Does Marcus by Goldman Sachs offer small personal loans?

No, Marcus by Goldman Sachs does not allow cosigners on personal loans, unlike some personal loan providers. A cosigner is a second person who serves as a guarantor on the loan, and thus promises to pay the loan back if the primary applicant cannot.

Although Marcus by Goldman Sachs does not accept cosigners on personal loans, there are quite a few lenders out there that do. You can check out WalletHub's picks for the ... read full answerbest personal loans that allow cosigners to find some good offers.

You can also use WalletHub's free personal loan pre-qualification tool to see which loans you might be able to qualify for even without a cosigner.

The best place to get a small personal loan is Discover. Personal loans from Discover let you borrow as little as $2,500, have APRs of 6.99% - 24.99% (depending on your creditworthiness), and have repayment periods of 36, 48, 60, 72 or 84 months. Applicants generally receive a decision the same day they apply and can get the funds as soon as one business day after approval. You’ll need at least a 660 credit score to qualify, according to third-party sources.... read full answer

Best Places to Get a Small Personal Loan

• Discover. Loans as small as $2,500. APRs of 6.99% - 24.99%. Repayment periods of 36, 48, 60, 72 or 84 months.
• Citibank. Loans as small as $2,000. APRs of 7.99% - 23.99%. Repayment periods of 12, 24, 36, 48 or 60 months.
• PNC. Loans as small as $1,000. APRs of 5.99% - 32.24%. Repayment periods of 12 - 60 months.
• TD Bank. Loans as small as $2,000. APRs of 8.99% - 21.99%. Repayment periods of 12 - 60 months.
• Avant. Loans as small as $2,000. APRs of 9.95% - 35.99%. Repayment periods of 24 - 60 months.
• Best Egg. Loans as small as $2,000. APRs of 8.99% - 35.99%. Repayment periods of Up to 60 months.
• LendingClub. Loans as small as $1,000. APRs of 8.05% - 35.89%. Repayment periods of 36 or 60 months.
• LendingPoint. Loans as small as $2,000. APRs of 7.99% - 35.99%. Repayment periods of 24 - 72 months.
• Prosper. Loans as small as $2,000. APRs of 6.99% - 35.99%. Repayment periods of 24 or 36 or 48 or 60 months.

To read more about the top-ranked offers, check out WalletHub’s complete picks for the best small personal loans. Then, you can estimate your potential rates with our free pre-qualification tool.

Other Places to Look for Small Personal Loans

Local credit unions are a good option if you’re looking for a loan below $1,000, as credit unions tend to be more willing to lend small amounts of money. Even people with bad credit may be able to get a small unsecured personal loan from a credit union.

You will need to be a member to qualify, but you should be able to join a credit union where you live for free. Alternatively, several large credit unions, such as Alliant, Connexus and PenFed, offer memberships to anyone in the U.S. who makes a small donation. This assumes the applicant doesn’t already qualify for a free membership.

Banks and online lenders may also offer small personal loans. However, some lenders offer minimum loan amounts of $3,000+, which may be too large of a loan for you.

The minimum credit score for personal loan approval is 580, depending on the lender. That means it is possible to get an unsecured personal loan with a bad credit score, though such a loan will likely have an origination fee.

For your reference, WalletHub researched some of the most popular lenders to find out more about their specific loan requirements.... read full answer

Credit Score for Personal Loan Approval by Lender

*According to multiple third-party sources.

Your credit score is a measure of how risky it is for lenders to let you borrow money. The higher your score is, the better your chances of approval are and the better terms you’re likely to receive. Your credit score comes from a combination of factors that include your payment history, credit utilization, length of credit history, recent inquiries, and diversity of accounts.

But your credit score is far from the only thing that matters when it comes to personal loan approval. Lenders consider many other factors, including your income, existing debts, monthly expenses and more.

The minimum credit score needed for a personal loan with no origination fee and no collateral requirement is 660, which is fair credit. And borrowers will need good credit or excellent credit – a credit score of 700 or higher – to get the best personal loan rates. Personal loans for credit scores under 700 tend to be for relatively low amounts and have high APRs.

If your credit score is below 585, lower in the bad credit range, you still have options. For example, you could opt for a secured loan, where you put up something valuable as collateral. If you fail to pay back the loan, the lender can take the collateral as compensation. Because this greatly reduces the risk for the lender, people with any credit score may be considered for secured loans.

You can check your credit score for free on WalletHub. You’ll also get personalized advice for how to improve your score. The best way to estimate your odds of approval for a personal loan is to check to see if you’re pre-qualified for any offers before submitting an official application.