Top private student loans compared

About Top private student loans compared

Private student lending sits outside campus finance, so the trade-off is cost against access. This ranking covers 164 brands, and the spread between them is wide: a course costs a set sum in a single market and a very different figure in another, and a single lender's own band can run from friendly to punishing. Costs matter most, so each brand is judged on what you repay, on how the money reaches you and on what happens if you finish early. Some entries lend directly and set their own terms, while others act as a broker or a marketplace and pass your application to a partner, which means the figure you see is not always the figure you sign. Several work with thin credit files, others run a hard check before answering. Read the fee line closely, because an origination charge is where quiet costs sit, and check the length of the schedule, since the shortest products here are bridge sums rather than course funding.

How we picked

Every brand here was scored on published terms rather than on how it felt to use. Trust carries the heaviest weight at 40%, which covers the safety of the money and the entity standing behind it. Cost follows at 35%, drawn from the rate, the fee charged to open the loan and the length of the schedule. The offer itself counts for 25%, covering whether student lending is offered, the size of the sums, the repayment window and how a question reaches a human being. Figures come from each brand's own pages: rate tables, fee schedules, terms and conditions, legal notices, eligibility pages and, where a brand publishes only a product list, its sitemap. Where a brand states a worked example, that example is reported as given, in its own currency. Commercial partners are listed first, in the order the partner agreement sets, and everything after them is ordered by score. Amounts are not converted between currencies, because each brand lends in the currency its own site shows. A brand is not held to be better or worse than the one beside it; the order shows what each one trades away.

Our top picks

1. 1. Oney Préstamos ES

   Oney Préstamos ES is the first true lender in this ranking, and that matters for a student who wants a single agreement rather than a chain of them: it lends directly, so the rate and the fee are its own. Student loans are listed alongside personal and car lending, sums reach €1,000 to €45,000, and support runs on help centre and phone. The trade-off is what it takes to get in and what it takes to leave. The credit check is hard (hard), you must be an adult and clear of unpaid debts, existing customers can start from a lower amount than new ones, and opening the loan costs 3% of financed capital (apertura) of the capital financed. Early repayment is not free here either. Wannacash ES, ranked next, asks for no credit check at all but stops at €50 to €900.

   • Loan amount: €1,000 to €45,000
   • Arrangement fee: 3% of financed capital (apertura)
   • Credit check: Hard

   Pros

   • The lender is named on the paperwork as Oney Servicios Financieros E.F.C., S.A.U (CIF A-83113324), a direct lender, so the counterparty is clear before you sign.
   • Support runs on help centre and phone, pairing a phone line with a help centre.
   • personal, car and student all sit under the same lender, so a car, student or buy now pay later need does not mean a new provider.

   Cons

   • Every loan carries an opening fee of 3% of financed capital (apertura), so the cost starts above the interest rate.
   • Free early repayment is not offered, so clearing the balance ahead of schedule does not lower what you pay.
   • New customers start from a higher floor, and the credit check is hard, so a thin first application can be turned down.

2. 2. Andacredito: best for top pick

   Andacredito sits at the top of this ranking because it is the rare entry here that asks for nothing to set the loan up: an origination fee of 0 EUR, and early repayment carries no charge either. It works with a poor credit file (poor) and asks only that you are an adult with a bank account in Spain, with the money promised in 10 minutes. The trade-off is size and shape. This is a broker run by Fininity OU in Estonia, and what it offers tops out at €100 to €5,000 over 2 to 3, so it bridges a gap rather than funding a degree, and a student on a longer course would be repaying several small loans. Rates are variable, across 0% to 36%, and support runs on email. Creditio, next in the order, lends far more for far longer.

   • APR: 0% to 36%
   • Loan amount: €100 to €5,000
   • Term: 2 to 3 months

   Pros

   • An APR of 0% to 36% and an arrangement fee of 0 EUR keep the headline cost at the cheap end.
   • Funding in 10 minutes suits a bill that lands today rather than next month.
   • Early repayment is free, so an unexpected windfall clears the balance at no extra cost.
   • Built for poor credit, so a file other lenders decline still has a route.
   • Brokers are 20.6% of the listings here, so a matching service is a real alternative.

