Top payday and short-term loans compared

About Top payday and short-term loans compared

Short-term borrowing is where the price of speed shows up in plain figures, so this ranking of payday and short-term loans sets the fee taken at application, the rate carried afterwards and the way the application runs side by side. 222 brands are covered, most of them brokers and marketplaces rather than the institutions that hand over the money, and the field reaches Spain, Mexico and the Philippines. The trade-off is plain. Plenty of these services take nothing to apply, which looks like a saving, yet the cost moves into the rate or into the length of the term. The median annual rate in the field is 36.5% while the upper quartile reaches 97.16% and the highest figure recorded is 82,901.36%. Loans here are small: the median amount is €100, the median term is 22 months and the longest runs to 360. Same-day funding covers 90.2% of the field and free early repayment is close to standard, so what separates one entry from the next is the rate, the kind of credit check, and whether you can reach a person when an instalment is wrong.

How we picked

Each brand is scored on published terms rather than on advertising copy. Cost carries 35% of the score and takes in the fee taken at application, the annual rate, the size of the loan on offer and the length of the term. The offer itself carries 25%, covering the products a brand will lend on, the type of check it runs and how quickly money reaches an account. Trust carries the largest share at 40%, built from the legal entity behind the name, the channels you can reach, and the worked example each site publishes so a reader can price a loan before applying. The figures come from each brand's own site, its terms and conditions, its eligibility pages and its representative examples, set beside the ranges recorded across the wider market. Where a page states a figure, that figure is carried through. Where it states a condition in words, the wording is kept as given. Partners are listed first, in the order the score sets, and the remaining brands follow in plain order. Every brand is described only by the terms recorded against it, and a badge appears only where the score puts a brand clearly ahead.

Our top picks

1. 2. Credityes ES

   Credityes ES is in this ranking as a lean broker where the borrowing decision rests on the rate a partner lender quotes. The arrangement fee is free for the customer and the published example repays the full sum with no added cost, so nothing is taken at the front. Amounts run €100 to €5,000 at 0% to 36% over terms of 2 to 36, and money lands within minutes of a positive decision. Support listed as email leaves email as the only channel. Credityes MX, ranked next, works in pesos, fixes its rate, runs a softer check and pays out to a card once a lender accepts the application.

   • APR: 0% to 36%
   • Loan amount: €100 to €5,000
   • Term: 2 to 36 months

   Pros

   • The arrangement fee is free for the customer, and the service takes no commission for choosing which loan you get.
   • Money moves fast: Money in a few minutes after a positive decision.
   • Borrowing for a short bridge or a longer personal loan runs through the same application: personal and payday.
   • The contracting company is named in the terms: SIA DoAff.

   Cons

   • Support runs on email only, so a disputed payment has to be settled in writing.
   • The expensive end of 0% to 36% sits well above Sofkredit's 10.74% to 18.06%, so a weaker file pays more here.
   • Borrowing stops at €100 to €5,000, far short of Creduma ES's from €12,000, so larger work is out of reach.
   • Applicants must live in Spain, while the entity behind the service is registered in LV, so the paperwork crosses a border.

2. 4. Andacredito

   Andacredito sits near the head of this ranking on a combination of a free entry point and a variable rate. The origination fee is 0 EUR and the arrangement percentage 0%, so the matching service costs nothing at the front, and early repayment is free too. Amounts run €100 to €5,000 at 0% to 36% over terms of 2 to 3, with a funding time of 10 minutes and a published example that repays the full sum with no added cost. What counts against it is that the rate can move, and that support runs on email alone. Creditilia ES, ranked next, also takes nothing at the front, but fixes its rate and stretches the term to 3 to 96.

   • APR: 0% to 36%
   • Loan amount: €100 to €5,000
   • Term: 2 to 3 months

   Pros

   • Arrangement fees of 0 EUR and 0% keep the cost of taking out a loan low
   • Free early repayment means a clear exit without a charge for settling early
   • The representative example shows a small loan with no cost added to what is borrowed
   • Funding in 10 minutes suits a shortfall that cannot wait
   • Poor credit is accepted, matching poor

   Cons

   • Terms run only 2 to 3, far shorter than the 36 seen across the market
   • The top of the rate range, 0% to 36%, sits close to the 27.8% typical of payday style lending
   • Support runs on email only, so help is written rather than spoken
   • Andacredito is a broker, so the lender behind the loan is set by someone else

3. 6. Fidea

   Fidea moves up in this ranking because it widens the field at both ends: amounts of €500 to €60,000 over terms of 3 to 60, and support listed as phone, email and help centre, so a phone line sits beside email and a help centre. Cost is the concern. The annual rate runs 0% to 212% and the worked example carries a cost far above the amount borrowed, heavier than the tables above it. The hard credit check narrows the options, though the origination fee is 0 EUR and a funding time of A few hours after approval gets money moving quickly. Fiesta Credito, the member next, keeps the short term and lifts the rate further.

