How Much Personal Loan Can You Get?

Sometimes you need extra cash for planned or unplanned expenses, and that’s when a loan can come in handy. A personal loan can be used for a variety of reasons, such as home improvements or debt consolidation, but the amount of money you can borrow and your repayment term is based on your finances.

Let’s take a deep dive into how much money you can get with a personal loan, and we’ll also explore the elements that influence and ultimately determine that amount.

Most lenders allow borrowers to take out a loan in the $1,000 – $50,000 range, but the amount you’re approved for and whether you’re approved at all will depend on certain factors connected with your finances and more. It goes without saying, then, that these factors, which we’ll discuss below, each play an important role in the personal loan application process.

The size of the personal loan you can get will be influenced in part by your lender. The highest amount ever approved for a personal loan is generally $100,000, but that’s extremely rare and only under special circumstances.

Rocket Loans℠ offers personal loans from $2,000 – $45,000.

So, what exactly dictates how large or small of a personal loan a lender will approve you for? In the next three sections, we’ll offer some clear and specific answers.

Income

How much you earn plays a huge role in how much you can afford to borrow. Many lenders will require you to provide them with your annual salary so they can accurately assess whether you can comfortably handle your monthly loan payments. Lenders reach this conclusion by looking at your debt-to-income ratio (DTI), a percentage that’s calculated when you divide the sum of your monthly debt payments by your gross monthly earnings.

With DTI, a lower percentage is always preferred. Anything above 36% could seriously hurt your chances of qualifying for a loan.

Credit Score

Your credit score shows a lender how reliable you are at paying off debt. Think of it like a grade in school – the higher the score, the better off you’ll be. Borrowers with a high credit score and an excellent credit history will appear less risky to lenders. Your interest rate and annual percentage rate (APR) are also dependent on your credit report, and a higher credit score can net you a lower rate.

The generally accepted minimum credit score to qualify for a personal loan with a good rate and loan term is 650. Borrowers with poor or bad credit will face a high interest rate, if a lender is willing to approve them.

Loan Type

Most personal loans are unsecured, meaning you’ll be judged primarily based on your credit score and DTI. If those numbers aren’t favorable enough to land you the amount you need, you could potentially net a bigger amount by offering up an asset as collateral and getting what’s known as a secured loan. While this second kind of personal loan can put more money in your pocket, you risk losing your collateral if you fail to make your monthly payments or even fall behind on them.

To get an estimate for how much you can afford to borrow, calculate your interest rate and loan term against your desired amount. Rates for personal loans stretched from 5.2% all the way to 155% as of mid-October 2023, making it hard to predict your rate with a range that wide, but you’ll generally pay more in interest over time with a longer loan term.

For example, let’s say you take out a personal loan for $12,000 with an interest rate of 7%, and you’d prefer your monthly payment to be around $200. Check out the chart below to see how your monthly payment – and total interest paid – will change depending on your loan term.

As you can see, the longer loan term will have a lower monthly payment but a higher amount of total interest in the end. To stay relatively inside your budget and reduce the amount of interest you’ll pay, you could choose the 60-month term, which strikes a nice balance between keeping payments somewhat affordable and not ultimately paying the maximum amount in interest.

You could also try to offset the amount of interest you’ll pay by securing the lowest rate you can qualify for. You can get prequalified with a few lenders and compare several loan offers to find the best option.

Try it out on our personal loan calculator and see what your monthly payments could look like. Knowing how much you can afford per month can help you decide which loan term might work best.

If you’re finding that your credit score, DTI and overall finances don’t qualify you for the loan amount you need, below are some strategies you can try out to boost your chances of getting your desired loan.

Shop Around With Different Lenders

Interest rates and terms – as well as loan amounts – vary by lender, so it’s a good idea to shop around with multiple lenders before deciding on a particular loan. If you already belong to a bank or credit union, going through those institutions can work in your favor since members may be able to qualify for loans they wouldn’t elsewhere.

Getting prequalified with a lender before submitting a full application will likely give you the most accurate estimate of the rate, term and loan amount you qualify for.

Increase Your Income

Boosting your regular income and lowering your DTI can help you qualify for more loans. You can lower your DTI by making more money, perhaps through a raise at work or a new side hustle. Either way, a higher monthly income can make it easier to qualify for a larger loan amount.

Improve Your Credit Score

Since lenders put so much emphasis on your creditworthiness for personal loans, taking steps to improve your credit score can open up more loan possibilities for you. Maintaining good credit, or excellent credit if you can, will help you qualify for larger loan amounts.

Pay Down Existing Debt

Having a lot of outstanding debt can raise your DTI, so paying down any debt you owe can naturally lower your DTI. For instance, you could pay off credit card debt, a mortgage, an auto loan or a student loan, and not only be free of that debt but possibly be able to qualify for a large loan. Research different strategies for paying off debt and find the best solution for your situation.

Use A Co-Signer

A co-signer is someone who agrees to add their name to a borrower’s loan application and be financially responsible by law to repay the loan if the borrower defaults on it. Having a co-signer – who, typically, is in a better financial situation than the borrower – can assure a lender the loan will be repaid one way or another, which could result in a higher loan amount.

Be sure to consider all the possibilities before co-signing a loan, though. You could put your finances at risk if the borrower falls behind on their payments.

Rocket Loans doesn’t currently offer the option to co-sign on loans.

If a personal loan won’t work for what you need, here are some other loan options you can try:

• A home equity loan or HELOC: Similar to a personal loan, a home equity loan can be used for various types of expenses and purchases. It’s secured by the equity in your home, meaning you could lose your home if you default on the loan. A home equity line of credit (HELOC) works similarly, but as revolving debt.
• A 0% APR credit card: Some credit card companies offer a 0% APR promotional period for new cards. Here’s how it works: You pay no interest for the first 6 – 21 months of using the card. Make sure to pay back your full balance within that time period, however, or you could be stuck with a very high interest rate when the promotional period runs out.
• Emergency funds: An emergency fund is a savings account reserved for emergency expenses, and it could be worth dipping into this fund if your situation qualifies as an emergency. Even so, be careful not to deplete your emergency fund any more than is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, you may not be prepared for the next emergency.

How much money you can borrow with a personal loan will depend on a combination of factors that include your income and credit. You can calculate an estimate of your loan amount based on potential rates and terms, but the best way to know how much you can borrow is to explore your options with multiple lenders and see who can offer you the best deal.

If you think you have the key aspects of your finances in order, start the personal loan application process today with Rocket Loans.