Upstart vs. Best Egg: Which Is Right for You?

Upstart and Best Egg have a lot in common. Both have similar APR ranges, offer secured loans and fast funding, have low income and credit score requirements, and have a bi-monthly payment option. But which one best suits your needs?

Best Egg offered lower average APRs for most credit scores — particularly fair credit — based on loans closed through the Credible marketplace. It also features higher borrowing amounts and extended repayment terms for vehicle-equity loans, and lets homeowners secure loans with their home's fixtures for a substantial discount. Upstart features a broader range of borrowing amounts for all loan types, including unsecured loans, and allows loans to be used to pay bills or rent. Plus, Upstart's average funding time was one day faster than Best Egg's.

We'll cover how these two lenders compare, including the average interest rates borrowers actually received on the Credible marketplace from each. 

Overview of Upstart

• Average FICO credit score: 692
• Average funding time: 2 days
• JD Power consumer lending satisfaction score: 665

The Upstart lending platform partners with more than 100 financial institutions to fund personal loans for borrowers. Upstart claims that its AI-powered technology speeds up the approval process and makes more equitable decisions regarding a borrower's ability to repay. Its minimum credit score requirement supports this assertion — through Credible, you can qualify with a FICO score as low as 620.

You can borrow up to $75,000 through Upstart, but your loan could carry an origination fee of up to 15%, depending on the lender — this is the highest origination fee we've seen any lender charge. However, you can use your loan funds to pay bills or rent. Upstart also offers short-term relief loans up to $2,500 with terms from three to 18 months and a max 36% APR. 

Upstart often funds loans within one business day of approval.

Pros and cons of Upstart vs. Best Egg

Overview of Best Egg

• Average FICO credit score: 687
• Average funding time: 3 days
• JD Power consumer lending satisfaction score: 705

Best Egg is an online lending platform with a small network of lenders that fund personal loans. To date, Best Egg has helped fund almost three million loans. Catering to fair-credit borrowers, the company offers unsecured and secured loans.

You can use Best Egg personal loans for debt consolidation, home repairs, credit card refinancing, and major purchases. Best Egg's unsecured loans are available for up to $50,000 for three- to five-year terms, while vehicle-secured loans can range up to $100,000 with two- to seven-year terms. The company also says homeowners reduce their APR by an average of 20% when securing loans with the fixtures in their homes (like cabinets and light fixtures).

Pros and cons of Best Egg vs. Upstart

Compare general lender criteria

• APR range: Upstart and Best Egg have very similar APR ranges. But average APRs were generally lower across credit scores in Best Egg loans.
• Fees: Best Egg has an obligatory origination fee of 0.99% to 9.99%. However, you could pay an origination fee of up to 15% with Upstart.
• Minimum credit score: When applying for an Upstart personal loan through the Credible marketplace, you'll need a FICO credit score of at least 620. Best Egg requires a credit score of 600.
• Loan purpose: Both Upstart and Best Egg allow you to use your loan for home improvements, vacations, debt consolidation, major purchases, debt consolidation, and credit card refinancing. However, with Upstart you can use loan funds to pay bills or rent; you can't with Best Egg.
• Repayment terms: You can have 3 or 5 years to repay an Upstart loan. Best Egg allows 3-, 4-, or 5-year repayment terms on most loans, but vehicle-secured loans can be paid back from 2 to 7 years.
• Loan amount: You can borrow $1,000 to $75,000 from Upstart. Best Egg's unsecured personal loans are available from $2,000 to $50,000  — however, if you secure the loan with your vehicle, you could potentially borrow as much as $100,000. If you need to borrow an amount over $50,000 without offering collateral (and can qualify), Upstart may be the better option.
• Time to fund: Either lender can send funds as soon as the next day once you're approved. We found that Upstart's average funding was 2 days vs. 3 days for Best Egg, based on 12 months of Credible closed loans data. 
• Customer satisfaction: Best Egg scored much better in JD Power's annual consumer lending satisfaction survey. It received a score of 705 (one point below the survey average), whereas Upstart received a score of 665 (41 points below the average). However, Upstart has a higher Trustpilot score (4.9 vs. 4.7).

