Best Student Loan Refinance
Based on In-Depth Reviews

Best for Financial Hardship Assistance

It’s extremely rare for a private lender to offer hardship assistance, especially for an extended period. In this respect, Commonbond stands out from the crowd by allowing borrowers to pause payments for 3 months at a time and up to 24 months over the life of the loan.

This hardship assistance option can serve as a safety net for emergencies such as unemployment or illness, which can temporarily prevent an individual from making payments on time. We find this to be an excellent and rare feature, especially for a private lender.

Rate Flexibility

Student loan providers typically offer either variable or fixed rates. Commonbond, however, offers a hybrid option in addition to these two. Rates through this lender are customizable, allowing borrowers to choose the loan term and type of rate that best fits their needs.

Commonbond also allows prepayments, meaning borrowers are not penalized for paying their loan off ahead of time, for which many private lenders charge penalties. 

Room for Improvement

Applicants should be aware that Commonbond doesn't offer loans in Mississippi, Nevada, or Vermont.

Their website is minimalistic and easy-to-navigate, but it doesn't provide enough information about the refinancing process, pre-approval process, or explanations about the hybrid rates. The disclaimers page does provide more detailed information, but it's not easy to locate. Also, eligibility requirements are not listed on the website.

We had to confirm the minimum credit score, which is 660, with a representative via live chat. They also confirmed only U.S. citizens or residents with a college degree may qualify for refinancing through Commonbond.

The company's additional educational resources are also very limited; both their FAQs and blog pages are short and only cover general questions.

This lack of easily-accessible information may be Commonbond’s way of encouraging consumers to call and speak with their customer service representatives. However, for a company offering a loan application process that's entirely online, clear guidelines and resources should be easy-to-find.

Best for Loan & Lender Comparisons

Credible is a California-based online marketplace where prospective borrowers can compare student loan refinance rates from leading lenders.

Unlike other marketplaces, Credible provides a comprehensive comparison tool that allows consumers to easily review pre-qualified options from different lenders side-by-side.

Customizable rate comparison tool by Credible

This tool provides customizable options including rate type (fixed vs. variable), term length, and monthly payment limit, all which calculate and compare estimated monthly payments from several lenders. Afterward, prospective borrowers can provide their preferred loan information to a lender. Borrowers may receive a finalized offer within a single business day.

User-Friendliness

We deem website navigation an important factor when searching and comparing multiple options. The Credible website is refreshingly simple, organized, and readable. Disclosures, licensing, and terms and conditions are easy to locate and understand.

Top lender options

It's essential that marketplaces compare numerous lenders without bias. Looking through Credible's Best Student Loan Refinance page we noticed the company partners with eleven student loan refinance lenders to find borrowers the best loans for their needs. While some marketplaces compare offers from more lenders, Credible's curated list of lenders contains some well-known and respected lending organizations, including SoFi and College Ave. 

Best for Additional Benefits

When several competitors offer the same services, it's often the additional benefits that can make or break a consumer’s decision. That’s what we encountered while reviewing Earnest—an ample selection of additional benefits.

Not only does Earnest offer refinance loans for both students and parents, but it also provides flexible repayment options. Since September 2021, users with incomplete bachelor's or associate's degrees can refinance with Earnest (given they meet our eligibility requirements - see here for more details). Borrowers have the option to skip one monthly payment per term year as well as sign up for biweekly auto-payments.

Borrower’s can easily access their Earnest accounts via smartphone to adjust repayment options

For borrowers who may encounter financial hardship, skipping a payment without penalty can be a great benefit, and biweekly automatic payments can also help reduce accrued interest for those who would prefer to pay off their loans faster.

Earnest allows customers to to choose a payment amount based on their preferred budgets and the ability to increase payments anytime to pay off a loan faster. Customers can also adjust payment dates, make extra payments without prepayment penalties, and consolidate private and federal student loans.

Customizable Loan Terms

Most refinance lenders have a number of preset loan terms. Earnest, on the other hand, allows borrowers to customize their terms, as long as they're approved. Consumers can easily access and manage their loans and payments on their Earnest account dashboards, which are accessible through their smartphones.

Room for Improvement

Consumers should be aware that Earnest doesn’t offer loan products in five states: Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, Nevada, and Rhode Island. Also, eligibility requirements may be strict, especially for part-time students, as the company requires proof of financial stability and a minimum credit score of 680.

In addition, we found dozens of consumer reviews stating that Earnest’s biweekly auto-payment option was no longer available. Our team investigated this issue and discovered that the feature has been recently reinstated. This could be an area for improvement for Earnest, as they could avoid confusion by better informing its borrowers of sudden changes like this one.

