Our loan comparison table compares the representaive example of all the loan providers in the UK. We show the representative example as this is the cost for a typical person approved by that loan provider. It's important to note that rates can differ from person to person based on status.
| Loan Provider | Representative APR | Loan Size | Loan Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 118 118 Money | 99.90% | £1,800 | 24 months |
| 1plus1 Loans | 47.80% | £3,000 | 36 months |
| 1st Stop Personal Loans Ltd | 30.8% | £3,000 | 36 months |
| AA | 8.90% | £4,000 | 36 months |
| Admiral | 9.90% | £10,000 | 60 months |
| AIB | 8.10% | £25,000 | 36 months |
| Amigo | 49.90% | £4,000 | 36 months |
| Argos | 29.90% | £450 | 36 months |
| AvantCredit | 42.50% | £3,000 | 36 months |
| Azure Money | 49.40% | £3,000 | 36 months |
| Bamboo | 69.90% | £1,500 | 24 months |
| Bank of Ireland UK | 3.40% | £15,000 | 60 months |
| Bank of Scotland | 3.90% | £10,000 | 48 months |
| Barclays Bank | 5.50% | £10,000 | 60 months |
| besavvi | 16.90% | £5,000 | 60 months |
| Buddy Loans | 49.90% | £3,250 | 36 months |
| cahoot | 2.80% | £10,000 | 60 months |
| Central Trust | 11.80% | £25,000 | 60 months |
| Choose Wisely | 49.90% | £3,250 | 36 months |
| Clydesdale Bank | 9% | £10,000 | 36 Months |
| Creation Financial Services | 10.90% | £7,500 | 36 Months |
| Danske Bank | 5.50% | £7,000 | 36 Months |
| Everyday Loans | 99.90% | £3,000 | 24 months |
| Evolution Money | 25.44% | £10,000 | 120 Months |
| Fair Finance | 191% | £500 | 10 months |
| First Direct | 3.30% | £7,000 | 60 months |
| free2 | 7.97% | £30,000 | 120 Months |
| Future Finance | 20.40% | £4,000 | 112 months |
| George Banco | 79.90% | £3,500 | 36 months |
| Guarantor My Loan | 48.90% | £4,000 | 36 months |
| Halifax | 19.90% | £1,200 | 12 months |
| Hitachi Personal Finance | 3.50% | £7,500 | 60 months |
| HSBC | 3.30% | £7,000 | 60 months |
| Ikano Bank | 3.70% | £5,000 | 36 months |
| iwoca | 49% | £10,000 | 12 months |
| JN Bank | 19.90% | £3,000 | 36 months |
| John Lewis Financial Services | 2.90% | £10,000 | 36 months |
| JustUs | 11.70% | £10,000 | 60 months |
| Koyo | 27% | £4,000 | 36 months |
| Leap | 6.03% | £10,000 | 36 months |
| Lendable | 28.20% | £7,500 | 36 months |
| LendFair | 29.90% | £3,500 | 48 months |
| Lending Works | 9.90% | £1,000 | 12 months |
| Lifestyle Loans | 49.90% | £3,000 | 36 months |
| Likely Loans | 59.90% | £2,000 | 24 months |
| LiveLend | 21.20% | £5,000 | 42 months |
| Lloyds Bank | 23.70% | £1,200 | 12 months |
| Loans Warehouse | 11.80% | £35,000 | 168 months |
| M&S Bank | 2.90% | £10,000 | 60 months |
| Madiston LendLoanInvest | 11.61% | £3,000 | 36 months |
| MBNA Limited | 2.90% | £10,000 | 48 months |
| Metro Bank | 7.90% | £3,000 | 60 months |
| Monevo | 18.50% | £10,000 | 60 months |
| Monzo Bank | 26.60% | £1,000 | 36 months |
| My Community Bank | 23.90% | £15,000 | 36 months |
| My Community Finance | 23.90% | £5,000 | 48 months |
| Nationwide BS | 2.90% | £10,000 | 60 months |
| NatWest | 3.90% | £10,000 | 60 Months |
| Norton Finance | 15.40% | £12,000 | 48 months |
| On Stride | 313.10% | £550 | 7 months |
| Oplo | 25.20% | £8,580 | 54 months |
| Optimum Credit | 11.80% | £35,000 | 168 months |
