When it comes to paying for education, private student loans can be very helpful. They usually have cheap interest rates for people who qualify, flexible payback options, and some even offer extras like career coaching and more. But it can be hard to discover the best private loans, and you might not even need them. 10 Best Private Student Loan
We looked at 10 private student loan lenders from all over the country to help you pick the best one for your credit, income, and aspirations. We also looked at the fees, payback terms, application process, income requirements, cosigner requirements, and borrower incentives like discounts, in addition to the interest rate.
If you want to acquire a quote from a quality lender right now, go to College Ave. They usually have some of the lowest interest rates on student loans. You can get a quote in just a few minutes.
Check out our list of the best private student loan lenders below:
Best Private Student Loans Of 2026
Student Loan Rates: The student loan rates below are updated daily Monday through Friday. The lowest rates are usually for shorter loan-terms, variable rates, those with high credit scores, and low debt-to-income ratios. 10 Best Private Student Loan
Full Breakdown: Best Student Loan Lenders
Here are all the details you need to know about the best student loan lenders.
Abe Student Loans
Abe Student Loans offers private student loans to a undergraduate, graduate, and post-bachelor graduate certificate students, with flexible repayment options and no origination, late payment, or forbearance fees. Students can use the funds from an Abe student loan to cover the cost of expenses such as tuition, room and board, books and supplies, transportation, and other personal expenses during their time at school. 10 Best Private Student Loan
You can use Abe loans to help fund the cost of a Bachelor of Arts or Science degree at an approved school. This includes private and public colleges. You can check the approved school list at the time of your application.
Ascent
Ascent Student Loans is a solid choice as a private lender – as they offer both cosigner and non-cosigner loans for undergraduate and graduate students. They also offer a solid loan amount range from $2,001 – $400,000*, competitive rates, and easy repayment terms.
What we love about Ascent is how clear they make their requirements to get the non-cosigned loan for juniors and seniors that considers more than just a credit score, which is rare in the private student loan industry. The qualify, students must:
- Be a college junior or senior enrolled full-time (or with an expected graduation date within 9-months of the date the loan application is submitted) in a degree program at an eligible institution.
- Be a U.S. citizen or have a U.S. permanent resident or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) status.
- Have satisfactory academic performance of 3.0 GPA or greater. 10 Best Private Student Loan
They offer loans starting at just $2,001* minimum, and they offer loan deferment while in school up to 9 months after graduation.
Citizens Bank
Citizens Bank offers one of the most robust private student loan programs on this list. They let you borrow as little a $1,000, and all the way up to $350,000 depending on your degree. I personally love that they base the amount you can borrow on your degree program because it does help you focus on your ROI (return on investment). 10 Best Private Student Loan
Citizens Bank offers both student and parent student loans, which can be a potential alternative to Parent PLUS Loans. Given that we recommend most borrowers refinance Parent PLUS Loans, you can potentially take advantage of lower interest rates and fees up front.
You may qualify for multi-year approval when you apply with Citizens Bank. And you’ll also have the option to defer payments until after you graduate or make interest-only payments while you’re in school. Parent borrowers must make at least interest-only payments while the student is in school.
Finally, Citizens Bank also doesn’t charge any origination fees, application fees, and has no prepayment penalties.
College Ave
College Ave offers some of the lowest rates on student loans on the market today. They are one of the largest private student loan lenders, and have highly competitive rates on their loans.
College Ave offers a variety of repayment terms, which are more flexible than other private student loan lenders. You can get loans for 5, 10, 15, or 20 years. You must borrow at least $1,000, but you can borrow up to the cost of attendance.
College Ave also offers the ability for student to defer payments until after graduation or make interest-only payments while you’re in school. 10 Best Private Student Loan
Earnest
Earnest has traditionally been known for student loan refinancing, but they now offer fairly flexible private student loans as well.
They offer top notch rates and terms, and one of the most generous grace periods after graduation – at 9 months. They also don’t charge fees for origination, disbursement, prepayment, or late payment.
The flexible terms continue with the option to skip a payment once every 12 months. And you can even put your loans in forbearance during an unpaid parental leave. 10 Best Private Student Loan
ELFI
ELFI is one of the largest student loan originators, and as a result, they typically offer some of the lowest student loan rates available.
They offer extremely competitive rates, with standard loan terms and conditions. You can borrow from 5 to 15 years, and they can lend across the entire United States, including Puerto Rico.
The only major drawback is you must be enrolled in a bachelor’s degree or more advanced education program.
Funding U
Funding U is a new lender that makes the list because they focus on offering no cosigner private student loans. This is very rare – and so we wanted to include it.
To make it happen, they use alternative criteria to make loans possible.