Best For Customer Service

Education Loan Finance, better known as “ELFI,” is a division of SouthEast Bank known for its high customer service standards. You can contact the company’s advisors seven days a week by phone, email, text message, and even Facebook Messenger.

ELFI caters to modern consumers by allowing borrowers to upload required documentation directly through their smartphone. Good customer reviews for companies in this industry are rare, so we were impressed by the overwhelmingly positive feedback from ELFI customers across multiple consumer review platforms.

Transparency

Clear terminology and easy-to-read content are two of the main things we look for when reviewing any type of financial institution. We commend ELFI for explaining to users the difference between estimated and actual payments, how rates are subject to approval, and the possibility of increased monthly payments.

All the terms marked with an asterisk are easy to find on the page and further explained in ELFI’s FAQs section.

ELFI’s disclaimers are large and highlighted throughout their website

While most student loan refinance lenders only serve the continental U.S., ELFI serves all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico. The company also allows their borrowers to request forbearance for up to one year, noting that the final decision will be made by Southeast Bank.

For those new to student loans, forbearance is temporarily delaying payments on a loan for a given amount of time. This is usually granted when borrowers can prove they're unable to make payments due to circumstances such as financial hardship. While payments are delayed, interest still accrues and must be paid once the period ends.

Room for Improvement

In order to qualify, borrowers must have a credit score of at least 680, a minimum loan amount of $10,000, and an income of at least $35,000 annually. While this makes sense from a lender’s perspective, it limits the pool of borrowers that may qualify for refinancing.

Best For Flexible Eligibility Requirements

Laurel Road is a subsidiary of KeyBank National Association. They've been around since 2013 and have helped thousands of people with all types of degrees consolidate and refinance. Unlike other lenders, Laurel Road even works with people pursuing an Associate's Degree.

The company caters to a broad range of borrowers by permitting even those who are currently pursuing an Associate’s Degree to apply, something rare in the industry.

List of associate degree programs for which Laurel Road offers student refinance loans

The list of groups eligible to apply are currently enrolled students, parents of borrowers, students in medical residency, and recipients of law firm fellowships. Laurel Road also has forbearance assistance (not to exceed a year), which we deem a plus.

Simple Application Process

During our research into this lender's customer reviews, we found a common denominator—its simple loan application process. The application is completely online, and according to numerous reviews, fairly quick and easy. Applicants can upload all supporting documents and sign them electronically directly through Laurel Road's dashboard.

Room for Improvement

Navigating through Laurel Road’s website was a little challenging for us. Although the content is easy to read, the website lacks in-depth explanations of key terminology and processes. 

Also, Laurel Road’s qualification requirements for student loan refinance aren't clearly listed on the site, which complicates things for borrowers simply looking at their options.

To clear this matter up, we spoke to a customer service representative via chat who indicated the eligibility criteria can be found somewhere in the FAQs section. We couldn't find this information, but the representative confirmed that there was no minimum income requirement and that the minimum credit score accepted was 660. 

This lack of transparency can be confusing, to say the least, especially for prospective borrowers with little experience and knowledge about interest rates and loan terms.

Best for User Experience

We believe informative content is the root of great user experience. Consumers should know what they’re getting themselves into, including the good and the not-so-great about the companies recommended to them.

Lending Tree does an exceptional job in this area, carefully phrasing their content to inform and educate consumers without bias. Their website provides in-depth explanations about the differences between loan consolidation and refinancing, federal and private loans, the pros and cons of each option, and even some alternative solutions.

Explanation of private vs. federal loan types by LendingTree

Helpful Resources

Lending Tree offers a wealth of resources and several educational online tools. Accessible across multiple social media platforms, the company provides financial tips and advice by way of posts, articles, and even Pinterest photos.

Lending Tree also encourages customers to write and leave reviews on their website, sharing their experience with the lenders they've been matched with. 

Room for Improvement

Having been in business for over 20 years, Lending Tree is a major networking platform affiliated with multiple websites, including SimpleTuition, ValuePenguin, and QuoteWizard.

While this can be a plus, a potential downside is that prospective borrowers can be swayed to do business with a lender due to its popularity as opposed to its reputation.

In the course of our research, we noticed that customer reviews across Lending Tree's social media platforms are nonexistent, most likely hidden, which isn't helpful to consumers searching for honest feedback from previous customers.

Best for Educational Resources

LendKey is a New York-based online student loan marketplace that helps consumers connect with over 300 lenders and compare refinancing options. 

For those new to refinancing, LendKey has a plethora of educational resources on the subject. From a refinance guide to a walk-through informational video, prospective customers can easily navigate to a topic they're interested in and make a better-informed decision.

