Online Personal Loans
Find and compare deals from a range of flexible online lenders with Savvy today.
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The benefits of online personal loans
Competitive rates
You can opt for either a secured or unsecured personal loan and compare offers with competitive interest rates tailored to your profile.
Borrow up to $75,000
Personal loans are designed to fit just about any need, big or small, and our lenders combined can offer any amount from as little as $2,000 all the way up to $75,000.
Repay your loan over one to seven years
You’ll get to decide on the length of your loan term also, with longer terms boasting more affordable repayments and short lengths increasing your overall savings.
Set your repayment schedule
You’ll also choose how often you make your repayments, with monthly, fortnightly and weekly instalments available for you to structure them to suit your own income schedule.
Choose a fixed or variable rate
We compare both fixed and variable rates amongst our lenders, with fixed interest being locked in from the start and variable rates open to fluctuation across your loan.
100% online application
From the moment you commence your comparison process to signing your loan agreement, you can complete your application online and even from your smartphone.
No deposit necessary
Unlike other types of finance, there’s no requirement for you to make a lump-sum deposit as part of your personal loan, nor will you need to pay any large fees upfront
Unrestrictive usage of funds
One of the many advantages of securing a personal loan is that you can utilise the funds however you like, from paying for medical bills to covering educational expenses.
Types of personal loan
Why compare personal loans through Savvy?
100% free
There's no need to worry about forking out to compare offers. Our service is free, so you can come back whenever you like.
Paperless applications
You won't need to worry about sifting through documents and visiting the post office, as they can all be submitted online.
Reputable lending partners
We've partnered with personal loan companies you can trust to ensure your comparison is a high-quality one.
Applying for your personal loan online
Compare your options with Savvy
Assess the products on offer from our partnered lenders and choose the option that’s most affordable and suited to your needs.
Submit your application and documentation
Once you land on your lender’s site, you can gather up your required documents and submit digital copies of them alongside your lender’s form.
Receive an outcome and sign your agreement
After you’ve been approved, your lender will send through a copy of your loan agreement for you to sign electronically, from which point you can receive your funds.
How to compare online personal loans
Interest rate
Your interest is of paramount importance on your personal loan, as even small disparities in rate can end up costing (or saving) you over $1,000. Base rates are simple to compare, as lenders will display them prominently on their sites and comparison tables like Savvy’s.
These won’t necessarily be the rates that you’re offered on your loan, as it’ll ultimately be influenced by other factors like your credit score, income and job stability, but you should look for the lowest rates where possible.
Fees
Fees should also factor prominently into your thinking for the same reason as interest rates: they can end up adding hundreds to your finance agreement. We’re partnered with lenders who are willing to not charge significant fees on their loans, whether that be through omitting one primary charge or charging no fees at all. Some of the costs you may encounter include:
- Ongoing fees: $0 to $10 monthly
- Establishment fee: $0 to $595
- Late payment fees: $15 to $35
Repayment flexibility
Another area you should prioritise is the ease at which you can make additional repayments. Fortunately, many of our lenders won’t charge borrowers additional fees for paying out their loan ahead of schedule, which is a major bonus for borrowers looking to cut down on their overall interest outlay.
The shorter your loan, the less interest and fees you’ll pay, so it could be worth your while to contribute a bit above the minimum.
Loan terms
Above all else, it’s crucial that your personal loan is set on terms that are comfortable for you to service. A large part of this is choosing the right length of time over which to repay your loan, as this will mould the cost of your repayments.
If you’ve decided you want to repay your loan over six years, for instance, you can automatically rule out lenders who only offer terms up to five years.
Eligibility
Finally, it’s important that you find a personal loan whose eligibility criteria you can meet. While the general qualification points will remain the same across the board, you might need to narrow your search to lenders who accept certain Centrelink benefits or low doc applications, to name just a few.
If your personal situation is slightly different, you should look to your lender’s criteria to see whether you’d qualify.
Common online personal loan queries
Online personal loans explained
What are some of the benefits of online loans?
