Upgrade vs. Best Egg: Which Personal Loan Is Right for You?
Last updated 04/29/2026 by
Ante Mazalin
Edited by
Andrew Latham
Summary:
Upgrade offers longer terms, smaller minimum loans, and joint applications, while Best Egg starts origination fees lower for qualified borrowers. Choose Upgrade if you need flexibility — a smaller loan, a longer payoff, or a co-borrower; choose Best Egg if you have decent credit and want the lowest possible upfront fee.
- Upgrade: Best for fair-credit borrowers who need a small loan, long term, or joint application.
- Best Egg: Best for good-credit borrowers focused on minimizing origination fees.
Both lenders cap APRs at the same ceiling and accept the same minimum credit score, so the real decision turns on origination fees and applicant flexibility — not headline rates.
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Upgrade vs. Best Egg at a Glance
Here’s how the two compare on the factors that matter most:
| Feature | Upgrade | Best Egg |
|---|---|---|
| APR | 7.74% - 35.99% | 6.99% - 35.99% |
| Loan Amount Range | $1,000 - $50,000 | $2,000 - $50,000 |
| Loan Term | 24 months - 84 months | 36 months - 60 months |
| Origination Fee | 1.85% - 9.99% | 0.99% - 9.99% |
| Credit Score Range | 600 - 850 | 600 - 850 |
| Funding Time | 1 days | 1 days - 3 days |
| Prequalified (Soft Pull) | Yes | Yes |
| No Prepayment Fee | Yes | Yes |
| Joint Applications (Co-borrower) | Yes | No |
| Cosigner Accepted | No | No |
| Late Fee | $10 | None disclosed |
| APR Type | Fixed APR | Fixed APR |
| Checking Account Required | Yes | Yes |
| States Offered | 50 states + DC | 47 states |
| SuperMoney User Score | strongly recommended | mostly recommended |
| Founded | 2016 | 2014 |
| Lender Type | Direct lender (partnered with Cross River Bank) | Marketplace platform (loans by Cross River Bank or Column N.A.) |
Which One Should You Choose?
Choose Upgrade if…
- You need a small loan — Upgrade starts at $1,000, half of Best Egg’s $2,000 minimum, which matters for borrowers who only need to cover a small expense.
- You want a longer payoff to lower monthly payments — Upgrade’s 84-month maximum term gives you 24 additional months of repayment runway over Best Egg’s 60-month cap, meaningfully lowering monthly payments on a large loan.
- You want to apply with a co-borrower — Upgrade accepts joint applications with a co-borrower, which can help you qualify for better rates if your individual credit is borderline. Best Egg only takes individual applications.
- You live in Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia, or DC — Best Egg doesn’t operate in any of these. Upgrade is available in all 50 states plus DC.
Choose Best Egg if…
- You have good credit and want the lowest upfront fee — Best Egg’s origination floor at 0.99% is roughly half Upgrade’s 1.85% floor. On a $25,000 loan, that’s a difference of about $215 deducted from your funded amount before any interest accrues.
- You’re consolidating debt over a standard 3-to-5-year payoff — Best Egg’s term range fits the typical debt consolidation timeline without offering the longer-term flexibility most borrowers don’t actually need.
- You don’t need a small loan — Best Egg’s $2,000 minimum is fine if you’re consolidating credit cards or financing a major expense; the higher floor isn’t a downside if you weren’t planning to borrow under that amount anyway.
- You’re comfortable with a less-tested community signal — Best Egg has fewer SuperMoney reviews than Upgrade, but the score remains positive. If you trust the lender’s track record (over $20 billion funded since 2014), the smaller review pool isn’t a dealbreaker.
Pro Tip
Both Upgrade and Best Egg offer soft-pull prequalification, which means you can see your actual rate at both lenders without affecting your credit score. Since both accept the same 600 FICO minimum but use different underwriting models — Upgrade weighs cash flow and rent history, Best Egg leans more on traditional credit factors — your profile may qualify for a meaningfully better rate at one than the other. Get quotes from each before you commit.
About Upgrade
Upgrade is a direct online lender founded in 2016 and based in San Francisco, CA. Loans are originated through a partnership with Cross River Bank and offered alongside credit cards, rewards checking, and credit-monitoring tools. The lender targets borrowers with fair-to-good credit and is known for accepting joint applications and offering some of the longest unsecured loan terms in the online lending market.
