4 Steps to Refinance Your Student Loans

1.  Check rates

• Shop around with multiple lenders
• Provide some basic info to get rate quotes
• With our recommended lenders, this can be done online and in a few minutes without affecting your credit

2. Consider your options

• Make sure that refinancing is right for you
• Review FAQs about refinancing below
• Be certain you won’t need any of the federal student loan programs that won’t be accessible after refinancing

3. Choose a loan

• take your time with this step
• Pick your best offer
• Base your pick on rates and other features (such as repayment protections)

4. Apply 

• Upload your documents (and those of your cosigner, if any)
• Sit back and wait for approval
• Keep making payments on your loans until they’re refinanced

Best Student Loan Refinance Lenders

Splash Financial: Best with a cosigner with a $5000 loan amount which requires a credit score of 650 for solo applicants, 660 with a cosigner. The key eligibility criteria are Bachelor’s or higher degree — but associate degree-holders working in certain health care fields could still qualify.

Launched in 2013, Splash Financial claims $6 billion in refinancing requests and 100,000 accounts. These days, the lender stands out for providing applicants with the opportunity to strengthen their application by including a cosigner and applying to release that cosigner in as soon as one year.

Earnest: Best for repayment flexibility with a $5,000 loan amount which requires a 650 credit score. The key eligibility criteria are a Degree from a Title IV accredited nonprofit institution — but you could qualify if you’re within a semester of graduation.

Owned by industry stalwart Navient, Earnest has maintained its innovative student loan solutions since first introducing its refinancing product. The online company sets more accessible eligibility standards and provides a wider degree of choice in repayment terms than many of its competitors.

CommonBond: Best for social impact with a $5,000 loan amount which requires a 660 credit score. The key eligibility criteria are U.S. citizen or permanent resident — but holding a certain type of immigration visa could also make you eligible.

Like other online companies on this list, CommonBond offers the kind of sleek and streamlined user experience that borrowers might appreciate after troubleshooting federal loan servicer sites in the past. The New York City-based lender is also known, in part, for its social impact: A portion of funded loans is diverted to childhood education in developing countries like Ghana.

Laurel Road: Best for borrowers with savings with a $5,000 loan amount which requires a 660 credit score. The key eligibility criteria are Bachelor’s or higher degree — but associate degree-holders working in certain health care fields could still qualify.

Formerly Darien Rowayton Bank, Laurel Road has proven staying power, claiming $9 billion in refinanced education debt since opening its digital doors in 2013. Now a KeyBank subsidiary, it provides cash bonuses and APR discounts of up to 0.80 percentage points for enrolling in autopay for your loans and opening a linked savings account; the more you deposit, the greater your discount.

LendKey: Best for fielding which offers a $2,000 loan amount that requires a 680 credit score. The key eligibility criteria are you may have to join a credit union to accept its refinancing offer — but it’s typically at low or no cost.

LendKey started out with the idea of connecting refinancing applicants with lesser-known lenders, such as community banks and credit unions, to find the most attractive terms possible. Its ability to potentially deliver multiple offers from its partner institutions makes LendKey worth at least considering as you shop around.

NaviRefi: Best for a federal loan-like experience with a $5,001 loan amount which requires a 650 credit score. The key eligibility criteria are U.S. citizens or permanent residents; NaviRefi loans were invitation-only, as of Dec. 8, 2021.

The lone lender on our list that doesn’t offer prequalification (the chance to clarify eligibility and view personalized APRs without a hard credit check), NaviRefi is a new enterprise from industry veteran Navient. The company’s refinancing product resembles federal loans in a couple of ways: For instance, you’ll automatically be placed into a Standard Repayment Plan.

Education Loan Finance: Best for larger balances with a $15,000 loan amount which requires a 680 credit score. The key eligibility criteria are U.S. citizen or permanent resident — and have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Also known as ELFI, this SouthEast Bank subsidiary’s management team sports 30 years of industry experience and says its customers’ average savings of $18,699 after refinancing. It may be a worthwhile option for refinancing six-figure balances: While ELFI’s minimum borrowing amount of $15,000 could turn some customers away, it doesn’t impose a maximum borrowing requirement.

PenFed Credit Union: Best for spousal, parent loan consolidation with a $7,500 loan amount which requires a credit score of 700 to refinance alone, 670 to refinance with a spouse or other cosigner. The key eligibility criteria are Bachelor’s degree-holding U.S. citizens.

Partnered with Purefy, Pentagon Federal Credit Union mostly manages financial accounts for government and military personnel, but you don’t have to identify with either group to refinance your loans with PenFed. Most notably, PenFed features the ability for borrowers to consolidate education debt with their spouse or away from their parents.