   • APR: 0% to 212%
   • Loan amount: €500 to €60,000
   • Term: 3 to 60 months

   Pros

   • Nothing to pay for introduction: the arrangement fee is 0 EUR and 0% on personal, payday and debt consolidation loans.
   • Speed is the point here, with money landing A few hours after approval after a lender approves.
   • Amounts run €500 to €60,000, wide enough for a short-term gap or a home improvement project.
   • It works with a poor credit history, and the hard check is a normal part of the process rather than a surprise.
   • Repayment terms of 3 to 60 let a small balance be cleared over months rather than in a single payment.

   Cons

   • Rates are the catch, with 0% to 212% running far above the 36.5% median for payday loans on the site.
   • As a broker, Fidea does not set the final price, so the rate you pay is decided by the lender who accepts you.
   • Sofkredit's 10.74% to 18.06% is a narrow, low band beside Fidea's 0% to 212%, so cheaper credit sits elsewhere in the same market.
   • Retail loss rates across the site run at 70.15%, which is the risk a poor file carries into a band this wide.

4. 7. Finipay

   Finipay closes this ranking on a mid-length offer that balances rate and reach: amounts of €300 to €5,000 over terms of 3 to 60, support listed as phone, email and help centre with a phone line, email and a help centre, and an origination fee of 0 EUR. The cost is the part to watch, since the annual rate runs 0% to 212% and the worked example carries a cost well above the amount borrowed, in line with Fidea higher up. A funding time of Under 24 hours gets money moving. Entry asks for a Spanish residence, an identity document and a bank account in your own name.

   • APR: 0% to 212%
   • Loan amount: €300 to €5,000
   • Term: 3 to 60 months

   Pros

   • The origination fee is 0 EUR with 0% charged as a percentage, so no entry cost comes off the amount you borrow.
   • Money reaches your account Under 24 hours, so a bill or an emergency does not wait on a long assessment.
   • The credit needed is poor, so a thin file does not rule you out on paper.
   • Small amounts are the point: €300 to €5,000 sits well below the from €12,000 floor at Creduma ES.
   • Support runs on phone, email and help centre, so a phone line and a self-service help centre are both available.

   Cons

   • The rate is the weak spot: 0% to 212% runs well past the 10.74% to 18.06% that Sofkredit quotes in Spain.
   • Finipay is a broker, so the final rate, the contract and the repayment terms sit with whichever partner lender accepts your application.
   • Borrowing is capped: €300 to €5,000 and terms of 3 to 60 put anything larger out of reach, where Creduma ES starts at from €12,000.
   • In the representative example, a small personal loan is repaid in monthly instalments and the total repayable lands well above the amount borrowed, so short terms on small sums cost a lot.

What to look for

The rate, not the entry fee

Most of these services quote no fee at application, so the annual rate decides the bill. The median rate here is 36.5%, the upper quartile reaches 97.16% and the spread runs as far as 82,901.36%. The worked example tells you more than any headline.

How much, and for how long

Amounts are small and terms short. The median amount is €100 and the median term is 22 months, though the longest term in the field reaches 360. A longer term on the same balance costs less but adds months of exposure.

The check on your file

Hard credit checks are the norm in this field, and 68.7% of entries are built for poor credit. A soft prequalification can return a decision without a full file search, so the first answer carries less weight on your record. Ask which kind of check runs before you apply.

Speed to your account

Same-day funding is listed for 90.2% of the field, though the phrase often describes the decision rather than the transfer. Read how the money is described: a lender's acceptance, a card deposit or a bank transfer can sit between approval and your account.

Fixed or moving

A fixed rate keeps the instalment steady, a variable one follows the market. Fixed pricing dominates here at 72.5% and 81.8%, and free early repayment is close to the norm at 86.8%, which makes a fixed rate easier to plan around.

Reaching a person

Help is usually written rather than spoken: 92.2% list email, 76% list a phone line and 73.3% list a help centre. On a loan this short, a brand you can call matters when an instalment date slips.

Frequently asked questions

Top payday and short-term loans compared by country

• Australia
• Austria
• Brazil
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Mexico
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV