Fastest Credit Builder Loans
By Noah Gomez
Published: 4 August 2024
Anyone with credit problems will quickly want a solution. That means quick approval, quick results, and quick payout. We'll analyzed over 200 credit builder loans to find the fastest options for your situation.
Generally speaking, the credit game takes time, so we recommend speaking with a credit specialist or joining our automated rebuilding program.
Comparative Summary of 7 Offers
#1 Pick
Ava
Best for Fast Results (Reporting in 7 Days)
Est. APR (%): 2
Avg. Principal ($): 252
Avg. Duration (mnths): 12
Credit Check: No Credit Check
Ava's entire strategy is built around fast reporting. They focus on getting your first payment reported with 7 days of opening an account. In fact 74% of members see success with this.
For most people, Ava is the best option for fast results. That said, to get a principal amount above $1,200 you'll need to opt for a 24-month option. This shouldn't be an obstacle for most people, but those with large negative marks should consider the "equal or exceed" principal and opt for a higher principal option, such as CreditStrong (see below).
#2 Pick
CreditStrong
Best for Fast Approval
Est. APR (%): 15.62
Avg. Principal: 1050
Avg. Duration (mnths): 36
Credit Check: Soft Inquiry
CreditStrong usually approves within 5 minutes and only sometimes takes a few days for uncommon profiles. The reason we like their offer is the size of its principal range from $1k — $3k ($3k only with the CS MAX option, see details).
For some, the availability of these loans on terms as long as 60 months (5 years) is a legitimate benefit for those with larger negative marks, especially on larger principal amounts.
#3 Pick
Bright
Best for Fast Payout / Cash Advance
Est. APR (%):
Avg. Principal ($): 525
Avg. Duration (mnths): 11
Credit Check: No Credit Check
Bright's payout is not necessarily faster than the competition, but it allows withdraw of the paid-in portion of the loan at any time, which effectively enables payout at any time. The earlier the better.
#4 Pick
Cheese
Best $500 Option
Est. APR (%): 10.5
Avg. Principal ($): 1250
Avg. Duration (mnths): 12
Credit Check: No Credit Check
Credit builders for $500 are among the most common because it generally covers negative balances, and it's enough to establish a healthy amount of installment debt for borrowers with zero history.
But Cheese is the only option among fast working offers that proposes a clean $500 loan, making it the best by default.
Cheese does not run a credit check, and it's available in periods up to 24 months. It's APR is slightly higher than the average, but the low principal value ends up generating less cost than other options on our list.
#5 Pick
Self
Best for Pricing Options
Est. APR (%): 15.85
Avg. Principal ($): 1798
Avg. Duration (mnths): 24
Credit Check: Soft Inquiry
Self is one of the best known credit builders in the market, and it has one of the fastest approval processes available. The reason we like it is transparency in pricing options, which are neatly laid out in 4 offers. In fact, Self set the standard that other companies have followed.
The downside is that Self's payout is notoriously slow, taking up to 14 days to process. This means you will build quickly, but at the end of the loan you'll need to wait.
#6 Pick
Kovo
Best for Low Effort
Est. APR (%):
Avg. Principal ($): 240
Avg. Duration (mnths): 24
Credit Check: No Credit Check
Kovo works differently than other credit builders. Rather than make payments into an account then receiving the funds at the end, you simply make $10 payments each month as a kind of "subscription" to build credit without receiving funds back.
This is generally lower effort than other options because you really don't need to think about it at all. Additionally, there is a reward system in place so you get access to a variety of benefits for your $10, plus build your credit.
#7 Pick
Upstart
Best Unsecured Option
Est. APR (%): 20.3
Avg. Principal ($): 25500
Avg. Duration (mnths): 24
Credit Check: Hard Inquiry
Upstart is a leading provider of unsecured credit builders (i.e money upfront). It's slightly harder to qualify for than others on our list because there is no collateral the lender can use to protect itself, but the approval process is fast, and funds are distributed generally within 1 day of origination.
Evaluation Criteria
We base our selection on quantitative information collected and stored in a proprietary database, which represents the largest aggregation of credit builder loans in the world.
To
accommodate the largest number of consumers, we assume an optimal loan
duration as any term between 6 and 24 months.
Additionally, we assume an
optimal loan principal between $500 and $3,000, with the most desirable
quantity as $500 for fast credit builders.
Exceptions to these ranges would normally only be made for the
most important loan variable: interest. This list has no conflicts
between low loan APR and ideal principal + duration ranges.
Most
importantly, the deciding factor for this list is speed in approval, results, or payout.
What is a credit builder loan?
Credit builders are personal loans that help consumers with little or no credit improve
their score by applying a combination of flexible eligibility criteria
and deferred principal distribution. Lenders include banks, credit
unions, and online lenders at an average principal of $3,283 and APR of 7.78%.
Read more here.
Are credit builder loans worth it?
They are worth it if you struggle to get normal personal loans, you have
damaged or zero credit history, or you simply have no installment
credit on your report.
Critiques sometimes call them gimmicky, but
the reality is that they get around a common misconception: that your
credit depends on the amount you borrow. It does not. A small principal
loan, even with above-average interest, costs pennies compared to the
benefits you gain from having positive installment history on your
report.
Thick Credit is not a credit repair organization, a credit conseling agency, or a debtor education providor. It does not act on your behalf to communicate with credit reporting agencies or provide pre-bankruptcy credit counseling and pre-discharge debtor education for bankruptcy.
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