Compare personal loan rates and repayments

Whether you're looking to fund a new car, holiday or consolidate debt, it's important to compare a variety of personal loan lenders before deciding on one. You can start comparing below!

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Personal loan comparisons on Mozo

Mozo may receive payment if you click the products below. We don’t compare the entire market, but you can search our database of 247 personal loans.
Last updated 5 October 2024 Important disclosures and comparison rate warning*
  • Low Rate Personal Loan

    Excellent Credit

    interest rate
    comparison rate
    Monthly repayment
    6.57% p.a.to 8.48% p.a.
    7.19% p.a.to 8.84% p.a.based on $30,000
    over 5 years

    Competitive low rates for borrowers with excellent credit on 1-7 year loans from $5,000 up to $75,000, plus free extra repayments. Winner of Mozo's Experts Choice Excellent Credit Unsecured Personal Loan 2024 and Excellent Credit Secured Personal Loan 2024 awards ^. Min. income of 25k after tax, to apply.

    Repayment terms from 1 year to 7 years. Representative example: a 5 year $30,000 loan at 6.57% would cost $35,528.12 including fees.

    Compare
    Details
  • Debt Consolidation Loan

    interest rate
    comparison rate
    Monthly repayment
    6.57% p.a.to 18.99% p.a.
    7.19% p.a.to 19.39% p.a.based on $30,000
    over 5 years

    Competitive fixed rates on loans up to $75,000 depending on your credit score. Zero monthly account keeping fees, no exit fees and no early repayment fees. Make weekly, fortnightly or monthly repayments, over 1 to 7 years managed entirely online, at any time. Fast and easy, 100% online application.

    Repayment terms from 1 year to 7 years. Representative example: a 5 year $30,000 loan at 6.57% would cost $35,528.12 including fees.

    Compare
    Details
  • Express Personal Loan

    Secured

    interest rate
    comparison rate
    Monthly repayment
    14.95% p.a.to 27.95% p.a.
    29.30% p.a.to 42.8% p.a.based on $10,000
    over 3 years

    Access fast finance on loans from $3,000 to $25,000 with a Jacaranda Finance Personal Loan. Terms from 25-48 months. Check if you qualify with no impact on your credit score. Enjoy a speedy, online approval.

    Repayment terms from 2 years to 4 years. Representative example: a 3 year $10,000 loan at 14.95% would cost $14,324.71 including fees.

    Compare
    Details
  • Secured Personal Loan

    interest rate
    comparison rate
    Monthly repayment
    6.57% p.a.to 18.99% p.a.
    7.19% p.a.to 19.39% p.a.based on $30,000
    over 5 years

    Get a secured personal loan with competitive low rates for borrowers with excellent credit. A simple fixed interest rate that can be repaid weekly, fortnightly or monthly, over 1 to 7 years (10 years for Green Loans). Managed entirely online, at any time. No monthly account keeping fees, no exit fees and no early repayment fees. Quick and easy, 100% online application. Establishment fees apply.

    Repayment terms from 1 year to 7 years. Representative example: a 5 year $30,000 loan at 6.57% would cost $35,528.12 including fees.

    Compare
    Details
  • Unsecured Personal Loan

    Fixed

    interest rate
    comparison rate
    Monthly repayment
    5.76% p.a.to 24.03% p.a.
    6.55% p.a.to 24.98% p.a.based on $30,000
    over 5 years

    Fast, easy and 100% online, this is a low cost loan with no ongoing fees or extra repayment penalties. It's perfect for savvy borrowers with great credit. If you’re over 18 and earn above $30,000, you could qualify (other eligibility criteria may apply).

    Repayment terms from 3 years to 7 years. Representative example: a 5 year $30,000 loan at 5.76% would cost $35,173.52 including fees.

    Compare
    Details
  • Debt Consolidation Loan

    interest rate
    comparison rate
    Monthly repayment
    5.76% p.a.to 24.03% p.a.
    6.57% p.a.to 24.99% p.a.based on $30,000
    over 5 years

    Roll multiple debts into one loan to streamline your finances with one set of repayments and one interest rate. Competitive fixed interest rates with no monthly or early repayment fees and flexible repayment options. Easy online application and funding in as little as 24 hours (subject to approval).

    Repayment terms from 3 years to 7 years. Representative example: a 5 year $30,000 loan at 5.76% would cost $35,173.52 including fees.

    Compare
    Details
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Personal loans monthly snapshot: October 2024

The Reserve Bank held the cash rate again in September, with inflation persisting and the concern around it lingering. The Australian Bureau of Statistics puts inflation at 3.8% at the June quarter mark. This is higher than the RBA’s desired 2-3% target, which means rates on many financial products will likely hold as well, at least for the time being.

