Rates were lower for three-year loans and higher for five-year loans during the week ending Sept. 27, 2026:
- Average personal loan interest rates on 3-year loans were at 13.94% APR, down by 0.6 percentage points from 14.54% last week and up from 13.07% at this time last year.
- Average personal loan interest rates on 5-year loans were at 19.35% APR, up by 0.4 percentage points from 18.95% last week and up from 18.57% at this time last year.
Below, find current interest rates across lenders, credit score categories (excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor), and loan purposes, along with historical rate trends and where rates are headed.
Weekly personal loan interest rate trends
The chart below shows average prequalified rates for borrowers with credit scores of 720 or higher who used the Credible marketplace to select a lender. Average rates tend to show small fluctuations from week to week, while looking at monthly and yearly trends provides a fuller picture of how rates change over time.
Tip
Prequalify for a personal loan – with no credit impact — to see rates you might qualify for. When you submit a full application, most lenders conduct a hard credit check which could impact your score.
Current personal loan interest rates by credit score
Personal loan interest rates tend to range between 6.24% APR and 35.99% APR, but the rate you qualify for depends on factors including your credit score and the length of the repayment term. For example, the data chart below shows that borrowers with excellent credit scores are more likely than others to qualify for APRs in the 11% to 15% range on 3-year loans and 5-year loans. On the other hand, borrowers with fair credit may expect much higher APRs.
Below are average APRs borrowers in different credit score categories prequalified for on the Credible marketplace:
Borrowers with excellent credit receive the lowest average rates — around 11% APR for three-year loans. Regardless of credit score, shorter-term loans tend to have lower rates. Bad-credit borrowers receive the highest average APRs of any credit score category, with rates typically falling in the 31% to 36% range. We've excluded them from the table above since too few qualify on a monthly basis to be statistically significant.
Keep in mind that all lenders use different methods to evaluate borrowers, which is why it's important to prequalify with several.
What are personal loans most commonly used for?
The most common use of a personal loan is debt consolidation, according to data from the Credible marketplace. Debt consolidation, including credit card refinancing, accounted for over $125.3 million of disbursed loan funds in August — more than 68% of people approved for a loan via the Credible marketplace used it for either debt consolidation or credit card refinancing. The average disbursed loan amounts for debt consolidation and credit card refinancing were $23,903 and $23,251, respectively.
Top loan purposes in August also included home improvement (more than $14.2 million disbursed, with an average of $21,727), major purchases (more than $8.7 million disbursed, with an average of $16,244), bills or rent (more than $2 million disbursed, with an average of $6,621), and special occasion (more than $2.5 million disbursed, with an average of $13,263).
Personal loan interest rates by loan purpose
What you use a personal loan for also affects the interest rate. For instance, loans used to pay off existing debt or credit cards tend to have lower rates than loans for major purchases — these loans may be less risky to lenders since you're not adding to your debt.
See how average interest rates across a range of top loan purposes vary. Data is sourced from the Credible personal loan marketplace from September 2025 through August 2026.
Disclosure: Based on 71,338 closed loans from September 2025 through August 2026 on the Credible personal loan marketplace. Source: Credible.
Where are personal loan interest rates headed?
The Federal Reserve could take action to raise personal loan interest rates further in the coming weeks as officials continue their efforts to bring down inflation.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to increase the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points at its Sept. 16 meeting. The committee also released economic projections suggesting that the benchmark rate could go up again this year and might not go down until 2028.
This week, the FedWatch economic forecasting tool predicted a higher than 70% probability that the FOMC would raise the benchmark rate by another 0.25 percentage points at its next meeting on Oct. 28.
The federal funds rate is the benchmark that indirectly influences rates on various kinds of consumer credit, including personal loans. In setting the benchmark rate, the Fed has a dual mandate from Congress to pursue two objectives:
- Stable prices, which generally means keeping interest rates higher to combat inflation
- Maximum employment, which generally means keeping interest rates lower to encourage job growth
The annual inflation rate, currently 3.4%, remains well above the Fed's 2% target rate. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has remained relatively stable.
