LightStream Personal Loans: 2024 Review

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.

» COMPARE: Best personal loans

Table of Contents

LightStream loans at a glance

Where LightStream personal loans stand out and fall short

How to use LightStream personal loans

Do you qualify for a LightStream personal loan?

How to apply for a LightStream personal loan

How LightStream personal loans compare

How we rate LightStream personal loans

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.

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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.

» MORE: Fast personal loans

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.

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How to use LightStream personal loans

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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

  The lender doesn't disclose much information about its average approved borrower, but says the average home improvement loan is $30,000 and the average debt consolidation loan is $22,000. LightStream says most borrowers get a personal loan for home improvement, debt consolidation or to purchase a vehicle.

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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.

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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

» MORE: Read our review of SoFi

Wells Fargo

» MORE: Read our review of Wells Fargo

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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:

• Category definitions

  Affordability (25%)

  An affordable loan has low rates and fees compared to other similar loans and may offer rate discounts.

  Customer experience (20%)

  A good customer experience includes allowing borrowers to choose and change their repayment date, a fully online application process, a mobile app to manage the loan and a customer service team with wide availability.

  Underwriting and eligibility (20%)

  The lender reviews borrowers’ credit reports and credit history and tries to understand their ability to repay a loan. It offers loans in most states and doesn’t restrict eligibility by requiring a pre-existing relationship.

  Application process (20%)

  Borrowers can pre-qualify to check their potential rate, loan amount, repayment term and APR without affecting their credit score. They can easily find answers to questions about the personal loan on the lender’s website. The application process is fast enough to allow funding within a couple of days or less.

  Loan flexibility (15%)

  A flexible loan is one that offers a wide range of loan amounts and repayment term options. It includes common features like additional loan types and direct payment to creditors on debt consolidation loans.

  Discretionary

  A lender’s star rating can be reduced if the lender is sued by a state or federal regulator for unfair consumer practices or has been accused by a reputable source of suspicious business practices.

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