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Business Insider's personal finance team compared Avant Personal Loan personal loans to the best personal loans and found them to be in need of improvement.
Online lender Avant specializes in personal loans for those with fair to good credit. This means you don't need a stellar credit history to qualify for its financing options, which allow you to borrow up to $35,000 and receive your funding fast. Its interest rates do vary widely, topping out at a higher-than-average 35.99%, so it's worth carefully considering an Avant loan's features before applying. To help you judge, Business Insider has broken down exactly what you can expect from an Avant loan before applying.
Avant Personal Loan Overview
9.95% to 35.99%
$2,000 to $35,000
600
- Funds generally deposited by the next business day
- No prepayment penalty
- Multiple types of fees
- High maximum APR
- Low maximum loan limit
Avant Personal Loan is a good personal loan provider, especially if you have a lower credit score and need to receive your loan money quickly. Just be prepared to pay a high APR if you do have a low score.
- Loan amounts range from $2,000 to $35,000
- Loan term lengths range between 2 to 5 years
- Administration fee of up to 4.75%, which will be deducted from your loan proceeds when the loan is funded, and late fee that varies by state
- Loans made by WebBank, member FDIC
Avant Personal Loan Rates and Terms
Interest Rates: Depending on your credit score and annual income, your APR will range from 9.95% to 35.99%, which is higher than some other major competitors' APR ranges.
Loan Amounts: Avant loan amounts range from $2,000 to $35,000. The minimum amount you're required to borrow varies by state. For instance, Georgia residents must borrow at least $3,100. Avant offers loans in most states, however, it does not currently offer loans in Maine, Iowa, West Virginia, New York, Hawaii, Vermont, Massachusetts, or Washington.
Loan Terms: The minimum loan term is 24 months, and the maximum term is 60 months. You can pay off Avant loans in full at any time without incurring an early payment penalty.
Fees: You'll have to pay an administration fee of as much as 9.99% of the loan amount. The fee will then be deducted from your loan proceeds when the loan is funded. If the fee is 5% or less of the loan amount it is not refundable. Any administration fee amount above 5% may be refunded when the loan is paid in full before the original maturity date.
Avant also charges a late fee if you miss a scheduled payment and fail to pay in full within 10 days. The exact amount of this fee varies by state but is typically $25. If a scheduled payment is returned unpaid, a dishonored payment fee of $15 may apply.
Compare Personal Loan Rates
Avant Personal Loan Pros and Cons
Advantages
- Fast funding: If Avant approves your loan before 4:30 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, funds are generally deposited by the next business day, according to the company's website.
- Flexible credit requirements: Avant caters to borrowers with fair credit, with the typical loan recipient's score sitting between 600 and 700.
- Various loan purposes: Avant personal loans can be used to pay for various expenses, including debt consolidation, home improvement, and medical expenses.
- No prepayment penalty: You can make additional payments toward your loan or pay it off early without incurring any extra fees.
- Mobile app: Avant has a decent mobile app that allows you to manage your loan and make payments. Not all personal loan companies come with apps.
Drawbacks
- Potentially high APRs: Borrowers with lower credit scores may face interest rates as high as 35.99%, which is well above the maximum APRs charged by most competing lenders.
- Origination fees: You must pay a large administration fee of up to 9.99%, which will be deducted from your loan proceeds when the loan is funded.
- No joint applications: Avant doesn't permit coborrowers, meaning you can't rely on a friend or family member's good credit to help you qualify or get a better rate.
Who is an Avant Personal Loan Best For?
Avant is a great personal loan lender for borrowers who want to get their money quickly. You'll generally get your funds the day after your application is approved.
It's also well-suited to those who may not qualify for loans from traditional lenders. It's our top pick for those with bad credit scores in our guide to the best debt consolidation loan companies and the top choice for easy qualification in our best home improvement loans guide. Finally, Avant can be useful for those looking to consolidate multiple debts into one manageable payment using a personal loan.
How to Apply for an Avant Personal Loan
- Review the eligibility requirements: To qualify for an Avant personal loan, you must be 18 years of age or older, have a personal bank or credit union account, and be able to provide documents verifying your income and identity.
- Check your rate: Pre-qualify online without impacting your credit score by entering your email, basic personal information, how much you want to borrow, and how you plan to use the money. You'll then be able to preview different loan offers and choose an option. Avant will give you loan offers with a variety of rates and term lengths. Pick one you can fit into your monthly budget.
- Complete the application: You'll then need to go through the verification process and submit supporting documents. Avant may ask you personal questions and want proof of your identity, employment, income, and bank account. They could also call your employer during this step to check that your work and income information is accurate.