However, they also have lower loan amounts and higher interest rates than other lenders. But if you’re really looking for a non-cosigned student loan, this may be a good option.
LendKey
LendKey is another great lender that makes this list because they have great rates on their student loans and have a unique business model that allows them to do it. LendKey’s loans are funded by credit unions and community banks – so you’re getting a great loan, but it’s handled by LendKey’s online service. You never even realize that you have a private loan from a small bank.
LendKey doesn’t have quite as much flexibility for borrowers during school. You can make interest-only payments or fixes $25 per month payments while in school (which is still pretty low but not quite as painless as full deferment). LendKey also doesn’t offer loans to parents directly. 10 Best Private Student Loan
LendKey has no origination fees, application fees, and doesn’t charge a prepayment penalty if you pay the loan off early.
Sallie Mae
Sallie Mae is probably one of the most well-known lenders on this list. They are the nation’s largest private student loan lender by loan volume. As a result, they also offer some of the most competitive private student loans and parent loans out there.
You can take out Sallie Mae student loans starting at just $1,000 (which is one of the lowest) and can borrow up to the total cost of education². Sallie Mae has over 8 different student loan options to choose from and a variety of repayment plans too. 10 Best Private Student Loan
SoFi
SoFi is not one of our recommended lenders, but we can’t ignore that they have compelling rates and terms. We won’t gatekeep if they are the best choice for your family and situation.
SoFi allows you to borrow up to the full cost of attendance, with just a $1,000 minimum. They offer four different repayment plans, including deferred, partial, interest-only, and immediate repayment. They are even offering a bonus for good grades!
Student Choice Student Loans
Student Choice Student Loans is a service that works with a huge network of credit unions nationwide to match you with low cost student loans offered by credit unions. These credit unions can typically offer great rates since many are small and independent, and are simply looking for a few student loans each year. But as a network, the scale can serve everyone!
Since we’ve been following Student Choice, they consistently offer some of the lowest rates in the country. Right now, they offer the lowest starting variable rate student loans. 10 Best Private Student Loan
Since the loan is offered by each credit union independently, the minimum and maximum loan rates will vary, along with the loan terms. You’ll see what you match and qualify for when you get your offer.
How To Compare The Best Private Student Loans
It can be hard to know when it makes sense to borrow a private student loan, and what features you should look for. All of the lenders on the list above are great, but each person has a different financial need, so it can be hard to know which is right.
When it comes to comparing private student loans, we recommend borrowers look at the following:
- Interest Rate: Getting the lowest interest rate possible is the key to paying the least amount of interest on your loan. Remember, the higher the rate, the more you pay over the life of the loan.
- Term: This is how long you’ll repay the loan for. Always keep the shortest term possible. The longer the term, the more interest you’ll pay.
- Origination Fees: Look for loans that have low or no origination fees. However, if you can get a lower interest rate by paying a small origination fee, you should consider it. The origination fee is one-time, but the interest rate is ongoing.
- Application Fees: You should look for private loans with no application fees.
- Prepayment Penalties: You should look for loans that don’t make you pay a penalty for paying the loan off early.
- Cosigner Release: 90% of private student loans require a cosigner. You should find a student loan that allows you to release the cosigner in the least amount of time possible. The best we usually see is 24 months of on-time payments.
- Flexible Repayment Terms: You should look for lenders that allow you flexible repayment options – such as deferment during school, and variable lengths after graduation. This will help you should you need it after graduation. 10 Best Private Student Loan
Fixed Rate vs. Variable Rate
There are two main types of interest rates on student loans – fixed rates and variable rates. Variable rates are usually “sexy” in that they are lower than fixed rates…today. However, variable rates can rise in the future if interest rates go up (they can also go down, but that’s very rare). Fixed rate loans charge the same interest rate over the life of the loan.
So, should you get a fixed rate or variable rate student loan? For most private loans, you should go for a fixed rate loan. The reason is, we are in a rising interest rate environment. Rates will only rise in the future since we’re at historic lows today. You can see the best student loan rates here. 10 Best Private Student Loan
Given that you’re still in school, you’ll have several years before you make payments – during which time your rates could rise with a variable rate loan. So, while variable rates are attractive today, you might be regretting that decision in the future.
Now, if you’re refinancing an existing student loan and know the timeline of your debt repayment, getting a variable rate loan is less risky. You can see the best places to refinance a student loan here. 10 Best Private Student Loan
Understanding Cosigner Release
It is near impossible to get a private student loan without a cosigner. In fact, 90% of all private student loans have a cosigner.
The reason? Because private student loans act much more like car loans or mortgages – you need to have income, a high credit score, and more to qualify. 10 Best Private Student Loan
For most college students, they simply don’t have credit (yet), a high income (because they’re students), or an employment history (once again, because they’re students). That’s why most banks require a cosigner. 10 Best Private Student Loan
However, banks and lenders have realized that cosigners don’t like to be cosigners, and they want to get off the loans as soon as possible – that’s where cosigner release comes into play.