Expect lenders and markets to keep a close eye on inflation ahead of the next FOMC meeting.
Read More: The Fed's Effect on Personal Loan Rates Explained
Compare other personal loan rates:
Further context
While rate cuts are generally good for the labor market and consumer borrowing, they can also make everyday goods more expensive, reduce buying power, and decrease the returns on savings accounts.
Factors that impact your personal loan interest rate
While your credit score is key, it's not the only factor that lenders consider when evaluating your application — whether to approve you and what terms to offer. The top factors that lenders consider include:
- Credit score: Most lenders use a FICO score model, such as TransUnion FICO Score 9, to gauge the level of risk you present as a borrower.
- Income: Having enough income to make monthly payments is essential. Even a good credit score with a low income could result in a loan denial.
- Debt-to-income ratio (DTI): Your DTI is another income metric. It's used to assess how much income you have left over after making your current debt payments. In other words, how much money you have to put toward new debt.
- Employment status: Lenders want to know you have a reliable income stream in order to afford payments for the duration of the loan term.
- Loan purpose: As noted above, some loan purposes are more risky than others and, therefore, carry higher interest rates.
- Repayment term: Since a longer-term loan means more time for you to miss payments or default, the lender's risk increases. This is why longer terms carry higher interest rates.
- Collateral: Though most personal loans are unsecured, some lenders provide the option of securing your loan with an asset you own, such as your car or the fixtures in your home. Adding this sense of security for lenders can result in a lower rate or easier approval process.
How do I get the lowest personal loan rate?
The best way to lower the rate you'll get approved for is to improve your credit score. Since that can be hard to accomplish in a short period of time, here are a few other tips:
- Choose a short repayment term: Borrowers with very good and excellent credit were able to shave between 4% and 5% off their interest rates, on average, by choosing a 3-year over a 5-year repayment term, according to the most recent month's data.
- Use the loan to consolidate or refinance current debt: On average, loans used to pay off current debt had lower rates than most other loan purposes. If you can also reduce your monthly debt payments, you could potentially use the freed-up funds to finance something else.
- Become an authorized user: If a family member (or very close friend) is willing to add you as an authorized user on one or more of their credit cards, you could see a quick boost in your credit score. This is because those accounts will be added to your report, potentially increasing your available credit and improving your payment history and average age of accounts. However, this tip will only work if the account owner has good credit, plus a good payment history and low credit utilization on those accounts. You should also avoid using the card yourself in order to keep your credit utilization low.
- Offer collateral: A few lenders will let you secure a personal loan with a car you own, the fixtures in a home you own, or a savings account or CD held with the lender. This reduces lender risk since it can seize the asset if you default, but it means a lower rate for you.
- Apply with a joint applicant: If using a loan for a joint purpose, such as improving the home that you and your partner share, applying together could lower your rate. This works best if your partner has good credit, a strong income, and low debt. Not all lenders accept joint applications.
About Credible
Credible is a multi-lender marketplace that empowers consumers to compare prequalified rates across dozens of lenders based on their credit score, income, and other financial factors. Credible's integrations with leading lenders and credit bureaus allow consumers to quickly compare accurate, personalized loan options ― without putting their personal information at risk or affecting their credit score.
Credible also provides no-cost credit monitoring tools that help you manage debt and check your credit score for free.
The Credible marketplace provides an unrivaled customer experience, as reflected by 8,657 5-star Trustpilot reviews and a TrustScore of 4.8/5.
Where we get our data
Credible is a personal loans marketplace that partners directly with lenders to offer loans for a wide range of credit profiles and loan purposes. Because of the relationships with our bank and fintech partners, we have access to the most current rates that real borrowers are being approved for, along with average rates by credit score and loan purpose, how easy or hard it is to get approved, and more. The data we use is primary source data, updated weekly, and does not include any personally identifiable information about borrowers.
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