Current personal loan interest rates across major banks

The maintained table above is a shortlist, not a loan quote. It shows what lenders publicly advertise and, where available, what they reported charging in a recent quarter. Your personalised offer decides the interest rate; the APR in your Key Facts Statement (KFS) decides whether that offer is actually competitive after fees.

Shortlist two or three lenders, hold the loan amount and tenure constant, and obtain a written KFS from each. A low advertised starting rate is not useful if you do not qualify for it, and a low sanctioned rate can still lose once the processing fee and other charges are counted.

How this comparison is built

The table keeps two different types of information separate.

Current advertised rates come from a lender’s own personal-loan page or current rate document. They show the range within which the lender is publicly marketing the product on the date checked. That range can change without notice and may cover borrowers with very different income, credit and relationship profiles.

Quarterly actual rates are historical. Where a lender publishes the minimum, maximum or average rate on loans actually issued during a recent quarter, that disclosure shows what approved borrowers received in that period. It is useful evidence, but it is not a forecast. The borrower mix, ticket sizes and lending policy may have changed since that quarter ended.

Do not compare one lender’s advertised floor with another lender’s quarterly average and call the lower number the winner. Compare advertised range with advertised range, and actual disclosure with actual disclosure. Then move to the only borrower-specific evidence: your own KFS.

The comparison covers unsecured personal loans for individuals. It does not mix in secured loans, credit-card EMI conversions, loans against deposits, gold loans or short-tenor loan-app products. Those products carry different collateral, repayment and pricing structures.

Each table row should be read with its source date. If the lender changes its page after that date, the lender’s current document and your written offer govern.

Why the starting rate is not a promise

An advertised rate beginning at, say, a particular percentage means that some applicant may satisfy the lender’s conditions for that rate. It does not mean every eligible applicant receives it.

Personal loans are priced for the lender’s assessment of default risk. The factors can include your credit history, assessed income, existing repayment commitments, employment or business profile, requested amount, tenure and whether the lender already has a reliable record of your salary or banking behaviour.

Two applicants approaching the same lender on the same day can therefore receive different rates without either offer contradicting the public range. A pre-approved message can also remain conditional on verification of income, identity, current obligations and the information in the credit report.

There is no RBI rule setting one minimum CIBIL score that every personal-loan lender must accept. Cut-offs belong to each lender’s credit policy. Before applying, use the free CIBIL score guide to check the report itself, not merely the number shown in an app.

If your report contains an error, dispute it before making several applications. If the information is correct but the score is weak, the options in personal loans with a low CIBIL score are more useful than repeatedly testing advertised floors. An absent score is a different underwriting problem; see borrowing without a CIBIL score.

APR and processing fees reveal the real price

The interest rate prices the outstanding principal. The APR annualises the scheduled cost of the facility using the cash you receive and the payments you must make, including applicable charges.

That distinction matters when a processing fee is deducted before disbursal. If the sanctioned amount is ₹5 lakh and ₹10,000 is deducted, you receive ₹4.90 lakh while the EMI is still calculated on ₹5 lakh. The stated interest rate has not changed, but the cost relative to the money placed in your account has increased. The APR captures that effect.

The KFS should let you identify:

• Sanctioned loan amount
• Net amount actually disbursed
• Interest rate and whether it is fixed or floating
• APR and its computation sheet
• EMI, number of instalments and repayment dates
• Amortisation schedule
• Processing and other applicable charges
• Total scheduled interest and amount payable
• Penal, mandate-failure, part-payment and foreclosure terms

Charges collected by the lender on behalf of a third party, such as an insurance provider, must be reflected in the APR where applicable and disclosed separately. Ask whether an add-on is compulsory, who supplies it, whether its price is deducted or financed, and where it appears in the KFS.

APR is not a prediction of every possible cost. A late-payment charge, mandate-return charge or foreclosure fee depends on a future event and may sit outside the scheduled cash flows used for APR. Read those clauses separately.

The complete document-by-document check is in loan KFS and APR explained. Do not accept a salesperson’s fee summary where it conflicts with the KFS.

Fixed rate, reducing balance and the flat-rate trap

“Fixed” and “reducing balance” describe different things.

A fixed rate ordinarily means the rate does not reset with a benchmark during the agreed period. It does not mean interest should be charged on the original principal for the full tenure.