Borrowing money might not be out of the question for some, as many consumers are more optimistic about the year ahead, with 33% expecting to be better off financially this time next year, according to Roy Morgan. That’s slightly more than the percentage of people who expect to be worse off. 

For those with some financial flexibility, a loan can be useful in covering a significant cost. If you’re in this category, you might find some favourable rate options in personal loans because interest rates have held. For example, the average unsecured personal loan rate in the Mozo database is 10.37% p.a., while average secured loan rate is 9.07%.*

Let’s get into the leaders in the Mozo database.

Top personal loans in October 2024

If you’re looking for a low-interest rate, here are some of the current lowest loan rates (based on $30,000 over 5 years) in October, 2024 that we track here at Mozo:

Unsecured Loans (excluding green loans):

Secured Loans (excluding green loans):

Green Loans:

Lowest green loan (variable): Police Credit Union’s Solar Eco Loan (Green, Variable, Unsecured) – 6.24% p.a. (6.24% p.a. comparison rate*)

Lowest green loan (fixed): Bendigo Bank Green Personal Loan (Fixed, Secured) – 5.49% p.a. (5.84% p.a. comparison rate*) & Northern Inland Credit Union Green Loan (Home Improvement, Fixed, Unsecured) – 5.49% p.a. (n/a comparison rate*)

*Data as of October 1, 2024.

What is a personal loan?

A personal loan allows you to borrow a sum of money to pay for something significant, such as a car, holiday, home renovation or even consolidating debt. It’s often an amount between $2,000 and $100,000 that can be used as an upfront payment for such costs, which is why personal loans are quite useful. 

The loan must be paid back with interest over a fixed period of time, typically between one and seven years and in weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalments. As long as you stay on schedule, your repayments can be more straightforward to calculate and this can make the loan easier to plan for. 

However, personal loans also have the disadvantage of fees and interest rate charges. Given that the interest can be fixed or variable, that is locked for a term or moveable with the official cash rate, it’s worth noting the impact of interest on your total amount repaid.  

What can a personal loan be used for?

In Australia, personal loans can be used to help fund all sorts of things. However, they’re commonly taken out for big expenses and include the following kinds of loans:

Whether you’re needing to consolidate debt or finance a home improvement project, it’s often said that the best way to use a personal loan is to reach a specific financial goal. 

At the top of this page you can compare personal loans from the Mozo database. With some basic comparison you can get one step closer to finding a loan to suit your goals. 

How to compare personal loan interest rates

It’s time to compare personal loans based on the interest rate charged. There are two main options: fixed and variable. 

Fixed interest rate:

With a fixed rate loan your interest rate stays the same for the life of your loan, making it easier to budget for. This is an attractive option if you're worried about a rate hike down the track in a rocky financial climate.

Of course, there are a few cons, too. Fixed rates generally come with higher rates and fees, and typically don’t allow extra repayments or have redraw facilities. They also tend to come with break cost fees if you decide to pay your loan off early.

Variable interest rate:

On the other hand, your interest rate could change at any time with a variable rate loan. This could put you at risk if your provider decides to hike up its personal loan variable rates. 

However, the benefit of a variable rate loan is that they often come with lower interest rates and fees, and more flexible features.

How to compare personal loan types: secured vs unsecured

The rate of interest you pay on a personal loan is often determined by whether the loan is secured or unsecured. 

An unsecured loan means that you don’t have to provide any security for your loan, and often applies to a holiday or renovation loan. The interest on these loans can often be higher. 

By contrast, a secured personal loan is a loan guaranteed by an asset such as a car. This security usually means the lender can offer a lower rate on the loan. Let’s break these down a bit further. 

Secured personal loans

The benefit of a secured personal loan is that it generally comes with lower interest rate and fees because you use your own collateral against it.

This acts as a safety net for the lender because if you, as the borrower, fail to make your repayments, the lender can repossess your asset(s). This can be a car, house or another valuable item such as jewellery, for example.

Car loans are a common form of secured personal loans, as the car you’re paying off is typically used as security on the loan.

Unsecured personal loans

If you’d rather not put your car or home at risk, or you just don’t have any assets to secure your loan with, you could opt for an unsecured personal loan.

Unsecured loans don’t require you to guarantee the loan with any assets, but that means you’re usually left with higher interest rates and fees.

Debt consolidation

A personal loan can also help with troublesome debts. A debt consolidation loan lets you combine multiple debts (from multiple loans, stores or credit cards) into one loan.

This way, you’ll have just one regular repayment and interest rate to worry about instead of juggling multiple repayments, deadlines and amounts.

