Our Top Student Loan Refinance Rates May 2025

What is Student Loan Refinancing? 

A student loan refinance involves replacing one or more student loans with a new loan with better terms from a private lender. Both private and federal student loans can be refinanced. The purpose of refinancing is to get a lower interest rate and thereby reduce the monthly payments and lifetime costs. Many private lenders, including banks, online lenders, and credit unions offer student loan refinance loans. People with federal loans can also consolidate—rather than refinance—their debts. This involves combining multiple federal loans into a single loan with one simple monthly payment. 

The table below shows a sample of rates for student loan refinances compared to rates for first-time private and federal student loans. The Refinance column shows the lowest rates advertised by each lender. The First-Time Column shows fixed rates for federal government loans and lowest rates from private lenders.

Should I Refinance my Student Loan?

As the above table shows, it is often worth refinancing a student loan. If you’ve graduated from college and have built a good credit score, then you may be able to achieve a much lower interest rate by refinancing—and potentially save thousands of dollars in the long run. 

Things to take into consideration before refinancing:

• Interest rate. Some lenders offer lower rates than others. Before you refinance, make sure your chosen lender can actually save you money.
• Credit score. Holders of student debt can refinance at a significantly reduced rate, so long as they have a solid credit score along with steady income and employment. If your credit score is poor, you may find it more difficult to achieve a reduced rate.
• Term duration. If you refinance at a lower rate but with a longer loan, then your monthly payments decrease, but you may end up paying more overall due to accruing interest.
• Remaining debt. If you’re fresh out of college and tens of thousands of dollars in debt, then a refi could make sense. But if you’ve paid off most of your loan and only have a small amount of debt to pay off, it might not be worth refinancing. True, you could save a small amount. But on the other hand, applying for any type of loan or refi can affect your credit score—which could prove damaging if you’re also in the market for a mortgage or other loan.

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The Pros and Cons of Student Loan Refinancing

Student Loan Refinancing Requirements

Eligibility can vary slightly between lenders, but the following are standard requirements for most refinance loans: 

• U.S. citizen or permanent resident
• Aged 18 years or older.
• Reside in a state where your chosen lender is authorized to lend.
• Have employment, sufficient income from other sources, or have an offer of employment starting within the next 3 months.
• Have graduated with an undergraduate degree or higher from a Title IV school that’s eligible to process federal student loans.

Lenders also look at the following:

• Credit. This involves a hard credit inquiry which temporarily affects your credit score. Your credit history is the most important factor in determining your interest rate.
• Income. Your lender will ask to see your pay slips or proof of other sources of income, in order to assess whether you have sufficient monthly cash flow to meet your monthly payments.
• Savings. In addition to income, your level of savings will also help the lender assess your ability to make monthly payments.
• Debt amount. The amount of remaining debt will help the lender determine the rate and term duration of your loan.

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How to Refinance a Student Loan

A student loan refinance application is similar to other loan or refinance applications. It involves the following steps:

• Checking your credit. The major credit agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) are legally obligated to share your credit history with you once every 12 months upon request, free of charge. As a general rule, credit of 700 or more is considered good, and 620-700 is average.
• Comparing lenders. You can use loan marketplaces to see loan options from multiple lenders or get a quote from a direct lender.
• Applying for your refinance. You’ll be asked to provide documentation, including: driver’s license or state ID, Social Security number, pay slips, and employment information.

Refinancing Student Loans with a Co-signer

Benefits	Risks
Greater chance of approval	Co-signer takes on liability for debts
Reduced interest rate if co-signer has good credit	Damage to co-signer’s credit score in event of missed payments
Flexibility to release co-signer at pre-determined date in future	Potential damage to relationship with co-signer over financial matters

A co-signer can be a:

• Parent
• Guardian
• Spouse
• Close friend
• Relative
• Anyone else who is in a strong financial position and is willing to share the liability for your debts.

In many cases, recent graduates don’t have the credit history or income to be approved for a student loan refi unless they bring a co-signer. By bringing a co-signer with good credit and income, the lender is more likely to approve the refinance and to offer a low interest rate. Bringing on a co-signer involves more paperwork than applying alone. The lender will ask for documentation from both the primary borrower and their co-signer. A credit inquiry will be performed for both people.It might not be easy to find a co-signer. After all, not everyone would be open to sharing your financial liability. However, if a parent, relative, or close friend agrees to co-sign your refi, you may be able to sweeten the deal by agreeing to release them in the future. For example, student loans can last anywhere from 5 years to more than 20 years. If you’re taking out a 20-year loan but envision having stronger credit in 5 years, you could state in your loan agreement that the co-signer can be released after 5 years. When you reach the 5-year mark, you’ll need to show the lender that you have strong credit and sufficient income to maintain the loan on your own.
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Alternatives to Refinancing

If you have private student loans or private and federal loans, refinancing could be the best way to save money. But if you only have federal loans, you may want to consider debt consolidation or any of the federal government’s loan forgiveness or cancellation programs.