Under a reducing-balance method, each EMI pays the month’s interest and reduces principal. The next month’s interest is calculated on the smaller outstanding balance. A fixed-rate personal loan can therefore also be a reducing-balance loan.

Under a flat-rate method, interest is calculated on the original principal for the entire tenure even though every EMI is returning part of that principal. Its headline percentage is not comparable with the same percentage on a reducing balance.

For example, a three-year ₹5 lakh loan quoted at 10% flat would charge ₹1.50 lakh of interest before fees: ₹5 lakh × 10% × three years. The total repayment would be ₹6.50 lakh, or about ₹18,056 a month.

As the next illustration shows, that “10%” flat loan costs more than a 14% reducing-balance loan on the same principal and tenure. The smaller-looking percentage is not the cheaper contract.

Ask the lender to state the rate on a reducing-balance annual basis and show the APR. If the document quotes a monthly rate, flat rate, factor rate or total fee without an annualised comparison, do not convert it casually; use the KFS cash flows.

Illustrative ₹5 lakh loan: 10% versus 14%

Illustration only — these are not lender quotes. The calculation assumes ₹5 lakh disbursed in full, 36 equal monthly instalments, interest on the monthly reducing balance and no processing fee, insurance, tax on charges, delayed payment or foreclosure.

Illustrative annual rate	EMI	Total interest	Total repaid
10% reducing	₹16,134	₹80,809	₹5,80,809
14% reducing	₹17,089	₹1,15,197	₹6,15,197

The four-percentage-point difference adds about ₹955 a month and ₹34,388 of interest over three years.

The EMI change may look manageable in isolation. The better test is to add it to rent, existing EMIs, card payments, insurance premiums and essential household spending. An instalment that works only in a perfect month is too large.

Tenure can make an expensive offer look affordable. Extending the loan reduces the EMI but keeps principal outstanding for longer and normally increases total interest. Compare offers at the same amount and tenure before deciding whether a longer repayment period is necessary.

Put the rate and tenure from your own KFS into the personal loan EMI calculator. Check that its EMI is close to the lender’s amortisation schedule. A small rounding difference is normal; a materially different EMI or instalment count needs an explanation before signing.

What changes the rate you receive

The public range becomes a personalised rate only after underwriting. Focus on the parts of the file a lender can verify.

Credit history. Recent missed payments, settled or written-off accounts, high revolving balances and repeated recent applications can worsen the assessment. A clean repayment record helps, but no particular score guarantees the advertised floor.

Income and existing obligations. The lender assesses whether verified income can support the new EMI alongside current loans and essential spending. A large salary does not automatically produce the lowest rate if existing commitments already consume much of it.

Stability and documentation. Regular salary credits, consistent bank statements and tax records make income easier to assess. For self-employed applicants, turnover, profit, cash flow and tax filings need to tell a coherent story.

Loan amount and tenure. A lender can price different ticket sizes and repayment periods differently. Asking for less may improve affordability without changing the rate; asking for longer may lower the EMI while increasing the total interest.

Existing relationship. A bank that already sees salary credits and repayment behaviour may make a different offer from a lender meeting you for the first time. That is a reason to request a quote, not a reason to accept it without comparison.

Improve what can be improved before applying: correct report errors, reduce expensive revolving debt, clear avoidable small obligations and prepare current income documents. None guarantees approval or a lower rate, but each makes the application easier to assess than another enquiry submitted with the same unresolved weaknesses.

Prepayment and foreclosure can change the winner

A three- or five-year comparison assumes the loan runs to the final EMI. If you expect a bonus, asset sale or income increase to clear it early, prepayment terms can matter as much as a small difference in the starting rate.

Personal loans are commonly offered at fixed rates. The RBI protection against prepayment charges applies to floating-rate loans granted to individuals for non-business purposes under the applicable rules; it does not make every fixed-rate personal loan free to close.

For each quote, check:

• Whether any lock-in applies before full foreclosure
• Whether part-payment is permitted
• The minimum and maximum part-payment amount
• How often part-payment is allowed
• Whether the charge is calculated on the amount prepaid or the full outstanding principal
• Whether part-payment reduces EMI, tenure or either at your choice
• The foreclosure charge at the month you realistically expect to close
• Any tax applied to the fee

Ask for the rule in the KFS, sanction letter or current tariff, not verbally. A lender with a slightly higher APR but flexible, low-cost prepayment can be cheaper for someone certain to close in year one. For a borrower likely to run all 36 instalments, that flexibility may never be used.