Main Features
- Loan amounts: $1,000 - $50,000
- APR range: 7.74% - 35.99%
- Terms: 24 months - 84 months
- Origination fee: 1.85% - 9.99%
- Credit score: 600 - 850
- Prequalification: Soft pull
- Funding speed: 1 days
About Best Egg
Best Egg is a marketplace lending platform founded in 2014 and headquartered in Wilmington, DE. Loans are issued by Cross River Bank or Column N.A. and the platform has funded over $20 billion in loans since launch. Best Egg targets borrowers with good-to-excellent credit looking to consolidate debt or finance major purchases, and it stands out for its lower origination fee floor among comparable online lenders.
Main Features
- Loan amounts: $2,000 - $50,000
- APR range: 6.99% - 35.99%
- Terms: 36 months - 60 months
- Origination fee: 0.99% - 9.99%
- Credit score: 600 - 850
- Prequalification: Soft pull
- Funding speed: 1 days - 3 days
How Do Upgrade and Best Egg Compare?
Which lender has lower rates and fees?
APR ranges are nearly identical — Upgrade starts at 7.74% and Best Egg starts at 6.99%, with both capping at 35.99%. The 0.25-point gap at the floor is small enough that your individual credit profile will swing the rate more than the lender choice.
Origination fees are where the math actually diverges. Upgrade charges 1.85% - 9.99%; Best Egg charges 0.99% - 9.99%. The floor difference is the bigger deal — if your credit qualifies you for the lowest tier at either lender, Best Egg’s 0.99% floor saves nearly a full percent of your loan amount upfront. On a $20,000 loan, that’s $172 in your pocket on day one.
Which lender is more flexible on credit and applications?
Both accept the same minimum FICO score of 600, so the credit floor itself isn’t a differentiator. The real flexibility gap is in application types: Upgrade accepts joint applications with a co-borrower, which can help borderline applicants qualify for better rates by adding a second income and credit history to the file. Best Egg only takes individual applications.
Neither lender accepts a traditional cosigner — the kind that guarantees a loan without sharing it. If you’re hoping to use a parent or sibling’s strong credit to qualify without putting them on the loan equally, neither lender will work for you.
Which lender funds loans faster and serves more borrowers?
Upgrade typically funds within 1 days of approval, while Best Egg takes 1 days - 3 days. Both are fast by personal loan standards; if you need money tomorrow, Upgrade has a slight edge.
Geographic coverage is the bigger gap. Upgrade serves all 50 states plus DC. Best Egg excludes Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia, DC, and US Territories — which means roughly 8.5 million Americans don’t have access to the platform at all. Community signal also tilts toward Upgrade: strongly recommended versus Best Egg’s mostly recommended, on a meaningfully larger review pool.
Key Differences: Upgrade vs. Best Egg (Updated 2026)
Here’s what separates Upgrade and Best Egg on the factors that matter most when choosing a personal loan.
- APR floor: Upgrade 7.74% vs. Best Egg 6.99% — effectively a tie at the rate floor.
- Origination fee floor: Best Egg 0.99% vs. Upgrade 1.85% — Best Egg’s floor is nearly half Upgrade’s.
- Origination fee ceiling: Best Egg 9.99% vs. Upgrade 9.99% — Best Egg caps a percentage point lower.
- Loan amount range: Upgrade $1,000 - $50,000 vs. Best Egg $2,000 - $50,000 — Upgrade goes lower for small-loan needs.
- Loan term range: Upgrade 24 months - 84 months vs. Best Egg 36 months - 60 months — Upgrade offers 24 more months of payoff flexibility.
- Application types: Upgrade accepts joint applications; Best Egg accepts only individual applications.
- State coverage: Upgrade serves 50 states + DC; Best Egg serves 47 states (no IA, VT, WV, DC).
- SuperMoney community rating: Upgrade is strongly recommended; Best Egg is mostly recommended.
Pro Tip
When comparing quotes, calculate total loan cost — origination fee plus all interest payments — rather than comparing APRs alone. On a $20,000 loan, Upgrade’s 9.99% origination ceiling means $1,998 deducted upfront, while Best Egg’s 9.99% ceiling deducts $1,798 — a $200 difference before any interest accrues. If both lenders quote you the same APR, Best Egg lands you slightly more cash in hand.
