Best Egg vs OneMain Financial

The short version

Best Egg and OneMain both publish no minimum credit score, but they reach very different borrowers. Best Egg is an online lender, funded by Cross River Bank or Column N.A., with an APR floor of 6.99% as of September 2026 for stronger credit profiles. OneMain is a direct installment lender that says it weighs your overall credit history and the income left over after your monthly expenses, which lets it approve borrowers in the 600s that more score-driven lenders turn away — at the cost of a higher APR floor (11.99%) and an origination fee that varies by state, either a flat $25 to $500 or 1% to 10% of the loan.

Loan size and process also diverge. Best Egg lends $2,000 to $50,000 over 36 to 60 months, entirely online, with a soft-pull rate check. OneMain lends $1,500 to $30,000 over 24 to 60 months, with state-specific floors and caps, and while it also offers a soft-pull prequalification step, many applicants are asked to visit a branch or complete a virtual appointment to verify identity, income, and employment before the loan closes. OneMain’s secured option uses a vehicle no more than 10 years old as collateral for a typically lower rate; Best Egg’s secured option uses fixtures attached to your home instead.

Rates and fees

Best Egg’s published range is 6.99% to 35.99% APR, with an origination fee of 0.99% to 9.99% of the loan amount deducted from your proceeds, at least 4.99% on any term of four years or more; the only other published fee is a $15 returned-payment charge, and Best Egg doesn’t publish a late-fee amount on the pages we checked. There’s no prepayment penalty. OneMain’s published range is 11.99% to 35.99% APR, with an origination fee that varies by state — either a flat $25 to $500 or 1% to 10% of the loan amount — deducted from your proceeds before you receive the money; OneMain also charges no prepayment penalty.

Take a $10,000 loan over 36 months at the midpoint of each lender’s published range, to compare the two on equal footing.

Best Egg, 21.49% APR (midpoint of 6.99%-35.99%), using the midpoint of its 0.99%-9.99% fee range (5.49%). The fee is $549.00, so you’d receive about $9,451.00 in cash. An APR already includes the origination fee by definition, so we amortize the cash you actually receive at the APR rather than counting the fee a second time: a payment of about $358.45 a month, total payments of about $12,904.20, and a total cost of roughly $3,453.20 over the $9,451.00 you actually received. These are our own amortization figures, not a lender quote.

OneMain, 23.99% APR (midpoint of 11.99%-35.99%), using the midpoint of its 1%-10% percentage-fee range (5.5%). OneMain’s fee varies by state and is either a flat $25-$500 or 1%-10% of the loan; this example uses the percentage midpoint. The fee is $550.00, so you’d receive about $9,450.00 in cash. An APR already includes the origination fee by definition, so we amortize the cash you actually receive at the APR rather than counting the fee a second time: a payment of about $370.70 a month, total payments of about $13,345.20, and a total cost of roughly $3,895.20 over the $9,450.00 you actually received. These are our own amortization figures, not a lender quote.

On this comparison, Best Egg’s lower midpoint APR and lower fee produce both a lower monthly payment and a lower total cost than OneMain’s — but OneMain’s lack of a published score floor, and its willingness to approve fair-to-poor credit, is the tradeoff for that gap.

Who qualifies

Best Egg doesn’t publish a minimum credit score, minimum income, or minimum age; it says your credit score, income, debt payment obligations, loan amount, and credit history all factor into your offer, and federal law requires it to collect your name, address, date of birth, and identity documents. OneMain doesn’t publish a minimum credit score either, but says it looks at your overall credit history and how much income you have left over after monthly expenses — an approach that lets it approve borrowers already declined by more score-driven lenders. OneMain requires you to be at least 18 (19 in some states), show photo ID and proof of residence, and document verifiable income; a secured loan also requires your vehicle to clear OneMain’s collateral requirements.

Best Egg isn’t available in Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia, DC, or US territories, and raises its $2,000 minimum loan in Massachusetts, Ohio, and Georgia. OneMain doesn’t originate loans in Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, or DC — some overlap with Best Egg’s exclusions, but not identical.

Speed and funding

Best Egg says about half of its customers get their money the next day, and that after successful verification the rest see funds within 1 to 3 business days, depending on their own bank’s policies. OneMain says money can be available within an hour of closing through its SpeedFunds debit card, or in one to two business days by check or ACH — but many applicants, especially those choosing the secured option, are first asked to visit a branch or complete a virtual appointment to verify identity, income, and employment before the loan closes.

Where each one wins

• Best Egg — a lower APR floor (6.99% versus OneMain’s 11.99%) as of September 2026.
• Best Egg — an online application, where OneMain often asks applicants to complete an in-person or virtual verification appointment.
• Best Egg — a higher loan ceiling ($50,000 versus OneMain’s $30,000) for a larger need.
• OneMain — no published minimum credit score, and approval odds that favor overall credit history and income over a single number, plus a secured option using a vehicle for a typically lower rate.
• OneMain — a lower minimum loan ($1,500 versus Best Egg’s $2,000) for a smaller need, and more than 1,300 branches for in-person support.

Bottom line

If your credit is already solid and you’d rather not visit a branch, Best Egg’s lower APR floor and online process are worth checking first. If your credit has been declined elsewhere, or you have a vehicle you could put up as collateral, OneMain’s lack of a published score floor and its secured-loan option make it worth comparing next, even with the higher APR ceiling and occasional branch visit. Personal-loan credit score requirements is a useful read before you prequalify with either one. Read the full Best Egg review and OneMain review, then start a loan request to see what you might actually qualify for.