Do not empty the emergency fund merely to remove a manageable EMI. The interest saved must be weighed against the value of keeping cash available.

Turn the shortlist into a decision

Request written quotes for the same amount and tenure from two or three lenders. Then compare them in this order:

1. Regulated lender identity: confirm which bank or NBFC is actually lending, especially where an app or marketplace sits in front.
2. Net disbursal: how much reaches your account after every deduction?
3. APR: which offer has the lower annualised scheduled cost?
4. Cash flow: are the EMI and due date workable with a bad-month buffer?
5. Total repayment: what leaves your account if the loan runs to term?
6. Fees: processing, insurance, documentation and any other collected charge.
7. Exit terms: lock-in, part-payment and foreclosure costs at the likely exit date.
8. Failure costs: penal charges, mandate-return fees and credit-reporting consequences.
9. Documents: do the KFS, sanction letter and amortisation schedule agree?

Choose the lowest all-in cost among the offers whose EMI remains safe. Do not borrow more merely because a larger amount is approved, and do not stretch the tenure merely to reach an attractive EMI.

If none of the written offers survives the APR and affordability test, the table has still done its job: it has shown that today’s unsecured loan is not the right contract. Borrow less, correct the file, reduce an existing obligation or wait. The advertised floor is marketing; the KFS is the decision.

Common questions

Which bank has the lowest personal loan rate?

No public table can answer that for an individual borrower. A lender’s lowest advertised rate is conditional, while your income, credit history, obligations, amount and tenure shape the sanctioned rate. Use the table to request like-for-like quotes, then choose using the APR, net disbursal, total repayment and exit terms in each written Key Facts Statement.

Is an advertised starting rate guaranteed?

No. “Starting from” means the lender may offer that rate to applicants who satisfy its internal conditions; it is not a promise to every eligible applicant. A pre-approved message can also remain subject to verification. The rate and APR in the final KFS and sanction letter are the figures that apply to your loan.

What is the difference between interest rate and APR?

The interest rate prices the outstanding principal. APR annualises the scheduled cost using the money actually disbursed and the repayments due, including applicable lender charges. A processing fee deducted from the sanctioned amount can therefore raise APR even when the stated interest rate looks low. Event-based costs such as a future late charge or foreclosure fee still need separate review.

Does a high CIBIL score guarantee the lowest rate?

No. A strong credit history can help, but the lender also assesses verified income, existing EMIs, employment or business stability, loan amount, tenure and its own relationship data. No single RBI-mandated CIBIL cut-off applies to every personal-loan lender. Check the report for errors before applying and avoid treating one score as a guaranteed price.

Can I prepay a personal loan without charges?

It depends on the contract. Personal loans are often fixed-rate products, and the RBI protection for individual non-business borrowers concerns floating-rate loans under the applicable rules; it does not make every fixed-rate personal loan free to close. Read the KFS for lock-in, part-payment limits, frequency and foreclosure charges at the month you expect to repay.

Sources

Rates and rules on this page were read directly from the following sources on the dates shown. Figures change — if you are about to act on one, confirm it at the source.

1. Personal loan interest rates and chargesAxis Bank · checked 27 August 2026
2. Floating personal-loan rates effective 1 June 2026Bank of India · checked 27 August 2026
3. Baroda Personal Loan ratesBank of Baroda · checked 27 August 2026
4. Floating retail lending rates linked to RLLRCanara Bank · checked 27 August 2026
5. Fixed retail lending ratesCanara Bank · checked 27 August 2026
6. Consolidated loan rate scheduleFederal Bank · checked 27 August 2026
7. Personal loan interest rates and chargesHDFC Bank · checked 27 August 2026
8. Q3 2026 personal loan ratesHSBC India · checked 27 August 2026
9. Personal loan interest ratesICICI Bank · checked 27 August 2026
10. Retail advances interest-rate schedulePunjab National Bank · checked 27 August 2026
11. Personal loan scheme interest ratesState Bank of India · checked 27 August 2026
12. Retail lending interest-rate scheduleUnion Bank of India · checked 27 August 2026
13. Personal loan product and rate rangeYES Bank · checked 27 August 2026
14. RBI Responsible Business Conduct Directions, 2025Reserve Bank of India · checked 27 August 2026