Loans like Bear Loans: 20 alternatives compared
Bear loan alternatives fall into three camps: subprime installment lenders, mainstream personal lenders, and cash-advance apps. This guide covers 20 of them with approximate amounts and costs so you can judge our network's offers against the whole market — no outbound sales links, just the facts.
All 20 at a glance
Tap a column header to sort. Figures are approximate, drawn from each provider's public disclosures, and change over time — always confirm current terms on the offer you actually receive.
| Provider | Type | Amounts | Approximate cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OppLoans | Installment lender | $500–$4,000 | APR roughly 160% (varies by state) | Bad-credit borrowers who want to build payment history |
| Possible Finance | Small installment app | Up to about $500 | Flat fees; effective APR often 150–200%+ | Very small amounts repaid over a few paychecks |
| NetCredit | Online installment lender | $500–$10,000 (varies by state) | APR roughly 34%–99.99% | Larger amounts with fair-to-poor credit |
| Rise Credit | Online installment lender | $300–$5,000 | APR roughly 60%–299% | Borrowers who plan to refinance down over time |
| Avant | Online personal lender | $2,000–$35,000 | APR roughly 9.95%–35.99% | Fair-credit borrowers (scores ~580+) |
| Upstart | AI-underwriting marketplace | $1,000–$50,000 | APR roughly 7%–36% | Thin-file borrowers with steady income or education signals |
| LendingPoint | Online personal lender | $2,000–$36,500 | APR roughly 7.99%–35.99% | Near-prime borrowers wanting quick funding |
| OneMain Financial | Branch + online lender | $1,500–$20,000 | APR roughly 18%–35.99% | Borrowers who want an in-person option or secured pricing |
| Upgrade | Online personal lender | $1,000–$50,000 | APR roughly 8%–36% | Debt consolidation with direct-pay to creditors |
| MoneyLion InstaCash | Cash advance app | Up to about $500 | No mandatory interest; instant-delivery fees + optional tips | App users wanting advances plus banking tools |
| Dave ExtraCash | Cash advance app | Up to about $500 | Express fee + optional tips | Quick, small advances before your next paycheck |
| EarnIn | Earned wage access | Up to $100/day, ~$750/pay period | Optional tips + Lightning Speed fee | Hourly employees who can verify work hours |
| Brigit | Cash advance app | Up to about $250 | Subscription roughly $8.99–$14.99/mo | Users who value overdraft prediction alerts |
| Empower | Cash advance app | Up to about $400 | Subscription roughly $8/mo + instant fees | Subscription users wanting slightly larger advances |
| Albert | Banking + advance app | Up to about $250 | Subscription-based; instant fees may apply | Users who want banking, saving, and advances in one app |
| Klover | Cash advance app | Up to about $200 | Points/data-based; fees for instant transfer | Users comfortable trading data for small advances |
| Chime SpotMe | Fee-free overdraft | Up to about $200 | No fees; optional tips | Existing Chime members needing small overdraft cover |
| Cleo | Budgeting + advance app | Up to about $250 | Subscription roughly $5.99+/mo | Younger users who want budgeting nudges with advances |
| Current | Banking app w/ advances | Up to about $500 (varies) | Free standard; fees for instant | Members using Current as a primary account |
| FloatMe | Micro-advance app | Up to about $50–$100 | Subscription roughly $4.99/mo | Very small emergency floats |
How to choose between these camps
If your credit clears roughly 580–600, start with the mainstream lenders (Avant, Upstart, LendingPoint, Upgrade, OneMain) — their sub-36% APRs beat everything else here. If it doesn't, subprime installment lenders cost more but report on-time payments, which advances your rebuild. Cash-advance apps are cheapest for genuinely tiny, short gaps, provided you skip instant-delivery fees and don't pay a subscription for an advance you rarely take. Our network's offers typically compete in the middle two camps for $200–$5,000; the honest move is to compare an actual offer, since APRs are personal, not brochure numbers.
OppLoans
Installment lender · $500–$4,000 · APR roughly 160% (varies by state)
OppLoans specializes in no-hard-pull installment loans for subprime borrowers and reports payments to the credit bureaus, which can help rebuild a thin or damaged file if you pay on time.
+ Reports to bureaus; no prepayment penalty
− Triple-digit APR makes long terms costly
Compare with an offer here →Possible Finance
Small installment app · Up to about $500 · Flat fees; effective APR often 150–200%+
Possible splits a small loan into four installments and reports to bureaus, positioning itself as an alternative to single-payment short-term products, with a repayment path rather than one balloon payment.
+ Installment structure; credit reporting
− Cost per dollar borrowed is steep
Compare with an offer here →NetCredit
Online installment lender · $500–$10,000 (varies by state) · APR roughly 34%–99.99%
NetCredit prices by state and profile, offering bigger lines than most subprime lenders. It's worth a look when you need more than $2,000 and banks have said no.
+ Larger amounts; transparent state pricing pages
− Not available in every state; rates still high
Compare with an offer here →Rise Credit
Online installment lender · $300–$5,000 · APR roughly 60%–299%
Rise advertises rate reductions for on-time payment history on subsequent loans, which rewards borrowers who stay a while — but the entry APR is among the highest in this list.
+ Rate-reduction program; fast funding
− Very high starting APRs
Compare with an offer here →Avant
Online personal lender · $2,000–$35,000 · APR roughly 9.95%–35.99%
Avant sits a tier above subprime lenders: real personal-loan pricing capped near 36%, with fast funding. If your score clears their bar, it will usually beat everything above it on cost.
