Terms: Rates for personal loans provided by lenders on the Credible platform range between 5.20%-35.99% APR with terms from 12 to 144 months. Rates presented include lender discounts for enrolling in autopay and loyalty programs, where applicable. Actual rates may be different from the rates advertised and/or shown and will be based on the lender’s eligibility criteria, which include factors such as credit score, loan amount, loan term, credit usage and history, and vary based on loan purpose. The lowest rates available typically require excellent credit, and for some lenders, may be reserved for specific loan purposes and/or shorter loan terms. The origination fee charged by the lenders on our platform ranges from 0% to 12%. Each lender has their own qualification criteria with respect to their autopay and loyalty discounts (e.g., some lenders require the borrower to elect autopay prior to loan funding in order to qualify for the autopay discount). All rates are determined by the lender and must be agreed upon between the borrower and the borrower’s chosen lender. For a loan of $10,000 with a three year repayment period, an interest rate of 7.99%, a $350 origination fee and an APR of 11.51%, the borrower will receive $9,650 at the time of loan funding and will make 36 monthly payments of $313.32. Assuming all on-time payments, and full performance of all terms and conditions of the loan contract and any discount programs enrolled in included in the APR/interest rate throughout the life of the loan, the borrower will pay a total of $11,279.43. As of October 9, 2023, none of the personal loan lenders on our platform require a down payment nor do they charge any prepayment penalties.
