Credible Student Loans Review – U.S. News 2024 Award Winner

Student loan marketplaces allow borrowers to compare rates and terms across multiple lenders using a single form, empowering them to shop around for a loan for free and without a hard credit check. The top-scoring comparison marketplace in our analysis is Credible, which earned a perfect score for customer service. By partnering with top lenders, Credible is able to offer loans for undergrads, graduates, medical students, law students and parents

Borrower tip: Refinancing federal student loans into a private student loan can make you ineligible for certain types of protections, such as income-driven repayment plans, federal debt forgiveness programs and forbearance/deferment options through the Department of Education.

Credible offers prequalified rates on loans including:

The process is fairly simple. Begin by selecting the type of loan you’re interested in, and fill out a form request. You’ll answer questions about your finances and your education, and will also have the option of adding a potential co-signer’s information to improve your chances of qualifying. This is helpful if you do not have a lot of established credit or ample income.

The whole process should take about two minutes. Credible will do a soft credit check, which will not affect your credit score. If you are eligible for any of Credible partners’ products, you’ll then receive a list of each lender’s prequalified rates. You can use filters to further refine your list as needed.

Users can then choose the loan that’s best for their needs. You can send your information directly to the lender via Credible.

Credible is free to use. The company earns referral fees from lenders if you apply for a loan using the Credible portal. Credible’s student loan lending partners do not charge origination fees.

Because Credible is a marketplace, discounts will vary based on which lender you choose. Usually, an autopay discount is offered.

To qualify for a student loan from one of Credible’s partner lenders, students must typically be enrolled in a qualifying educational program at least part time. If you are younger than the age of majority in your state, you’ll need a creditworthy co-signer. International students are also eligible if they provide a U.S. address and apply with a creditworthy co-signer who is either a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

To qualify for student loan refinance, Credible has partner lenders with options for borrowers who have graduated and for those who did not graduate. Federal loans, private student loans, including Parent PLUS loans, are eligible – as long as the primary borrower or co-signer on each loan is the one applying to refinance.

Because Credible is a marketplace that works with various lenders, there is no minimum credit score. However, Credible recommends a score of low to mid 600’s for student loans and 700 for refinancing. Credible does note that if you have a limited or poor credit history, adding a creditworthy co-signer will improve your chances of prequalifying.

Based on the information you provide, Credible will only connect you with lenders that operate in your area.

Credible has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau since 2015 and has an A+ rating. Credible has an excellent rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot, based on more than 6,600 reviews. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received five complaints related to student loans in 2022 concerning Credible, most about dealing with the loan servicer. Each complaint received a timely response and was closed with an explanation.

Contact Credible via email at [email protected], by phone at 866-540-6005 or via direct chat online.

You can apply for prequalification on Credible’s website.

Because Credible isn’t a lender, deferment and repayment options will vary depending on the company you choose.

Because Credible isn’t a lender, discharge options will vary depending on the company you choose.

Credible does not perform a hard inquiry on your credit report when you submit a request for rates. Instead, it does a soft inquiry, which has no effect on your credit score. That said, you are not guaranteed to get prequalified rates from every lending partner.

Should you decide to move forward with a full lender application, at that point, the lender will do a deeper dive into your credit with a hard credit inquiry, which will temporarily impact your score.

Credible is not a lender – it is a marketplace for comparing lenders. Think of it as a research tool to get a personalized snapshot of your options based on your financial situation.

Prequalified Rates Disclosure:
Prequalified rates are based on the information you provide and a soft credit inquiry. Receiving prequalified rates does not guarantee that the Lender will extend you an offer of credit. You are not yet approved for a loan or a specific rate. All credit decisions, including loan approval, if any, are determined by Lenders, in their sole discretion. Rates and terms are subject to change without notice. Rates from Lenders may differ from prequalified rates due to factors which may include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in your personal credit circumstances; (ii) additional information in your hard credit pull and/or additional information you provide (or are unable to provide) to the Lender during the underwriting process; and/or (iii) changes in APRs (e.g., an increase in the rate index between the time of prequalification and the time of application or loan closing. (Or, if the loan option is a variable rate loan, then the interest rate index used to set the APR is subject to increases or decreases at any time). Lenders reserve the right to change or withdraw the prequalified rates at any time.

Won’t impact your credit score Disclosure:

Requesting prequalified rates on Credible is free and doesn’t affect your credit score. However, applying for or closing a loan will involve a hard credit pull that impacts your credit score and closing a loan will result in costs to you.