Marcus no longer offers personal loans. The information below references product details that were available before the product was terminated.
Two leading online personal loan lenders are SoFi® and Marcus by Goldman Sachs. Both offer low-cost loans. This comparison will examine each lender’s offerings and help you decide your best option.
View Rates
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No Longer Offered
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| Rates (APR) | 8.99% – 29.99% fixed rate APRs with all discounts applied | Not disclosed |
| Rates (APR) | Rates (APR) | |
| 8.99% – 29.99% fixed rate APRs with all discounts applied | Not disclosed | |
| Loan amounts | $5,000 – $100,000 | Not disclosed |
| Loan amounts | Loan amounts | |
| $5,000 – $100,000 | Not disclosed | |
| Repayment terms | 2 – 7 years | Not disclosed |
| Repayment terms | Repayment terms | |
| 2 – 7 years | Not disclosed | |
| Min. credit score | 660 | Not disclosed |
| Min. credit score | Min. credit score | |
| 660 | Not disclosed | |
| See the best personal loans. | ||
SoFi vs Marcus: Which is right for you?
SoFi is an online bank that offers almost every financial product, including excellent personal loans for borrowers with good credit. Marcus used to offer personal loans with competitive rates but as of June 2024, it no longer lists the product on its website.
Here are a few situations where one lender may be a better choice than the other.
- If you have great credit
- If you have fair credit
- If you earn less than $40,000
- If you want to borrow a low amount
- If you want to borrow a large amount
- If you need a longer repayment term
- If you need money quickly
If you have great credit
If you have a good-to-great credit score, a SoFi loan is probably your best bet. You can borrow a lot of money from SoFi in a short amount of time and pay low interest rates.
SoFi’s minimum credit score is 660, so check your credit report and make sure your score meets that requirement before beginning the loan application process. If your credit score exceeds that minimum, you could get a great rate on a SoFi loan.
>> Ready to apply with SoFi? Click here.
If you have fair credit
If you need a personal loan for fair credit, Marcus comes out ahead. Similar to SoFi, Marcus has a minimum credit score requirement of 660.
But if you’re close to that minimum, Marcus may look more positively on your creditworthiness and is more likely to give you good terms than SoFi.
If you earn less than $40,000
Marcus advertises that you may be denied a loan if you cannot show an annual income greater than $40,000. Marcus is also sensitive to lending to people with a high debt-to-income ratio.
SoFi does not post a minimum income requirement, so it’s possible you may still be denied, but that will likely depend on your credit and outstanding debt.
>> Ready to apply with SoFi? Click here.
If you want to borrow less than $5,000
Sometimes, you don’t need to borrow a huge amount of money. If you’re looking to borrow less than $5,000, you’ll want to apply with Marcus.
SoFi has a minimum loan amount of $5,000, while Marcus will let you borrow as little as $3,500 at a time.
If you want to borrow more than $40,000
SoFi loans can go up to $100,000, while Marcus will only let you borrow $40,000 at a time. So you’ll have to use SoFi if you want to borrow more than $40,000 in one go.
>> Ready to apply with SoFi? Click here.
If you need a longer repayment term
When you get a personal loan, you can choose the loan’s term, or the amount of time you’ll have to repay.
The longer the loan’s term, the lower your minimum monthly payment will be. Having a lower monthly payment means more flexibility in your monthly budget.
SoFi lets you borrow money for up to 84 months, and Marcus offers terms as long as 72 months.
>> Ready to apply with SoFi? Click here.
If you need money quickly
If you’re applying for a personal loan because you have an immediate need for cash, Marcus is the lender for you. Like SoFi, you can apply online, but Marcus can approve and fund your loan directly into your bank account in one to four business days.
Being able to get money quickly is important when you’re trying to cover an unexpected expense or need some extra cash to get started on a project.
Additional resources
If you’d like to compare additional options, you can check out our guide to the best personal loans.
Interested in seeing how SoFi stacks up against other personal loan lenders? Check out our comparison of SoFi vs Upstart, SoFi vs LendingClub, SoFi vs Best Egg, and SoFi vs LightStream.
About our contributors
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Written by TJ PorterTJ Porter is a Boston-based freelance writer specializing in credit, credit cards, and bank accounts. He graduated with a degree in business from Northeastern University.