EDITOR'S NOTE:
Personal Loan Pro by NerdWallet is no longer available and was replaced by NerdWallet loan matching service. Read our NerdWallet loan matching review or check out our list of the best personal loans.Personal loans have become a popular way to borrow money — and with good reason. You can use the money from a personal loan for anything you'd like, whether that's to consolidate debt, improve your home, or pay for a wedding. And the best personal loans often come with lower interest rates than what you'd pay on a credit card or other types of high-interest consumer debt, such as payday loans.
But while borrowing money using a personal loan makes sense in many situations, you're still dealing with a creditor and are going to owe interest. That means it's important to shop around to find the right personal loan at a competitive rate so you don't pay more than necessary.
Fortunately, there are services such as Personal Loan Pro that can help you figure out how to get a loan with a lender worthy of your business. Personal Loan Pro allows you to submit a single application to get matched with a lender offering the type of financing you're seeking. You can get loan quotes without your credit being affected and then move forward with the borrowing process if you're happy with the proposed terms.
If you're interested in using Personal Loan Pro to help you shop around for financing, here's everything you need to know.
What is Personal Loan Pro?
Personal Loan Pro is a loan comparison website that allows you to quickly find financing when you're interested in borrowing. The website makes money from lenders, not from borrowers, so using it won't cost you any money. And it works with a large network of different installment loan providers, so you'll have a lot of choices as to where you get your funds from.
Borrowers do need to know that Personal Loan Pro is not a lender itself and does not make decisions on loan eligibility or loan rates. There's also no guarantee that you'll be approved by a lender for a personal loan when you submit an application. But the good news is that the site does disclose its network of partners, so you’ll at least have a good idea of where your loan is being shopped around when you submit your financial details.
Using Personal Loan Pro can definitely make shopping for a loan easier and less time-consuming because you get access to loan quotes from all the lenders in its network without having to go to many different companies’ sites individually to apply.
What Personal Loan Pro can offer you
Personal Loan Pro offers you the chance to get quotes from multiple loan providers without your credit being affected and without a lot of hassle. You can simply go to the website, select the purpose of your loan, and answer a few simple questions to be matched with loan providers that the site's algorithm thinks would be a good fit.
The loan terms you're offered will vary based on many factors, including your credit score, the amount you want to borrow, and the timeline for repayment. Here are some of the typical features you can expect when you get a loan through Personal Loan Pro:
Loan type(s) | Personal loans |
Typical loan amounts | $1,000 to $50,000 |
Typical APR | 2.49% to 35.99% (as of July 6, 2022) |
Length of repayment period | Two to 180 months |
Credit score required | Varies |
What we like about Personal Loan Pro
There's a lot to like about Personal Loan Pro, but here are some of the biggest advantages of using this site:
- You can quickly compare offers from multiple lenders: This is the key feature of Personal Loan Pro and the main reason to use the site. When you submit your details, Personal Loan Pro matches you to different loan providers that you could potentially qualify for funding from. You're able to get quotes and compare terms from multiple lenders all in one place instead of having to directly visit the websites of dozens of providers to find the best rates and terms.
- Personal Loan Pro makes the list of lenders in its network available: You can visit its Network Partners page to see the different partners the website works with. The site also clarifies that it does not give you quotes from every lender available, so it’s upfront about its limitations. That said, some of the companies that Personal Loan Pro works with include SoFi®, LendingClub, and Prosper.
- Your credit won't be affected when you submit an application: Some lenders start with a hard credit check, which means an inquiry goes on your credit report and stays for two years. Too many hard credit checks can have an adverse impact on your credit score. You don't have to worry about this happening when you submit your initial information to Personal Loan Pro, since it begins with performing a soft credit check — although your credit will still be affected by a hard credit check if you decide to go through with getting the loan.
- You have lots of flexibility in how much you can borrow: With Personal Loan Pro, you could borrow as little as $1,000 or as much as $50,000. It’s not uncommon for lenders to have higher minimum or lower maximum loan limits, which means you may not be able to borrow the total amount that you need. In that light, Personal Loan Pro gives you much more flexibility than a typical service.
What Personal Loan Pro could improve
There are some things Personal Loan Pro could improve upon, though.
- There's no guarantee that you'll get approved for a loan at the offered rate: When you submit an initial application with Personal Loan Pro, you get access to loan offers. But if you want to move forward on a particular offer, you still have to complete the full application process with that lender. Depending on the lender's process and your financial situation, there's a chance you could end up being denied for the loan or offered different terms than you initially received.
- Limited information is available on Personal Loan Pro’s website: Personal Loan Pro doesn't provide details about how it chooses which lender quotes to display or how many different loan options it may offer you. It also provides only limited information about who is likely to qualify for financing. It does not, for example, specify the minimum credit score required to qualify for a loan with one of its partner lenders.
