Original research
A low starting APR does not show what most borrowers pay
Key finding
The lowest rate is a possible price. It is not a typical price, an approval rule, or a promise. Public rate pages do not tell you who usually gets funded. In this 17-program sample, 8 programs were centered on prime borrowers, 3 on nonprime borrowers, 1 across a broad range, and 5 could not be pinned down.
This 17-program sample is not the whole market and cannot predict your offer. CC BY 4.0 covers Rung-owned work, with third-party material excluded. This working report is public. Publisher review and third-party source clearance remain pending; no completed reviewer approval is claimed.
- Only 2 of the 17 borrower labels rest on high-confidence evidence.
- 10 have medium-confidence evidence. Five have low-confidence evidence.
- A lender may serve people outside the group shown in its public records.
- None of these labels tells you whether you will be approved or what rate you will get.
The lowest rate tells you almost nothing about the typical borrower
A broad rate range can make a loan look open to everyone. It does not show who received most of the loans behind the public record. In 5 of 17 programs, the public sources did not even support a clear center.
They can question an ad, but they cannot predict your offer
Each row shows the group covered by a public source and how much confidence that source supports. It may describe one loan pool, one channel, or one period rather than every borrower.
Scroll across to see all columns.
| Program | Who the evidence centers on | Evidence type | People covered | Period | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prosper | broad credit spectrum | funded internal risk distribution | Prosper personal-loan originations during Q1 2026 | 2026-03-31 | medium |
| Oportun | nonprime center | provider stated market | Oportun members described in the 2024 annual report | 2024-12-31 | medium |
| Upstart | not confirmed | insufficient product specific evidence | We could not confirm this | 2026-09-05 | low |
| Happen Bank | prime center | provider stated market | Management's stated target customer | 2026-06-30 | medium |
| SoFi | prime center | funded weighted average fico | SoFi personal loans reported for Q1 2026 | 2026-03-31 | high |
| OneMain Financial | nonprime center | provider stated market | OneMain's stated consumer market | 2026-06-30 | medium |
| Upgrade | prime center | funded channel weighted average fico | Personal loans in Upgrade's financial-institution purchase program | 2026-09-05 | medium |
| Best Egg | prime center | transaction typical borrower | Typical unsecured Prime customers in Marlette Funding Trust securitizations | 2025-09-30 | medium |
| Avant | nonprime center | funded borrower range and transaction description | Avant customers receiving loans and typical Avant unsecured personal-loan borrowers | 2026-01-27 | high |
| LendingPoint | not confirmed | provider stated market | LendingPoint's stated target market | 2026-09-05 | low |
| Discover | prime center | active portfolio fico distribution | Capital One domestic personal loans held for investment | 2025-12-31 | medium |
| Wells Fargo | prime center | mixed portfolio fico distribution | 2026-vintage term loans within Wells Fargo's Other consumer portfolio | 2026-06-30 | medium |
| U.S. Bank | not confirmed | insufficient product specific evidence | We could not confirm this | 2026-09-05 | low |
| PNC | prime center | mixed portfolio fico distribution | 2026-vintage term loans within PNC's Other consumer portfolio | 2026-06-30 | medium |
| Citi | not confirmed | insufficient product specific evidence | North America personal installment portfolio without a published score distribution | 2026-03-31 | low |
| Alliant Credit Union | not confirmed | insufficient product specific evidence | All Other Unsecured Loans/Lines of Credit reported to NCUA | 2026-03-31 | low |
| PenFed Credit Union | prime center | mixed portfolio fico distribution | PenFed Other Consumer term-loan balances | 2025-12-31 | medium |
Borrowing for debt consolidation does not tell you the rate
More than 80% of the loans in one Upgrade program were for debt consolidation. The weighted-average FICO was about 731. Other lenders report on different groups. Those figures do not add up to one typical borrower.
Your actual price matters more than a borrower label
- Treat the starting APR as a price that may be possible, not likely.
- Check which group and period sit behind any average.
- Compare the APR, fee, payment, and total repayment in your offer.
- Walk away if the full cost does not improve your situation.
Check the next part of your offer
Shop with the rate range. Decide with your offer.
The borrower labels add context. They cannot tell you whether you will be approved or what APR you will receive.