LendingTree Personal Loan Review

With so many lenders to research and compare, finding the right personal loan can be a challenge. That’s where an online lending marketplace comes in handy. Like Credible, LendingTree lets you compare multiple loan quotes to find one that fits your needs, whether you're consolidating debt, getting an emergency loan, or something else. 

A personal loan marketplace can make shopping for a personal loan fast and easy. But it’s important to note that LendingTree isn’t a lender itself, so credit decisions come directly from its partner lenders. Here’s how LendingTree personal loans work and what you should know before getting one.

How LendingTree’s personal loan marketplace works

LendingTree is an online marketplace that lets you compare personal loans, auto loans, and other types of loans from different lenders. LendingTree partners with more than a dozen traditional personal loan lenders, including Discover, PenFed Credit Union, and Upstart. 

Think of LendingTree as a matchmaking service. While LendingTree doesn’t provide personal loans, you can use the site to compare loans from several lenders at once.

LendingTree lets you prequalify with multiple lenders to get estimated loan rates and terms. Prequalification requires a soft credit check, which doesn’t affect your credit score. However, most lenders conduct a hard credit check before making an offer, which can lower your credit score by a few points.

LendingTree emails you loan offers from up to five lenders after prequalifying, usually within minutes. You can choose whether to accept or decline any loan offer from LendingTree. 

Related: What Is a Personal Loan Origination Fee?

Common personal loan uses through LendingTree

Many LendingTree personal loan lending partners let you use a loan for purposes including:

• Debt consolidation or refinancing: Use your loan to consolidate debts, like other loans or credit cards, giving you one monthly payment instead of multiple payments. You might also refinance a high-interest loan into a loan with a lower rate.
• Home improvement: A personal loan can help you pay for home repairs or renovations. Unlike a home equity loan or home equity line of credit, you won’t have to use your home as collateral with an unsecured personal loan. 
• Large purchases, special occasions, and more: You can use a personal loan to pay for a major purchase. Many lenders offer loans for specific expenses such as weddings, medical bills, moving, and car repairs.

Related: What Are Personal Loans Used For?

What can’t I use a personal loan for?

A lender may restrict what you can do with your loan. Read through your loan agreement carefully before signing to understand what is and isn’t allowed.

For example, lenders usually won’t let you use a personal loan to pay for college tuition. Student loans are intended specifically for education expenses. Most lenders also don’t allow personal loans for gambling or illegal activities, making a down payment on a home, or funding a business or its expenses. 

Learn More: What Can't You Use a Personal Loan For?

Pros and cons

Pros

• Easy loan comparison: LendingTree’s platform lets you compare loans and lenders side-by-side without having to visit each lender’s website. 
• Soft credit check to prequalify: You can prequalify with multiple lenders simultaneously through LendingTree to view potential rates and terms. 
• Large lender network: LendingTree works with more than 25 personal loan lenders.
• No platform fees: LendingTree does not charge fees to prequalify or connect with lenders. Instead, the platform earns revenue from fees charged to lenders.

Cons

• No direct loans: LendingTree doesn’t offer loans directly, so you’ll need to apply with its partnered lenders to get a loan. Each lender sets its own approval requirements, rates, and fees, which may vary significantly between lenders.
• Marketing calls and emails: Some LendingTree customers note that they’ve received numerous calls and emails from lenders soon after filling out a prequalification form. One customer stated on Trustpilot, “Within minutes of signing up, I received dozens of calls, emails and texts with no end (in) sight. Many days later (it) has not slowed.” You can put your number on LendingTree’s do-not-call list by going to the website’s Contact Us page and selecting “Opt out of phone calls” from the menu. 
• Trustpilot score lags behind some competitors: The company has a 4.4-star rating on Trustpilot, which — although in the Excellent category — is lower than some competitors like Credible (4.8 stars). 

Related: Should I Get a Personal Loan?

Average interest rates for Credible personal loans

Interest rates are determined by various factors, including credit score. A higher credit score often means you'll receive a lower interest rate. Below are average rates borrowers received on the Credible personal loan marketplace — not LendingTree. But they can give you an idea of the interest rate you might get, in general, based on your credit score.

How LendingTree compares to other personal loan marketplaces

LendingTree and Credible are among the few online platforms that qualify as true, all-in-one personal loan marketplaces. Other platforms, such as Bankrate and NerdWallet, may direct you to a different website for prequalification. None of these platforms provides loans but instead matches you with potential partner lenders. 

These and most platforms are free to use. Any fees you might incur would come from the lender whose loan offer you accept, rather than a personal loan marketplace itself.

One area where LendingTree and other online platforms differ is loan amounts. The highest personal loan amount available through LendingTree is $50,000. On the other hand, some Credible lending partners offer personal loans of up to $100,000 — and in the case of BHG Financial, up to $250,000.

Related: How Much of a Personal Loan Can I Get?

LendingTree personal loan requirements

LendingTree’s lending partners set their requirements for personal loans rather than LendingTree itself. Some lenders may accept borrowers with bad credit, while others might only approve borrowers with good to excellent credit and a low debt-to-income ratio (DTI).

Generally, personal loan lenders look for:

• A good to excellent credit score (FICO scores of 670 or higher), although LendingTree and other marketplaces partner with lenders that consider scores as low as 300 or borrowers with no credit history
• A DTI below 36%
• An income high enough to reasonably support your loan payment
• A steady employment history
• A history of on-time debt payments

Lenders also evaluate the same factors for your co-borrower or cosigner if you apply with one.

Related: What Are the Requirements for a Personal Loan?

Methodology

Credible evaluated 32 lenders across 1,184 data points to choose the best lender overall plus top picks for different borrowers and use cases. Across lenders, we collected data on customer experience and service options, minimum and maximum fixed interest rates, minimum and maximum loan amounts, funding times, loan terms, fees, discounts, third-party reviews, and more.

We assigned a score to each attribute based on how that feature compared with the same feature for every other lender in the set. Scores were weighted according to their relative importance — for instance, maximum origination fee scores received a high weight since loan cost is among the most important factors in determining loan value. Individual attribute scores were then added to determine each lender's overall star rating. 

Attributes were grouped into categories; each category contributed to lender scores as follows: 

• Borrower cost (22.5%): Origination fee ranges and minimum and maximum APRs measure upfront and overall costs and lender accessibility across credit score groups.
• Flexibility (22.5%): Maximum loan terms, number of loan purposes, minimum and maximum loan amounts, and availability of joint and secured loans measure the range of options for loan size, repayment terms, and loan types.
• Eligibility and availability (22.5%): Minimum income requirements, funding speed, minimum credit score requirements, and state availability measure how easily and how quickly borrowers can access personal loans.
• Reputation (15%): Trustpilot, Better Business Bureau, and J.D. Power ratings measure customer satisfaction.
• Discounts, customer service, and account management (12.5%): Discounts for autopay and direct pay, plus availability of mobile apps and live customer support chat, measure borrower perks and ease of loan management.
• Partner lender data (5%): Data from loans closed by our partners, including average rates, loan amounts, funding time, and eligibility criteria, measure real-world performance and borrower outcomes.

Non-partner lenders were evaluated based on the same criteria but not assigned star ratings. Learn more about how Credible rates lenders by exploring our full personal loans lender rating methodology.