Upstart vs. Best Egg: Rates by credit score

Best Egg had the lowest average rates for fair, good, and excellent credit, while Upstart had the lowest average rates for very good credit.

Upstart vs. Best Egg: Loan amounts by credit score

Best Egg issued the largest loan amounts, on average, across all credit scores. 

Which lender is best for you?

The differences between Best Egg and Upstart indicate which type of borrowers each lender is best for.

Best rates: Best Egg

Borrowers with fair, good, and excellent credit were approved at lower interest rates, on average, with Best Egg relative to Upstart. According to 12 months of Credible personal loan data, borrowers with fair credit (580-669 FICO) received much lower rates (27.60% vs. 31.33%); excellent-credit borrowers also received lower rates (10.64% vs. 11.53%). Best Egg had a slight edge in average rates for good credit (23.70% vs. 23.84%).   

Best for small loans: Upstart

Upstart lets you borrow as little as $1,000 via a standard personal, compared to Best Egg's $2,000 minimum. Plus, Upstart offers relief loans from $200 to $2,500 with repayment terms from three to 18 moths. Either could be a better choice if you need to refinance a couple of low-balance credit cards or cover a small expense without taking on more debt than you need.

Learn More: Where To Get a $1,000 Loan and What To Know

Best for secured loans: Best Egg

In addition to unsecured loans, Best Egg has secured loan options using your vehicle or items in your home as collateral (as opposed to the home itself, as is the case with a home equity loan or HELOC). Plus, securing the loan with your home's fixtures could reduce your APR by around 20%, compared to an unsecured loan.

Vehicle-secured personal loans from Best Egg also offer more flexible repayment terms of two to seven years and higher borrowing limits, up to $100,000.

Learn More: Secured vs. Unsecured Personal Loans

Best for bills or rent: Upstart

If you need a loan to pay bills or rent or a short-term loan to cover an emergency expense, Upstart may be the better choice. Best Egg doesn't allow loans for bills or rent and requires that you borrow at least $2,000.

Best for quick funding: Upstart

Upstart and Best Egg fund most loans relatively quickly, but Upstart could be faster for some borrowers. Best Egg funds loans within one to three business days after approval. Upstart usually funds loans the next business day, as long as you accept your loan before 5 p.m. ET on a business day. Upstart states that 99% of its loans fall into this timeline.

According to Credible personal loan marketplace data, Upstart funded loans in an average of two days over a 12-month period, while Best Egg's average funding time was three days.

How to get a personal loan from Upstart or Best Egg

When you're ready to apply for a personal loan, follow these steps:

1. Check your credit score with Credible's or another free credit monitoring tool to confirm that your FICO credit score is high enough to qualify (620 with Upstart, 600 with Best Egg).
2. Prequalify with Upstart and Best Egg. You can do this directly on Credible or via each lender's website. Prequalification gives you an estimate of the loan amounts and rates you could qualify for  without affecting your credit. However, it's not a firm offer of credit. 
3. Compare the monthly payments and APRs for different loan quotes and choose the most suitable one for your budget and financial goals.
4. Gather documents and apply. Neither Upstart or Best Egg will run a hard credit check when you apply. However, if you choose to accept and offer and fund the loan, a hard credit inquiry will be entered on your credit report. You may notice a small dip in your credit score, but it's temporary.
5. Review and sign the loan agreement and submit it to the lender. This is when your credit may be impacted by the hard inquiry.
6. Wait for your loan funds. Money should arrive within a few business days with either Best Egg or Upstart. Once you receive your loan, you'll enter into repayment — make note of your first payment due date.

When you should choose a different lender

Borrowers with fair and good credit did not get very good rates from either Best Egg or Upstart  — based on average rates on closed loans over 12 months across all Credible partners. (Borrowers with very good and excellent credit fared better.) If you're not looking for a secured loan or can qualify without providing collateral, consider another lender like Achieve, Happen Bank, Happy Money, Reach Financial, or Rocket Loans. 

If you have bad credit, you won't be eligible for a traditional loan with either lender through Credible — except you may be eligible if you apply directly with Upstart (it doesn't disclose a minimum credit score on it site). Otherwise, try OneMain Financial or Reprise — both lenders consider borrowers with FICO scores below 580.

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 JD 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.