Best Personal Loans With a Cosigner in 2026
Cosigners can help you qualify for loans and get better rates
- Cosigners are legally responsible for the loan if you can’t pay, but they don’t have access to the loan money.
- On the other hand, a co-borrower is legally responsible and has the same rights to the loan money.
- A cosigner with at least good credit (670+ FICO Score) can improve your chances of approval and help you qualify for better rates.
- Late or missed payments will damage both your credit and your cosigner’s credit — potentially straining your relationship.
- To protect your relationship and credit, compare multiple loan offers and choose the loan with the lowest total cost that fits your budget.
How cosigner loans work
Cosigner loans are personal loans you get with someone who guarantees repayment if you can’t pay back the loan. Here’s what you need to know:
- Who: A cosigner can be a friend, family member or another trusted person — but they’ll need to have at least good credit and a history of on-time payments to be helpful.
- Benefits: Since lenders take on less risk when two people are responsible for the loan, cosigners can make it easier to get a loan, borrow more money and get better rates.
- Risks: If you can’t pay back the loan, your cosigner will be responsible for payment. Late or missed payments will hurt your cosigner’s credit as well as your own.
How cosigners improve approval odds
Lenders want assurance that they’ll get all their money back. They typically use your credit score, income, amount of debt and employment to predict whether you’ll be able to pay them back. This is how they decide whether to approve you.
A cosigner with good or excellent credit vouches for your ability to pay. The lender considers your cosigner’s credit in addition to yours. That’s why you may be able to get better rates or more money with a cosigner — your cosigner’s credit and income count, too.
How to protect your cosigner
When you borrow with a cosigner, how you handle your loan payments will directly affect their credit — and your relationship. Here’s how to protect your cosigner:
1. Make sure you can afford the monthly payments. Before you sign, estimate your monthly payments with a personal loan calculator, then use an app like YNAB or Monarch to see if the payment fits in your budget. Be honest with yourself — this isn’t the time to fudge numbers.
2. Actively plan for on-time payments. Late payments will hurt your cosigner’s credit. If you know you’ll have enough money in your bank account, sign up for automatic payments to ensure you’re not late. You can also set a monthly calendar reminder on your phone.
3. Have an honest conversation. Make sure your cosigner understands the risks that come with cosigning a loan, and talk openly about their expectations. What should happen if you suddenly can’t make payments? Are they comfortable spotting you for a month or two? How will you earn extra money to pay back the loan?
Talking about finances with your cosigner before you get a loan will open lines of communication and minimize the risk that you don’t understand each other. Consider writing out a simple contract to make sure your expectations are aligned.
When to ask someone to cosign a loan
Cosigners can help you get the money you need and potentially make your loan cheaper. Here’s when to consider a cosigner:
- You can’t get a loan on your own. A cosigner could help you qualify if you have bad credit or a limited credit history. Lenders who have rejected your individual application may approve you when you apply with a cosigner.
- You want a cheaper loan. Lenders give lower rates to borrowers with good credit, so adding a cosigner with solid credit can help you get better rates and a cheaper loan.
- You need to borrow more money. Lenders may offer more money to two applicants instead of one, especially if the cosigner has better credit and a higher income.
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Best cosigner and co-borrower loans
Risks of using a cosigner
Before you decide to cosign a personal loan, it’s important to know about the downsides. Here’s what you need to know about the risks of using a co-applicant on a loan:
Credit impact
Each applicant is legally responsible for the loan, so missing payments or going into default will hurt the credit of both parties. Plus, lenders typically pull your credit when you apply for a loan. This can cause a small, temporary dip in your credit score and your cosigner’s.
Legal consequences
If you stop making payments, your debt will eventually go to collections, and one or both of you could be sued by a debt collector.
Harder to qualify for future loans or credit
Cosigning a loan can increase your debt-to-income ratio, which may make it hard to take out more credit until the cosigned loan is paid off.
Strained relationship
When you take out a loan with another person, your relationship with your cosigner hangs in the balance. How you handle payments will have real consequences for both of you. Learn how to protect your cosigner and your relationship.
Cosigner loan alternatives: Other ways to improve your odds
Prequalify
Many lenders allow you to check your eligibility and potential rates without impacting your credit. This is called prequalification. You can prequalify with individual lenders directly on their websites or check your offers with LendingTree.
Look at bad credit loans
If you want to improve your odds of qualifying but don’t want to use a cosigner, check out the top lenders for bad credit according to LendingTree’s objective rating system.
These lenders have low minimum credit scores but still charge rates below 36% (widely cited as the limit for affordable loans).
Use collateral
Another way to boost your odds of getting a loan is to put up collateral. This is called a secured loan. Instead of risking your cosigner’s credit, you’ll risk losing your collateral if you don’t make payments.
Try a joint loan
Joint loans are similar to cosigner loans with one key difference: Your co-borrower on a joint loan has equal access to the money, while your cosigner on a cosigned loan doesn’t. Some lenders only offer joint loans or cosigner loans, while others offer both types or neither.
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How we chose the best personal loans with a cosigner
We reviewed more than 40 lenders and loan marketplaces to determine the best five personal loans with a cosigner or co-borrower. To make our list, lenders must offer cosigner or co-borrower loans with competitive annual percentage rates (APRs).
From there, we assessed each lender across four categories: eligibility and access; cost to borrow; loan terms and options; repayment support and tools.
According to our standardized rating system, the best cosigner loans come from , , , and .
Our categories
We assess how easy it is for people to qualify and apply. This includes state availability, soft-credit prequalification, membership requirements, funding speed and whether borrowers with less-than-excellent credit can get a loan.
We evaluate how affordable the loans are based on minimum and maximum APRs, loan fees and rate discounts. Lenders with unclear or potentially predatory costs receive lower scores.
We consider repayment term flexibility, loan amount ranges, and whether options such as secured loans, joint loans or direct-to-creditor payments are offered — plus whether the lender clearly communicates these options.
We evaluate borrower experience after funding: customer service access, hardship or forbearance programs, payment flexibility and digital tools like mobile apps or credit monitoring.
Our process
We gather data directly from lenders through their websites, disclosures and direct communication with company representatives. Our editorial team verifies and updates information regularly. We value transparency and award less favorable scores when lenders obscure or omit details.
Our editorial team applies the same scoring model and standards to every lender. Lenders cannot pay to influence our ratings. Read more about our editorial guidelines.
Why trust LendingTree’s methodology?
Our writers and editors dig through the facts, contact lenders directly and even go through the application process ourselves if it helps better explain what you can expect. As a Certified Financial Education Instructor, I’m committed to breaking down complex financial details so people can make confident, informed decisions with their money.
Jessica’s experience in editing and financial education helps shape LendingTree articles that are clear, accurate and truly useful to readers. Her certification means our recommendations are built on a foundation of consumer-first financial knowledge — not just numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, adding a cosigner makes it easier to qualify. Cosigners lower the lender’s risk since two people are responsible for paying the loan. Adding a cosigner with good credit and a solid credit history can make it even easier to qualify.
Your cosigner should have good credit (670+ FICO Score) to improve your odds of getting a loan and help you qualify for more money or better offers. You can add a cosigner with worse credit, but you’ll be less likely to get the same benefits.
Consider getting a personal loan with a cosigner if you want:
- Better approval odds
- A large loan
- Lower interest rates
Note that your cosigner will need good or excellent credit to help you achieve these goals.
Missing payments will damage both your credit score and your cosigner’s. If neither of you makes payments, your lender will eventually send your loan to a collection agency. Consider debt relief options if you’re struggling to make payments.