Why You Can Trust the MarketWatch Guides Team
Here’s a breakdown of how we reviewed and rated top personal loan providers
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Providers RatedOur team researched more than two dozen of the country’s most popular personal lenders, including large online companies like SoFi, big banks like Wells Fargo, and peer-to-peer lenders like Upstart.
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Data Points AnalyzedTo create our rating system, we analyzed each personal loan company’s disclosures, licensing documents, marketing materials, sample loan agreements and websites to understand their loan offerings and terms.
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Loan Features TrackedOur team regularly collects data on each company’s loan offerings and terms, such as minimum and maximum loan amounts, origination fees and discounts.
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Professionals ConsultedBefore we began our research process, we consulted with financial advisors and industry experts to ensure our evaluations covered the banking product aspects that matter most to potential customers.
Our Thoughts on Rocket Loans Personal Loans
MarketWatch Guides rating: 3.9 out of 5.0
Flip Card Rocket Loans
Rocket Loans Rating 3.9 / out of 5 stars
Rating breakdown
Affordability How expensive each company’s loans are to pay back. 3 / 5
Loan Features The breadth of loan terms and features available to prospective customers. 3.14 / 5
Customer Experience Ease of application, prequalification and customer service interactions. 4.25 / 5
Company Reputation An exploration of lenders’ BBB files, customer reviews and outstanding regulatory actions. 5.0 / 5
While you can complete an application quickly and get loan funds disbursed into your account within a day, it lacks other features that competitors offer. For instance, you’ll face an abnormally high origination fee when you get your loan, which impacts how much money you’ll receive.
Rocket Loans personal loans don’t offer cosigners or joint applications. This means that if you can’t get a loan on your own, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
Pros and Cons of Rocket Loans Personal Loans
Rocket Loans might be a good option for you, but there are some benefits and downsides to weigh before completing a full application.
Pros
Same-day funding: Depending on when you complete your application and get approved, you could agree to loan terms and see funds in your account within the same day or the next business day.
Prequalification option: You can see if you’re eligible with prequalification or a soft credit check that doesn’t impact your credit score or credit report.
Autopay discount available: You can get an interest rate discount if you sign up for autopay. There’s also no prepayment penalty if you pay off your loan early.
Cons
Costly origination fee: You could pay upwards of 9% as an origination fee – one of the highest in the industry. Your fee depends on how much you borrow, your credit score and other factors
High minimum APR: Rocket Loans has a high minimum annual percentage rate (APR), 9.1% as of this writing, which means you could be paying more even with excellent credit compared to other lenders we evaluated. APR represents the true cost of the loan, including interest rate and fees.
Other fees applicable: You could face a late or returned payment fee every time you’re late on your loan payment or your payment isn’t accepted.
No joint applications available: If you don’t have the credit score or credit history to stand on your own, you may have to look elsewhere since Rocket Loans doesn’t offer personal loans with a cosigner.
Only two loan terms: Rocket Loans only offers two repayment terms: 36 months and 60 months.
Who Are Rocket Loans Personal Loans Best For?
Rocket Loans personal loans are an option for some borrowers, but it’s not always the best option for everyone.
You may want to explore personal loans from Rocket Loans if:
- You’re looking into debt consolidation loans for high-interest credit card debt or other types of debt
- You don’t qualify for other personal loan options from other lenders with lower interest rates
- You have bad credit or fair credit and your loan amount will be at least $2,000
- You’re hoping to make some home improvements and need cash to cover those costs, such as adding solar, making home repairs or other home updates
- You’re a U.S. resident, have a valid Social Security number and are at least 18 years of age
- The origination fee and APR is the lowest option you’ve found when comparing Rocket Loans to other lenders
You may want to skip a personal loan from Rocket Loans if:
- You need funding for education, as you can’t use Rocket Loans personal loans as a student loan
- You qualify for a lower APR or a personal loan without an origination fee elsewhere
- You need a cosigner or a joint applicant on your personal loan
How To Get a Rocket Loans Personal Loan
If you’re ready to get a personal loan from Rocket Loans, here’s what you need to get started with the online application.
Application Process
You can prequalify for a personal loan from Rocket Loans, which doesn’t cause a hard credit inquiry or hurt your credit score. Once you get prequalified and find out what types of loans you’re eligible for and the expected repayment terms, you can complete a full loan application.
