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
- Factors to consider when comparing loans
- How to apply for a personal loan
- 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 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 | Rates | Loan Amounts | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Fixed: 9.95% - 35.99% APR | $2,000 up to $35,000 | Get Rates |
Loan terms • 2 - 5 years Loan uses • Debt consolidation, emergency expense, life event, home improvement, and other purposes Residency • Must be a resident in the U.S. with a valid Social Security number |
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 | Fixed: 5.99% - 29.99% APR | $2,000 up to $35,000 | Get Rates |
Loan terms • 3 - 5 years Loan uses • Credit card refinancing, debt consolidation, home improvement, and other purposes Residency • Must be a U.S. Citizen or a Permanent Resident Alien • Can't be a resident of IA, VT, or WV |
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 | Fixed: 5.99% - 29.99% APR | $10,000 up to $35,000 | Get Rates |
Loan terms • 2 - 5 years Loan uses • Debt consolidation, home improvement, wedding, travel, medical expenses, and other purposes Residency • Must be a resident in the U.S. with a valid Social Security number |
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 | Fixed: 6.95% - 35.89% APR | $1,000 up to $40,000 | Get Rates |
Loan terms • 3 - 5 years Loan uses • Debt consolidation, paying off credit cards, home improvement, pool loans, vacations, and other purposes Residency • Must be a U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien with a valid Social Security number and physical address, currently residing in the U.S. |
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 | Fixed: 5.34% - 16.99% APR | $5,000 up to $100,000 | Get Rates |
Loan terms • 2 - 7 years Loan uses • Credit card refinancing, debt consolidation, home improvement, and other purposes Residency • Borrower must reside in the U.S. |
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 | Fixed: 5.99% - 28.99% APR | $3,500 up to $40,000 | Get Rates |
Loan terms • 3 - 6 years Loan uses • Credit card refinancing, debt consolidation, home improvement, and other purposes Residency • Must be a U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien with a valid Social Security number and physical address, currently residing in the U.S. • Borrower cannot reside in MD |
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 | Fixed: 5.99% - 24.99% APR | $5,000 up to $35,000 | Get Rates |
Loan terms • 2 - 5 years Loan uses • Debt consolidation and credit card consolidation only Residency • Borrower can't reside in DC, DE, IA, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MS, NC, NE, NV, OH, OK, VA, VT, WA, WI, or WV |
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 | Fixed: 6.95% - 35.99% APR | $2,000 up to $35,000 | Get Rates |
Loan terms • 3 - 5 years Loan uses • Debt consolidation, home improvement, vehicles, small business, new baby expenses, and other purposes Residency • Must be a U.S. resident with a bank account and Social Security number |
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 | Fixed: 7.99% - 35.89% APR | $1,000 up to $50,000 | Get Rates |
Loan terms • 3 - 5 years Loan uses • Debt consolidation, credit card refinancing, home improvement, and other purposes Residency • Borrower can't be a resident of CT, CO, IA, MA, MD, VT, or WV |
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 | Fixed: 8.89% - 35.99% APR | $1,000 up to $50,000 | Get Rates |
Loan terms • 3 - 5 years Loan uses • Payoff credit cards, consolidate debt, take a course or bootcamp, relocate, make a large purchase, and other purposes Residency • Must be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident with a verifiable Social Security number |
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See the Full List: The Best Personal Loan Lenders of 2019
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.
Factors 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.
[ Jump to top ]How to apply for a personal loan
Before applying for a loan, consider paying down existing debt and checking your credit report. You might be able to get a better interest rate if you fix any errors in your credit history and improve your credit score.
Let’s say you’ve found a loan with terms that are right for you. Before approving your loan, the lender will usually ask you to provide documentation that verifies your identity and income. Often you’ll be able to upload these documents online.
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. You can use our personal loan calculator to estimate the monthly payment and total interest charges for loans with other rates and terms.
| 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 |
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 5.34% - 35.99% APR with terms from 24-84 months. Rates presented include lender discounts for enrolling in autopay and loyalty programs, where applicable. The borrower’s actual rate depends on each lender’s eligibility criteria which includes factors such as credit score, loan amount, loan term, credit usage and history and vary based on loan purpose. Rates presented do not differentiate between loan purpose, so you will need to tell us more details about your specific financial needs to narrow the band of rates for which you might qualify. The origination fee charged by the lenders on our platform ranges from 0% to 8%. Each lender has their own qualification criteria with respect to their autopay and loyalty discounts (e.g., some lenders require you 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. If you choose 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%, you 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 your full performance of all terms and conditions of the loan contract and any discount programs you enroll in included in the APR/interest rate throughout the life of the loan, you will pay a total of $11,279.43. As of February 8, 2019, none of the lenders on our platform require a down payment nor do they charge any prepayment penalties.
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