When it comes to comparing personal loans, those offered by online lenders or other lenders with the infrastructure to support online applications come with a range of advantages for you as a borrower. Of course, you should always compare offers with Savvy so you can have the best chance of entering the application process with a clear understanding of which loan is best for you. With clear comparison information at your fingertips, you can select your loan with more confidence. Some of the primary benefits of online loans include:
Faster, more convenient processes
Perhaps the most obvious benefit of applying online is the convenience which the overall process brings. This applies to all financiers offering loans in this manner, from the big banks to small private lenders. Having the ability to complete your application from the comfort of your home, either your computer or smartphone, saves you from having to take time out of your day to visit your local branch. With the busy lives that many of us lead, saving even a few hours can make a significant difference to your day or week.
Options beyond the big banks
If you’re sticking to products offered by bank and credit union branches in your city or town, the quality of comparison won’t be nearly as great and you could end up costing yourself hundreds of dollars more overall. The online market is another story, though, with an incredibly wide range of lenders and loan offers open to borrowers no matter where you live. The sheer volume of deals available helps you maximise your chances of finding one which suits your individual needs.
Lower interest rates
The most important way that many online lenders can benefit you is through your hip pocket. Because of their higher overheads, physical institutions such as banks typically charge higher interest rates and fees. It’s a different story for online financiers, though. With no need to cover the cost of maintaining branches or paying a vast number of shareholders, online lenders often have the lowest rates on the market and regularly waive potentially costly fees so you can save on your loan.
Less stringent qualification criteria
In many cases, banks can enforce strict eligibility criteria which can rule out a wide range of people who perhaps don’t line up as the perfect applicants in their eyes. In these situations, you’re more likely to find luck applying for an online loan through a private lender who can accommodate your situation. Self-employed borrowers who don’t have the exact information a bigger lender requires or applicants who have struggled with credit in the past both have options through online financiers.
More personalised service
Finally, banks are built to service a vast range of products and employ efficient systems to ensure that they’re able to cope with extremely high demand. For smaller lenders who specialise in one product and don’t have the same workload, there’s a greater capacity to assess and approve applications on a case-by-case basis and interact with you as a borrower on a more personal level. Many applicants may prefer this when applying for their loan.
Which types of personal loan can I apply for online?
It’s important to have a firm grasp of which personal loan types are available to you. Fortunately, with the sheer number of offers available online, you’ll be able to apply for just about any kind of personal finance you like. The main types of loan to consider when approaching the application process are:
Unsecured personal loans
The most widely available finance type, unsecured loans don’t require any form of collateral to secure them, making them more suitable for a wider portion of the borrowing population. You can generally borrow up to a maximum of $75,000 and take as many as seven years to repay your debt. They’re fast to process and can be turned around in just one day (and sometimes faster), so they can serve as a quick solution to your financial needs. However, they generally come with higher rates and fees than secured loans.
Secured personal loans
As the name suggests, these loans do make use of an asset to serve as collateral for the loan agreement between you and your lender. This is most often a car or another vehicle, but some lenders may accept other valuable assets like jewellery or artwork. With an asset in tow, you can potentially borrow as much as $100,000 on your personal loan and take advantage of lower interest and fees, which come about as a result of your lender seeing the agreement as a safer one. However, collateral criteria are often strict, so your car may not qualify with your lender.
Personal lines of credit
In contrast to the other loans, a line of credit affords you a great deal more flexibility to access the funds whenever you need them. Your line of credit allows you to be approved up to a pre-determined limit, after which you can withdraw any funds you need. This avoids the requirement to manage a large lump sum from the beginning and also enables you to only pay interest on the money you’ve used. However, rates and fees are often steeper than unsecured loans, so you’ll have to consider the cost of the arrangement.
How can I use a personal loan?
Personal loans are flexible by design, enabling you to make use of them in a wide variety of ways. Some of the potential ways you can spend your personal loan funds include:
- Consolidate a range of high-interest and other debts to make them more manageable and potentially save on interest and fees
- Pay for much-needed renovations and improvements around your home, such as installing a pool or redoing your garden
- Cover the cost of your next holiday, whether you’re taking a simple trip up the coast or planning an expansive overseas adventure
- Help you afford your dream wedding or a fitting funeral for a family member
- Pay for any unexpected expenses arising from medical bills either for you, your family or even your pet
- Allow you to continue to afford your children’s school fees even if you find yourself short on the funds you need for the upcoming year
- Simply help you out with the household bills for the month or the next few months to ease the financial burden on you
Helpful personal loan guides
Still looking for the right personal loan?
Personal loans come in all shapes and sizes, so read more about the ways you can use them, as well as how they might work for you.