How to compare personal loan features

You’ve checked rates and you know the difference between a secured and unsecured loan, so it’s time to check for extra features. 

Here are some you might come across when comparing personal loans:

Extra repayments

You never know where you’ll be down the track financially. It’s good to have a personal loan with the ability to make extra repayments, which means if you suddenly find yourself flush with cash, you can pay off your loan quicker.

Redraw facility

Another handy feature is a redraw facility, as you never know when you’ll be hit with unexpected bills. A redraw facility allows you to dip into any extra loan repayments you’ve made and redraw the money. 

Flexible repayment frequency

Flexible repayment options allow you to tailor them to your regular pay schedule. For example, if your employer pays you fortnightly, you might opt for fortnightly loan repayments to match.

How much should I borrow with a personal loan?

Firstly, establish the overall cost of your item or project. Once you know the approximate amount, be it a $20,000 car, a $30,000 home reno or $5,000 debt consolidation, you can establish how much you would like to borrow.

Here are three easy steps to help:

1. Set a budget

While a lender may approve you for a large loan amount, it doesn’t mean you should take out that entire sum.

Mozo’s budget calculator can help you get a clearer picture of your finances.

2. Work out your regular repayments

Our personal loan repayments calculator can show you what kind of borrowing scenario might work. 

For example: Say you borrow $20,000 with a 10% interest rate. Using our personal loan repayments calculator, your monthly repayments would be either:

  • $923 paid back over 2 years

  • $425 paid back over 5 years

Keep in mind that while the longer term option might relieve some financial pressure each month, the downside is that you’ll pay $3,346 more in interest over the life of the personal loan.

Lastly, the benefit of fortnightly repayments is that you’ll wind up paying off more of the loan within a year, as opposed to with monthly repayments.

For example, with monthly repayments of $1,000, you’d pay off $12,000 in one year. But with fortnightly repayments of $500, you’d pay off $13,000 in one year, given there are 26 fortnights in the year.

So, by going with fortnightly repayments, you’d shave off an extra $1,000 for each year of the loan, helping to speed up the process of paying it off.

Last word: Credit history

Some lenders offer a range of different interest rates on personal loans depending on what kind of borrower you are. 

Generally, the better your credit history is, the better the interest rate you’ll get. So, if you’ve got a great credit rating, opting for a loan that offers tiered interest rates based on your credit score might help you snag a lower rate.

Okay, so you're up to speed on personal loans - time to compare! Here at Mozo, we believe comparison makes your money count for more. We work hard to ensure you have the most up-to-date product information and personal loan insights at your fingertips. Read more about our fact-checking process here.

If you'd like to review some of the best personal loans in our database, be sure to visit our hub page that showcases our most recent Mozo Experts Choice Awards winners.  

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JP Pelosi
RG146
Managing editor

Managing Editor Jean-Paul (JP) Pelosi leads the editorial team, with over 20 years of experience writing for top outlets like The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald and News.com.au. JP's expertise in home loans and property is complemented by his rich background at major financial firms including CommBank, Suncorp and Amex. Holding a Master's in Communications and international experience in journalism, JP combines passion with skill and has a unique ability to apply this editorial experience and financial knowledge to advise the team on how to create engaging financial content for Australian consumers.

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Rhianna Dews
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Senior Money Writer

Rhianna has a Master of Journalism and Communication from UNSW, and has contributed to several consumer publications including TechRadar, Simply Living Australia, Beauty News Australia, Beauty World News and Fashion Gone Rogue. With over eight years of experience helping consumers make the most of their money, and a background in creating content for brands including Foxtel and Vodafone, means she's always the first to know the latest consumer trends. Her focus is on millennial money motivation and helping Aussies make smart money moves in personal loans, credit cards and online shopping.

More personal loan FAQs

 Is it a good idea to get a loan? 

A personal loan can be useful for lump sums between $2,000 and $100,000, which are too big to put on a credit card. It’s also useful because as long as you meet your monthly repayments, you’ll know how long you’ll have debt and approximately how much interest you’ll pay from the beginning. 

Do I need to provide security to get a personal loan?

This will depend on the type of loan you apply for. If you apply for a secured personal loan, you'll have to provide an asset, like a car to use as security against the loan. Although this does give your lender the right to repossess your asset if you default on the loan, the good news is secured personal loans typically come with lower rates.

On the other hand, if you opt for an unsecured personal loan, you won’t have to provide any security. However, unsecured personal loans usually come with higher interest rates.

What is a personal loan comparison rate?

In our personal loan table at the top of this page, the comparison rate sits to the right of the interest rate and is a quick way of comparing the cost of the personal loan once both the interest rate and fees are combined. The comparison rate is often said to show the 'true' cost of a loan.

