Best Long-Term Personal Loans in 2025
Compare top lenders. Find the best rate. Fund your goals.
| Lender | User rating | APR | Term | Amount | Min. credit score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
7.99% – 24.99% | 36 to 84 months |
$2.5k – $40k |
202 |
Long-term personal loans at a glance
Best for: Long loans with excellent customer service – Discover
- APR
- 7.99% – 24.99%
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- Has earned 4.9/5.0 stars from LendingTree users
- Financial assistance options available in times of hardship
- U.S.-based customer service available seven days a week, including extended weekend hours
- Can’t apply for a loan with another person
- With a maximum loan amount of $40,000, might not provide the amount of money you need
Unless you pay off your loan early (or refinance your loan), you could be stuck with your lender for years, making it important that you’re happy from the start. After having worked with the lender, 97% of LendingTree users recommend LightStream. And if you’re having trouble keeping up with your loan, it offers multiple assistance options to help get you back on track.
Discover has clear eligibility requirements, including:
- Credit score:
- Annual income: $40,000 (individually or as a household)
- Administrative: Have a Social Security number, be at least 18 and have both an email address and a physical address
What is a long-term personal loan?
Long-term loans are personal loans with longer repayment terms — usually 60 months (five years) or longer. Personal loans come as a lump sum with fixed interest rates. Your monthly installments stay the same for the life of your loan.Long-term personal loans can carry higher interest rates than shorter loan terms. The longer it takes you to pay back what you borrowed, the more time you have to default on your loan. This increases the risk for the lender, so they charge higher rates to compensate.
Lenders that offer long-term loans often let you borrow more money (sometimes $100,000 or more). Many borrowers turn to long-term loans for high-dollar transactions, such as debt consolidation, home improvement and medical bills.
- The longer it takes to pay off your loan, the more overall interest you’ll probably pay.
- Long-term loans usually have lower monthly payments — not because they are cheaper, but because you have more time to pay off your balance.
- Lenders that offer longer loan terms often let you borrow more money, too.
Choosing the best loan term
Choosing a loan term is a balancing act. You’ll likely pay less overall interest on a shorter loan term. But shorter loan terms usually come with higher monthly payments.
To illustrate, imagine you took out a $15,000 loan with an 18.00% interest rate. Here’s how different loan terms will impact your monthly payments and total interest.
| 36-month term | 60-month term | 84-month term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly payment | $542.29 | $380.90 | $315.27 |
| Overall interest | $4,522.29 | $7,854.08 | $11,482.48 |
| Total loan cost | $19,522.29 | $22,854.08 | $26,482.48 |
Use our personal loan calculator to find a middle ground between an affordable monthly payment and the total cost of borrowing.
Long-term personal loans can come with higher rates, so they might be best for borrowers with at least good credit scores. That doesn’t mean you can’t get a long-term loan with bad credit. Just be sure loan payments fit in your monthly budget before signing on the dotted line.
How to find a long-term loan through LendingTree
1. Check your credit
Use LendingTree Spring to get your free credit score. You’ll need it to figure out if your offers are competitive. We’ll also alert you when your credit score changes so you can keep tabs on your financial health.
2. Get offers on our personal loan marketplace
Take advantage of the nation’s largest network of lenders and let LendingTree do the shopping for you. With a few clicks, you could have multiple lenders competing for your business. And perhaps best of all, checking rates doesn’t hurt your credit score.
3. Compare and win
We’ll show you offers from up to five lenders and explain how your rates compare to the marketplace average. You may want to prioritize loans with the lowest APRs. Even so, check lender reviews to make sure you get the customer service experience you deserve.
How to compare long-term personal loans
Your loan term is the length of time you have to pay off your loan. But that’s not the only metric that you should compare. The definitions below can help you make better sense of your loan offers.
APR
Your APR measures the total cost of your loan, including interest and fees. The higher this percentage, the more expensive the loan. You’ll usually need a credit score of at least 740 to get the best personal loan rates.
Fees
An origination fee is a portion of your loan the lender will keep for itself. Some lenders charge these to all borrowers. Others only apply them if you have bad credit.
Loan amounts
Personal loans come as a lump sum. In other words, you can’t borrow twice from the same loan. Make sure that the amount of money you’re applying for will cover what you need.
Customer service
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) maintains a consumer complaint database. Check it to see if others have had issues with the lender before applying. Also review the lender’s customer service hours and whether it has a functional mobile app.
Frequently asked questions
Lenders set their own guidelines, so there’s no true definition of “longest term.” However, out of the lenders on this list, . This extended term is only available on home improvement loans. For a general personal loan, check out .
Not all lenders offer long-term personal loans, but start by contacting banks, credit unions and online lenders. You could also find long-term loans through our marketplace. But even if an institution does offer long-term loans, you’ll still need to meet its eligibility requirements to borrow.
A long-term personal loan isn’t necessarily a bad idea. Personal loans are a financial tool that, when used wisely, provide relief for millions of Americans every year. Still, only borrow what you can afford to repay. Compare lenders to ensure you’re getting the best terms, and remember that you’ll pay more in interest with a longer loan term.
Our methodology
We reviewed more than 32 lenders to determine the overall best seven long-term personal loans. To make our list, lenders must offer loans with at least 60-month repayment terms and have competitive APRs. From there, we prioritize lenders based on the following factors:
Accessibility: Lenders are ranked higher if their personal loans are available to more people and require fewer conditions. This may include lower credit requirements, wider geographic availability, faster funding and easier and more transparent prequalification and application processes.
Rates and terms: We prioritize lenders with more competitive fixed rates, fewer fees and greater options for repayment terms, loan amounts and APR discounts.
Repayment experience: For starters, we consider each lender’s reputation and business practices. We also favor lenders that report to all major credit bureaus, offer reliable customer service and provide any unique perks to customers, like free wealth coaching.