Detailed Personal Loan Comparison: Sofi Personal Loans versus Upgrade Personal Loans. $1,000 to $100,000 Personal Loans.
We’re going to compare personal loans from SoFi and Upgrade. These are two of the most popular lenders out there, right now. So, we’re going to compare them so you can see which one might be better for your situation.
First thing we’re going to look at are the loan amounts that they offer. After all, if they don’t give you the money that you need, there’s not much point in considering them. SoFi doesn’t offer any amounts less than $5,000. Upgrade will lend as little as $1,000. So, if you are looking for a modest sum of money to cover a short-term emergency, Upgrade is going to be the better option for you.
If you are looking for a more substantial amount of money, Upgrade’s loans go up to $50,000. That is a good top amount. Only a few lenders go higher than that, and SoFi is one of them. SoFi’s personal loans will go all the way up to $100,000. That’s a lot of money, but if that’s what you need, SoFi is one of the few lenders who give out unsecured personal loans for that amount.
Both SoFi and Upgrade offer loans with terms between 2 and 7 years. Seven years is a long time to carry a loan, but if you are borrowing as much as $100,000, you probably need a term that long. If you are borrowing only a $1,000 from Upgrade, you should definitely not take two years to pay it off. A great interest rate is meaningless if you are paying interest a long time. Keep in mind that neither of these companies charge a prepayment penalty, so you should definitely work to pay the loan off early. Making extra principal payments in the first year of the loan will save you a lot of money on interest over the life of the loan.
Now let’s look at the costs of the two loans. SoFi’s minimum APR is 8.99% and Upgrade’s is 8.49%. That point-oh-five difference isn’t much, but Upgrade is lower, so I will highlight them. SoFi’s maximum APR is 29.49% and Upgrade’s is 35.99%. I will highlight SoFi for having the better top rate. One thing to keep in mind is that for a 5-year loan, SoFi’s weighted average APR is 14.9%. That doesn’t actually tell you what they would offer you, but it does give an indication of the kinds of loans that they issue.
SoFi will not charge an origination fee on their loans. Upgrade charges a fee that will range between 1.85% and 9.99%. Origination fees that are over 6% are starting to get on the high side. But here’s the thing about origination fees: they are included in the APR. In fact, the APR is the origination fee plus the interest rate. That means that the loan with the lower APR is cheaper, even if it has a higher origination fee. You do want a lower origination fee if you plan on paying the loan off early, though. Paying off early can save you on the interest you would have paid, but you won’t get a reimbursement on the origination fee.
When it comes to who the two companies will approve, SoFi generally focuses on people with Good-to-Excellent credit. I am guessing that you would need a credit score above 660 to be approved. Upgrade focuses on people with Fair-to-Good credit. I think most of their borrowers have credit scores that range between 620 and 700. Of course, these credit score ranges are just guidelines. Lenders don’t just use credit score to determine eligibility. They will look at your payment history, your debt-to-income ratio, your income, and other financial information.
Both SoFi and Upgrade will accept cosigners on a loan application. A cosigner is someone who agrees to pay back the loan if you fail to. If you can get the loan that you need without a cosigner, there’s no reason to entangle a loved-one in the process. But, if you are struggling to be approved for the loan you need, a cosigner can strengthen your application. I will highlight both of them because they offer this option.
Both SoFi and Upgrade will also pay off your other creditors with the proceeds of the loan when you use them to consolidate your credit card balances and other debt. It’s really convenient when a lender will do that, but convenience isn’t the only reason it’s good. This shows that the lender understands that this loan will be used to replace other debts and not just stack on top of them. It means that the loan won’t make your debt-to-income ratio worse. This should make it easier to be approved by them. I will highlight both of them for offering this feature.
Both of these companies will offer unsecured personal loans. If you can get the loan you need without putting up collateral, that’s usually best. But securing a loan with collateral can make it easier to be approved, to get more money, or to get a lower APR. Upgrade also offers secured loans. In this case, you would secure your loan with the title to your motor vehicle. This is a good additional option, so I will highlight Upgrade. But, keep in mind that if you run into additional financial trouble, it could trigger a domino effect on your finances if they repossess your car to cover the loan.
SoFi does not charge any late fees while Upgrade will charge a flat $10-fee when you fail to make your payment on-time. For the lenders that do charge a late fee, $10 dollars is the lowest I’ve seen. But, SoFi wins this category because you can’t beat zero.
Upgrade’s lower-than-usual late fee might be a bit of an illusion. They also charge a $10 failed payment fee. That fee can trigger if they attempt to take your payment by ACH withdrawal and there isn’t enough money in the account. It can also be triggered by a bounced check. Ten dollars isn’t a high fee for failed payments, either, but it’s possible (and maybe even likely) that you could get hit by both a late fee and a failed payment fee in the same month. That can really start adding up. SoFi, on the other hand, will not charge any additional fees. So, they get highlighted again.
Both companies offer ways in which you can lower your APR. These are options that you have to select at the time that you accept your loan. They both offer discounts if you sign up for autopay and they both offer discounts if you are using the loan to consolidate other debt. SoFi will give you another discount if you use a SoFi bank account where you direct deposit your income. Upgrade offers a discount if you choose to secure your loan with collateral. I will highlight both of them for offering these discounts.
Let’s summarize the personal loans offered by SoFi and Upgrade.
There’s a lot of green in both columns. Upgrade offers lower loan amounts while SoFi offers larger loans. Upgrade will lend to people with fair credit and it reflects in a higher top APR. Both of the companies offer good features and discounts. Upgrade offers secured as well as unsecured loans. And SoFi will not charge any additional fees. I think both of these companies are good lenders.
Of course, for many people, the most important thing is whether they can get the money they need at the lowest possible APR. That’s why we always recommend that before you accept a loan, you should shop around. Find the best deal. At The Yukon Project, we’ve tried to make shopping around easy. If you visit our marketplace page, you can apply to any one of our other featured lenders. Behind the scenes, we will check your rate with up to 40 other lenders. Our partners use a soft credit check, so applying won’t hurt your credit score. We will show you all of the approved offers so you can pick the loan that’s best for you.
If you have any questions about either of these lenders that we didn’t cover, leave a comment below. If you found this video useful, please like it and subscribe to our channel. Thanks for watching.
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