Avant Personal Loan Review
9.95%-35.99%
24 to 60 months
$2,000-$35,000
550
LendingTree rating: 3.8/5
Accessibility: 4.1/5
Rates and terms: 3.4/5
Repayment experience: 4/5
Avant is an online lender that offers loans and credit cards. You can use an unsecured Avant personal loan for a variety of purposes, including emergencies, debt consolidation and home improvement.
- Low minimum credit score: Avant offers one of the lowest credit score minimums on the market for traditional personal loan lenders, so it’s worth considering if you have bad credit. Payday lenders often have even lower (or no) credit requirements, but they charge much higher rates. This makes payday loans much more expensive.
- Possible “administration” fees: Avant charges an upfront origination fee on some of its loans. Up to 9.99% of the amount you borrow will be deducted as a fee before Avant sends you your loan.
- Flexible loan terms: Avant offers loan durations as short as 24 to 60 months, which is shorter than many competitors. Choosing a shorter loan term can help you save money on interest.
- Check rates without impacting your credit: Avant allows you to see potential loan terms, interest rates and amounts without a hard credit pull.
- Best for borrowers with bad credit: Avant stands out for its low minimum credit score and affordable rates for bad-credit borrowers, so its loans are worth considering if your credit needs work.
Avant pros and cons
Because it offers a wide range of potential APRs, Avant’s specific pros and cons depend on your credit score. Borrowers with excellent credit probably wouldn’t have to pay a high APR, for example.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Offers loans to borrowers with low credit scores Prequalify to see what rates you might get Offers smaller and shorter loans than other lenders | High potential maximum APR (35.99%) Charges origination fees Loans aren’t available nationwide |
Financial experts agree that 36% is the cutoff between affordable interest rates and predatory ones. The highest APR Avant will charge is 35.99%, which falls just below that limit. Borrowers with bad credit can save hundreds or thousands on interest when they get a loan from a reputable lender like Avant rather than a predatory lender.
Avant loans do come with some drawbacks. Avant may take an origination fee from your loan before sending it to you. And while Avant’s maximum APR is lower than what most payday lenders charge, it is on the high end for traditional personal lenders. If you can’t afford an Avant loan, take time to improve your credit before applying again.
Avant requirements
Avant doesn’t specify much of its eligibility criteria beyond its minimum credit score. Here’s what you need to get a loan from Avant:
| Minimum credit score | 550 |
| Residency | Not available to residents of Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Washington or West Virginia |
| Additional documentation | You may have to provide documents like bank statements or pay stubs to verify your income or identity |
| Administrative requirements | Must have a bank account |
If Avant’s loan options won’t work for your borrowing needs, be sure to shop around for the best personal loan that helps you meet your financial goals and can offer you good rates, terms and amounts.
See New Mexico consumer brochure for common terms and definitions and regulations around rates and fees.
How to get a personal loan with Avant
Avant has a quick and easy application process online:
Prequalify
Avant asks for quite a bit of information during the prequalification process. You’ll enter your name, address, email, date of birth, Social Security number, type of residence, housing costs, income type and amount, loan purpose and how much money you’d like.
Receive loan terms
Avant provides conditional loan terms within minutes in some cases. Once you receive your offers, you may need to provide supporting documentation like bank statements and pay stubs before formally applying for the loan. Avant will run a hard credit check to pull your credit score and credit report if you choose to move forward.
Approval and funding
Once you sign, Avant will send your money as soon as the next business day. Avant will take any administration or origination fees out of your loan before sending you the money.
If you can’t prequalify for an Avant loan, there are some ways to improve your credit score and chances of approval.
How Avant compares to other personal loan companies
Even if you believe Avant aligns with what you’re looking for in a personal loan, it never hurts to shop around and compare lenders. Here’s how Avant stacks up against similar personal loan lenders.
| Avant | Best Egg | Prosper | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LendingTree’s rating | 3.8/5 | 4.4/5 | 4.7/5 |
| Minimum credit score | 550 | 580 | 560 |
| APRs | 9.95% - 35.99% | 6.99% - 35.99% | 8.99% - 35.99% |
| Loan amount | $2,000 to $35,000 | $2,000 to $50,000 | $2,000 to $50,000 |
| Repayment term | 24 to 60 months | 36 to 60 months | 24 to 60 months |
| Origination fee | Up to 9.99% | 0.99% - 9.99% | 1.00% - 9.99% |
| Funding timeline | May receive funds as soon as the next business day | May receive funds as soon as the next business day | May receive funds as soon as the next business day |
| Bottom line | Avant offers quick funding and short-term loans. It has lower credit requirements than Best Egg and Prosper, making it a good choice for borrowers with bad credit. | Best Egg offers more money and a lower starting rate than Avant, making it ideal for larger loans and borrowers with excellent credit who can qualify for low starting rates. | Prosper offers larger loans than Avant, but it has a slightly higher credit requirement. |
How we rated Avant
To come up with our star rating for personal loan companies, LendingTree considered 22 data points across three categories:
- Accessibility: We paid attention to whether lenders offered loans to nontraditional borrowers, as well as those without excellent credit scores. We also checked if lenders offered soft credit pulls, and whether they were transparent about eligibility criteria other than credit scores.
- Rates and terms: We wanted to know if lender rates, terms, amounts and fees were not only transparent, but also competitive.
- Repayment experience: We based this category on lenders’ reputations, customer support availability and unique benefits.
The data points reflect every step of the process to shop and apply for, borrow and repay personal loans. A five-star lender, for instance, has flexible eligibility requirements, offers you the chance to prequalify without commitment and supports you in zeroing your balance.
Data points, culled from the lenders themselves, determine the overall rating. We score lenders consistently, sometimes awarding partial points, so that you can make apples-to-apples comparisons when shopping around.
LendingTree isn’t paid for conducting these reviews, and lenders don’t have control over their content. With our reviews and ratings, we aim to give our users the objective and exhaustive information they need to make the best possible decisions.
Frequently asked questions
The exact size of your loan depends on your credit score and what you intend to use the loan for, but the most you can borrow from Avant is $35,000.
Avant may require proof of income and employment. Avant may call your employer to verify your employment. If Avant needs additional documents to verify your income, a member of Avant’s team will reach out to you directly.
You can check your rates while only taking a soft credit check, but if you choose to move forward with the loan, Avant will do a hard credit check as part of the approval process.