If you’re unable to meet the minimum payments, these are just some of the programs for being forgiven all or a portion of your loan amount: 

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness. For employees of federal, state, or local government organizations, and certain non-profits.
• Teacher Loan Forgiveness.  For people who have taught full-time in a low-income school or education service agency for a minimum 5 consecutive years.
• Perkins Loan Cancellation. For teachers serving low-income schools or children with disabilities. Also available to teachers of math, science, foreign languages, or other fields classified as having a shortage of qualified teachers. 
• Special Circumstances. Student debt may also be canceled in the event of disability, death, bankruptcy, school closure, withdrawal from school, or if the school falsely certified the student’s eligibility for the loan. 

Summary

A student loan involves a great deal of risk and reward. For most students, the risk comes from taking out tens of thousands of dollars in loans when they are at their most vulnerable—young, not-yet employed, and with no credit history. On the flipside, the reward comes by graduating and finding a job in their chosen profession. In reality, many graduates find themselves unable to pay off all their student debt. Fortunately, there are ways to cancel or at least reduce your debt payments. Many students qualify for loan forgiveness or cancellation programs, but even those who don’t qualify for federal assistance can apply for a student loan refinance and save potentially thousands of dollars as a result.

Disclaimers 

† Credible Terms and Conditions:

Close with a better rate than you prequalify for on Credible and get a $200 gift card. Terms Apply.

The lenders on the Credible.com platform offer fixed rates ranging from 3.99% - 11.38% APR. Variable interest rates offered by the lenders on Credible.com range from 4.35% - 12.37% APR. Variable rates will fluctuate over the term of the borrower's loan with changes in the Index rate. The Index will be either LIBOR, SOFR, or the Prime Rate of interest as published in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The maximum variable rate on the Education Refinance Loan is the greater of 21.00% or Prime Rate plus 9.00%.

Rates are subject to change at any time without notice. Your actual rate may be different from the rates advertised and/or shown above and will be based on factors such as the term of your loan, your financial history (including your cosigner’s (if any) financial history) and the degree you are in the process of achieving or have achieved. While not always the case, lower rates typically require creditworthy applicants with creditworthy cosigners, graduate degrees, and shorter repayment terms (terms vary by lender and can range from 5-20 years) and include loyalty and Automatic Payment discounts, where applicable. Loyalty and Automatic Payment discount requirements as well as Lender terms and conditions will vary by lender and therefore, reading each lender’s disclosures is important. Additionally, lenders may have loan minimum and maximum requirements, degree requirements, educational institution requirements, citizenship and residency requirements as well as other lender-specific requirements.

Splash Financial Disclaimer:

*Terms and Conditions apply. Splash reserves the right to modify or discontinue products and benefits at any time without notice. Products may not be available in all states. Rates and terms are subject to change at any point prior to application submission. The information you provide is an inquiry to determine whether Splash’s lending partners can make you a loan offer. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen or other eligible status and meet lender underwriting requirements. Lowest rates are reserved for the highest qualified borrowers and may require an autopay discount of 0.25%. Splash does not guarantee that you will receive any loan offers or that your loan application will be approved. If approved, your actual rate will be within a range of rates and will depend on a variety of factors, including term of loan, creditworthiness, income and other factors. This information is current as of July 17, 2024. You should review the benefits of your federal student loan; it may offer specific benefits that a private refinance/consolidation loan may not offer. If you work in the public sector, are in the military or taking advantage of a federal department of relief program, such as income-based repayment or public service forgiveness, you may not want to refinance, as these benefits do not transfer to private refinance/consolidation loans.

Fixed APR: Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the cost of credit calculating the interest rate, loan amount, repayment term and the timing of payments. Fixed rate options range from 4.99% (with autopay) to 10.24% (without autopay) and will vary based on application terms and level of degree.

Variable APR: Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the cost of credit calculating the interest rate, loan amount, repayment term and the timing of payments. Variable rate options range from 5.28% to 10.24% (without autopay) and will vary based on application terms and level of degree. Variable APRs and amounts subject to increase or decrease.

**Repayment examples are for illustrative purposes only. Loans feature repayment terms of 5 to 20 years. For example, if you receive a $10,000 loan with a 15-year repayment term and an 8.50% APR, you would have a required monthly payment of $98.47. Late payments or subsequent charges and fees may increase the cost of your loan.

See additional disclaimers at: https://www.splashfinancial.com/disclaimers/ Splash Financial, Inc. (NMLS #1630038), licensed by the DFPI under California Financing Law, license # 60DBO-102545

SoFi Student Loan Refinance Disclaimer:

Fixed rates range from 4.49% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Variable rates range from 5.99% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount and 0.125% SoFi Plus discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates will never exceed 13.95% (the maximum rate for these loans). 

SoFi rate ranges are current as of 11/30/24 and are subject to change at any time. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on the term you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers.

For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases. You may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term.

Autopay Discount: The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. This benefit will be removed during periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit lowers your interest rate but does not change the amount of your monthly payment. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment and forbearance. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi. 

