10 Best Places To Refinance Student Loans

You may be stuck with your student loan balances for a little while, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore options to make those loans a little more bearable. 

For instance, you shouldn’t have to pay higher interest rates on those balances than necessary. When you consolidate or refinance student loans to get the best interest rate, you can speed up your loan payoff time substantially.

Should I Refinance My Student Loans? 

You might be wondering if you should even bother trying to refinance your student loan(s). Some people won’t benefit by refinancing; others will. There are many reasons why you might be better off refinancing student loans. Here are some thoughts. 

Refinance to Get a Lower Rate and Save Money

You might be able to save thousands of dollars if you refinance your student loans and pay a  lower interest rate. Let’s say you’ve got $20,000 in student loans and are paying a 10% interest rate. With a loan term of ten years, you’ll pay over $11,000 in interest. 

If you refinance down to a 4% rate, you’ll be paying just a bit over $4,000 in interest over the course of ten years. The money savings are noteworthy.  

Consolidate Student Loans to Make Payments Easier

Another reason you may want to refinance your student loans is to make paying them easier. If you can take your four or five different student loans and consolidate them into one loan, managing the monthly payments will be much easier. 

Refinancing can also help you get lower payments. If you are struggling to make your current student loan payments, you may be able to consolidate and stretch your term so that payment amounts are more manageable. 

Refinance to Remove Your Loan’s Cosigner

Another reason you might want to refinance your student loans is to remove your cosigner. Often times parents or other people sign on student loans because a student didn’t qualify to borrow on their own at such a young age.

If you’re in a more stable situation, you should consider refinancing so that your loans no longer affect your co-signer’s credit record. 

But before you refinance, it’s important to shop around for the best student loan refinance rates. 

Best Student Loan Refinance Rates

Student loan payments are tough enough to handle without having to pay higher interest rates on those loans. Higher interest rates can mean larger payments or a longer repayment period for you. In fact, it’s not uncommon to hear of people paying off student loans into their forties and beyond. 

However, you can pay off your student loans faster when you choose to consolidate them or refinance student loans to get a lower interest rate.

We’ve compiled a list of loan companies and banks with the good reviews and some of the lowest interest rates for student loans. 

Check out these companies to see if they can help you get your student loans paid off faster. 

1. Laurel Road

Laurel Road offers a plethora of student loan consolidation options for you. Here are some highlights: 

• Loan terms ranging from 5 years up to 20 years
• Fixed or variable interest rates
• Current student loan refinancing rates as low as 1.99% (as of January 2020 with the autopay discount) for qualifying borrowers
• .25% rate discount with autopay
• No origination or application fees
• No penalty for early payoff

Bonus: When you refer others to refinance their loans with Laurel Road, the company will pay you up to $400 after the loan is funded.

Laurel Road has a Trustpilot rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars. Read our full Laurel Road review.

2. LendKey

SoFi was founded in 2011 with the goal of giving students more affordable loan options for college debt. As someone who’s had a SoFi loan, I can tell you I was really happy with their service from start to finish. 

Some of the benefits of refinancing your student loan with SoFi include:

• Current student loan refinance rates as low as 2.31% (as of January 2020 with the autopay discount)
• Fixed or variable interest rates
• .25% rate discount with autopay
• No origination or application fees
• Loan terms from 5 years to 20 years
• No penalty for early payoff

One of the things I personally liked about SoFi was their convenient loan process. Everything from application to funding was quick and easy. 

SoFi has a Trustpilot rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars. Read our full SoFi review.

4. CommonBond

CommonBond was founded in 2012 by students experiencing frustration over available financing options for graduate school. Since then, they’ve financed over $3 billion in student loans. 

When you apply, they’ll take into account your savings patterns, investments and employment trajectory, as well as your credit history. Here are some of the features of Earnest loans.

• Current student loan refinance rates as low as 1.99% (as of August 2020 with the autopay discount)
• Fixed or variable interest rates
• .25% rate discount with autopay
• No origination or application fees
• Loan terms from 5 years to 20 years (customizable down to the month)
• No penalty for early payoff
• Bi-weekly auto payments

Another benefit Earnest offers is that of letting loan customers skip one payment a year. 

Earnest’s Trustpilot score is 4.7 out of 5 stars. Read our full Earnest review. 

