Best Egg Personal Loan Review July 2026

If you need cash for a kitchen remodel, a medical bill, or to consolidate a stack of credit cards, Best Egg could be on your shortlist. It offers fixed-rate personal loans of over a modest range with two term options. Approval can move from initial decision to funded loan in one to three business days.

Best Egg also runs a secured personal loan product. Homeowners may borrow against permanent home fixtures like cabinetry (but not their home equity). For both secured and unsecured options, you can check your rate with a soft credit pull that won’t hurt your score. 

Here’s how Best Egg stacks up.

Best Egg personal loan top features

• Loan amounts of $2,000 to $50,000: State minimums apply: Massachusetts $6,500, Ohio $5,001, and Georgia $3,001. A borrower's combined Best Egg loan balance is capped at $100,000.
• Potentially flexible credit requirements: The lender does not state a minimum credit score on its own site. Third-party reviewers place the minimum somewhere between 600 and 640. Best Egg also weighs income, debt-to-income ratio, and credit history.
• Fixed APR of 6.99% to 35.99%: The APR is the cost of credit as a yearly rate, including the interest rate and origination fee. APR is the standard for comparing loan costs.
• Origination fee of 0.99% to 9.99%: Home-secured loans carry an origination fee of 1.49% to 9.99%. On any loan with a term of four years or longer, the origination fee is at least 4.99%. Best Egg deducts the fee from loan proceeds before disbursement, so you receive less than the face amount of the loan.
• No prepayment penalty: Extra payments and early payoff don't trigger a fee. You could reduce total interest by paying down the loan ahead of schedule.
• Repayment terms of 36 or 60 months: Best Egg offers two terms: three years or five years. Longer terms lower the monthly payment and raise the total interest paid.
• Funding in one to three business days: After successful verification, funds may arrive within one to three business days, and about half of customers receive funds the next business day.
• Soft-pull prequalification: Prequalification uses a soft credit inquiry, and it is not a guarantee of final approval.

Where Best Egg can improve

Best Egg's origination fee runs as high as 9.99% of the loan amount, which sits at the high end. The fee comes out of the loan proceeds, so you could receive meaningfully less than the face amount.

If Best Egg approves you for a $20,000 loan with a 9.99% origination fee, Best Egg deducts the $1,998 fee before disbursement and $18,002 lands in your bank account. You still repay the full $20,000 plus interest.

Your credit tier also has an outsized effect on what you pay each month. Best Egg's own personal loan calculator shows the spread across credit tiers on the same $20,000, 60-month loan:

The Fair-tier payment runs almost double the Good-tier payment on the same loan. But once you’re in the Good tier, the benefit of moving to Great or Excellent is lower. 

Other limitations to flag:

• No joint or co-signer applications: Borrowers who would benefit from a co-signer need to look elsewhere. LendingClub, OneMain, and Prosper allow joint applications.
• $50,000 cap on unsecured loans: Borrowers needing more may consider home equity options or a lender with a higher ceiling.
• No published autopay or co-applicant discount: Best Egg doesn't advertise a rate discount for autopay enrollment, direct payment to creditors, or joint applications.

Qualifying for a Best Egg personal loan

To be eligible for a Best Egg personal loan, you'll need a steady income, a U.S. bank account, and a credit profile the lender's underwriting accepts. Best Egg does not publish a minimum credit score, though third-party reviewers cite a range between 600 and 640.

Underwriting factors

Best Egg evaluates ability to repay using:

• Credit score and credit history
• Annual income and employment status
• Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio: All monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income. Housing costs (rent or mortgage payment) are part of monthly debt payments, not separate from them.

State and application limits

Best Egg loans are not available in Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, or U.S. Territories. Joint and co-signer applications are not accepted. Only individual Best Egg loans are available.

Calculator-observed limits

Best Egg's online personal loan calculator imposes two restrictions on its lowest credit tier ("Poor," 559 or below). Borrowers in that tier cannot select a loan amount of more than $20,000. They also cannot select a 60-month term on loan amounts of $5,000 or less. Best Egg has not published these as written policies, so treat them as observed behavior rather than firm rules.

