LightStream vs Upstart

The short version

LightStream and Upstart sit at opposite ends of how a lender can qualify you. LightStream, a lending brand of Truist Bank, charges no fees of any kind and lends up to $100,000 over terms as long as 240 months, but it targets borrowers with good-to-excellent, multi-year credit histories and only shows your real rate after a hard credit inquiry — there’s no soft-pull prequalification step. Upstart is a lending marketplace whose underwriting model weighs education, employment history, and income alongside credit score, and it has approved applicants with scores as low as 300; checking your rate there is a soft inquiry that leaves your score untouched, and a hard pull only follows if you accept an offer.

APRs, as of September 2026, run 9.99% to 25.44% at LightStream and 6.3% to 35.99% at Upstart. LightStream’s floor is higher than Upstart’s, but LightStream charges no origination fee at all, while Upstart deducts one from your proceeds and doesn’t publish the range it can span — the only fee figure on the pages we checked is the 8.15% in its own representative example.

Rates and fees

LightStream’s published range is 9.99% to 25.44% APR (its debt-consolidation loans top out at 23.94% APR with AutoPay), with no origination fee, no prepayment penalty, and no late fee, by Truist’s own description — the one exception is Florida, where state law requires a documentary stamp tax added to the loan amount rather than deducted from it. LightStream’s own published example: a $10,000 loan at 9.99% APR over a 3-year (36-month) term results in 36 payments of $322.62.

Upstart’s published range is 6.3% to 35.99% APR, with an origination fee deducted from your proceeds before the money is sent. Upstart doesn’t publish the range that fee can span on the pages we checked; the one figure it does give comes from its own representative example — a $10,000 loan over 60 months at a 19.08% interest rate with an 8.15% origination fee of $815, for an APR of 23.37%, which works out to 60 payments of $261 against the $9,185 actually received.

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.

LightStream, 17.72% APR (midpoint of 9.99%-25.44%), no fee. An APR already includes the origination fee by definition, so on a loan with no fee at all, we simply amortize the full $10,000 you receive at 17.72% APR over 36 months. That works out to a payment of about $360.12 a month, $12,964.32 total paid, and a total cost of about $2,964.32 in interest. These are our own amortization figures, not a lender quote.

Upstart, 21.15% APR (midpoint of 6.3%-35.99%), using the 8.15% fee from Upstart’s own 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.

On this $10,000, 36-month comparison, LightStream’s lack of any fee produces both a lower monthly payment and a lower total cost than Upstart’s fee-adjusted figures, even though the two midpoint APRs sit only about three and a half points apart.

Who qualifies

LightStream doesn’t publish a minimum credit score, but its FAQ describes an “excellent” credit profile as five or more years of significant credit history across a variety of account types, and a “good” profile as several years of credit history with a variety of account types, plus stable income, the ability to cover current debts and the new payment, some savings or liquid assets, and few or no delinquencies. You need to be at least 18. There’s no soft-pull rate check — applying runs a hard inquiry from TransUnion or Equifax.

Upstart requires being at least 18 (19 in some states), a US citizen or permanent resident, a valid bank account, and verifiable income or a job offer starting within six months. It has no fixed minimum credit score and states it has approved applicants with scores as low as 300, since its model also weighs education and employment history. Checking your rate is a soft inquiry; a hard pull follows only if you accept an offer.

Speed and funding

LightStream says you can get funded the same banking business day if your application is approved and you sign your loan agreement, provide funding and banking details, and complete final verification by 2:30 p.m. Eastern time. Upstart says most borrowers who accept their offer receive funds within one business day, with the exception of loans used for education or tuition expenses, which federal Truth in Lending rules hold for three business days regardless of lender.

Where each one wins

• LightStream — no fees at all, so the published APR is the entire cost of the loan.
• LightStream — a much higher ceiling ($100,000 versus Upstart’s $75,000) and terms up to 240 months versus Upstart’s 60-month cap.
• Upstart — a lower APR floor (6.3% versus LightStream’s 9.99%) for a borrower whose file is thinner than LightStream’s target.
• Upstart — a soft-pull rate check, so you can see an offer without a hard inquiry first.
• Upstart — underwriting that weighs education, employment, and even a future job offer, which can help a thin-file applicant qualify at all.

Bottom line

If your credit history runs several years deep, you want a loan with no fees attached, or you need a large amount over a long term, LightStream’s no-fee terms and higher ceiling make it the one to check first — as long as you’re comfortable with a hard pull up front. If your file is thinner, you’re a recent graduate, or you’d rather shop rates with a soft pull before committing to any inquiry, Upstart’s underwriting and lower published floor are worth comparing, even though its fee isn’t disclosed as a range. Origination fees and prepayment penalties, decoded is worth reading before you weigh a loan with no origination fee against one where the fee isn’t published as a range. Read the full LightStream review and Upstart review, then start a loan request to see what you might actually qualify for.