6. Splash Financial

Splash Financial is an online marketplace for student loans. Splash offers student loan refinance offers originated from U-Fi, Laurel Road, Pentagon Federal Credit Union and others. You complete one application and you'll get offers from all three.

Here’s a summary of their student loan refinancing features. 

• Current student loan refinance rates as low as 3.99% (as of January 2020 with the autopay discount)
• Fixed or variable rate loans
• .25% rate discount with autopay
• No origination or application fees
• Loan terms from 5 years to 20 years (customizable down to the month)
• No penalty for early payoff

Discover doesn’t have the lowest rate of the lenders listed here, but it does have a quick and easy application process--and a well-known name behind it. 

8. Credible

Here’s how Credible works. 

1. You start by filling out a two-minute application.
2. You’ll get a list of lenders who want to help you refinance your loans. They’ll share the terms they’re offering and more. 
3. You can use the Credible website and tools to find the best loan refinance option for you. 
4. Within one business day, you’ll have your final offers to choose from. 

Using Credible can be a great way to save time and money since you are able to see offers from several refinancing lenders all at once. And using Credible doesn’t cost you a thing. They’re paid by the lenders they partner with. 

Credible has a Trustpilot rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars.  

• Current student loan refinance rates as low as 2.62% (as of January 2020 with the autopay discount)
• Fixed or variable interest rates.
• Rate discount with autopay.
• No origination or application fees.
• Loan terms from 5 years to 20 years.
• No penalty for early payoff.

College Ave has a Trustpilot rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars.  

FitBUX

FitBUX is a company that aims to help young adults optimize their student loan repayment strategy, and their loan rates, to help them reduce financial stress. 

FitBUX helps users by offering educational resources to learn everything they need to know when it comes to their finances and their loans, by giving proper planning tools via one on one coaching and technology solutions, and by helping users to implement a sound strategy to get rid of their loans, and optimize their rates while they're in the midst of paying them off.

To become a member of FitBUX for free you can just start by building a profile, use their planning tools, and schedule a free call with a FitBUX coach. They'll help you to customize a plan that incorporates all of your personal goals. They also have premium account options that include add-ons that aren't included in the free account. See their site for details.

Check Rates & Refinance Your Student Loans

The table below lists our recommended student loan refinance and consolidation companies.  

Click on the "Check Rates" button on each row to find the current rates, and get the process of refinancing your loan (and saving money!) started!

Things To Look For In A Student Loan Lender

So, you’ve decided it’s smart to at least look into refinancing your student loans. And you’ve looked at the list of companies above for some ideas for reputable student loan lenders. 

What things should you be looking for before you refinance your student loans? Here are some tips. 

Compare Interest Rates

Interest rates are of paramount importance, in my humble opinion. After all, one of the main goals in refinancing student loans is to save money. By comparing your available interest rates, you can help ensure you save as much money as possible when you refinance. 

Note that it’s important to pay attention to the details when comparing interest rates. For instance, be sure to check to see whether the rates you’re being quoted are fixed rates or variable rates. 

Fixed rates stay the same for the entire length of the loan, while variable rates fluctuate based on varying factors. And check to see if the rates you’re being quoted are dependent on other factors, such as you setting up an auto payment plan. 

Many student loan companies will give you a lower rate if you set up autopay.

Research Fees And Penalties

Fees and penalties are another factor to consider as you decide on a student loan lender for your refinance. Some companies will charge fees for things like: 

• Putting in a loan application
• Origination fees
• Fees for early payoff
• Credit check fees
• Late payment fees

And more. However, there are enough student loan lenders--like the ones mentioned above--that don’t charge these types of fees. If a lender is telling you they’re going to charge fees like origination fees and application fees, it may be best to shop around. 

Additional Information

There are other pieces of information you should take into account before choosing a lender as well. For example, the reputation of the student loan refinancing company you choose is important.

Is the company one you’ve heard of? Do they have a long history of helping people with student loan refinancing? 

Do they have a customer service center with readily available hours for calling and/or chat features? What is their rating with the Better Business Bureau? Do you have friends who have used the student loan refinancing company and have had good success? 

All of these questions are important to answer before you sign on the dotted line for your student loan refinance. If everything checks out and the company can fit your needs, refinancing your student loans might be a great option for you.