5 Best Student Loan Refinancing Companies of October 2022

The best student loan refinance company is the one that can reduce your rate the most. But certain lenders excel at serving certain types of customers.

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Student loan refinance is when you change private loan lenders. The new lender will pay off your old debt and typically offer you a better interest rate or more suitable terms. You can refinance federal and private student loan debt into one, new private loan. If you want to keep your federal loans federal, consider consolidation.

NerdWallet student loan experts evaluated dozens of data points to identify the best student loan refinance companies for different customers.

Some student loan refinance lenders tied in these categories or stood out in other ways. We’ve identified all our selections below.

Best Student Loan Refinancing Companies

Lender	NerdWallet rating	Min. credit score	Fixed APR	Variable APR	Learn more
Earnest Student Loan Refinance	5.0 /5 Best for Overall	650	3.99-8.74%	1.89-7.99%	CHECK RATE on Earnest’s website
ISL Refinance Loan	5.0 /5 Best for Overall	670	2.55-7.63%	N/A	READ REVIEW
Laurel Road Student Loan Refinance	5.0 /5 Best for Dental school loan refinancing	660	3.99-6.40%	2.50-6.30%	CHECK RATE on Laurel Road’s website
LendKey Student Loan Refinance	4.5 /5 Best for Student loan refinancing with low income	660	2.99-9.93%	4.13-7.39%	CHECK RATE on LendKey’s website
SoFi Student Loan Refinance	5.0 /5 Best for Banks to refinance student loans	650	3.99-8.24%	3.24-8.24%	CHECK RATE on SoFi’s website

Earnest Student Loan Refinance

ISL Refinance Loan

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Laurel Road Student Loan Refinance

LendKey Student Loan Refinance

SoFi Student Loan Refinance

How to refinance student loans

1. Consider your goals and decide if refinancing can help you meet them. Refinance is best for those who want to reduce their interest rate or change their loan term as a way to reduce their monthly payments or pay off student loans faster.

2. Evaluate your finances. For the best chances of approval, you’ll likely need a credit score in the high 600’s, a DTI of 50% or better and stable income.

3. Compare rates. Get prequalified with several lenders to see who gives you the best deal. The lenders on this list will show you your rate offer without affecting your credit score

4. Choose a lender, and complete the application. You may need some of the following information to complete the official application: loan verification statement, proof of employment, proof of residency, proof of graduation, proof of identity.

5. Sign the final documents, and wait for loan payoff. Once final underwriting is complete, you’ll need to sign some final paperwork to accept the loan. You’ll have three days to cancel the refinance loan if you change your mind.

Best student loan refinance companies

Compare Earnest vs. SoFi for student loan refinancing

Compare more lenders that refinance parent PLUS loans

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Compare more lenders that refinance dental school loans

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Compare more student loan refinance lenders that enable fast payoff

Compare more credit union student loan refinance options

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Compare more lenders that let you refinance student loans without a degree

Compare more lenders for refinancing student loans with low income

Compare more lenders for refinancing with a co-signer

Current student loan interest rates for the best refinance companies

The NerdWallet team of student loans experts analyzed reported refinancing rates from five lenders over a period of 39 months. We considered four variables — average maximum fixed rates, average minimum fixed rates, average maximum variable rates and average minimum variable rates — for each lender on a month-over-month basis.

The average rates as of September 1, 2022, are:

• Minimum fixed interest rate – 4.13%.

• Maximum fixed interest rate – 8.25%.

• Minimum variable interest rate – 3.40%.

• Maximum variable interest rate – 8.73%.

The rates for top refinance lenders tend to follow the trend line of student loan refinance interest rates in general. Borrowers have seen a general upward trend starting in January 2022 across all metrics. Borrowers may see this trend persist if Federal Reserve rate hikes continue.

Use this chart to gauge how your student loan refinance offers measure against average interest rate ranges.

STUDENT LOAN REFINANCE RATINGS METHODOLOGY

Our survey of more than 29 banks, credit unions and online lenders offering student loans and student loan refinancing includes the top 10 lenders by market share and the top 10 lenders by online search volume, as well as lenders that serve specialty or nontraditional markets.

We consider 41 features and data points for each financial institution. Depending on the category, these include the availability of biweekly payments through autopay, minimum credit score and income requirement disclosures, availability to borrowers in all states, extended grace periods and in-house customer service.

The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.

Read more about our ratings methodologies for student loan refinance and our editorial guidelines.

Last updated on September 1, 2022

To recap our selections…

NerdWallet’s Best Student Loan Refinancing Companies of October 2022

• Earnest Student Loan Refinance: Best for Overall
• ISL Refinance Loan: Best for Overall
• Laurel Road Student Loan Refinance: Best for Dental school loan refinancing
• LendKey Student Loan Refinance: Best for Student loan refinancing with low income
• SoFi Student Loan Refinance: Best for Banks to refinance student loans