Customer Reviews & Reputation
Upgrade’s SuperMoney community rating is strongly recommended. Reviewers consistently highlight fast funding, easy mobile access, and approval for borrowers turned down elsewhere. The most common complaint centers on the origination fee being deducted upfront, leaving borrowers with less than the headline loan amount.
Best Egg’s SuperMoney community rating is mostly recommended. Reviewers praise the streamlined online application and quick funding for qualified borrowers. The smaller review pool means the score is less statistically robust, and a few reviewers note inflexibility around late payments — including one veteran review describing a denied late-payment forgiveness request that affected their mortgage underwriting.
- Upgrade Reviews: SuperMoney community rating — strongly recommended.
- Best Egg Reviews: SuperMoney community rating — mostly recommended.
Key Takeaways
- Upgrade and Best Egg cap APRs at the same 35.99% and accept the same 600 minimum FICO score, so the headline rate isn’t the differentiator.
- Best Egg’s origination floor at 0.99% is roughly half Upgrade’s 1.85% floor — meaningful savings for prime-credit borrowers.
- Upgrade is more flexible on application type (joint apps allowed), term length (up to 84 months), loan amount (starts at $1,000), and geography (all 50 states + DC).
- Best Egg is unavailable in Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia, and DC; Upgrade is available everywhere.
- For fair-credit, small-loan, or long-term-payoff needs, choose Upgrade. For good-credit borrowers focused on minimizing upfront fees, choose Best Egg.
FAQ
What is the main difference between Upgrade and Best Egg?
The biggest differences are flexibility and origination fees. Upgrade accepts joint applications, offers loan terms up to 84 months, lends as little as $1,000, and operates in all 50 states plus DC. Best Egg only accepts individual applications, caps terms at 60 months, requires a $2,000 minimum, and excludes Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia, and DC. In return, Best Egg offers a lower origination fee floor — 0.99% vs. Upgrade’s 1.85% — which can save qualified borrowers significant money upfront.
Does Upgrade or Best Egg have lower interest rates?
Upgrade’s APR floor is 7.74% versus Best Egg’s 6.99% — a 0.25-point difference that’s effectively a tie. Both lenders cap at 35.99% APR, and your actual rate at either lender will depend more on your credit profile, income, debt-to-income ratio, and loan term than on the lender choice itself. Because both offer soft-pull prequalification, the only reliable way to find your real rate is to check at both.
Which is easier to qualify for, Upgrade or Best Egg?
Both lenders accept the same minimum credit score of 600, so on paper they’re equally accessible. In practice, Upgrade is more accommodating for borrowers near the credit floor because it accepts joint applications — adding a co-borrower with stronger credit can boost approval odds and unlock better rates. Best Egg only accepts individual applications, so a single weak file has nowhere to hide. Both lenders also weigh income, debt-to-income ratio, and credit history alongside the FICO score.
Which is better for debt consolidation?
Both lenders are widely used for debt consolidation, and Best Egg specifically offers a direct-pay option that sends funds to up to 10 creditors at once, simplifying the payoff process. Upgrade also pays creditors directly on consolidation loans and offers an interest rate discount for choosing this option. The choice usually comes down to whether you need a longer payoff term (Upgrade up to 84 months) or want the lower origination fee floor (Best Egg at 0.99%).
Which has better customer reviews?
Upgrade has a SuperMoney community rating of strongly recommended on a much larger review pool, while Best Egg has a mostly recommended rating on a smaller sample. Both are positive, but Upgrade’s score is built on more community votes and is a stronger statistical signal. Reviewers at both lenders consistently praise fast funding and easy applications; the most common complaints center on origination fees being deducted from loan proceeds at both companies.
Can I apply with a cosigner at either lender?
Neither lender accepts a traditional cosigner — the kind that guarantees a loan without being responsible for it. Upgrade does accept joint applications with a co-borrower, which means both applicants share the loan equally and both have access to the funds. This is functionally similar to a cosigner from a qualification standpoint but legally different — both names are on the loan from day one. Best Egg only accepts individual applications, with no co-borrower or cosigner option available.
Explore Upgrade and Best Egg in Depth
Upgrade Review — SuperMoney’s full breakdown of Upgrade’s features, fees, eligibility criteria, and community reviews.
Best Egg Review — SuperMoney’s full breakdown of Best Egg’s features, fees, eligibility criteria, and community reviews.
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