Upgrade vs Upstart

The short version

Upgrade and Upstart sit close together on paper — both top out at a 35.99% APR ceiling and both charge an origination fee deducted from your proceeds — but they get there through different underwriting and different fee disclosure. Upgrade publishes its fee range outright: 1.85% to 9.99% of the loan amount, taken off the top before the money is sent. Upstart doesn’t publish a fee range at all; the only figure it discloses is from its own representative example, an 8.15% fee on a $10,000 loan. Upgrade’s rate floor also comes with strings attached — the bottom of its 7.74%-to-35.99% range requires Autopay and a direct payoff of existing debt — while Upstart’s edge is on the credit side: no fixed minimum score, with approved applicants as low as 300, because its model reads education and employment history alongside whatever credit file exists.

Loan size and term split the other way. Upgrade and Upstart share the same $1,000 minimum loan as of September 2026, but Upgrade’s ceiling is lower, at $50,000, against Upstart’s $75,000. Upgrade’s terms run a continuous 24 to 84 months; Upstart’s are fixed at either 36 or 60 months. Both check your rate with a soft pull that doesn’t touch your credit score, with a hard inquiry only once you move forward — Upgrade’s comes after funding, Upstart’s if you accept an offer.

Rates and fees

Upgrade’s published range is 7.74% to 35.99% APR, and its origination fee runs 1.85% to 9.99% of the loan, deducted from your proceeds before the money lands. Upgrade also charges up to $10 if a payment is more than 15 calendar days late, and $10 for a failed payment, with no prepayment penalty. Upstart’s APR runs about 6.3% to 35.99%, with a mandatory origination fee it doesn’t disclose a range for — only the 8.15% figure from its own representative example is public. Upstart’s fee schedule also references a late fee commonly cited around $15 by third-party rate trackers (not Upstart’s own published number) and a separate returned-payment fee.

Take a $10,000 loan over 36 months at the midpoint of each lender’s published ranges to compare them evenly.

Upgrade, 21.87% APR (midpoint of 7.74%-35.99%), using the midpoint of its 1.85%-9.99% fee range (5.92%). The fee is $592, so you’d receive about $9,408 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 $358.66 a month, total payments of about $12,911.76, and a total cost of roughly $3,503.76 over the $9,408 you actually received. 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. The fee is $815, so you’d receive about $9,185 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 you actually received. These are our own amortization figures, not a lender quote.

On this $10,000, 36-month comparison, Upstart’s stated example fee is a larger dollar amount than Upgrade’s midpoint fee, but Upstart’s lower APR still produces a slightly lower monthly payment and total cost — a reminder that the published fee number and the all-in APR don’t move in lockstep, and the APR is the figure worth comparing across lenders, not the fee percentage alone.

Who qualifies

Upgrade doesn’t publish a minimum credit score. Its stated requirements are being at least 18 (19 in Alabama and some other states); US citizenship, permanent residence, or living in the US on a valid visa; a verifiable bank account; and a valid email address. Upgrade says the bottom of its rate range requires Autopay and paying off part of your existing debt directly, which narrows who actually gets the lowest published rate.

Upstart also sets no fixed minimum credit score — it states it has approved scores as low as 300 — and asks for a valid bank account, verifiable income or a confirmed job offer starting within six months, and that you be at least 18 (19 in some states). Upgrade says it’s licensed in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (it acts as a broker rather than the lender in Vermont); Upstart is restricted in two states, Iowa and West Virginia, with a handful of others setting a minimum loan amount above Upstart’s usual $1,000 floor.

Speed and funding

Upgrade says funds are sent within one business day after the necessary verifications clear, once you’ve accepted an offer; any portion sent directly to your creditors goes to them rather than your bank account. Upstart says most borrowers who accept an offer receive funds within one business day too, with one exception: loans for education or tuition expenses are held three business days under federal Truth in Lending rules, not anything specific to Upstart’s process.

Where each one wins

• Upstart — no fixed minimum credit score, with approved scores as low as 300, reading education and job history for thinner credit files.
• Upstart — a higher maximum loan amount ($75,000 versus Upgrade’s $50,000).
• Upgrade — a published, capped origination fee range (1.85%-9.99%) instead of an undisclosed one, so you can estimate your cash in hand before you apply.
• Upgrade — terms up to 84 months, longer than Upstart’s 60-month cap, for a lower monthly payment on a large balance.
• Upgrade — direct payoff of eligible credit cards and some personal loans, useful if debt consolidation is the goal.

Bottom line

If you need the underwriting model that reads past a bare credit score — a thin file, a recent graduate, or a confirmed job offer instead of a long credit history — Upstart is built for that, even though its fee stays a mystery until you have an offer. If you’d rather know your fee range going in, want a longer term to keep the payment manageable, or plan to pay creditors directly as part of consolidating debt, Upgrade’s published fee structure and 84-month terms fit better. What credit score do you need for a personal loan? is worth reading before you apply to either one. Read the full Upgrade review and Upstart review, then start a loan request to see what you might actually qualify for.