At this point, you’ll securely share financial details, like bank statements, employer information and income verification via pay stubs or tax forms.
Approval and Funding
Rocket Loans might request more information to verify your details, but you should know whether you’re approved almost immediately after completing your application. You’ll then accept your loan agreement and input your bank account details so the lender will disburse your funds. Depending on when you accept your loan terms, you could get funds into your account on the same day or within a few days.
Rocket Loans Personal Loans Reviews
To give you a look at how customers overall feel about personal loan companies, MarketWatch Guides compiled tens of thousands of reviews from popular publicly available user-review sites, including Trustpilot, the Better Business Bureau, Consumer Affairs and Best Company.
We then categorized each review and analyzed the sentiment to determine whether it was positive or negative. Finally, we normalized scores against each other to create a fair standard.
With all of that data, we generated numeral scores to gauge Rocket Loans’ ease of use, responsiveness, transparency, reliability, and customer service as it relates to other companies in the industry. Scores do not guarantee your experience and are only intended to convey general trends. Rocket’s score includes a mix of positive and negative reviews.
In all categories, a score of 3.5 stars is average.
Flip Card Rocket Loans
Overall Consumer Sentiment 4.6 / out of 5 stars
Rating breakdown
Ease of Use 4.4 / 5
Avg. Provider Rating (3.5/5)
Responsiveness 4.5 / 5
Avg. Provider Rating (3.5/5)
Transparency 4.5 / 5
Avg. Provider Rating (3.5/5)
Trust and Reliability 4.6 / 5
Avg. Provider Rating (3.5/5)
Customer Service 4.8 / 5
Avg. Provider Rating (3.5/5)
Most Praised Features
Rocket Loans was our third-highest-rated personal loan company, scoring near the top of the industry in every category we analyzed. The most praised features included:
- Ease of application process: Many customers praised Rocket Loans for providing a simple and quick online application process. They highlighted the straightforward application, easy-to-meet documentation requirements and fast approval. About 38% of positive reviews cited the application process.
- Helpful and friendly customer support: Reviews commended Rocket Loans’ customer support team for their professionalism, patience and clear explanations. About 27% of positive reviews highlighted customer service.
Most Common Complaints
Complaints generally fell into one of three buckets.
- Transparency and fee issues: Some customers criticized Rocket Loans for unclear terms and discrepancies between pre-approval offers and final loan approvals. Unexpected fees and confusing terms were recurring themes. About 30% of negative reviews fell in this category.
- Response delays: Some customers reported delays in receiving loan money, resolving account issues or getting support. They noted longer-than-expected wait times despite initial pre-approval. About 25% of negative reviews cited response delays.
- Customer service inefficiency: Customers criticized unresponsive or unhelpful customer service agents, citing inconsistencies in communication and challenges with understanding offshore support teams. About 23% of negative reviews cited poor customer service.
External Ratings
Rocket Loans has an A+ rating on Better Business Bureau (BBB) and a 4.8 out of 5 star rating on Trustpilot out of more than 6,000 reviews. Rocket Loans did not respond to a request for comment on any of its ratings.
Eligibility Requirements for Rocket Loans Personal Loans
If you’re ready to apply for a Rocket Loans personal loan, make sure you’re eligible first.
Credit Score and Financial History
Like most personal loan lenders, your credit score and credit history matter when it comes to getting approved for a personal loan from Rocket Loans. You’ll need at least a fair credit score to qualify and share your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio to let Rocket Loans know what debt you already carry as you take out a loan.
Income and Employment
You’ll need to prove you earn an income and have proof of employment to take out a loan. This shows Rocket Loans you can responsibly repay your loan. Rocket Loans looks at how long you’ve been employed and how much your annual income is as part of its approval process.
Rocket Loans Personal Loans Usage Rules
You can use the money for almost anything if your loan is approved. That includes home improvement, car buying, debt consolidation, etc.
But you do have a few restrictions. For instance, you can’t use a Rocket Loan personal loan to cover educational costs, like tuition or other things that a student loan would cover. You also can’t use it to pay for anything illegal.
Rocket Loans Personal Loans Fees and Penalties
If you take out a personal loan from Rocket Loans, you might be on the hook for some extra fees related to your account.