Cosigner release is a program offered by lenders where, after a specific number of on-time payments, the cosigner can be removed from the loan. Many banks offer cosigner release after 24-36 on-time payments. This basically proves that the borrower is able to handle the student loan themselves, and they no longer need the protection of having a cosigner.
When getting a private student loan, look for loans that have short cosigner release programs. This will allow your cosigner to be removed faster, which is always an added benefit.
Important Considerations For Borrowers
Given that most private student loans require a cosigner, it’s important that cosigners and borrowers know and understand what they are getting into. If the borrower can’t pay the loan, the cosigner is fully responsible for the debt – and failure to pay could negatively harm both the borrower’s and cosigner’s credit. 10 Best Private Student Loan
Also, if something were to happen to the borrower (such as death or disability), the cosigner is typically 100% responsible for the loan.
That’s why recommend that borrowers get term life insurance for the duration of the student loan – payable to the cosigner. The value of the policy should be the loan value plus interest. That way, if anything were to happen to the borrower, the cosigner is protected.
Check out Everyday Life to get a quick quote online in about 5 minutes. You’ll see that life insurance for college students is typically very cheap – and this can be a great way to protect your family should something happen. You don’t want to be responsible for your cosigners loans.
Private Loans vs. Income-Sharing Agreements
Income-sharing agreements are becoming popular alternatives to student loans as a way to pay for college. Income-sharing agreements are tools where you can get money for college in exchange for repaying a portion of your income after graduation.
There are limits to income-sharing – you typically have a minimum salary you need to achieve before you start repayment. Then, you only pay a certain percentage of your income, up to a certain amount. The goal is your repayment is based on how successful you are due to your education. You can find the Best ISAs here. 10 Best Private Student Loan
Learn more about income-sharing agreements here.
Frequently Asked Questions About Student Loans
Here are some common questions people ask when thinking about private student loans:
What’s the difference between private and federal loans?
Private loans are offered by independent banks and lenders, whereas federal loans are offered by the Department of Education. Private loans are subject to traditional credit and income criteria, where federal loans are offered to all students regardless of income or credit.
Do private loans offer better interest rates?
Potentially. Your interest rate is determined by a number of factors, including credit history, income, cosigner, school, loan term, and more.
Do private loans offer loan forgiveness?
No, private loans do not offer loan forgiveness.
Do private loans offer deferment and forbearance?
Some private loans offer deferment and forbearance. It’s important to shop around and compare lenders to see if they offer options such as deferment if you think you’ll need to use it.
What repayment plan options are available for private loans?
Each private loan lender sets its own repayment options. Most only offer fixed repayment plans, but some lenders offer graduated or extended plans.
What can private student loans be used for?
Private student loans can be used for all qualified educational expenses, up to the cost of attendance. This include tuition, fees, room and board, books, supplies, and more. 10 Best Private Student Loan
Who is eligible for a private student loan?
Private student loan eligibility requires a good credit history and debt to income ratio. For undergraduate students, it may also require a cosigner who has a good credit history and meets the minimum credit score requirements. 10 Best Private Student Loan
Will I need a cosigner for a private student loan?
90% of private loans require a cosigner, since private loans rely on credit history. Undergraduate borrowers typically don’t have income and credit to qualify, so a cosigner is needed.
How are private student loan funds disbursed?
Private students loans are disbursed to your school’s financial aid office. It will be used to cover all school costs first. Any amount remaining will be refunded to you so that you can pay for other expenses, such as rent, books, and supplies. 10 Best Private Student Loan
Do private student loans affect financial aid?
No, private student loans do not affect financial aid money, such as scholarships.
Can you use private student loans to help with living expenses?
Yes, private student loan money can be used for any expenses up to the cost of attendance, including living expenses like room and board.
Final Thoughts
Getting a private student loan can be confusing. That’s why we’ve listed the top online lenders to get a private student loan so that you can compare your options quickly and easily.
It can take upwards of a month or more to get the paperwork done and your loan funded. Make sure that you’re giving yourself enough time to apply and get approved so that you don’t miss any deadlines at your school.
Methodology
The College Investor is dedicated to helping you make informed decisions around complex financial topics like finding the best private student loans. We do this by providing unbiased reviews of the top banks and lenders for our readers, and then we aggregate those choices into this list. 10 Best Private Student Loan
We have picked student loan lenders based on our opinions of how easy they are to use, their interest rates, any bonuses provided, and a variety of other factors. We believe that our list accurately reflects the best private student loan options in the marketplace for consumers.