Student Loan Refinance Interest Rates
Refinancing your student loans is the only way to get a lower interest rate. Most refi lenders offer both fixed and variable interest rate options. The interest rates offered are based on a market index (such as the Prime Rate or LIBOR) and may be more competitive with one lender vs. another. In today’s marketplace, interest rates for student loan refinancing start at around 4.47% APR (variable).
Best Student Loan Refinance Rates
We work with top lenders in the student loan refinancing business who offer highly competitive—if not the absolute best—rates. Applying with a cosigner with strong credit history is the best way to qualify for a lender’s lowest interest rates.
Best Student Loan Refinance Lenders
College Ave Student Loans
- Variable rate range: 5.99% – 11.99% APR1
- Fixed rate range: 5.99% – 11.99% APR1
- No application or prepayment fees
- Apply in 3 minutes or less for instant credit decision
College Ave Student Loans products are made available through Firstrust Bank, member FDIC, First Citizens Community Bank, member FDIC, or M.Y. Safra Bank, FSB, member FDIC.. All loans are subject to individual approval and adherence to underwriting guidelines. Program restrictions, other terms, and conditions apply.
1The 0.25% auto-pay interest rate reduction applies as long as the borrower or cosigner, if applicable, enrolls in auto-pay and authorizes our loan servicer to automatically deduct your monthly payments from a valid bank account via Automated Clearing House (“ACH”). The rate reduction applies for as long as the monthly payment amount is successfully deducted from the designated bank account and is suspended during periods of forbearance and certain deferments. Variable rates may increase after consummation.
2This informational repayment example uses typical loan terms for a refi borrower who selects the Full Principal & Interest Repayment Option with a 10-year repayment term, has a $40,000 loan and a 5.5% Annual Percentage Rate (“APR”): 120 monthly payments of $434.11 while in the repayment period, for a total amount of payments of $52,092.61. Loans will never have a full principal and interest monthly payment of less than $50. Your actual rates and repayment terms may vary.
3$5,000 is the minimum requirement to refinance. The maximum loan amount is $250,000 for those with medical, dental, pharmacy or veterinary doctorate degrees, and $150,000 for all other undergraduate or graduate degrees.
Information advertised valid as of 03/01/2023. Variable interest rates may increase after consummation. Approved interest rate will depend on the creditworthiness of the applicant(s), lowest advertised rates only available to the most creditworthy applicants and require selection of full principal and interest payments with the shortest available loan term.
ELFI Student Loan Refinance
- Customers are saving an average of $309 every month and an average of $20,936 in total savings after refinancing their student loans with Education Loan Finance1
- Variable and fixed rates starting from 4.53% APR and 5.08% APR2
- Prequalify in as little as two minutes
- Award winning customer service from your dedicated Student Loan Advisor who is matched to you from the moment you sign up
1Average savings calculations are based on information provided by SouthEast Bank/ Education Loan Finance customers who refinanced their student loans between 8/16/2016 and 10/25/2018. While these amounts represent reported average amounts saved, actual amounts saved will vary depending upon a number of factors.
2Rates accurate as of 3/15/23. The interest rate and monthly payment for variable rate loans may increase after closing. Your actual interest rate may be different from the rates shown above and will be based on the term of your loan, your financial history, and other factors, including your cosigner’s (if any) financial history. For example, a 10 year loan with a fixed rate of 6% would have 120 payments of $11.00 per $1,000 borrowed. To qualify for refinancing or student loan consolidation through Education Loan Finance, you must have at least $10,000 in qualified student loan debt and must have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from an approved post-secondary Education Loan Finance institution. Education Loan Finance Parent Loans are limited to a maximum of the 10-year term.
SoFi Student Loans
- Rates as low as 5.09% variable and 4.49% fixed1
- No fees or prepayment penalties
- Unemployment protection
1Fixed rates range from 4.49% APR to 8.99% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Variable rates from 5.09% APR to 8.99% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates on 5-, 7-, and 10-year terms are capped at 8.95% APR; 15- and 20-year terms are capped at 9.95% APR. 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. 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 discontinue and be lost for 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.
Splash Financial Refinance Loan
- Rates as low as 4.59%1 Variable APR and 4.47%1 Fixed APR
- No pre-payment penalties, origination, or application fees
- See rates in 3 minutes without affecting your credit score2
1The rates displayed may include a 0.25% autopay discount.
2To check the rates and terms you qualify for, Splash Financial conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score. However, if you choose a product and continue your application, the lender will request your full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit pull and may affect your credit.