SoFi Plus Discount: To be eligible to receive an additional (0.125%) interest rate reduction on your Student Loan Refinancing (your "Loan") for enrolling in SoFi Plus, you must enroll in SoFi Plus within 30 days of Loan funding, either by receiving an Eligible Direct Deposit to your SoFi Checking and Savings account, or by paying the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee. Once eligible, you will receive this discount during periods in which you have received Eligible Direct Deposit to your SoFi Checking and Savings Account, or during periods in which SoFi successfully receives payment of the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee. 

This discount lowers your interest rate but does not change the amount of your regular monthly payment. This discount will be removed during periods in which SoFi determines you have turned off Eligible Direct Deposit to your Checking and Savings account or in which you have not paid the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee. SoFi reserves the right to change or terminate this interest rate reduction offer for unenrolled participants at any time without notice. You are not required to enroll in Eligible Direct Deposit or to pay the SoFi Plus Subscription Fee to be eligible for Loan approval. See what qualifies as an Eligible Direct Deposit here: www.sofi.com/terms-of-use/#slr-discount

 Terms and conditions apply. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are private loans. When you refinance federal loans with a SoFi loan, YOU FORFEIT YOUR ELIGIBILITY FOR ALL FEDERAL LOAN BENEFITS, including all flexible federal repayment and forgiveness options that are or may become available to federal student loan borrowers including, but not limited to: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Income-Based Repayment, Income-Contingent Repayment, extended repayment plans, PAYE or SAVE. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Learn more at SoFi.com/eligibility. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. NMLS #696891 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).

*Earnest Disclaimer:

Visit Earnest's eligibility page for more details

Actual rate and available repayment terms will vary based on your income. Fixed rates range from 4.13% APR to 10.74% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Variable rates range from 6.13% APR to 10.74% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Earnest variable interest rate student loan refinance loans are based on a publicly available index, the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The variable rate is based on the rate published on the 25th day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent. The rate will not increase more than once per month. The maximum rate for your loan is 8.95% if your loan term is 10 years or less. For loan terms of more than 10 years to 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 9.95%. For loan terms over 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 11.95%. Please note, we are not able to offer variable rate loans in AK, IL, MN, NH, OH, TN, and TX. Our lowest rates are only available for our most credit qualified borrowers and contain our .25% auto pay discount from a checking or savings account.

NaviRefi Disclaimer:

You can choose between fixed and variable rates. Fixed interest rates are 5.21% - 9.99% APR (4.96% - 9.74% APR with Auto Pay discount). Starting variable interest rates are 5.97% - 9.99% APR (5.72% - 9.74% APR with Auto Pay discount). Variable rates are based on an index, the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus a margin. Variable rates are reset monthly based on the fluctuation of the index. We do not currently offer variable rate loans in AK, CO, CT, HI, IL, KY, MA, MN, MS, NH, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX, and VA.

Loan cost examples: These examples provide estimates based on payments beginning immediately upon loan disbursement. Variable APR: A $10,000 loan with a 20-year term (240 monthly payments of $85) and a 8.24% APR would result in a total estimated payment amount of $20,434. For a variable loan, after your starting rate is set, your rate will then vary with the market. Fixed APR: A $10,000 loan with a 20-year term (240 monthly payments of $85) and a 8.24% APR would result in a total estimated payment amount of $20,434. Your actual repayment terms may vary.

*Laurel Road Disclaimer:

Terms and Conditions Apply. Rates as of 01/09/2025. Rates subject to change and all products subject to credit approval.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Please note that if you refinance qualifying federal student loans with Laurel Road, you may no longer be eligible for certain federal benefits or programs and waive your right to future benefits or programs offered on those loans. Examples of benefits or programs you may not receive include, but are not limited to, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Income-driven Repayment plans, forbearance, or loan forgiveness. Please carefully consider your options when refinancing federal student loans and consult StudentAid.gov for the most current information.

Citizens Disclaimer:

1. Student Loan Rate Disclosure: Variable interest rates range from 4.99% - 15.51% (4.99% - 15.47% APR). Fixed interest rates range from 3.49% - 15.49% (3.49% - 14.99% APR).

2. Get My Rate: Selecting “Get My Rate” only requires a “soft credit pull” which does not affect your credit score. Submitting a full application will result in an inquiry on your credit report.

3. Citizens Undergraduate Booked Loans from 10/1/2023 through 9/30/2024 were 4 times more likely to be approved with a qualified cosigner.

4. Multi-Year Approval: Funds available for future use are subject to a soft credit inquiry at time of your next request to verify continued eligibility. After we make the initial Loan to you, you must continue to meet eligibility criteria to obtain additional funds under the Multi-Year Approval feature.

Terms and conditions are outlined in the promissory note. Multi-Year Approval borrowers have a 99% approval rate on future requests for additional funds. The additional funds approval rate is based on the percentage of approved Multi-Year borrowers from Citizens between October 1, 2023 and October 1, 2024. The approval rate represents only borrowers who had previously accepted the Multi-Year Approval offer. Please Note: International students are not eligible for Multi-Year Approval.

Get My Rate: Selecting “Get My Rate” only requires a "soft credit pull" which does not affect your credit score. Submitting a full application will result in an inquiry on your credit report.

THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO MAKE ANY PAYMENT OR TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS OFFER.