Upgrade Personal Loans Review (2026)

Our take on Upgrade

We rated Upgrade 4.7 out of 5 stars  — making it one of our top lenders — for accessibility and benefits across the credit score spectrum. Borrowers with good or excellent credit received lower-than-average rates compared to all Credible partner lenders. Borrowers with fair credit or limited income were approved more frequently, but at higher-than-average rates.

Who (or what) is Upgrade best for?

• Borrowers struggling to get approved: Because Upgrade has relatively low credit score and income requirements and allows you to take out a secured loan — one that’s backed by collateral — you could have an easier time qualifying with Upgrade than you would with many other personal loan lenders.
• Fast funding: You could get an Upgrade loan as soon as the next day after you apply. We found that Upgrade was one of the four fastest lenders, on average, among 18 Credible partners — with loans funding in an average of 2 days. 
• Low rates for very good and excellent credit: Borrowers with very good and excellent credit received better-than-average rates across Credible partner lenders — 13.98% and 12.58%, respectively. 
• Homeowners: Upgrade lets you secure your personal loan by offering built-in fixtures, such as ceiling fans and bookshelves, as collateral to get a lower rate (if you own your home). However, if you have significant equity and want a lower rate, a longer repayment term, or a larger loan amount, consider a traditional home equity loan or home equity line of credit — just be aware that you could lose your home (not just your fixtures) if you default on the loan.

Who (or what) is Upgrade not best for?

Upgrade may not be best if:

• You have a high fair credit score: With a fair credit score nearing “good” territory — good credit is from 670 to 739 — you might find a better APR elsewhere. Based on 12 months of Credible personal loans data, we found that Upgrade APRs were among the highest, on average, for borrowers with fair credit. 
• You want to avoid fees: Upgrade is not a no-fee lender. Notably, it has an origination fee of up to 9.99% of the loan amount. That means if you borrow $10,000, you could pay a $999 fee. While many lenders have origination fees, especially for borrowers with fair credit, Upgrade’s run high. The origination fee may be deducted upfront from the loan amount and reduce how much you receive. 

Pros and cons of Upgrade personal loans

Details on the pros

• No hard credit check for approval: Unlike many other lenders, Upgrade does not perform a hard credit check to approve you for a personal loan. That means there’s no risk to your credit score when you apply. Note that a hard check will be applied once you accept the loan and it's funded.
• Fair-credit eligible: Upgrade has lower credit score requirements than many other lenders — you could potentially get approved with a score as low as 580.
• Secured loan options: If you’re having trouble getting approved for a standard personal loan, Upgrade lets you offer collateral, such as your car or your home’s built-in fixtures. Because collateral that minimizes the lender’s risk, you could also qualify for a lower interest rate.
• Joint applications accepted: Another way to improve your approval odds, lower your rate, or qualify for a larger loan amount is to apply with a joint applicant, such as a spouse or family member — especially if the co-applicant has a better credit score or higher income.
• Fast funding: Upgrade can fund your loan by the next business day. And based on 12 months of Credible closed loans data, Upgrade delivered on that claim with an average 2-day funding time. That said, if you’re using an Upgrade loan to consolidate debts and having Upgrade pay your debts directly, it can take up to two weeks for the payments to process.
• Small loans available: You can borrow as little as $1,000. Most lenders require that you borrow $2,000 or more.

Details on the cons

• High APRs for fair credit: Based on 12 months of Credible closed loans data, Upgrade’s APRs for fair credit were the highest, on average, of almost all partner lenders.
• Origination fees: To process the loan, Upgrade will charge an origination fee of up to 9.99%. For instance, if you borrow $20,000 and are charged an origination fee of 9.99%, you’d receive $18,020 but would repay the full $20,000, with interest.
• Risk of collateral loss: If you take out a secured loan, you risk whatever collateral you put up. Defaulting on the loan means Upgrade can take ownership of your collateral, such as your car or home fixtures.

How to qualify for an Upgrade personal loan

To qualify for an Upgrade personal loan, you:

• Need a 580 credit score or higher: At a minimum, you’ll need a 580 credit score. But you can use Credible's free credit monitoring tool to check your score before applying.
• Must have a job and enough income: It’s best if you have a minimum income of $25,000. Upgrade will verify your employment and income before approving you.
• Must prove citizenship: You need to be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or be in the U.S. on a valid visa to qualify.

Upgrade personal loan purposes

You can use an Upgrade loan for a wide range of purposes, including debt consolidation, home renovations, moving costs, emergency expenses, and major life events, like having a baby or paying for a wedding.

However, Upgrade offers a perk with its debt consolidation loans — rather than receiving the money to pay off debts on your own, you can request that Upgrade pay them off on your behalf. This could help you net a lower interest rate as well. 

Upgrade fees and penalties

While Upgrade doesn’t charge prepayment penalties for early loan payoff, there are other fees to be aware of before taking out a loan:

• Origination fee: Upgrade charges an origination fee between 1.85% and 9.99% for all personal loans.
• Late fee: If you don’t make a payment within 15 days of the due date, you’ll incur a $10 late fee.
• Failed payments: If your check doesn’t clear or you don’t have enough money in your checking account for the transaction to go through, Upgrade will charge you a $10 fee. Be careful — your bank may also charge you for a bounced check or a non-sufficient funds fee.

Upgrade vs. other lenders

Upgrade company details and history

Upgrade is a financial technology company headquartered in San Francisco and with offices in Phoenix, Montreal, Atlanta, and Orange County. It’s not a bank itself, but partners with FDIC-member banks — Cross River Bank and Blue Ridge Bank — to offer personal loans. 

Founded in 2017, the company has expanded to offer several finance products, including:

• Personal loans
• Credit cards
• Checking and savings accounts
• Buy now, pay later
• Credit monitoring

Contact information

There are several ways to contact Upgrade about your personal loan, but they vary depending on whether you currently have a loan with Upgrade, are thinking about applying, or have an application in progress.

No matter what stage you’re in, use the [email protected] email for general inquiries or [email protected] for complaints.

Current customers

If you already have a loan with Upgrade, you can contact:

• Online chat: Log in to your account on your computer, tablet, or phone to start a chat.
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: (844) 899-9931

You can also use the customer mailing address:

Upgrade Inc. 
2 North Central Ave.
Flr. 10
Phoenix, AZ 85004

New applications and applications in progress

If you prefer to submit an application by phone, call (844) 311-0088. If you have an application in progress, you can log in to your account or get help via:

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: (855) 466-5995

Methodology 

Credible evaluated 32 lenders across 1,216 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 numerical value to each attribute based on how that feature compared with the same feature for every other lender in the set. Attributes were grouped into categories, scores were compiled, and categories were weighted according to their relative importance — for instance, rates and fees were weighted highest since loan cost is among the most important factors in determining loan value.

• Rates and fees: 18.75%
• Eligibility and options for bad and no credit: 17.5%
• Availability: 12.5%
• Loan amounts and terms: 10%
• Customer satisfaction: 10%
• Customer service: 10%
• Efficiency and fund delivery: 10%
• Discounts: 7.5%
• Credible proprietary data: 3.75%

We also considered each of our partner lenders' statistics over a 12-month period — including average funding times, average credit scores for approved applicants, and average rates. Learn more about how Credible rates lenders by exploring our full personal loans lender rating methodology.

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