| Paragon Bank | 5.30% | £63,540 | 216 months |
| Post Office Money | 8.90% | £4,000 | 36 months |
| Prestige Finance | 7.00% | £18,000 | 120 months |
| Progressive Money | 61.91% | £3,450 | 36 months |
| RAC Personal Loans | 9.90% | £7,500 | 60 months |
| RateSetter | 4.90% | £10,000 | 60 months |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | 3.90% | £10,000 | 60 Months |
| Sainsbury's Bank | 2.80% | £10,000 | 60 Months |
| Salad Money | 69.90% | £1,000 | 18 Months |
| Santander | 3.00% | £10,000 | 60 months |
| Savvy | 341.70% | £1,000 | 12 months |
| Shawbrook Bank | 14.90% | £10,000 | 60 Months |
| Spotcap | 22.80% | £100,000 | 12 months |
| Starling Bank | 7% | £15,000 | 36 months |
| Step One Finance | 14.90% | £3,000 | 60 months |
| SUCO | 48.90% | £2,000 | 48 Months |
| Talk Loans | 49.70% | £4,000 | 36 months |
| Tesco Bank | 3.00% | £7,500 | 60 months |
| TFS Loans | 44.90% | £5,000 | 36 months |
| The Co-operative Bank | 9.90% | £300 | 36 months |
| TrustTwo | 37.90% | £5,000 | 36 months |
| TSB | 2.80% | £7,500 | 60 months |
| UK Credit | 29.90% | £8,000 | 60 months |
| UK Credit Limited | 29.90% | £8,000 | 60 months |
| Ulster Bank | 3.90% | £10,000 | 60 Months |
| United Trust Bank | 7.50% | £11,745 | 180 months |
| Varooma | 209.42% | £1,000 | 12 months |
| Virgin Money | 3.00% | £7,500 | 60 Months |
| Yorkshire Bank | 10.20% | £20,000 | 24 months |
| Zopa | 14.40% | £10,000 | 60 Months |
The Different Types of Personal Loan
Debt Consolidation Loans
If you have multiple debts and bad credit, use one of these loans to consolidate them into one debt, with one payment term.
Home Improvement Loans
A home improvement loan is perfect if you’re looking to carry out improvements that will add value to your house, such as a new kitchen, bathroom or extension
Guarantor Loans
If you can’t get a loan for whatever reason, perhaps through having bad credit, then apply for a loan where someone else acts as the guarantor, perhaps a relative. If the loan defaults, they’re liable for the debt.
Joint Accounts Loans
The positive of a joint account loan is you might, as a couple, be able to borrow more together. The negative is each of you may be asked to repay the debt in full if the other person can’t.
Flexible loans
Sometimes called a flexi loan, a flexible loan allows you to increase or decrease your loan amount as you go along or vary the repayments. Some permit you to miss the occasional payment.
Short Term Loans
These are the best bets if you want to repay in full within a year. Short-term 1 year loans are ideal for funding a purchase or perhaps consolidating a debt.
Bad Credit Loans
Even if you’ve been refused credit in the past owing to a poor credit history, you can get a loan. But because you have a higher risk attached to your application, you’ll be paying more in interest.
Long-Term Loans
A long-term loan might be the best option if you want to reduce your monthly costs. The downside, of course, is that it will take you much longer to settle the debt, and over that time you may pay more in interest.
Low-Interest Loans
A low interest loan offers the best interest rates around but you must have a decent credit rating. No lender will risk low rates on just anybody!
