LightStream

LightStream offers unsecured personal loans with no fees for borrowers with good to excellent credit (scores above 690). Loans are available in a wide range of amounts and repayment terms, and borrowers can add a co-borrower to help qualify for a higher loan amount or lower interest rate.

Among its many consumer-friendly features, LightStream allows borrowers to choose when they receive their money. The lender can deposit funds into your account as early as the same day or up to 90 days after approval for home improvement loans. Scheduling a later fund date allows time to plan for your first payment or align your loan with the expenses you need to cover.

LightStream personal loans at a glance

Disclosure from LightStream

Rates quoted are with AutoPay. Your loan terms are not guaranteed and may vary based on loan purpose, length of loan, loan amount, credit history and payment method (AutoPay or Invoice). AutoPay discount is only available when selected prior to loan funding. Rates without AutoPay are 0.50% points higher. To obtain a loan, you must complete an application on LightStream.com which may affect your credit score. You may be required to verify income, identity and other stated application information. Payment example: Monthly payments for a $10,000 loan at 7.99% APR with a term of 5 years would result in 60 monthly payments of $202.72. Some additional conditions and limitations apply. Advertised rates and terms are subject to change without notice. Truist Bank is an Equal Housing Lender. © 2024 Truist Financial Corporation. Truist, LightStream, and the LightStream logo are service marks of Truist Financial Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Lending services provided by Truist Bank.

Key Facts:

LightStream is a solid option for good-credit borrowers, with no fees and low rates that vary based on loan purpose.

Qualifications:

• Minimum credit score: 660, but can vary depending on the loan purpose and amount.
• Maximum debt-to-income ratio: 50%.
• Minimum credit history: 3 years.
• Income sources accepted: Employment, retirement, rental income, alimony, child support, Social Security payments and disability benefits.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who is at least 18 years old and has a U.S. bank account.

Available Term Lengths:2 to 7 years

Fees:

• Origination fee: None.
• Late fee: None.

Pros:

• No fees.
• Rate discount for autopay.
• Long repayment terms and large loan amounts.
• Fast funding.
• Rate Beat program and Experience Guarantee.

Cons:

• No option to pre-qualify.
• No direct payment to creditors with debt consolidation loans.
• High minimum loan amount.

Where LightStream personal loans stand out

No fees: The lender doesn’t charge fees for loan origination, late payments or paying a loan off early. Most lenders charge a late fee, and many online lenders charge origination fees..

Rate discount for autopay: LightStream offers a rate discount of 0.50 percentage points if borrowers opt for automatic loan payments from a bank account.

Long repayment terms and large loan amounts: LightStream’s wide window of available repayment terms (two to 20 years, depending on loan purpose and amount) allows borrowers to prioritize lower overall interest with a shorter term or lower monthly payments with a longer term. The lender caps loan amounts at $100,000 — higher than most lenders — and the longest repayment term is seven years for all loan purposes except home improvement, boat and RV financing. Borrowers approved for home improvement loans more than $25,000 are eligible for loan terms up to 20 years. Those financing boats or RVs over $25,000 can get repayment terms up to 12 years.

Fast approval and funding: LightStream says it can approve loan applications within five minutes and fund loans as soon as the same day. Borrowers can request to delay funding a loan for up to 90 days if the funds are used for home improvement and 30 days for all other loan purposes. This can give the borrower more time to coordinate a home remodel, for example, without paying additional interest.

Rate Beat program and Experience Guarantee: LightStream says it will beat a competitor’s interest rate by 0.10 percentage points if you can show you are approved by the competitor for an unsecured, fixed-rate loan with the same terms. The lender also offers $100 back for unsatisfied borrowers who have had their loan for less than 30 days and complete a questionnaire about their experience.

Where LightStream personal loans fall short

Applicants can’t pre-qualify directly: LightStream’s online loan calculator displays example rates based on your desired loan purpose and loan amount, but the lender does not allow applicants to pre-qualify directly on its website.

No direct payment to creditors with debt consolidation loans: Unlike other lenders, LightStream doesn’t send payments directly to creditors when you get a debt consolidation loan. Instead, borrowers must allocate their loan funds to pay off creditors on their own.

High minimum loan amount: LightStream loans start at $5,000, which may be too high for borrowers looking to fund a small expense.

Our expert take:

“LightStream’s personal loan is one of the strongest financing options for home improvement projects. Repayment terms up to 20 years rival those of home equity loans and credit lines, and loan amounts up to $100,000 may be large enough to pay for a room addition or other large renovation. LightStream seems to understand the needs of its target audience and has made updates to its loan over the years to meet them.

If you have the credit to qualify, LightStream may be one of your lowest-rate options. The lender itself doesn’t offer pre-qualification through its website — a major inconvenience for rate shoppers — but allows borrowers to check for offers via affiliate sites like NerdWallet.”