Loan Origination Fees
Rocket Loans charges an origination fee of 9% or more on every loan. That comes out of your total loan amount. So if you need a $10,000 loan, a 9% origination fee means $900 gets taken out of your loan and you receive $9,100.
Other Penalties
If you’re late on making a payment, you could face a $15 late fee every time. You could also get hit with a $15 returned payment fee if your payment was rejected.
How Rocket Loans Compares to Other Lenders
Rocket Loans is just one lender that we evaluated. We also looked at some of the other best personal loan lenders to see which ones are right for most folks. Here’s how Rocket Loans stands up to competitors.
Rocket Loans vs. LightStream
LightStream says that you can use its loans for practically anything. But you’ll need good credit or excellent credit to qualify for a LightStream loan. If you do, you can enjoy the benefit of not paying any fees and long loan terms to lower your monthly payments. LightStream loan terms go as high as 12 years — more than double what Rocket Loans offers. It also has a larger autopay discount — 0.50% — and a lower interest rate, so you’ll likely pay even less if you have strong credit to qualify for a LightStream loan.
Rocket Loans vs. SoFi
You can borrow up to $100,000 in a SoFi loan, while Rocket Loans only goes up to $45,000. SoFi also offers unemployment protection and other hardship assistance in case you lose your job and can’t afford to repay your loan. It will also help you find work so you can start earning money faster.
Rocket Loans vs. PenFed
PenFed doesn’t have a minimum credit score requirement, which makes it an enticing option for borrowers who have bad credit or are credit-invisible and need to borrow money. Because PenFed is a federal credit union, interest rates max out at 18%. That means you won’t pay more than 18% APR even if you have bad credit. Rocket Loans charges APRs of nearly 30% and has a higher APR range than PenFed.
The Bottom Line
While Rocket Loans is one of the best personal loan lenders we evaluated, it’s essential to look at its loan offers to determine if a personal loan from Rocket Loans is right for you. Compare Rocket loans with other lenders based on eligibility requirements, APR, fees and more to make sure you’re getting the best option that fits your needs.
How We Rate Rocket Loans Personal Loans
Our team put together a comprehensive 100-point rating system to evaluate personal loan companies. We gathered data points from 28 of the most prominent lenders in the US and analyzed disclosures, licensing documents, sample loan agreements, marketing materials and websites. Our rating system takes into account four broad categories.
- Affordability (35%): How expensive each company’s loans are to pay back.
- Loan features (35%): The breadth of loan terms and features available to prospective customers.
- Customer experience (20%): Ease of application, prequalification and customer service interactions.
- Company reputation (10%): An exploration of lenders’ Better Business Bureau files, customer reviews and outstanding regulatory actions.
| Affordability | 21/35 |
| Loan features | 22/35 |
| Customer experience | 17/20 |
| Company reputation | 10/10 |
| Total | 70/100 |
Our top-rated lenders may not be the best fit for all borrowers. To learn more, read our full personal loans methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions About Rocket Loans Personal Loans
Rocket Loans doesn’t publicly disclose its minimum credit score requirements. The only way to know if you’re eligible is to check through prequalification.
Because of its quick application and fast approval time, you can get a personal loan from Rocket Loans within minutes, from starting an application to accepting loan terms. As long as you have your necessary documents ready to go — like financial documents and identity verification — the application process should be quick for most folks who apply.
Rocket Loans doesn’t publicly disclose its minimum income requirements. However, you must prove employment and income when you complete your prequalification. Since this doesn’t hurt your credit score, getting prequalified will let you know if you’re eligible based on your circ*mstances, including your income, loan needs and current debt (if any). Your loan rates might differ from someone else’s based on your income, credit history and borrowing needs.
In some cases, you could apply for and receive funds on the same day. It depends on when you complete your application, accept loan terms, and add your bank account for loans to get disbursed. It also depends on your bank. There’s a chance in your loan process that you could get your money the same day you apply or even the next day.
Editor’s Note: Before making significant financial decisions, consider reviewing your options with someoneyou trust, such as a financial adviser, credit counselor or financial professional, since every person’s situation and needs are different.
If you have feedback or questions about this article, please email the MarketWatch Guides team ateditors@marketwatchguides.com.