How to apply for a Best Egg personal loan

Apply online at bestegg.com or by phone at 855-282-6353. The application takes a few minutes once you have your information ready.

What you'll need

Have the following on hand before you start:

• Name, address, and date of birth
• Social Security number
• Employment information and annual income
• Bank account details

Federal Customer Identification Program rules require Best Egg to verify your identity. You may need to provide a driver's license or other identifying document during verification.

What happens to your credit

Checking your rate uses a soft credit inquiry. A soft inquiry doesn't affect your credit score. If you accept a Best Egg offer, a hard inquiry posts to your credit report. The hard inquiry could lower your score by a few points temporarily.

Loan approval and funding from Best Egg

Initial approval decisions return in minutes once you complete the rate-check. If Best Egg requires document verification, final approval typically lands within one to three business days after you upload the requested paperwork.

After verification, Best Egg deposits funds via direct ACH to the bank account you provided. About half of customers receive theirs the next business day. Others get deposits within three business days. Timing also depends on your bank's processing rules.

Where the origination fee shows up

Your loan agreement spells out the origination fee. You have two options for how Best Egg handles it:

• Deducted from disbursement. Best Egg subtracts the fee before depositing funds. On a $20,000 loan with a 5% origination fee, $19,000 lands in your account. You repay the original $20,000.
• Added to loan balance. The full $20,000 lands in your account. Best Egg adds the $1,000 fee to what you owe, so you repay $21,000 total.

For debt consolidation, Best Egg offers a Direct Pay feature that sends loan proceeds straight to your creditors, which streamlines the payoff.

Repayment options

You can pay your Best Egg loan online through the account portal, by phone, or by mail. Best Egg also offers a mobile app for iOS and Android.

Best Egg customer service and customer satisfaction

Best Egg holds an A+ rating with the BBB. Customers rate Best Egg favorably on both major review platforms:

Is Best Egg legit?

Best Egg is a legitimate online lending platform. Its loans are issued by Cross River Bank or Column N.A., both Member FDIC. As of May 1, 2026, Best Egg is a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays Bank Delaware.

When a Best Egg personal loan might be the best choice

Best Egg can be a smart pick in a handful of specific situations:

• You need funds quickly. With about half of customers receiving funds the next business day after verification, Best Egg fits time-sensitive expenses well.
• You want to consolidate credit card debt. The Direct Pay feature routes loan proceeds straight to your creditors.
• You have fair to good credit and can apply solo. Best Egg doesn't accept joint applications, so if you need a co-applicant, consider LendingClub, OneMain, or Prosper instead.
• You own a home with permanent fixtures and want a lower rate than an unsecured loan. Best Egg's home-secured option uses items like water heaters, built-in cabinetry, lighting, or built-in appliances as collateral. No appraisal is required. When you pledge fixtures, you put them on the line. If you default, the lender may take steps to recover its losses against the collateral.

How Best Egg compares to other personal loan lenders

Here's how Best Egg stacks up against similar lenders:

APR ceilings cluster around the same 35.99% high end. Fee structures and product features are where these four lenders differ. SoFi offers larger loans (up to $100,000) and a path to zero fees through SoFi Bank, plus rate discounts Best Egg doesn't match. Happen Bank stands out by allowing joint applications. 

Upstart underwrites using education and employment data alongside credit, so applicants with limited credit history (sometimes called a thin credit file) may experience different results there.

If you have prime credit, want a fee-free loan, and don't need a co-applicant, SoFi is hard to beat. If you need joint application support, LendingClub. If your credit file is thin but your education and employment are strong, Upstart. Best Egg's own edge is the secured-loan option for homeowners, which none of these three offer.

This article is for general education. Rates, terms, and fees are subject to change and may vary by applicant. Bills.com ratings are independent and reflect our own evaluation methodology.