Guides, loan calculators, and more on LendKey’s Resource Center

We found the blog posts in their Resource Center to be helpful and informative. Their “Ultimate Guide to Student Loan Refinancing,” for example, contains vibrant visuals with statistics, frequently asked questions, and a flowchart quiz to help readers determine whether refinancing is right for them.

Payment Flexibility

In addition to its helpful resources, LendKey offers borrowers a unique repayment option for their loan term: interest-only payments.

Unlike most lenders who only offer term flexibility, LendKey allows borrowers to pay off loan interest for the first four years. This makes repayment over the remaining loan term easier, as interest no longer accumulates.

LendKey recently added COVID-19 forebearance information on its website. Borrowers may be able to take advantage of up to 18 months forbearance on their loans. Forbearance will vary by lender.

Room for Improvement

While looking through hundreds of consumer reviews, we noticed that the majority of customer complaints against the company involved billing issues and difficulty making payments.

We advise consumers to speak with a Lendkey representative for more information about their repayment options and payment methods.

Best for Married Couples

Purefy is a fintech student loan lender in partnership with Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed). They began offering student loan refinancing in 2017. 

Unlike most lenders, Purefy offers a one-of-a-kind solution for married couples with student loan debt: the Couple Loan. This loan refinance option combines the student loans of both individuals and uses the higher credit score and college degree of the two to determine their rate. This helps couples save on interest costs and decrease overall household debt.

Transparency

Reviewing Purefy’s website was a breeze. Our team was impressed with the company’s in-depth explanations regarding the student loan refinance process, common industry terminology, and eligibility requirements. We encountered no misleading content or call-to-action phrases, which are common in the industry.

Purefy explains the logistics of student loan refinance

Purefy’s FAQs page also contains helpful, thorough answers covering everything from the basics of student loans and refinance to the application process and loan servicing after approval. 

Room for Improvement

Since Purefy is in partnership with PenFed, only credit union members are eligible to apply. Fortunately, applicants can become members during the application process and the steps to membership are easy. No military affiliation is required.

We discovered, however, that applicants with a credit score of 670-699 still need a cosigner to apply, where most other private lenders allow borrowers with that score to apply on their own. Therefore, interest rates will be based on the cosigner’s eligibility for the life of the loan.  

Best for Medical Students

In comparison to undergraduates, medical students and other postgraduates accumulate a significantly larger amount of student loan debt.

With that said, once graduated, medical and dental students move on to residency programs that provide first-hand work experience but little to no compensation. This makes it difficult for medical students to make payments on their loans.

Fortunately, lenders like SoFi cater to medical residents, allowing them to reduce their monthly payments to $100 per month for four years. Adding to this benefit, residents will not be charged compounded interest on their SoFi loan during their residency.

SoFi provides a downloadable guide to educate medical students about loan refinance options 

Customer Experience

SoFi provides live customer service seven days a week, and even allows customers to contact its help service via Twitter. In addition, the company has a help center that supplies payoff and savings calculators, debt navigation advice, and articles that help borrowers understand student loan terminology.

SoFi is also very responsive to customer complaints on its social media pages and BBB page. Almost every concern is addressed and resolved in a timely manner.  

Room for Improvement

Medical student applicants should make note that SoFi only offers medical resident refinance loans in 48 states, excluding Mississippi and Montana.

Best for Competitive Rates

Splash Financial is an Ohio-based online lending marketplace founded in 2013. Originally catering exclusively to medical school graduates, Splash works with an exclusive network of credit unions, banks, and other lenders to help borrowers with any degree refinance their student loans.

While most private lenders focus on credit scores and debt-to-income ratios to determine a borrower’s interest rate, we found Splash to be more flexible in this regard. The underwriting process also takes into account a borrower’s income and degree, which can be beneficial for those who would otherwise need a cosigner with a high credit score to be approved. 

Simplicity

We like the company’s user-friendly website. The pages are easy to navigate and well organized. Checking your rate only takes about 2 minutes and uses a soft credit pull that won't affect your credit score. For questions or assistance, consumers can contact a Splash representative via phone, email, live chat, Facebook, and Twitter.

Instant communication through Live Chat with Splash Financial

Room for Improvement

There isn’t a lot of information or helpful resources on Splash’s website to educate consumers about student loan refinancing. 

Also, when we first reviewed the site, we found a contradiction in the eligibility requirements: both U.S. citizens and permanent residents were eligible for refinancing, but another page stated permanent residents didn't qualify.

Our team reached out to Splash to clarify the confusion. Splash confirmed that both U.S. citizens and permanent residents are indeed now eligible, and the content was updated to reflect the new information. 

Lastly, where Splash initially only provided loans issued by PenFed Credit Union, the company has now branched out to encompass multiple lending partners, including credit unions offering very competitive rates. In terms of refinancing, people may still need to join a credit union, but there is no cost for borrowers to join.