SoFi

San Francisco-based SoFi is an online personal finance company founded in 2011. The company, which went public in 2021, has funded over $73 billion in loans for over 6.8 million customers.

Initially, SoFi employed an innovative lending model that connected students and recent graduates with alumni and institutional investors through school-specific student loan funds. As the company grew and expanded, it pivoted to focus on lending to financially responsible individuals.

Program Variety

SoFi's student loan refinancing, including for undergraduate and graduate students and parents, is available for loan amounts of $5,000 and above (but this minimum may be higher in specific states due to legal requirements). Refinancing terms range from 5 to 20 years.

Private student loans, including undergraduate, graduate, and parent, are available from $1,000. Loan terms range from 5 to 15 years.

Products Available

SoFi offers an extensive range of financial products, including student loans, personal loans, mortgage loans, investment accounts, checking and savings accounts, a credit card, a range of insurance products, and more.

Within the student loan category, the company offers:

• Student loan refinancing (with special rates for patricular courses of study)
• Parent PLUS refinancing
• Undergraduate student loans
• Graduate student loans
• Parent student loans

Program Costs

SoFi's student loan refinancing APRs, which include an 0.25% autopay discount, start at 3.99% for fixed rate and 6.24% for variable rate loans. These rates apply to most student loans, including for undergraduate, parent PLUS, MBA and law programs, and others.

Medical and dental school graduates with at least $150,000 loan balances are eligible to refinance at rates as low as 3.62% for fixed rate and 5.87% for variable rate loans. Medical and dental residents, nurse practitioners, RNs, and nurses with associate degrees are also eligible for benefits not available to most loan refinance borrowers.

Student loan APRs, which also reflect a 0.25% autopay discount, are generally higher than those for refinancing. Undergraduate student loan APRs start at 4.44% for fixed rate and 5.99% for variable rate loans. For graduate student loans, including for health professions, APRs start at 4.99% for fixed rate and 5.99% for variable rate loans. Finally, parent loan APRs start at 6.5% for fixed rate and 6.32% for variable rate loans.

SoFi has no application fees, origination fees, late fees, or prepayment penalties.

Industry Reputation

In 2018, SoFi settled Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges. As part of the settlement, SoFi agreed to stop making false claims about savings from student loan refinancing.

In 2023, SoFi was named one of the "World's Most Innovative Companies" by Fast Company and one of the "World's Top Fintech Companies" by CNBC.

The company has generally positive feedback from its employees on Glassdoor, with a 3.7/5 rating.

Benefits

• No application fees, origination fees, late fees, or prepayment penalties
• Prequalify to see your rates and options without impacting your credit score
• Co-signers are permitted and can be added during the pre-qualification process
• SoFi's all-in-one platform could be appealing to people looking for multiple financial products in one place

Complaints

SoFi has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), though it is not BBB accredited. The company's BBB profile shows 287 reviews with an average 1.75/5 rating.

The company has a 4.7/5 rating on Trustpilot, with over 7,600 reviews.

State Coverage

SoFi student and parent loan products, including loans and refinancing, are available in all 50 U.S. States and Washington D.C.