*AutoPay discount is only available prior to loan funding. Rates without AutoPay are 0.50% points higher. Excellent credit required for lowest rate. Rates vary by loan purpose.
Quick Look: The Best Personal Loans in Ohio
- Best for $0 Origination Fee: LightStream
- Best for Excellent Credit: Marcus by Goldman Sachs
- Best for Comparing Lenders: Credible
- Best for No Origination Fees: SoFi
- Best for Quick Funding: Figure
Need a personal loan? It’s easy to find banks and credit unions in the Buckeye State that offer personal loans for debt consolidation or whatever else you might need, whether it’s electronics, furniture, appliances or a dream vacation.
Check out Benzinga’s guide to find the best personal loans from the credit unions and banks in Ohio.
Table of Contents
Best Personal Loans in Ohio
Prefer an alternative to a bank for your personal loan? Consider getting a membership to one of our featured credit unions in Ohio.
LightStream
LightStream, like many of its competitors, offers Ohio residents:
- No collateral loans
- No late fees
- The possibility of same-day funding
- An online application
- A quality mobile app
There are no monthly service fees and no origination fees when you borrow with LightStream. Plus, the company is highly rated by both Benzinga and the BBB. As the best of the $0 origination fee loan programs, you can choose from a vast range of terms and loan values. Also, it’s easy to reach out to the customer service team for more information on your application, loan balance or repayment.
This is a good option for Ohioans who want to try a new type of platform or who don’t want to pay the high fees of the banks around the corner. This is also a good option for agricultural businesses, small businesses in 1 of the 5 major cities in the state along with students attending one of the many universities across the state.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs offers personal loans through Marcus by Goldman Sachs.
Maximum personal loan amounts through Marcus by Goldman Sachs cap at $40,000 but the amount you can borrow depends on your income and creditworthiness. Flexible loan terms and amounts make it easier for Ohioans to look into their funding options. Plus, you might be inspired to use this platform to manage more of your finances in the future.
Personal loan services are notable for their clear and organized user platform. The web page asks for specifics such as:
- Intended loan amount
- Intended monthly repayments
- Reason for requesting the loan
- Type and amount of salary you receive
- Monthly housing payment
Credible
Credible’s organized, user-friendly platform provides the largest range of loan amounts on our list, from $1,000 to $200,000 per loan. Credible’s goal is to empower individuals by implementing transparency and awareness by taking on personal loans. You can compare rates, terms and fund amounts from top lenders. Credible offers APRs as low as 7.49% (with autopay) on terms ranging from 1 to 10 years.
NMLS# DISCLOSURE
Credible Operations, Inc. NMLS# 1681276
Credible. Not available in all states. www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
110 Corcoran Street, 5th Floor, Suite 151 Durham, NC 27701
Credible Operations, Inc. NMLS# 1681276, “Credible.” Not available in all states.
All bonus payments are by gift card. See terms
Prequalified rates are based on the information you provide and a soft credit inquiry. Receiving prequalified rates does not guarantee that the Lender will extend you an offer of credit. You are not yet approved for a loan or a specific rate. All credit decisions, including loan approval, if any, are determined by Lenders, in their sole discretion. Rates and terms are subject to change without notice. Rates from Lenders may differ from prequalified rates due to factors which may include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in your personal credit circumstances; (ii) additional information in your hard credit pull and/or additional information you provide (or are unable to provide) to the Lender during the underwriting process; and/or (iii) changes in APRs (e.g., an increase in the rate index between the time of prequalification and the time of application or loan closing. (Or, if the loan option is a variable rate loan, then the interest rate index used to set the APR is subject to increases or decreases at any time). Lenders reserve the right to change or withdraw the prequalified rates at any time.
Won’t impact your credit score DISCLOSURE: (May be in the footer, a tooltip, or a popup the user has to click on or scroll to see)
Requesting prequalified rates on Credible is free and doesn’t affect your credit score. However, applying for or closing a loan will involve a hard credit pull that impacts your credit score and closing a loan will result in costs to you.
“We accept advertising compensation from companies that appear on this site, which impacts the location and order in which brands (and/or their products) are presented, and also impacts the score that is assigned to it. Company lists on this page DO NOT imply endorsement. We do not feature all providers on the market.
We receive compensation from the companies below if you click on a link or purchase a product. Amount of compensation may impact the ranking or placement of a particular product. Not all available financial products and offers from all financial institutions have been reviewed by this website. This content is not provided by Credible or any of the Providers on the Credible website. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by Credible.
Prequalified rates are based on the information you provide and a soft credit inquiry. Receiving prequalified rates does not guarantee that the Lender will extend you an offer of credit. You are not yet approved for a loan or a specific rate. All credit decisions, including loan approval, if any, are determined by Lenders, in their sole discretion. Rates and terms are subject to change without notice. Rates from Lenders may differ from prequalified rates due to factors which may include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in your personal credit circumstances; (ii) additional information in your hard credit pull and/or additional information you provide (or are unable to provide) to the Lender during the underwriting process; and/or (iii) changes in APRs (e.g., an increase in the rate index between the time of prequalification and the time of application or loan closing. (Or, if the loan option is a variable rate loan, then the interest rate index used to set the APR is subject to increases or decreases at any time). Lenders reserve the right to change or withdraw the prequalified rates at any time.