Tenant Loans
Tenant loans are liable to have a higher interest rate payable since the applicant won’t have a home to secure against the debt. The best option is to plump for a tenant guarantor loan, whereby someone close to you secures the loan.
Small Loans
The ideal amount for a new car, holiday or perhaps a purchase for the home, compare lenders for borrowing upto £5,000.
Business Loans
Businesses need finance to grow and become a success. Both start-ups new to business and established companies could benefit from an injection of cash to fund expansion, cover short term cash flow issues or to refinance borrowing at a better rate with a business loan.
What is a personal loan?
With a personal loan a bank or another kind of financial institution will lend you money to be paid back over a set period of time. You will usually be able to borrow anything from around £1,000 to tens of thousands of pounds with loans paid back normally over a period of years. However, some short-term loans are available with shorter repayment terms although these often come with a higher interest rate.
You will pay for the loan by paying interest which is usually set as an annual percentage rate (APR). The cost of this rate varies depending on the provider and your own personal financial history.
Which bank is best for personal loans?
It all depends. Banks can vary considerably in their terms and costs, such as who they are willing to lend to, additional fees and repayment terms. These may vary from one person to another depending on your credit history. To get the best deal you should shop around a number of providers to compare costs and terms.
How much can I borrow with a personal loan?
You can get a personal loan for anything between around £1,000 up to around £100,000 although a few may offer more. However, this upper limit isn’t necessarily what they will provide to all people. This will depend on many factors such as your income, financial situation and history. When you apply for a loan, they will perform a series of checks before deciding how much they are willing to offer.
What happens to personal loans when you die?
If someone dies before a loan is repaid the outstanding debt is paid out of their estate. If they leave no will behind, the administrator is will be responsible for paying any debts out of the estate. Family members will only be personally liable for a loan if they have taken out a joint loan. If there is no estate left behind the loan dies with the person.
How do you get a personal loan?
To get a personal loan you can browse through available lenders. You will then provide all documents they ask for such as your national insurance number or employment details to help them make a decision. To see if you are likely to be approved you could check your credit score, consider your liabilities and set a repayment plan so you know how you will pay it off. You can usually apply direct to a loan provider either online, by phone or in person.
Are personal loans taxable?
Because you will have to pay it back a personal loan is not considered in come. Therefore, you will not have to declare it to the tax man. Any lender, though, will be receiving payments from the loan in the form of interest and fees. This is income and so they will have to declare it to inland revenue.
Can you increase a personal loan?
In some cases, you may be able to increase your personal loan. If you’ve been regularly paying it back, the lender may start to see you as a more reliable borrower. As such, they might be happier to let you borrow more. Sometimes they will even contact you offering to top up your loan, especially as it nears its end. You be careful about accepting such an offer as it could cost more in the long run and there may be better options available elsewhere.
Can a personal loan be transferred to another person?
Sometimes. A bank or non-bank financial institution may offer a personal loan balance transfer which would allow you to transfer the loan to another person. However, they will usually perform all the usual credit checks before deciding if they are willing for this person to take on the remainder of the loan. You may sometimes be able to transfer the loan to another provider or another loan product.
Can you freeze a personal loan?
If you’re struggling to make your repayments, some lenders may allow you to freeze your loan to make it more affordable. For example, some lenders may offer the chance to defer payments for one month or two without accruing more interest to help you through a difficult patch. This should not affect your credit score. However, if you take an alternative approach by reducing repayments this could not only increase the overall cost of the loan but could also harm your credit rating.
How can you get a personal loan with poor credit?
Even if you have poor credit, you may be able to get a personal loan. Indeed, there are many providers which specifically market loans for people with poor credit. They may be more forgiving, but there is a catch. The chances are you’ll have to pay a higher interest rate making the loan considerably more expensive over the long run.
About The Author
Tom Cropper has been writing for us since 2015. Tom is a financial journalist and his appeared in titles such as the Guardian, Euromoney and many others.