   Cons

   • The term is 2 to 3, so the balance must clear quickly and a gap suits better than a cost spread over years.
   • The rate is variable, so the figure you finish on is exposed to a rate move.
   • Support runs on email only, so every question and dispute is handled in writing.
   • As a broker, the final rate comes from the partner, so 0% to 36% is a starting point.

3. 3. Wannacash ES

   Wannacash ES is in this ranking for the gentlest on-ramp of any member: no credit check (none), a poor credit file accepted (poor), and no guarantor or payslip required, just legal age, residence in Spain, a Spanish bank account and recurring income. An origination fee of 0 EUR - WannaCash charges the applicant nothing means the arrangement costs nothing, the money usually lands the same day as the application, and support runs on email and phone. What you give up is scale. This is a broker, and it lends €50 to €900 over 1, which covers a deposit, a laptop or a month of rent between terms rather than a course, so a student would return every term. Credy CO, ranked next, also offers student lending (personal, debt consolidation and car) and adds home improvement (home improvement), useful when a course and a room are paid for together.

   • Loan amount: €50 to €900
   • Term: 1 month
   • Arrangement fee: 0 EUR - WannaCash charges the applicant nothing

   Pros

   • A fee of 0 EUR - WannaCash charges the applicant nothing means the arrangement adds no cost to the borrowing.
   • Funding is quick: money lands in the account minutes after approval, usually the same day as the application.
   • The credit check is none, and eligibility rests on a Spanish bank account and recurring income, with no payroll or guarantor required.
   • The lending types are broad, personal, payday and credit line, so the same broker covers a personal loan, a credit line, a car loan or a student loan.
   • Same-day funding is a normal feature on the site, appearing in 82.9% of loans, so fast payout sits in the mainstream here.

   Cons

   • The cap on €50 to €900 sits far below €100 to €5,000 at Cashspace ES, so anyone covering a larger cost needs a different lender.
   • The credit needed is poor, which tells you the pricing is aimed at applicants with a weaker credit history rather than the strongest files.
   • WannaCash is a broker, so the offer you receive is set by a third party lender rather than by the broker you apply through.
   • Support runs on email and phone, so there is no live chat when a payment date is pressing.

4. 4. Finmercado

   Finmercado is in this ranking because it is the only Mexican marketplace here with student lending on its list, and it opens the door at both ends: an origination fee of 0 MXN, a soft prequalification step (soft prequal) and a file that can be thin, since it works with poor credit (poor). Applicants need an INE and an active bank account, partner lenders answer in minutes and the deposit lands in that account, and help runs on email, chat and help centre, the widest support mix among the members here. The trade-off is the schedule and the price. Terms top out at 2 to 12 on amounts of MXN 500 to MXN 200,000, which suits a term of study or a gap year far better than a full degree, and the informative cost figure published sits at from 677.47%. Oney Préstamos ES, next in the order, lends much larger sums against a single course.

   • APR: from 677.47%
   • Loan amount: MX$500 to MX$200,000
   • Term: 2 to 12 months

   Pros

   • No fee for taking out a personal loan, since the origination fee is 0 MXN
   • same day funding is offered and the deposit goes straight to your bank account
   • The online application takes a few minutes, and partner lenders answer in minutes
   • poor credit is accepted, and checks are a soft prequal rather than a full application
   • Loans of MXN 500 to MXN 200,000 cover a wide spread, and personal, payday and secured are all available through partners

   Cons

   • Fees are not the problem, interest is: from 677.47% is an informative rate and the representative example shows a total repayable well above the amount borrowed
   • Terms run 2 to 12, so a larger balance has to be cleared quickly
   • Support runs on email, chat and help centre only, with no phone line
   • Checks are a soft prequal and poor credit is accepted, so the route is aimed at thin files rather than strong ones

5. 5. Credy CO

   Credy CO is in this ranking because it lists student lending (personal, debt consolidation and car) alongside personal, car and business loans, and it names home improvement as a use case (home improvement), which covers a student paying for a course and a room at the same time. That range of products is the reason to shortlist it here, and it is worth asking for the fee schedule, the rate type and the credit check in writing before applying, since those are the points on which the members of this ranking separate. Compared with Wannacash ES above, which states plainly that it runs no credit check and charges 0 EUR - WannaCash charges the applicant nothing to arrange a loan, you will want the same clarity from Credy CO yourself. United Asia Finance, the member ranked next, is the opposite case, laying out amounts of HKD 1,500,000, a fixed rate and terms of 3 to 60 in public.

