The best home improvement loans of 2026

Whether you want to renovate a recently purchased house or your home is overdue for some improvements, you'll want to ensure you have the financial means to take on such a project.

Home improvement costs can vary depending on what part of the home you're fixing, but according to Rocket Mortgage, Americans spent an average of $22,000 on a single home improvement project in 2023.

A personal loan can help you float the cost of an expensive home improvement project, especially since it's paid back in small, fixed increments over a set period.

CNBC Select rounded up the best lenders if you need to finance a home improvement project, based on interest rates, fees, loan terms, discounts and other criteria.

For details on how we made our selections, read our methodology.

Who's this for? LightStream offers loans of up to $100,000, the largest on our list. It also provides loans for nearly every purpose except higher education and small business.

Standout benefits: LightStream offers the longest terms among the lenders on this list. On the flip side, a longer term means you'll accrue more interest charges over time.

Who's this for? PenFed offers loans as small as $600, making it ideal if you're not planning a massive home improvement undertaking.

Standout benefits: You can receive your funds via paper check, have it deposited directly into your PenFed savings or checking account, or have it transferred via ACH transfer.

Who's this for? Upstart considers factors beyond credit score, including education, employment, credit history and work experience.

Standout benefits: Borrowers can apply for loans as small as $1,000.

Who's this for? SoFi borrowers have 24 to 84 months to pay back their loans. This can be ideal for borrowers who favor smaller monthly payments over a longer repayment term.

Standout benefits: SoFi offers personal loan amounts up to $100,000 for bigger projects.

Who's this for? Since borrowers can receive their funds the next business day, Discover Personal Loans are ideal for emergency projects.

Standout benefits: Discover doesn't charge an origination fee for its personal loans.

Who's this for? Existing Citi deposit account customers can have funds deposited into their accounts on the same business day. If you don't have an existing Citi deposit account, it can take up to two business days to receive the funds.

Standout benefits: Citi offers a 0.50% rate reduction for borrowers who enroll in autopay. Many other lenders offer only a 0.25% discount for autopay.

Here are some common personal loan terms you should be familiar with before applying.

• Co-applicants or joint applications: A co-applicant is a broad term for someone who attaches their name (and financial details) to your application. They can be a co-signer or a co-borrower, but if you have bad or limited credit, having a co-applicant can help you get approved and secure better terms and rates. If you are delinquent on payments, both applicants' credit scores will be affected.  
  
• Co-signers: A co-signer agrees to help you qualify for the loan, but they are only responsible for making payments if you are unable to. The co-signer does not receive the loan, nor do they necessarily make decisions about how it is used. However, the co-signer's credit will be negatively affected if the main borrower misses payments or defaults.
  
• Co-borrower: Unlike a co-signer, a co-borrower is responsible for paying back the loan and deciding how it is used. Co-borrowers are usually involved in decisions about how the loan is used. Some lenders will only consider two co-borrowers who share a home or business address. Both co-borrowers' credit scores are affected if payments fall behind or stop.
  
• Early payoff penalty: Because lenders expect to get paid interest for the full term of your loan, they may charge you a fee if you make extra payments. That fee could be equal the remaining interest you would have owed, a percentage of your payoff balance or a flat rate.
  
• Origination fee: An origination fee is a one-time upfront charge that your lender subtracts from your loan to cover administrative and processing costs. It is usually between 1% and 5%, but is sometimes a flat rate. Good to excellent credit score helps you qualify for loans that don't have origination fees. 
  
• Unsecured vs. secured loans: Most personal loans are unsecured, meaning they are not tied to collateral. However, if you have a less-than-stellar credit score, you can sometimes use your car, house or other asset to act as collateral. You are giving your lender permission to claim that asset if you don't pay back your loan on time.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed financial decisions. Every personal loan review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of loan products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best home improvement loans.

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To determine which personal loans are the best for home improvements, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of U.S. personal loans offered by both online and brick-and-mortar banks, including large credit unions, that come with no origination or signup fees, fixed-rate APRs and flexible loan amounts and terms to suit an array of financing needs.

When narrowing down and ranking the best personal loans, we focused on the following features:

• No origination or signup fee: None of the lenders on our best-of list charge borrowers an upfront fee for processing your loan.
• Fixed-rate APR: Variable rates can go up and down over the lifetime of your loan. With a fixed rate APR, you lock in an interest rate for the duration of the loan's term, which means your monthly payment won't vary, making your budget easier to plan.
• Flexible minimum and maximum loan amounts/terms: Each lender provides a variety of financing options that you can customize based on your monthly budget and how long you need to pay back your loan.
• No early payoff penalties: The lenders on our list do not charge borrowers for paying off loans early.
• Streamlined application process: We considered whether lenders offered same-day approval decisions and a fast online application process. 
• Customer support: Every loan on our list provides customer service available via telephone, email or secure online messaging. We also opted for lenders with an online resource hub or advice center to help you educate yourself about the personal loan process and your finances.
• Fund disbursement: The loans on our list deliver funds promptly through either electronic wire transfer to your checking account or in the form of a paper check. Some lenders (which we noted) offer the ability to pay your creditors directly.
• Autopay discounts: We noted the lenders that reward you for enrolling in autopay by lowering your APR by 0.25% to 0.5%.
• Creditor payment limits and loan sizes: The above lenders provide loans in an array of sizes, from $500 to $100,000. Each lender advertises its respective payment limits and loan sizes, and completing a preapproval process can give you an idea of what your interest rate and monthly payment would be for such an amount.

After reviewing the above features, we sorted our recommendations by best for overall financing needs, debt consolidation and refinancing, small loans and next-day funding.

Fixed rates from 8.74% APR to 35.49% APR. APR reflect the 0.25% autopay interest rate discount and a 0.25% SoFi Plus interest rate discount. SoFi Platform personal loans are made either by SoFi Bank, N.A. or, Cross River Bank, a New Jersey State Chartered Commercial Bank, operating from its Delaware branch, Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. SoFi may receive compensation if you take out a loan originated by Cross River Bank. These rate ranges are current as of 02/23/26 and are subject to change without notice. Not all rates and amounts available in all states. See SoFi Personal Loan eligibility details at https://www.sofi.com/eligibility-criteria/#eligibility-personal. Not all applicants qualify for the lowest rate. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on a variety of factors, including evaluation of your credit worthiness, income, and other factors.