Best Egg vs Upstart

The short version

Best Egg and Upstart both make fixed-rate personal loans and deduct an origination fee from your proceeds rather than billing it separately. Neither publishes a minimum credit score. The clearest difference is underwriting: Upstart doesn’t publish a fixed minimum credit score and says it has approved applicants with scores as low as 300, weighing education and employment alongside credit, while Best Egg reviews credit score, income, debt payments, and credit history without stating a floor for any of them.

APRs, as of September 2026, run 6.99% to 35.99% at Best Egg and 6.30% to 35.99% at Upstart. Best Egg publishes an origination fee range of 0.99% to 9.99% (at least 4.99% on any term of four years or more); Upstart doesn’t publish a fee range at all — the only figure it states publicly is the 8.15% fee from its own representative example.

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% deducted from your proceeds — at least 4.99% on any term of four years or more. It also charges a $15 returned-payment fee; its late fee isn’t published, and there’s no prepayment penalty. Upstart’s published range is 6.30% to 35.99% APR, over 36 or 60-month terms only. Upstart doesn’t publish a fee range; it charges no prepayment penalty either.

Take a $10,000 loan over 36 months at the midpoint of each lender’s published APR range, to compare the two on equal footing. Because Upstart doesn’t publish a fee range, we use the 8.15% figure from its own representative example instead of a midpoint.

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.

Upstart, 21.15% APR (midpoint of 6.30%-35.99%), using the 8.15% fee from its own published representative example (Upstart doesn’t publish a fee range). The fee is $815.00, so you’d receive about $9,185.00 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 $346.75 a month, total payments of about $12,483.00, and a total cost of roughly $3,298.00 over the $9,185.00 you actually received. These are our own amortization figures, not a lender quote.

Best Egg’s own example uses different numbers: a 5-year $10,000 loan at 9.99% APR runs 60 payments of $201.81, and a 3-year $5,000 loan at 6.99% APR runs 36 payments of $152.83. Upstart’s own representative example also uses a different term: a $10,000 loan over 60 months at a 19.08% interest rate with the same 8.15% fee ($815) comes to an APR of 23.37%, 60 payments of $261, and about $15,660 total — Upstart’s own example, not our 36-month figure above.

Who qualifies

Best Egg doesn’t publish a minimum credit score, minimum income, or minimum age; it says approval depends on your credit score, income, debt payment obligations, and credit history, plus the identity documents federal law requires. Upstart doesn’t publish a fixed minimum credit score either, and says it has approved applicants with scores as low as 300, since its underwriting model also weighs education, employment history, and income; a confirmed job offer starting within six months can stand in for current income. Upstart’s other requirements are being at least 18 (19 in Alabama, Nebraska, and Puerto Rico), a US citizen or permanent resident, and having a valid bank account.

Best Egg isn’t available in Iowa, Vermont, West Virginia, DC, or US territories, and sets higher minimum loans in Massachusetts ($6,500), Ohio ($5,001), and Georgia ($3,001). Upstart isn’t available in Iowa or West Virginia, and sets higher minimum loans in Georgia, Hawaii, and Massachusetts.

Speed and funding

Best Egg says about half of its customers get their money the next day, and that after successful verification the rest arrives within 1 to 3 business days, depending on your bank. Upstart says most approved borrowers who accept their offer receive funds within one business day of signing.

Where each one wins

• Upstart — no fixed minimum credit score, having approved applicants with scores as low as 300, where Best Egg reviews your score without stating a floor.
• Upstart — a higher loan ceiling ($75,000 versus Best Egg’s $50,000) for a larger need.
• Upstart — a confirmed job offer starting within six months can stand in for current income, an option Best Egg doesn’t describe on the pages we checked.
• Best Egg — a secured option using fixtures attached to your home, not the house itself, as collateral, which Best Egg says averages a 20% APR discount, an option Upstart doesn’t describe on the pages we checked.
• Best Egg — a published fee range (0.99% to 9.99%) and a disclosed $15 returned-payment fee, where Upstart discloses only a single representative fee figure and no late-fee amount on the pages we checked.

Bottom line

If your credit history is thin or you have a job offer lined up but no paycheck yet, Upstart’s underwriting model is built to give you a shot Best Egg’s credit-and-income review might not. If you’d rather see a published fee range up front, or you own your home and want a rate discount without pledging the house itself, Best Egg’s disclosed fee range and fixture-secured option are worth a look. Personal loan credit score requirements, explained is worth reading before you apply to either lender. Read the full Best Egg review and Upstart review, then start a loan request to see what you might actually qualify for.