   • Loan types: Personal, Debt-consolidation, Car, and 3 more
   • Use cases: Home-improvement

6. 7. Creditio

   Creditio earns its place in this ranking by being the most flexible of the Spanish entries on shape: amounts of €100 to €500,000 and terms of 2 to 240 mean a student can cover a single term or spread a course across years, and an origination fee of 0 EUR keeps the setup cost at nil. Student lending is on the list, the check is soft prequalification (soft prequal) rather than a full search, and a decision comes in minutes, though the money arrives from whichever lender you connect to. Support runs on email and phone, which Andacredito, ranked above it, handles on email alone. The catch is the APR band of 3% to 36% on a variable rate, and the fact that final terms belong to a partner rather than to this broker. Finmercado, ranked next, works in Mexican pesos rather than euros.

   • APR: 3% to 36%
   • Loan amount: €100 to €500,000
   • Term: 2 to 240 months

   Pros

   • The arrangement fee is 0 EUR on the personal loan in the representative example, so nothing is added on top of the interest.
   • The low end of 3% to 36% sits below Cashspace at PHP 12 to PHP 36 and Monzo Flex at 10% to 23%.
   • The credit check is a soft prequalification, soft prequal, where 72.7% of the brands compared use a hard check.
   • The decision comes back in minutes, and the same application covers amounts up to €100 to €500,000 across personal, debt consolidation, car, secured and student borrowing.
   • Support runs on email and phone, so a payout that stalls can be chased by phone.

   Cons

   • The rate type is variable, so 3% to 36% is a range you are quoted into rather than a price fixed for the whole term.
   • Creditio is a broker, so it never lends to you: the money and the contract both belong to the lender you are connected to, and that lender sets the final terms.
   • Terms run 2 to 240, well short of the 480 seen across the brands compared, so a large balance has to be repaid quickly.
   • A revolving credit line is not among its features (same day funding), which lists same-day funding only, so borrowers who want to draw money in stages will not find one here.

What to look for

The cost you actually repay

Start with the annual cost rather than the monthly instalment. Across this ranking the median sits at 8.97%, the lower quarter at 6.45% and the upper quarter at 12.8%, with the whole band running from 0% to 23.58%. A fixed rate is the safer default: most of this group prices on a fixed basis, at 75.3%, against 24.7% on a variable one.

Whether the loan covers the course

Tuition is a large sum, so the ceiling decides whether a lender can help at all. The median amount here is €1,000, the lower quarter €300 and the upper quarter €3,082.61, reaching €167,700.82 at the top. Each figure sits in the currency that lender uses, so compare sums within a single market rather than across markets.

Length of the schedule

A schedule that matches the course beats a lower rate on a short product. The median repayment window in this group is 60, with 36 at the lower quarter and a top of 240. Products at the very short end bridge a gap between terms, and covering a course with them means renewing the borrowing again and again.

Credit checks and who gets through

Know which check you face before you apply. The split here runs 73% on a hard check, 21.6% on a soft prequalification step and 5.4% on no check at all. On the file itself, 47.7% want a good credit history while 18.2% will work with a poor one.

Fees and the right to repay early

Opening fees are the quiet cost here. Several brands charge an origination fee of 0 EUR to set a loan up, while others scale the charge with the sum, as at Oney Préstamos ES with 3% of financed capital (apertura) and at BankBazaar with 0% - 6% of the loan amount + GST. Early settlement is the other line to read: 84.8% of this group let you finish early at no charge, against 15.2% that do not.

Who you are dealing with

A direct lender sets the terms itself, while a broker or a marketplace passes you on. The split here runs 77.2% direct lenders against 8.6% brokers and 14.2% marketplaces. Help follows a similar pattern, with 93.8% of the group listing phone support and 78.7% listing email.

Frequently asked questions

Top private student loans compared by country

• Australia
• Canada
• China
• Colombia
• Germany
• Italy
• Mexico
• Poland
• Portugal
• South Africa
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV