LendKey Student Loan Refinancing Review 2026

LendKey isn’t a lender per se, but it can help you refinance your high-interest student loans if you’re hoping to reduce your rate or consolidate them into a more manageable payment.

The online platform offers access to rates from more than 13,000 credit unions and community banks nationwide, allowing you to get quotes from a variety of institutions all at once.

Use this LendKey student loan refinance review to learn if LendKey is the right move for refinancing your student loans.

LendKey student loan refinancing review

There are many places you can turn to refinance your student loans. Make sure you compare at least a few options to ensure you’re getting the best terms and rates. Here’s what to know about LendKey’s refinancing options and who they may be right for.

Best for: Access to credit unions and community banks 

If refinancing your loans through a credit union or community bank is a priority, LendKey can help. The online lending platform offers access to more than 13,000 trusted institutions, allowing you to find some of the lowest rates possible — no matter where you’re located. And it only takes a single form to get multiple quotes.

Pros and cons

As with anything, LendKey has its pros and cons. On the one hand, it makes it easy to get rate quotes from many community banks and credit unions all at once. Since these institutions often offer lower rates than traditional lenders, this can help you save money on your monthly payment and long-term interest.

On the downside, LendKey has some strict requirements you’ll need to meet to be able to use its network. You also won’t have full visibility into all your lending options — just credit unions and local banks. And LendKey is not a direct lender, so you’ll need to continue the refinancing process directly with a lender once you choose one within LendKey’s network. 

Current student loan refinance rates

Eligibility requirements 

Since LendKey is more of an intermediary — not a lender itself — it doesn’t have set requirements for things like credit scores, cosigners, or annual income. Those will come from the lender you end up choosing.

LendKey does have some very basic requirements that borrowers need to meet, though. For example, you must:

• Be a graduate of a Title IV school
• Have at least an associate degree
• Be refinancing at least $5,000 in student loans
• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident 

Your loan also cannot be a parent PLUS loan or any other type of parent-based student loan. Finally, you cannot refinance your loans together with your spouse’s. You must be the primary borrower on any student loans that are refinanced through LendKey. 

Borrowing limits

LendKey doesn’t have set borrowing limits, but it’s possible that a lender you choose through its network will, so be sure to read the fine print once you get further into your application process.

On LendKey’s end, the only requirement regarding loan amount is that you must be refinancing at least $5,000 in student loans. (It’s a $6,000 minimum in Massachusetts, $10,001 in Arizona, and $50,001 in Connecticut.)

Repayment terms

The terms you have available to you are going to depend on the lender you end up choosing through LendKey’s network. However, you can find lenders that offer five-, seven-, 10-, 15-, and 20-year terms through LendKey. Not all will offer all those options, though, so it’s important to make sure you choose one with a term that works for your monthly budget and long-term financial goals. 

Notable benefits 

The biggest benefit that comes with using LendKey is that you can get quotes from community banks and credit unions without having to contact each one individually. These institutions often offer lower rates and fees than traditional lenders, as they’re usually member-owned, nonprofit, and have lower overhead costs. 

There are also no fees for using LendKey to get your student loan refinancing quotes, and your credit score won’t be hurt by filling out the initial application. (This won’t happen unless you fill out a full application with a lender.)

Many lenders in LendKey’s network also offer hardship options, like forbearance and deferment, as well as cosigner release if you meet certain requirements. 

What to consider before refinancing student loans with LendKey

You should consider whether you meet LendKey’s eligibility requirements, including graduation status, degree type, type of school, citizenship status, and loan amounts. If you don’t meet these requirements, LendKey is not an option.

Since LendKey only offers access to credit unions and community banks, you also may want to combine the rate quotes you receive from this platform with outside quotes from other banks and lenders, too. You should also check with your current lender and any other banks you use, as they may offer you favorable rates based on your existing accounts. 

How to apply for student loan refinancing with LendKey

To get quotes for student loan refinancing through LendKey, you’ll just need to fill out a quick form. This form requires basic contact information, details about your school and existing loans, and consent to a soft credit inquiry, which won’t hurt your credit score. You can then get quotes online instantly.

If you choose to move forward with one of the rate quotes you receive, you’ll need to fill out that lender’s full application to finish the process.

Why you can trust our Credible experts

The Credible editorial team is independent and unbiased. Partners do not influence our editorial content. To help you find the best student loan for your situation, we conduct thorough research and analyze thousands of lender data points. Using data-driven methodologies, we score criteria that are important to you. This allows us to objectively rank student loan lenders and products. To learn more, read our methodology below.

Methodology

To determine lender ratings, Credible collected more than 1,000 points of data on two dozen private student loan refinance companies and evaluated them on several different categories: repayment options, eligibility, interest rates, loan terms, and customer support. We assigned a score out of five stars to each lender based on our findings. Below are the weightings assigned to the general categories for the best student loan refinance companies — which comprise individual criteria that are also weighted.

• Repayment options: 30%
• Eligibility: 25%
• Interest rates: 20%
• Loan terms: 15%
• Customer support: 10%

While the best lender for you will depend on your unique needs and financial circumstances, these findings should help answer your questions and assist you in your search for the best student loan.

Learn more about our methodology.