Earnest Student Loan Refinancing
- Variable rates starting at 4.99% APR (including 0.25% Auto Pay discount)*
- Fixed rates starting at 4.96% APR (including 0.25% Auto Pay discount)*
- Choose your own monthly payment
- No fees of any kind and exceptional customer service for the life of your loan
- Check your rate in under 2 minutes
To qualify, you must be a U.S. citizen or possess a 10-year (non-conditional) Permanent Resident Card, reside in a state Earnest lends in, and satisfy our minimum eligibility criteria. You may find more information on loan eligibility here: https://www.earnest.com/eligibility. Not all applicants will be approved for a loan, and not all applicants qualify for the lowest rate. Approval and interest rate depend on the review of a complete application.
Actual rate and available repayment terms will vary based on your income. Fixed rates range from 5.21% APR to 9.24% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Variable rates range from 5.24% APR to 9.19% 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.
*Auto Pay Discount: If you make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic, monthly deduction from a savings or checking account, your rate will be reduced by one quarter of one percent (0.25%) for so long as you continue to make automatic, electronic monthly payments. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment and forbearance. Not all borrowers will qualify for our lowest rates, and your rate will be based on creditworthiness at time of application.
The information provided on this page is updated as of 03/09/2023. Earnest reserves the right to change, pause, or terminate product offerings at any time without notice.
Earnest loans are originated by Earnest Operations LLC. California Finance Lender License 6054788. NMLS # 1204917. Earnest Operations LLC is located at 303 2nd Street, Suite 401N, San Francisco, CA 94107. Terms and Conditions apply. Visit https://www.earnest.com/terms-of-service, e-mail us at [email protected], or call 888-601-2801 for more information on our student loan refinance product.
THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO MAKE ANY PAYMENT OR TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS OFFER.
If you are thinking of applying on your own, keep in mind that you will need excellent credit and at least two years of steady income to qualify.
If you don’t have the credit history to qualify on your own, consider applying with a cosigner. Many lenders offer options to release your cosigner after you’ve made a set number of on-time payments (usually ranging from 12 to 48 months).
Student Loan Refinance Rates
Lowest Student Loan Refinance Rates
If you want to start out with the lowest rate available to you, a variable interest rate may be the way to go. Variable rates are typically lower than fixed rates, but they could increase substantially over time.
Why?
Because you are sharing some of the risk with your lender. If interest rates go up, you pay more (the terms and conditions of your loan will spell out the interest rate cap), and the lender receives more money. If interest rates go down, you pay less, and the lender receives less money. If you are someone who is planning to pay your loan quickly, you may want to take advantage of the lowest interest rate possible.
Fixed Rate Student Loan Refinance
If you’re not much of a risk taker, a fixed interest rate is probably for you. More importantly, lenders tend to offer a range of fixed rates with the lowest rates being reserved for individuals with the best credit.
Fixed rates stay the same for the entire life of the loan, so the rate you start with is the same one you’ll have until you make your last payment. Unlike variable interest rates, which can change as you repay your loan, fixed interest rates make budgeting and planning your financial future easy, because your payments won’t change.
Student Loan Fees
When comparing lenders, don’t forget to look at potential loan fees. Types of fees may include:
- application fees
- disbursement fees
- origination fees
- late payment fees
Most lenders offer private student loan refinancing with no origination, application, or disbursement fees. But, this does not mean that late fees are off the table. In other words, failure to make on-time payments could mean you are subject to penalties. And the lender could charge either a fixed percentage or a flat fee (usually no higher than $25).
Also, if your payments ever reject for insufficient funds, you could be charged a fee in those circumstances.
Be sure to consider these fees when comparing lenders.
How Interest Rates and Repayment Terms Affect Loan Costs
The following tables are based on a hypothetical $50,000 private refinance student loan with no origination or application fees. Interest rates and repayment terms can have a bigger influence on the cost of your refinance loan than you might think, so compare carefully before signing on the dotted line!
| Variable (Rate fluctuates based on the index) |
15-Year Term Lowest Rate |
15-Year Term Highest Rate |
20-Year Term Lowest Rate |
20-Year Term Highest Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interest Rate | 3.24% | 8.24% | 3.24% | 8.24% |
| Number of Payments | 180 | 180 | 240 | 240 |
| Minimum Monthly Payment | $351 | $485 | $283 | $426 |
| Total Interest Charges | $13,196 | $37,260 | $18,003 | $52,173 |
| Total Repayment Amount | $63,196 | $87,260 | $68,003 | $102,173 |
| Fixed (Rate stays the same for the life of the loan) |
15-Year Term |
15-Year Term |
20-Year Term |
20-Year Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interest Rate | 6% | 9.75% | 6% | 9.75% |
| Number of Payments | 180 | 180 | 240 | 240 |
| Minimum Monthly Payment | $422 | $530 | $358 | $474 |
| Total Interest Charges | $25,947 | $45,343 | $35,972 | $63,822 |
| Total Repayment Amount | $74,947 | $95,343 | $85,972 | $113,822 |