Where can you find great personal loan rates? 

There’s no easy answer to this question, as it will depend on your financial circumstance and what you’re looking for. So to help you make a decision, we’ve jotted some pros and cons for different types of lenders.

Big banks:

This includes the big four banks, Westpac, ANZ, NAB and CommBank, plus other major lenders like St George, Bankwest, HSBC and ING.

  • Pros: One of the big benefits of going with a major bank is that you’ll be able to visit a local branch and speak to someone in person if you ever have an issue, which is not the case with some smaller or online lenders.
  • Cons: On the other hand, big banks generally charge higher fees and may not offer the most competitive rate on the market.

Credit Unions:

An alternative to the big banks are smaller credit unions. These are not for profit organisations that are funded by their members. 

  • Pros: Rather than passing profits back to shareholders, credit unions return their profits to their members in the form of competitive rates and fees. 
  • Cons: However, to have access to these competitive rates, you'll need to become a member and sometimes need to pay a small fee.

Can I get a personal loan with bad credit?

While you still might be able to get a personal loan with bad credit, it’s not always the best idea as you’ll often be charged super high rates and fees. Thanks to the rollout of comprehensive credit reporting (CCR), many lenders have already begun assessing a borrower’s credibility based on their credit history.

In this case, it could be worth repairing your credit history first before applying for a loan.

Are pensioners eligible for personal loans? 

Yes, pensioners can take out a personal loan, but it can be tricky to get approved. This is because it’s harder to prove to a lender that you can make your repayments if you no longer have a regular income.

If you're struggling to get approval from a lender, you may want to consider Government Assistant Options.

However, if you’ve got some extra cash stashed away in an account that can be put towards your repayments, you might be in a better position to negotiate with a lender and have better chances of success.

What happens if my personal loan application gets rejected?

If you've been rejected for a personal loan, it's best not to immediately apply for another. Each time you’re knocked back for a loan it goes on your credit history, potentially making it even harder to get approved next time.

The first thing you’ll need to do is assess why you’ve been rejected. Some of the more common reasons include having a:

  • bad credit history
  • low-income
  • unstable employment 
  • having too many loans already.

These are all things that might impact your ability to repay your loan in the future. Your next step should be to make adjustments to your application to ensure that you aren’t rejected again. This could mean cleaning up your credit history, reassessing your budget and borrowing capacity to make sure you can afford the loan or trying to add a little more to your savings stash.

Are there any personal loan traps to avoid?

The thing to remember about any kind of personal credit is that you'll eventually have to pay the money back. Here are some quick tips to help you avoid some of the biggest borrowing traps:

  • Borrowing more than you need
  • Spending money on other things
  • Being late with repayments
  • Not fully understanding joint loan applicant responsibilities
  • Paying more interest than you need to.

Personal Loan Reviews

Commonwealth Bank Personal Loan
Overall 6/10
Commonwealth bank has always been professional

Commonwealth bank has easy to apply for loans with great rates and very easy to get..excellent five star bank for all types of loans

Read full review

Commonwealth bank has easy to apply for loans with great rates and very easy to get..excellent five star bank for all types of loans

Price
8/10
Features
9/10
Customer service
8/10
Convenience
8/10
Trust
8/10
Less
Jasmine, Western Australia, reviewed 16 days ago
Great Southern Bank Unsecured Personal Loan (Fixed)
Overall 10/10
Great rates, flexible terms, and friendly service.

Great Southern Bank’s fixed personal loan offers competitive rates, flexible terms, and excellent customer service. Pros include stable rates and responsive support. Cons are potential early repayment fees and fewer online features compared to some competitors.

Read full review

Great Southern Bank’s fixed personal loan offers competitive rates, flexible terms, and excellent customer service. Pros include stable rates and responsive support. Cons are potential early repayment fees and fewer online features compared to some competitors.

Price
10/10
Features
10/10
Customer service
10/10
Convenience
10/10
Trust
10/10
Less
Alexander, Tasmania, reviewed about 1 month ago
Westpac Personal Loan
Overall 8/10
Thank you westpac

The tax office gave us the largest taxi bill of our lives when we’re not even rich and I cried for about a week before having to sort out 2 personal loans to pay for it. Westpac were so lovely in helping us work out the best method. This was so upsetting so they helped us work it All out.

Read full review

The tax office gave us the largest taxi bill of our lives when we’re not even rich and I cried for about a week before having to sort out 2 personal loans to pay for it. Westpac were so lovely in helping us work out the best method. This was so upsetting so they helped us work it All out.

Price
6/10
Features
7/10
Customer service
10/10
Convenience
10/10
Trust
10/10
Less
Nicola, New South Wales, reviewed about 1 month ago

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