How to open a Personal Loan Pro loan
While you cannot get a loan directly through Personal Loan Pro, you can use the website to initiate the process of applying for one with a financial institution in its network. To do this:
- Click here to go to the Personal Loan Pro website
- Specify how you plan to use the loan funds, selecting the appropriate option from a pull-down menu. Choices include credit card debt consolidation, major purchase, home improvement projects, starting a business, or a wide variety of other common reasons for taking out personal loans
- Click on the "Get Started" button
- Type in the amount of cash you'd like to borrow
- Estimate your credit score range, choosing from among excellent, fair, good, or poor
- Indicate your employment status by selecting whether you work full time, part time, are self-employed, are unemployed, are in the military, or are retired
- Type in your annual income
- Indicate how often you get paid by selecting weekly, every two weeks, monthly, or other
- Specify whether you own or rent your residence and input the ZIP code where you live
- Input your street address
- Provide your email address
- Provide your first and last name
- Provide your date of birth
- Provide your phone number
- Specify whether you are in the military now or are a veteran
- Provide your Social Security number
Once you’ve completed this process, you'll be provided with a rate quote and details about loans that might be a good fit for you.
How long does it take to find out if you are approved
When you've submitted your application, you’ll find out within just a few minutes if you could potentially qualify for a loan and at what rates. The repayment terms you're offered will vary based on your projected credit score, income, loan purpose, and other financial factors.
If you decide you like a loan offer provided by a partner, you'll need to complete the full application process with that lender. At this point, you're going to have to submit to a hard credit check.
The timeline for loan approval and funding of your loan once you’ve chosen a lender is going to depend upon that particular lender's policies, terms, and conditions. Many loans take anywhere from one to seven days to fund, but some lenders may take longer.
Personal Loan Pro customer service
Personal Loan Pro provides online and phone customer service only. There are no local branches to visit, and you have no options for in-person support.
You can get customer service help by calling or texting 970-840-2166 or 888-607-7241. You can also complete an online form with your first and last name, email address, and message. The website doesn’t indicate what hours it’s open for phone support or how long you can expect to wait before receiving a reply.
FAQs about Personal Loan Pro
Is Personal Loan Pro safe?
Personal Loan Pro has relationships with established companies, has a list of lenders it has partnered with, and provides clear guidance about what it does with the data you submit in its published privacy policy. Because of this, using the site is safe.
Remember, though, that you’re not borrowing from Personal Loan Pro. You’re borrowing from a partner lender. Before working with any loan companies, you should check their Better Business Bureau rating and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's database of consumer complaints. Pay attention to whether the lender has been subject to regulatory action, has gotten good reviews, and generally receives good marks for customer service.
You also want to be certain you understand the terms of any loan you apply for, including the interest rate, whether the rate can change, upfront costs and fees, if there's an origination fee, whether there’s a prepayment penalty, and how long you have to repay the loan. Do not trust any lender unwilling to provide these details.
Will using Personal Loan Pro hurt my credit?
Submitting an application with Personal Loan Pro won’t hurt your credit because only a soft credit check is necessary for it to provide its service. If you decide you like any loan terms and you move forward with a full loan application process, this will necessitate a hard credit check. This could hurt your credit if you accrue too many inquiries on your credit report.
When you actually take out a personal loan, this could also affect your credit. However, the impact could be either positive or negative, depending on your credit usage and credit history. Your credit score can go up if you’re adding a new type of loan to your report because a mix of different credit is preferred. You can also raise your credit score by paying your loan on time and developing a positive payment history. However, a new loan on your report shortens the average age of your credit, which can hurt your score in the short term.
How much can I borrow with Personal Loan Pro?
Personal Loan Pro will match you to lenders offering loans ranging from $1,000 to $50,000. Monthly loan payments, interest rates, and loan terms will vary from lender to lender.
Is Personal Loan Pro a good idea for me?
Using Personal Loan Pro is a good idea if you are shopping for a loan and want to be matched with a variety of different lenders to compare rates and repayment terms. To get approved for a loan, you'll likely need good to excellent credit. If you’d prefer to get quotes only from banks and credit unions that you’ve personally researched and selected, then using Personal Loan Pro isn't a good choice, since you cannot control which lending partners in the site's network your loan is shopped out to.
Can I get a personal loan with bad credit?
While you may be able to get a personal loan with bad or poor credit, it's best to work toward improving your credit score before you take on additional debt. Lenders typically take creditworthiness and debt-to-income ratio into account when considering a personal loan application to ensure you can make your monthly payments. Consider working your way up to a good credit score if you want to be offered the most competitive loan terms and rates.
Final thoughts
Websites such as Personal Loan Pro have made it much easier to quickly shop and compare the best personal loans because you can submit just a single application and have multiple lenders provide you with borrowing options. This can be very useful in helping you achieve your personal finance goals.
If you want to streamline the process of applying for a loan, Personal Loan Pro is a good site to use, thanks to full disclosure of its partner lenders as well as the flexibility available in the amount you can borrow.
Disclaimer: All rates and fees are accurate as of July 6, 2022.