— Annie Millerbernd, Personal Loans Assistant Assigning Editor

How to use LightStream personal loans

You can use a LightStream personal loan for:

• Home improvement projects.
• Debt consolidation.
• Emergencies.
• Medical and dental bills.
• Vacations.
• Weddings.
• Funerals.
• Vehicle financing.
• K-12 education expenses.
• Other large expenses.

LightStream prohibits the use of its personal loans for:

• Post-secondary education expenses.
• Business expenses.
• Investing.
• Retirement contributions.
• Education savings plan contributions.
• Refinancing an existing LightStream loan.

Do you qualify for a LightStream personal loan?

LightStream typically accepts loan applicants with good to excellent credit scores, though some fair-credit borrowers may qualify. The lender uses a proprietary scoring model to evaluate applicants’ creditworthiness in addition to checking FICO 8 scores.

Eligible loan applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are at least 18 years old and have a U.S. bank account.

LightStream’s borrowing requirements

LightStream’s borrowing requirements can vary by loan purpose and amount, however, here are the lender’s guidelines. (Meeting these requirements doesn’t guarantee approval.)

• Minimum credit score: 660.
• Maximum debt-to-income ratio: 50%.
• Minimum credit history: 3 years.
• Income sources accepted: Employment, retirement, rental income, alimony, child support, Social Security payments and disability benefits.

• LightStream’s average borrower snapshot

Before you apply

• Check your credit. You can get your free credit report on NerdWallet or at AnnualCreditReport.com. Doing so will help you spot and fix any errors before you apply.

• Calculate your monthly payments. Use a personal loan calculator to determine what APR and repayment term you’d need to get a loan with affordable monthly payments.

• Make a plan to repay the loan. Review your budget to see how the loan’s monthly payments impact your cash flow. If you have to cut other expenses in order to repay the loan, it’s better to know that before you borrow.
• Gather your documents. Most lenders require proof of income, which can be a W-2 or paystub, as well as proof of address and a Social Security number. Having these documents handy can speed the application process.

How to apply for a LightStream personal loan

LightStream does not offer pre-qualification on its website, so borrowers can’t preview their rate before applying. Here are the steps to apply for a LightStream personal loan:

1. Input loan information on LightStream’s website. You’ll be asked if this is a joint or individual loan application, how much you want to borrow, your preferred loan term in months and what the funds are for. You’ll be able to preview an example monthly payment and APR range.
2. Provide personal details. Next, you’ll provide personal information like your name, address and Social Security number, as well as information about your income, employment and assets you may have. You’ll also be asked to create a user ID and password.
3. Submit an application. After confirming the information you provided is correct and reading through all required disclosures, you’ll submit the formal personal loan application. This could require more documents, like W-2s, pay stubs or tax documents, to confirm the information you gave. LightStream will also do a hard credit check when you apply, causing your credit score to temporarily dip.
4. Make a plan to repay the loan. LightStream reports payments to all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion), so on-time payments will help build your credit score, but missed payments will hurt it. Setting up automatic payments and keeping an eye on your budget are two ways to manage your loan payments.

Compare LightStream to other lenders

Personal loan lenders offer different rates, loan amounts and special features, so it pays to weigh other options. The best personal loan is usually the one with the lowest APR.

Like LightStream, SoFi and Wells Fargo are nationwide lenders that offer personal loans with high loan amounts and a wide range of repayment terms.

SoFi

Wells Fargo

How we rate LightStream personal loans

NerdWallet writers rate lenders against a rubric that changes each year based on how personal loan products evolve. Here’s what we prioritized this year:

Ready to apply? Select “Get Rate” and head to LightStream’s website.

Methodology

NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 35 financial technology companies and financial institutions. We collect over 50 data points and cross-check company websites, earnings reports and other public documents to confirm product details. We may also go through a lender’s pre-qualification flow and follow up with company representatives. NerdWallet writers and editors conduct a full fact check and update annually, but also make updates throughout the year as necessary.

Our star ratings award points to lenders that offer consumer-friendly features, including: soft credit checks to pre-qualify, competitive interest rates and no fees, transparency of rates and terms, flexible payment options, fast funding times, accessible customer service, reporting of payments to credit bureaus and financial education. Our ratings award fewer points to lenders with practices that may make a loan difficult to repay on time, such as charging high annual percentage rates (above 36%), underwriting that does not adequately assess consumers’ ability to repay and lack of credit-building help. We also consider regulatory actions filed by agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We weigh these factors based on our assessment of which are the most important to consumers and how meaningfully they impact consumers’ experiences.

NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings. Read more about our ratings methodologies for personal loans and our editorial guidelines.