How We Score Personal Loans
Mintify has developed a data-driven, proprietary rating system to evaluate how well Personal Loan products serve the needs of UK consumers.
This system assesses value through the lens of specific consumer priorities. These include loan terms and loan amounts, APRs to minimise borrowing costs, same day funding for greater satisfaction and early repayment options for greater flexibility.
Data over opinion
While we value opinions, expertise and intuition, we value the data above all else. We commit to publishing only research backed, data-rich content, free from inherent bias or conflict of interest. This approach allows us to operate with complete transparency.
On that basis, this article provides a detailed breakdown of our personal loan rating methodology. This includes an in-depth look at the specific criteria used and an explanation of how various features are quantitatively weighted. This ensures that Mintify’s readers and members are provided information based on reliable, data-informed assessment criteria to support impartial product comparison, not personal financial advice.
Dynamic data
We invest equally in building technology solutions that allow us to easily and regularly update this database, providing our readers and members with a tool that delivers dynamic product data rather than a static view of a single point in time. Data is updated daily.
Our ratings are based on publicly available information at the time of review. While we strive to keep our data accurate and up-to-date, terms and offers may change. This scoring system is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or a personal recommendation. We encourage all readers and members to review the full details of any product and consider their own financial circumstances before making a decision.
Handling missing or unavailable data
While we aim to maintain a complete and up-to-date product dataset, some providers do not disclose certain details. In such cases, we assign a neutral 3-star rating unless there is a strong justification to apply an alternative value. This prevents penalising products unfairly due to a lack of transparency from the provider, while still allowing the product to be compared meaningfully.
Your interests come first.
Mintify is a mission driven, consumer first company. Our company culture is oriented towards being responsible and socially conscious and we do not allow affiliate relationships, revenue arrangements, or promotional incentives to influence product ratings. In fact, we regularly make decisions that do not maximize revenue when those decisions are demonstrably in the long term interest of our audience, society more broadly, or our values. Products are scored using a fixed methodology based on product features that typically offer value to consumers. Our comparisons are transparent, impartial, and independent of any partner or advertiser influence. Scoring is not intended to indicate product suitability for individual borrowers.
The 5-Star Rating
Each product is assessed across multiple factors, with scores assigned on a scale from 1 to 5 for each. These individual scores are then averaged to produce an overall rating. To reflect meaningful differences between products, we include one decimal place in the final result, for example, 4.2 out of 5 stars. This rating is intended to help users compare general product features and should not be interpreted as a personal recommendation.
Scoring methodology
We’ve identified the five key factors that matter most to customers comparing unsecured personal loans. These criteria reflect common borrowing preferences such as affordability, flexibility, and speed of access to funds. Each factor is assigned a weight based on its general importance in comparing product features, not individual suitability.
- APR (60% of total score)
- Loan Term (10% of total score)
- Loan Amount (10% of total score)
- Early Repayment (10% of total score)
- Same Day Funding (10% of total score)
All scoring outputs are reviewed by at least two members of the Mintalist editorial team before publication, as part of our internal QA process.
APR
This is the most heavily weighted factor in our scoring, accounting for 60% of the total rating. It reflects the overall cost of borrowing. We assess the representative APR for a £5,000 loan over 5 years, which represents a typical mid-sized borrowing scenario based on national published data. If a lender does not publish an APR for this exact loan size and term, we use the closest available combination of amount and duration they do disclose. This approach allows us to maintain comparability across products without applying arbitrary fallback scores.
We use Mintify’s proprietary research data to calculate an average APR for a £5,000 loan over 5 years. This benchmark helps us score products relative to typical market rates. Lower APRs result in higher scores, as they reduce the total cost of borrowing over time.
Scoring bands:
| Visual Rating | Bands |
|---|---|
 |
8.0% or under |
 |
8.1% – 15.0% |
 |
15.1% – 25.0% |
 |
25.1% – 30% |
 |
30.1% – 60% |
 |
60.1% or over |
Loan term
We assess how flexible a lender is in offering different loan durations, as this can significantly affect affordability and repayment planning for the consumer. A longer maximum loan term generally provides more flexibility and lower monthly repayments.
According to data published by NimbleFins, 5 years is currently the most common personal loan term in the UK. To reflect this borrowing pattern, we give higher scores to lenders that offer terms of at least 60 months, as this aligns with how many consumers choose to structure their repayments. While term length alone doesn’t determine affordability or product quality, we consider broad term availability, especially at the 5 year mark, a sign of product flexibility and accessibility for consumers.
Scoring bands:
| Visual Rating | Bands |
|---|---|
|
60 months or more |
|
48 months |
|
36 months |
|
12 – 24 months |
|
Less than 12 months |
Loan amount
We assess the range of borrowing a lender offers by reviewing the maximum loan amount available. Higher loan limits increase a lender’s suitability for customers with larger borrowing needs, such as car finance or home improvements.
According to data published by NimbleFins, the average Personal Loan amount in the UK was £5,545 in 2024, rising to £5,711 by early 2025. While not a perfect indicator of borrowing intent, this suggests that many consumers seek loans in the £5,000 – £6,000 range. As such, we award higher scores to lenders offering loan amounts above £5,000, as they better accommodate the typical borrowing patterns of UK consumers.
Scoring bands:
| Visual Rating | Bands |
|---|---|
|
Over £5,000 |
|
Up to £5,000 |
|
Up to £3,000 |
|
£1,000 – £2,000 |
|
Under £1,000 |
Early repayment flexibility
This factor considers whether a customer can repay their loan early without incurring a fee. The ability to make early repayments without penalty may help reduce the total cost of borrowing and provides additional flexibility for those whose financial circumstances change during the loan term. While early repayment charges are permitted and common in the market, we consider fee-free early repayment to be a favourable feature for consumers. Our assessment reflects this by rating such products more positively.
Scoring bands:
| Visual Rating | Bands |
|---|---|
|
No early repayment fees |
|
Partial flexibility (e.g. capped fee, partial repayment OK) |
|
Standard early repayment fee |
Same day funding
This factor measures how quickly borrowers can access funds, an important consideration for those with urgent financial needs. While many lenders advertise the possibility of same-day funding, it is often not guaranteed. Products that offer faster access to funds are rated more favourably due to the added convenience and responsiveness they provide.
Scoring bands:
| Visual Rating | Bands |
|---|---|
|
Same-day funding available (even if not guaranteed) |
|
No same-day option available |
Disclaimer
All scores are based on publicly available data at the time of analysis. They do not reflect hidden lender criteria, approval likelihood, or individual application outcomes. Always confirm loan terms with the provider.
This scoring system is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice, a personal recommendation, or an offer to apply. Your individual circumstances may affect the rates and options available to you.