Rocket Loans vs SoFi

The short version

Rocket Loans and SoFi are both soft-pull-first lenders built for the prime end of the market — you check your rate without touching your credit score, and only a completed application triggers a hard inquiry — but they land in different places on fees and loan size. Rocket Loans’ loans are made by Cross River Bank, and its 29.99% APR ceiling is lower than most of the online personal lenders reviewed on this site, though it deducts an origination fee of up to 9.99% from every loan. SoFi, whose loans are originated by its own bank, SoFi Bank, N.A., publishes a wider 6.49%-to-35.49% range, but its origination fee is optional — some members see loan options with no fee at all.

Loan size is the bigger practical difference. Rocket Loans starts at $2,000 and tops out at $75,000 over two fixed terms, 36 or 60 months. SoFi starts higher, at $5,000, but reaches further, to $100,000, over a continuous 24-to-84-month range. As of October 2026, both check your rate with a soft pull and only run a hard inquiry if you move forward with an offer.

Rates and fees

Rocket Loans’ published range is 7.99% to 29.99% APR, and the 7.99% floor requires the autopay discount; the ceiling is the rate without it. Rocket Loans says your rate depends on your credit score, monthly income, debt-to-income ratio, home ownership, recent credit inquiries, and the term you choose. Its origination fee runs up to 9.99% of the loan, deducted from the proceeds, with no published floor on that fee; it also charges a $15 late fee after 10 calendar days, a $15 returned-payment fee, and lists no prepayment penalty on its fee page.

SoFi’s published APR range is 6.49% to 35.49%, with the floor rising from 6.49% on a 2-year loan to 11.90% on a 7-year loan, already including a 0.25% Autopay discount and a 0.25% Member Rate Discount. SoFi’s origination fee is optional rather than automatic: some members see no fee at all, while others can choose a one-time fee in exchange for a lower rate, though SoFi doesn’t publish what that fee costs. SoFi charges no late fees and no prepayment penalty.

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

Rocket Loans, 18.99% APR (midpoint of 7.99%-29.99%), using the 6.95% fee from Rocket Loans’ own representative example — Rocket Loans publishes only an “up to 9.99%” ceiling, not a fee range. The fee is $695, so you’d receive about $9,305 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 $341.04 a month, total payments of about $12,277.34, and a total cost of roughly $2,972.34 over the $9,305 you actually received. These are our own amortization figures, not a lender quote. At Rocket Loans’ 9.99% fee ceiling, the fee would instead be $999 and the cash received $9,001.

SoFi, 20.99% APR (midpoint of 6.49%-35.49%), no fee. SoFi’s fee is optional and unpublished, so — matching the no-fee path SoFi’s own rate-page example uses — we’re assuming no fee here. 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 20.99% APR over 36 months: a payment of about $376.70 a month, $13,561.20 total paid, and a total cost of about $3,561.20 in interest. If you’re offered SoFi’s fee option instead, your cash in hand would be lower and your true cost higher than this figure shows. These are our own amortization figures, not a lender quote.

On this comparison, Rocket Loans’ mandatory fee shrinks what you receive before a single payment is made, but its lower APR still produces a lower monthly payment and a lower total cost than SoFi’s assumed no-fee path — a reminder that the fee percentage and the all-in APR don’t move in lockstep. SoFi charges no prepayment penalty and Rocket Loans’ fee page lists none, so paying either loan off early should save interest, though Rocket Loans’ origination fee doesn’t shrink proportionally if you pay early.

Who qualifies

Rocket Loans publishes no minimum credit score. Its stated requirements are being at least 18, a US citizen or permanent US resident, and a bank account that accepts ACH transfers; applications are individual, and a married applicant may apply for a separate account rather than a joint one. Checking your rate is a soft pull with no effect on your score; a hard inquiry follows only if you accept an offer, which Rocket Loans says can cause a small, temporary drop of one to five points.

SoFi also doesn’t publish a minimum credit score — it says eligibility depends on your financial history, credit score, and monthly income versus expenses among other factors. Beyond credit, SoFi asks that you be at the age of majority in your state; a US citizen, eligible permanent resident, or non-permanent resident alien, including DACA recipients and asylum seekers; and employed, with sufficient income from another source, or holding a job offer starting within 90 days. SoFi’s rate check is also a soft pull, with a hard pull triggered once you continue the application and SoFi requests your full credit report. Rocket Loans does not lend in Iowa, Maryland, Nevada, or West Virginia; SoFi doesn’t publish a list of excluded states, saying only that restrictions, a higher minimum loan amount, or a lower rate cap may apply in some states.

Speed and funding

Rocket Loans offers same-day funding when you complete the loan process and sign the promissory note by 4 p.m. ET on a business day: the transfer is submitted that day, and your bank’s rules decide when it posts. After the cutoff, or on a weekend or holiday, the transfer goes out the next business day. SoFi calls its version Same Day Funding: most borrowers get funds the same day when the loan is approved and the agreement is signed by 5:30 PM ET on a business day, though SoFi is explicit that this isn’t assured every time and that delays can happen.

Where each one wins

• Rocket Loans — a lower APR ceiling (29.99% versus SoFi’s 35.49%), so a borrower it approves at all is quoted in a narrower, cheaper band.
• Rocket Loans — a lower minimum loan ($2,000 versus SoFi’s $5,000) for a smaller need.
• SoFi — an optional origination fee rather than one deducted from every loan.
• SoFi — a higher maximum loan amount ($100,000 versus Rocket Loans’ $75,000) and a continuous 24-to-84-month term range instead of Rocket Loans’ two fixed lengths.
• SoFi — no late fee; Rocket Loans charges $15 for a late payment and $15 for a returned payment.

Bottom line

If you need a smaller amount, want the lower APR ceiling, or like knowing your rate check is a soft pull either way, Rocket Loans’ narrower band and $2,000 floor fit a borrower who qualifies at all. If you need more than $75,000, want the flexibility of a continuous term range, or would rather keep the option of a loan with no origination fee, SoFi’s larger ceiling and optional fee are worth comparing. Either way, a borrower whose credit would price above 29.99% elsewhere should expect SoFi, with its higher ceiling, to have more room to make an offer where Rocket Loans is more likely to decline. Origination fees and prepayment penalties, decoded is worth reading before you compare either offer. Read the full Rocket Loans review and SoFi review, then start a loan request to see what you might actually qualify for.