SoFi Loans and Investing Review

SoFi Review Ratings at a Glance

Lending and investing are 2 elemental factors of financial well-being that can bring you that much closer to reaching your goals. Take a look at Benzinga’s review of SoFi’s online products to learn about the quality of their lending and investing services.

Personal loans through SoFi allow you to borrow funds for all sorts of uses such as consolidating credit card debt, paying for home renovations, assisting with relocating, helping with medical expenses, treating yourself to a vacation and much more. Like all SoFi loans, these loans come with no origination fees required, late payment or insufficient fund fees. Period. You pay back the loan monthly (plus interest) at a pace that makes sense for your needs.

Personal loans through SoFi are offered for terms from 2 to 7 years, and the company offers unemployment protection for those eligible, which can allow you to temporarily suspend monthly payments if you lose your job through no fault of your own.

You can't use SoFi's personal loans for real estate, business purposes, investments, purchases of securities, post-secondary education and short-term bridge financing. Co-applicants are accepted on personal loans, which become co-borrowers who are equally responsible for the loan principal and monthly interest once the loan is officially approved, but they must live at the same address as the primary borrower to be accepted. SoFi doesn’t accept cosigners on personal loans. 

Lastly, only unsecured personal loans are offered through SoFi, which means though you don’t have to put down valuable property or bank accounts as collateral to get the loan, it might make it more difficult to obtain the loan if you don’t have a steady income and decent credit history. 

Disclaimer: Fixed rates from 8.99% APR to 25.81% 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 10/10/23 and are subject to change without notice. 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%-6%, 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.

No-fee Private student loans through SoFi, launched in 2019, help you pay for school with competitive rates to save you money while you work hard to complete your degree. With a range of options from undergrad to parent loans, SoFi can help you and your family make beneficial financial decisions with transparency, tons of supportive resources and modern customer-first solutions. Once you’ve tried all of your options for federal student lending, SoFi can offer 100% school-certified coverage for tuition, food, books, supplies, room and board and even transportation around campus. 

You can borrow a flexible minimum of $5,000 to help you through the school year, and you can even start making payments before you’re out of the dorm room — and choose to either defer payments before graduation or make payments ASAP to help you save on long-term interest. 

SoFi requires students to make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) during the school certification process in order for them to receive private student loans. This means that students have to achieve satisfactory grades and complete enough credits to keep moving forward at a rate that’s deemed acceptable to the school. You might need to check your school’s SAP policy at the financial aid office and see if your academic performance measures up before being approved for a loan.

What is MOHELA by SoFi?

All-in-One Invest from SoFi allows you to take advantage of all the best perks of the platform. You can build a portfolio that serves your needs, and you can get into other financial instruments that will help you plan for the future, prepare for a change in your financial situation or engage with the market in a much more active manner.

• All-in-one investing that’s easy-to-use.
• Invest in stocks, ETFs, and IPOs, trade crypto, save for retirement, or use our robo-advisor — all in one app.
• Get up to $1,000 when you fund a new account (See terms).
• No commissions to trade stocks and ETFs.
• Purchase fractional shares of your favorite companies for as little as $5.
• Save for retirement with Traditional, Roth, or SEP IRAs.
• Complimentary access to SoFi Financial Planners.
• Trade on margin at a low interest rate.
• Invest in IPOs before public trading begins.

Automated investing through SoFi is known as “hands-off investing that’s always on.” SoFi can help you set goals whether you’re saving for retirement, saving for a down payment or simply investing for later.

You can start investing through SoFi with as little as $1 and make 1-time or recurring payments depending on what works best for your goals. Investing through SoFi also gives you access to member benefits and discounts on other SoFi products. Plus, you get:

• No management fees with automatic rebalancing, Automatically adjusting and rebalancing your portfolio.
• Goal planning. Whether you’re saving for retirement, a down payment or just investing for later, SoFi helps you make a plan to tackle multiple goals.
• Diversification, ensuring that your money is allocated across different kinds of financial instruments.
• Complimentary access to SoFi Financial Planners.

Active investing through SoFi is the 3rd option for your investing goals, through which you can actively trade on a do-it-yourself basis and learn the market your way. With active investing, you can be much more connected with other SoFi investors while you learn together from news updates and educational tools, all on the SoFi mobile app.

Start investing fractional shares of stocks and ETFs from your favorite companies with as little as $1 and enjoy the perk of $0 fees on every trade you make. Plus:

• Invest in stocks and ETFs or trade crypto, all in one app.
• Get up to $1,000 when you fund a new brokerage account, and earn up to $100 in Bitcoin with your first qualifying crypto trade (See terms).
• No commissions for stocks and ETFs.
• Complimentary access to SoFi Financial Planners.
• Purchase fractional shares of your favorite companies for as little as $5.
• Trade on margin at a competitive interest rate.
• Pre-built investment collections, so you can easily diversify your investments.
• Just released—User-friendly options trading

User-Friendly Options Trading With SoFi

User-friendly options trading with SoFi may allow you to increase returns or limit risk. The platform includes:

• User-friendly design
• Educational resources
• No contract fees
• One-click access to options data

Plus, SoFi’s options trading platform helps you understand what to do when a stock’s value is rising or falling, and you can even check out their FAQs to learn more about options trading before investing your hard-earned money.

SoFi IRAs

You can also try an IRA with SoFi, which makes it easy to:

• Take control and save for retirement with SoFi's Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs.
• Get access to a broad range of investment options, member services, and SoFi’s robust suite of planning and investment tools.
• Get help setting your goals. Whether you’re just getting started or want to roll over another account, SoFi can help develop a plan that works for you.
• Get access to a broad range of investment options plus no commission with SoFi’s self-directed IRAs
• Gain complimentary access to SoFi Financial Planners.

Crypto Investing With SoFi

If you wish to invest in crypto, SoFi makes it easier with several options that allow you to:

• Buy and sell cryptocurrency online with SoFi's simple and secure investing app.
• Earn up to $1,000 when you fund a new account, and earn up to $100 in Bitcoin with your first qualifying crypto trade (See terms).
• Trade 30 different coins 24/7 and open an Active Invest account today with just $10.
• Invest in stocks, ETFs, IPOs, save for retirement, or use our robo-advisor — all in one app with no commissions or fees.
• Trade on margin at a low interest rate

Customer service is elemental for every online service or company. Customer service at SoFi is accessible through the “About” and “Contact us” tabs made available on every page of its website. The customer service page is very organized and easy to read, including phone numbers for general support, home loans support, investing support and money support.

Available office hours are included for each phone number, as well as payment addresses for check writing on loans and company contributions. Various emails included are general customer service, press, investor relations, partnerships, SoFi Money, SoFi Invest and home loans. Locations for in-person help are in San Francisco and Healdsburg, California, and New York City. You can also tweet SoFi at its Twitter handle @SoFiSupport for short questions and concerns regarding all services. 

After our assessment and analysis, SoFi’s online lending and investing services are high-quality and hard to beat. With a user-friendly, highly-rated mobile app available to iPhone and Android users featuring its 100% fee-free lending and investing services, SoFi is an online financial platform to remember. 

Frequently Asked Questions