- Await approval: Avant will review your application and inform you of the decision. If approved, you'll need to sign your loan agreement. Then the funds will typically be deposited into your bank account by the next business day.
Avant Personal Loan Alternatives
Avant Personal Loans vs. SoFi Personal Loans
Like Avant, SoFi is an online lender that provides loans to those with less-than-stellar credit scores. But SoFi beats Avant in a few ways. It doesn't charge origination fees or late fees and offers a much higher maximum loan amount of $100,000.
SoFi's loans also come with a wider range of repayment terms, ranging between two and seven years vs. Avant's 24-60 month options. It also charges a lower maximum APR than Avant, with a range of 8.99% - 29.99% fixed (with all discounts).
Avant Personal Loans vs. Upstart Personal Loans
Borrowers with low credit scores or limited credit histories could do well with Upstart Personal Loan instead of Avant. Both have high maximum APRs or 35.99%, but Upstart's minimum rate is lower and much more competitive 7.8% vs. Avant's 9.95%. You'll pay a high origination fee with either lender.
Upstart's loans offer more flexibility in terms of borrowing limits, going up to $50,000, but Avant has more repayment term variation. Upstart is also Business Insider's top choice for the best personal loan for borrowers with limited credit history.
9.95% to 35.99%
$2,000 to $35,000
600
- Funds generally deposited by the next business day
- No prepayment penalty
- Multiple types of fees
- High maximum APR
- Low maximum loan limit
Avant Personal Loan is a good personal loan provider, especially if you have a lower credit score and need to receive your loan money quickly. Just be prepared to pay a high APR if you do have a low score.
- Loan amounts range from $2,000 to $35,000
- Loan term lengths range between 2 to 5 years
- Administration fee of up to 4.75%, which will be deducted from your loan proceeds when the loan is funded, and late fee that varies by state
- Loans made by WebBank, member FDIC
Is Avant Trustworthy?
The BBB, a non-profit organization focused on consumer protection and trust, gives Avant an A+ rating. The BBB assesses companies by evaluating a business's responses to consumer complaints, advertising truthfulness, and business practices transparency.
However, good BBB scores don't guarantee a good relationship with companies. Avant has had some controversy in its recent history. In 2019, the company settled a case with the Federal Trade Commission, where it was found liable for putting unauthorized charges on customers' credit cards and illegally requiring customers to agree to automatic payments from their bank accounts when taking out a loan.
Avant Customer Experience
Customers gave Avant a score of 1.09 stars (out of five) on the BBB website, with many complaining of poor customer service and payments not showing up or being processed correctly. It fared better on Trustpilot, earning 4.6 stars (out of 5), where borrowers generally liked that the application was quick and simple, funding was received promptly, and making payments was easy.
Many of Avant's users also like its mobile app, giving it a 4.5-star rating (out of five) on the Apple App Store and a 4.1-star rating on the Google Play Store.
Avant Personal Loan FAQs
You'll likely need a credit score of at least 600 to get approved for a personal loan from Avant.
Yes, when you check your loan options and rates with Avant, the company performs a soft credit check, which does not impact your credit score or show up on your credit report when other lenders view it. If you decide to apply for the loan, then Avant will conduct a hard credit check, affecting your score and appearing on your credit report.
To reach Avant, use their customer service email address, [email protected], or call 1-800-712-5407 Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. CT, or weekends from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CT.
You won't get instant approval with Avant, but you may be approved the same day you apply.
After you're approved for a loan with Avant, you will likely get your money within one business day.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Rated Avant Personal Loans
All personal loan products reviewed by Business Insider are graded on a 1-5 scale. This rating is a weighted average that takes into account seven different factors: interest rate (which accounts for 20% of the overall rating), fees (20%), term lengths and loan amounts (15%), funding speed (15% of rating), borrower accessibility (15%), customer support (7.5%) and ethics (7.5%).
Each category's weighting reflects its importance to your borrowing experience. Because rates and fees have the biggest impact on the cost of your loan, they count most heavily when calculating scores. See our full ratings methodology for personal loans for more details.
Best Egg Disclosure: Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) range from 6.99%–35.99%. The APR is the cost of credit as a yearly rate and reflects both your interest rate and an origination fee of 0.99%–9.99% of your loan amount, which will be deducted from any loan proceeds you receive. The origination fee on a loan term 4 years or longer will be at least 4.99%. Your loan term will impact your APR, which may be higher than our lowest advertised rate. You need a minimum 700 FICO® score and a minimum individual annual income of $100,000 to qualify for our lowest APR. For example: a 5-year $10,000 loan with a 9.99% APR has 60 scheduled monthly payments of $201.81; a 3-year $5,000 loan with 6.99% APR has 36 scheduled monthly payments of $152.83.