+ Sub-36% APRs; established lender
− Administration fee; needs fair credit
Compare with an offer here →Upstart
AI-underwriting marketplace · $1,000–$50,000 · APR roughly 7%–36%
Upstart underwrites with more than a credit score — income, education, employment — and approves some applicants traditional models reject, at mainstream personal-loan pricing.
+ Alternative underwriting; low floor rates
− Origination fee can reach ~10%; hard pull to finalize
Compare with an offer here →LendingPoint
Online personal lender · $2,000–$36,500 · APR roughly 7.99%–35.99%
LendingPoint targets the 600-ish credit band with next-day funding and flexible payment dates. A sensible middle option between subprime pricing and bank requirements.
+ Fast funding; flexible dates
− Origination fee in most states
Compare with an offer here →OneMain Financial
Branch + online lender · $1,500–$20,000 · APR roughly 18%–35.99%
OneMain is one of the few large lenders with physical branches, and it offers secured loans (using a vehicle) that can lower the rate for weaker credit profiles.
+ Human help; secured option lowers APR
− Branch visit often required; fees vary
Compare with an offer here →Upgrade
Online personal lender · $1,000–$50,000 · APR roughly 8%–36%
Upgrade will pay creditors directly on consolidation loans and offers small rate discounts for autopay and direct-pay, making it a practical consolidation tool at mainstream pricing.
+ Direct creditor payoff; autopay discount
− Origination fee; fair credit needed
Compare with an offer here →MoneyLion InstaCash
Cash advance app · Up to about $500 · No mandatory interest; instant-delivery fees + optional tips
InstaCash offers small advances with no interest if you can wait for standard delivery; the cost appears when you pay the instant-transfer fee, so patience is the discount.
+ $0 cost if you wait; extra financial tools
− Instant fees add up; requires qualifying deposits
Compare with an offer here →Dave ExtraCash
Cash advance app · Up to about $500 · Express fee + optional tips
Dave popularized the friendly small-advance model: link your bank, qualify from deposit history, and advance a small amount repaid on your next pay date. Fees are small in dollars, large in APR-equivalent.
+ Simple; no credit check
− Express fees; amounts start small for new users
Compare with an offer here →EarnIn
Earned wage access · Up to $100/day, ~$750/pay period · Optional tips + Lightning Speed fee
EarnIn advances wages you've already earned, verified by your work hours and payroll deposits — conceptually the cheapest advance model when used without expedite fees or tips.
+ Pay-what-you-want model; wage-based
− Requires employer/payroll compatibility
Compare with an offer here →Brigit
Cash advance app · Up to about $250 · Subscription roughly $8.99–$14.99/mo
Brigit bundles small advances with budgeting and overdraft-prediction tools under a monthly subscription — worthwhile only if you use the advance regularly enough to beat the fee.
+ No tips or interest; useful alerts
− Subscription costs even in months you don't borrow
Compare with an offer here →Empower
Cash advance app · Up to about $400 · Subscription roughly $8/mo + instant fees
Empower qualifies you from bank activity rather than credit and pairs advances with a cash-back card and budgeting features under one subscription.
+ No credit check; growing limits
− Subscription plus instant-delivery fees
Compare with an offer here →Albert
Banking + advance app · Up to about $250 · Subscription-based; instant fees may apply
Albert is a broader money app whose small advances ride along with banking and automatic savings features; the advance alone rarely justifies the subscription.
+ All-in-one app; automatic savings
− Advance is small; subscription required
Compare with an offer here →Klover
Cash advance app · Up to about $200 · Points/data-based; fees for instant transfer
Klover's twist is funding advances partly through opt-in data sharing and points, keeping headline costs low if you're comfortable with that trade. Read what you're opting into.
+ Low cash cost possible
− Data-sharing model isn't for everyone; small limits
Compare with an offer here →Chime SpotMe
Fee-free overdraft · Up to about $200 · No fees; optional tips
SpotMe isn't a loan at all — it's fee-free overdraft on Chime accounts with qualifying deposits, and for members it's effectively the cheapest $200 of cover in this table.
+ Genuinely fee-free
− Chime account + deposits required; small limit
Compare with an offer here →Cleo
Budgeting + advance app · Up to about $250 · Subscription roughly $5.99+/mo
Cleo wraps small advances in an AI-chat budgeting personality. Fun interface, standard subscription math: it pays off only with regular use.
+ Engaging budgeting tools
− Subscription; advance limits start low
Compare with an offer here →Current
Banking app w/ advances · Up to about $500 (varies) · Free standard; fees for instant
Current offers paycheck advances to established members, with limits tied to deposit history. Like most banking-app advances, loyalty is the qualification.
+ Reasonable limits for members; fee-free standard delivery
− Must bank with Current; instant costs extra
Compare with an offer here →FloatMe
Micro-advance app · Up to about $50–$100 · Subscription roughly $4.99/mo
FloatMe keeps things tiny by design — small floats to dodge an overdraft. The subscription-to-advance ratio is the worst on this list unless you use it monthly.
+ Simple; prevents overdrafts
− Tiny limits; fee is large relative to advance
Compare with an offer here →Get a real number to compare
One request shows you an actual offer with the APR attached — the only comparison that matters.