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Prosper Personal Loans is one of the most recognized names in the online personal loan industry. The company has been providing personal loans for nearly 20 years, serving consumers with credit ratings of fair or better. They provide unsecured personal loans for up to $50,000 that can be used for just about any purpose. Both pre-qualification and loan application take place entirely online.
If you’re looking for a personal loan, Prosper should be on your short list of potential providers.
Prosper Personal Loan
Prosper Personal Loan
Prosper personal loans overview
Prosper is one of the most prominent names in the personal loan space. One of the original online personal loan lenders, Prosper has been providing personal loans since 2005. The company has provided more than $23 billion in loans to over 1.4 million people. Loans are unsecured, and proceeds can be used for just about any purpose. Prosper accepts credit profiles of fair and higher.
The basic features of Prosper Personal Loans are as follows:
- Minimum loan amount: $2,000.
- Maximum loan amount: $50,000.
- Available loan terms: 24 to 60 months.
- APR Range: 6.99% to 35.99% APR.
- Origination fee: 1% to 7.99%.
- Minimum credit score: 600.
- Customer service: Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Saturdays, 9:00 to 5:30 p.m., all times Eastern.
Prosper Personal Loans pros and cons
Pros:
- Borrow up to $50,000, loan proceeds can be used for just about any purpose
- You can apply online in just minutes, and loans can be funded as soon as one business day after approval and document signing
- You can obtain loan quotes with a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score
- No prepayment penalty
- Accepts most credit levels
Cons:
- Not available for consumers with bad credit
- Charges a loan origination fee of up to 7.99% of the loan amount
- Not available in Iowa or West Virginia
Prosper offers personal loans as high as $50,000, which can be used for just about any purpose. Loan terms are available for 24, 36, 48, and 60 months, all with fixed interest rates and monthly payments.
This makes Prosper Personal Loans an excellent choice for debt consolidation or paying off credit card debt. You can take a personal loan to pay off high-interest, revolving credit cards, and at the end of the loan term the full balance – along with all the credit cards paid off in the process – will be gone forever.
Prosper has a Better Business Bureau rating of A+, which is the highest rating issued by the BBB. It has 4.7 out of five stars (“Excellent”) from Trustpilot, based on well over 12,000 reviews.
Prosper personal loan requirements
To be eligible for a Prosper Personal Loan, you must meet the following qualifications:
- You must be at least 18 years old.
- Be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident alien.
- Live in a state where Prosper does business.
- Have a Social Security number.
- Have verifiable employment and income.
- Have a verifiable bank account.
- You must meet minimum credit and debt-to-income requirements.
- Other conditions as required by your loan approval.
Prosper does allow co-borrowers, who will be subject to the same requirements as primary borrowers.
The minimum credit score requirement is a FICO score of 600. Secondary borrowers must not only meet the minimum credit score, but their credit report must reflect at least one open trade line, and no bankruptcy filings within 12 months leading up to application.
Prosper doesn’t publish its maximum debt-to-income ratio (DTI), but various sources on the internet report it to be 50%.
It is possible to have two loans through Prosper, but the combined balances of both loans must not exceed the $50,000 maximum loan limit. In addition, you must have a satisfactory payment history on the original Prosper loan to apply for a second loan.
Consumers should be aware that Prosper is a marketplace, in which your loan will be funded by individual investors on the platform. You’ll need to list your loan on the platform to obtain investor funding. If you don’t receive at least 70% funding within 14 days of listing your loan, then your listing will expire and you will need to create a new loan listing.
Every loan application submitted to Prosper is assigned a Prosper Rating. That’s a rate Prosper assigns to the application, based on your credit and income profiles, the loan amount you are requesting, the purpose of the loan, and other factors. Both the interest rate and the origination fee you will be charged for your loan will be determined by the Prosper Rating.
Prosper loans are available in all U.S. states and the District of Columbia, except Iowa and West Virginia. Once your loan is approved, all conditions have been met, and your loan agreement has been signed, you can receive the funds as early as the same day. However, it may take up to three business days, depending on your bank.
How to apply for a prosper personal loan
When you apply with Prosper you can start by getting a prequalification instead of applying for a formal loan approval. They’ll let you know what your loan options are without needing to submit supporting documents. A prequalification will be performed using a soft credit pull, which will not affect your credit score. But if you choose a loan option, you will need to complete a full application, including a hard credit pull and upload supporting documents.
You can apply for prequalification on the website. The process will take you through a series of screens:
- Who’s applying? (Just Me or Two of Us).
- Your first name, last name, date of birth, and email address.
- Your home address.
- Primary income source – employee, self-employed, or retired/other.
- Financial information – your annual income, additional income, and monthly rent or mortgage payment.
- Your phone number.
The final screen will ask you to create a password, check a compliance box, and then click the “Check Your Rate” button to see your loan offers.
Once you check the “Check Your Rate” button, you’ll be asked to provide your Social Security number. Shortly after, you’ll receive your loan offers, if you qualify.
It is likely you will be required to provide documentation to support your employment, income, financial assets, and other information provided in your application, as well as a copy of a photo ID to verify your identity. Additional required documents can be downloaded through your Prosper Account, or emailed to approval@prosper.com.
Once you’ve submitted your application to Prosper, the application itself, as well as any supporting documents, will go through a loan review process. That process is typically completed within five business days.
Monthly payments can be made by AutoPay, by signing into your account and paying online, over the phone, or by mailing a personal check, money order, or cashier's check. If you pay by check, you must pay a fee equal to the lesser of 5% of your payment or $5.
Prosper personal loan alternatives
If Prosper Personal Loans is not the right choice for you, there are plenty of other options in the personal loan space.
LendingClub
LendingClub is another popular name among online personal loan lenders. They work very much the way Prosper does, in that they provide unsecured personal loans through a fully online process. You can borrow up to $40,000 for nearly any purpose. Loan terms are either 36 or 60 months, and interest rates range between 9.57%, and 35.99% APR. As is usually the case among personal loan lenders, there is an origination fee, which ranges between 3% and 8% of the loan amount.
LightStream
LightStream ranks as one of the better choices for online personal loans if you have good or excellent credit. That’s because they offer higher loan amounts – up to $100,000 – with terms as long as 144 months. Similar to other platforms, funds can be used for just about any purpose. Interest rates range between 7.99% and 25.49% APR, and there is no origination fee.
Rocket Loans
Rocket Loans is a part of the ever-popular Rocket Mortgage, the largest retail mortgage lender in America. But it’s a part of the lending family that provides personal loans. Rocket Loans provides unsecured personal loans for up to $45,000 for just about any purpose. They cater to consumers with average or better credit, and as a result, they charge a lower high-end rate of interest, at 29.99% APR. Loan terms can be either 36 or 60 months, and they do charge an origination fee of up to 9% of the loan amount.
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| APR | 9.57% - 35.99% | 7.99% - 25.49% | 9.12 - 29.99% |
| Loan amount | $1,000 - $40,000 | $5,000 - $100,000 | $2,000 - $45,000 |
| Min. credit score | 600 | 660 | 640 |
| View Offer | View Offer |
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Is Prosper Personal Loans a legitimate lender?
Yes! In addition to the fact that Prosper has been providing personal loans since 2005, the company has an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau, as well as an “Excellent” rating by Trustpilot.
Is it hard to get a loan from Prosper Personal Loans?
Because Prosper accepts credit scores as low as 600, it can be easier to get a loan there than from other online lenders, as well as most banks and credit unions. The process itself is easy, since it takes place online, is completely automated, and can be done from the comfort of your home or office. You can even upload required documentation to the web portal, rather than sending it in the mail.
Does Prosper Personal Loans offer bad credit loans?
With a minimum credit score requirement of 600, it would be more accurate to say that Prosper offers loans to consumers with fair credit or better. Bad credit is generally considered a credit score below 600. In addition, Prosper does not accept credit profiles with a bankruptcy within the most recent 12 months of making an application.
This story was written by NJ Personal Finance, a partner of NJ.com. The information presented here is created independently from the NJ.com editorial staff, and purchases made through links in this article may result in NJ.com earning a commission.
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