SoFi
Unlike many online lenders, SoFi provides comfort and quality with access to services such as complimentary financial advice, member events and a top-notch referral program to fit your needs. Though SoFi provides personal loans for the same range of services as noted in the above descriptions, SoFi does not permit them to be used for purchasing real estate, business, postsecondary education or investments.
SoFi offers loans that range from 7.99% and terms from 2 to 7 years.
Fixed rates from 8.99% APR to 29.99% APR reflect the 0.25% autopay interest rate discount and a 0.25% direct deposit interest rate discount. SoFi rate ranges are current as of 02/06/2024 and are subject to change without notice. The average of SoFi Personal Loans funded in 2022 was around $30K. Not all applicants qualify for the lowest rate. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed and will depend on the term you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, and a variety of other factors. Loan amounts range from $5,000– $100,000. The APR is the cost of credit as a yearly rate and reflects both your interest rate and an origination fee of 0%-7%, which will be deducted from any loan proceeds you receive.
Autopay: The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi.
Direct Deposit Discount: To be eligible to potentially receive an additional (0.25%) interest rate reduction for setting up direct deposit with a SoFi Checking and Savings account offered by SoFi Bank, N.A. or eligible cash management account offered by SoFi Securities, LLC (“Direct Deposit Account”), you must have an open Direct Deposit Account within 30 days of the funding of your Loan. Once eligible, you will receive this discount during periods in which you have enabled payroll direct deposits of at least $1,000/month to a Direct Deposit Account in accordance with SoFi’s reasonable procedures and requirements to be determined at SoFi’s sole discretion. This discount will be lost during periods in which SoFi determines you have turned off direct deposits to your Direct Deposit Account. You are not required to enroll in direct deposits to receive a Loan.
Figure
Figure offers personal loans in an all-online format that allows you to get started as quickly as possible. The firm offers competitive rates and quality customer service throughout the process, and they even offer gift cards to customers who refer friends and family to their personal loans department. This is a good option for Ohioans who want to get the cash they need quickly. Plus, this is a good place to check your eligibility and what your options are.
Plus, Figure also offers:
- Financing up to $50,000
- Multiple fixed-term options
- Low fees
- Quick funding
Consider Figure when you want to take out a personal loan to addressing an emergent situation, business expenses, educational costs and more. There’s less waiting around, and you can even earn a bit of that money back through referrals.
Personal Loan Considerations
Would rather have a secured or unsecured loan? There’s an important difference between them. Secured loans are backed by collateral, such as a car or savings account. If you fail to make payments on your loan, the bank or lender can seize your asset.
It’s very important to ensure that a lender is legitimate by researching the Better Business Bureau or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, particularly when you’re researching online lenders.
A bank or lender can decide whether to lend you an unsecured loan based on your credit score and income. When you apply for a loan, you’ll notice a hard inquiry on your credit, which will usually last for about 2 years. If you’re comparing offers by applying to several lenders, make sure you do it within a period of a few weeks. If you don’t, repetitive hard inquiries over multiple months can leave a bad impact on your credit score.
You may also want to consider either a home equity loan or a line of credit or a peer-to-peer loan from investors.
Home equity loans allow you to tap into your home’s equity — it's just like taking out a second mortgage. A home equity loan lets you use the equity you’ve built up as collateral in your home. In other words, your home is used as security to protect your lender if you’re unable to pay back the money you borrow and default on your loan.
A home equity line of credit is also a type of second mortgage. You can borrow money against the equity you have in your house and receive the money as a line of credit.
If you send an application for investors to look over and consider, it takes more time than signing on a personal loan from a traditional lender. Peer-to-peer lending gives you more flexibility with payment terms and interest.
Personal Loans vs. Credit Cards
Personal loans and credit cards both offer flexibility but that’s about where the similarities end. Credit cards involve a line of credit, whereas personal loans are fixed debt that you pay off in installments over a predetermined period of time.
You may want to choose a personal loan if you plan to make a large purchase and prefer to pay it off over a longer period of time. Personal loans also have much lower interest rates, which is why many people use them to pay off credit card debt.
Credit cards are convenient for repeated use on smaller expenses and can help boost a lower credit score when used responsibly. However, credit card interest rates are high and commonly have variable interest rates that can increase over time. Even fixed rates on credit cards can increase due to late payments or other penalties outlined in the contract.
Get the Best Bang for Your Buckeye
It’s important to keep yourself educated on all of the options and restrictions that come with getting a personal loan. APR, terms, origination fees and minimum credit score requirements are crucial to discuss with your lender. If you’re living in the Buckeye State, there are plenty of options at your fingertips.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I can’t repay my personal loan on time?
It’s important to communicate with your lender about your inability to make payments before they are due. Talking with your lender ahead of time may enable you to avoid mounting fees and a negative impact on your credit score.
What is the difference between an interest rate and APR for personal loans?
An interest rate is the additional fixed charge you must pay your lender when you take out a loan. The APR includes all anticipated fees for a loan. It’s important to compare APRs to other APRs when you look into loans — don’t compare one loan’s interest rate to another loan’s APR.
Where can I find a personal loan in Ohio?
You can find a personal loan in Ohio by consulting the list above. It includes credible lenders and lays out the terms of each lender.