The Best Student Loan Refinance Lenders In 2023

• Credible is a marketplace where you can check your rate with different companies at once without affecting your credit score. it also helps people to find other loans too.
• There is no origination fees or prepayment penalties.
• Credible even offers a $200 “best rate guarantee”—find a better offer elsewhere from a non-partner lender, and Credible will reimburse you with a gift card.

• Minimum credit score of 640 or higher.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Repayment options depend on the lender you choose. Generally, the repayment options available can be of the following types:

• Deferment
• Fixed payments
• Interest-only payments
• Full repayment

Available in all 50 states.

Loans are refinanced for clients nationally by RISLA. When compared to other market participants, it distinguishes out due to its income-based repayment plan, which restricts repayment to 15% of income for a 25-year term if borrowers are unable to pay their repayments. With its 24-month forbearance duration, this benefit is relatively uncommon in the student loan refinance market.

• Minimum credit score 680
• Minimum income of $40,000
• No degree required

Forbearance: Up to 24 months of forbearance available

Available in all 50 states.

• Earnest grants you the option to skip one payment every 12 months, provided you’ve made all your payments on time in the interim.
• Earnest provides a variety of loans that is unmatched. Earnest gives up to 180 term length alternatives with intervals as low as one month, as opposed to limiting you to a few possibilities with five-year intervals.

• Required minimum credit score of 680 or higher.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• Requirement of an emergency fund of at least 2 months.
• Recipients of DACA must have a co-signer who satisfies the residence requirements.
• In rare circumstances, in addition to the usual co-signer credit requirements, there may be additional credit requirements for the student borrower.

• Forbearance: During the term of your loan, you may be granted forbearance for up to 12 months in certain situations, such as dire financial straits.
• Deferment: You can stop your payments entirely during certain qualified periods.
• Biweekly payments: This option splits up your single monthly payment into payments due every two weeks.

• Available in Washington, D.C., and all states except for Kentucky and Nevada.
• Residents of Alaska, Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas are not able to get variable-rate loans.

• Discover provides several options for deferment, and forbearance.
• Discover won’t owe any fees at all, even if you pay late (although Discover may still mark it on your credit reports, which can cause your credit score to drop).
• It has more customer-friendly assistance programs.

• No disclosure regarding the minimum credit score
• The applicant must be a U.S. citizen, current resident, or international student.
• Non-permanent residents may require a co-signer who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

• Deferment: There are no payments made while you are enrolled in school, doing a medical residency or fellowship, serving in the military, or engaging in some types of volunteer work.
• Forbearance: Maximum 12-month forbearance period per loan case you lose your job, suffer a temporary disability, have financial difficulty, or have too many student loan installments to make.
• Reduced payment: In the reduced payment option, you will make smaller monthly payments for at least six months while you get your finances back on track, equal to your interest payment or $50, whichever is less.
• Reduced interest rate: Reduced interest rates will lower your payments ($50 minimum) for a minimum of six months while you get your finances back on track when using the reduced interest method.

Available in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C.

• Numerous perks are available to borrowers through SoFi, including admission to the Los Angeles-based SoFi Stadium club, a program for unemployment compensation, individual career coaching, financial planning, special events, and more.
• One of the few lenders, SoFi, permits graduates to refinance student loans taken out in their parents’ names for their benefit in their own names, assuming repayment responsibilities.

• Minimum credit score of 650 or higher.
• Must be a citizen or present resident of the United States, including DACA holders and non-permanent residents.
• Obtained a degree from a Title IV institution, at least an associate’s.

• Reduced payment: Depending on your financial situation, SoFi might be able to find a method to minimize your monthly payments.
• Forbearance and deferment: In some circumstances, such as when you return to school or encounter a natural disaster, SoFi offers forbearance and deferment choices, but it withholds the specifics of these programs.

Available in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C.

Mefa does not require borrowers to have a degree, so those who did not graduate can refinance. It also doesn’t charge fees, including late fees.

• No degree is required.
• Minimum FICO score of 670
• Minimum income of $24,000 for each loan applicant.

Forbearance: Except in the event of natural catastrophes or other exceptional circumstances, there is no explicit policy. Borrowers who require long-term assistance can apply for loan modification programs on a case-by-case basis.

Available in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C.

• Citizens Bank does not require you to complete a degree in order to be eligible for refinancing.
• You’ll get a 0.25% rate discount if you sign up for autopay.
• If you or your co-signer already had other Citizens accounts open at the time you applied for the loan, Citizens Bank will take additional 0.25 percent off your rate.

• Must be a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident (non-permanent residents may need a co-signer who is eligible).
• If you hold an associate’s degree or didn’t finish your degree, you must have made your last 12 student loan payments on schedule.

• Fixed repayment for medical school loans: Medical residents and fellows who qualify may restructure their student debts and choose to make monthly payments of only $100 until their program is finished.
• Forbearance: The specifics of Citizens Bank’s forbearance program are not made public, but the bank does offer options that, under certain circumstances, you might be able to use.

Available in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

It is a student loan marketplace. It works with an exclusive set of lenders, some of whom you can’t apply to anywhere else. You’ll be able to compare rates from several lenders at once.

• Must have a minimum credit score of 640 or higher.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• Must have a completed degree

• Full repayment: For the majority of refinanced student loans, full principle and interest payments are necessary.
• Medical and dental school repayment: You will only be required to make fixed monthly payments of $100 if you refinance your medical or dental school loans while enrolled in a residency or fellowship, as well as for a period of six months after you graduate from those programs.

Available in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• It allow spouses to combine their separate student loans together into one private student loan during the refinance process.
• If you require a co-signer, PenFed can also be a wise choice. It has a lenient co-signer release policy: If you can qualify on your own at that point, your co-signer can be released from their commitment after just 12 on-time payments.

• Minimum credit score of 670 or higher.
• The applicant must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or international student.

Unspecified: If there are any alternatives for forbearance, deferment, or loan modification for refinance loans, PenFed does not disclose them.

Available in all 50 states.

• ISL Lending’s low rates make it a good refinancing option for just about anyone.
• If you are going through a career change yourself, you may be able to choose a graduated repayment plan that would make payments simple. You’ll also be entitled to a lower interest rate on your loan if you’re an active-duty service member.
• ISL offers a loan discharge program if you become permanently disabled or die, similar to federal student loans.

• The applicant must have a minimum credit score of 670 or higher.
• The applicant must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• No previous credit-harming occurrences, such as bankruptcies, foreclosures, or accounts that are being collected, etc.
• The applicant’s debt-to-income ratio is under 25% (if you don’t pay rent or mortgage), 40% (for most others), or 45% (for those with mortgages and six-figure incomes).
• The applicant has had no more than two late payments overdue by 30 days (and none past 60 days) in the previous two years.

• Forbearance: ISL Lending may offer a pause in payments for certain cases such as financial hardship.
• Graduated repayment: In Graduated repayment, rather than paying a steady payment, start with smaller payments that gradually grow to a larger size to finish repaying the loan in the same amount of time.
• Deferment: If you are current on payments and present a budget worksheet, ISL will provide postponement in some circumstances, such as those involving financial difficulty or active military service.

Available in Washington, D.C., and all states except Maine.