Sizing guide: Before you apply
Minimum and Maximum Personal Loan Amounts
Every lender lends between a floor and a ceiling. The floor comes from cost and law; your own ceiling comes from your income, your debts and your credit. Here is how each is set.
By Lendarbor Editorial Team Updated 6 min read
- Credit union PALs
- $200 to $2,000
- Floors set by
- Lender cost, state law
- Your ceiling set by
- Income, debts, credit
- $4,500 income example
- $15,000.58 (36 months)
In one ring
Lenders set a minimum because checking, funding and servicing a loan costs much the same whatever its size, and state laws that cap small-loan charges make tiny loans hard to price. They set a maximum by policy, and then cut it to fit you: at a 36% debt-to-income limit, a borrower earning $4,500 a month with $1,100 of other debts has room for about $15,001 at 15% APR over 36 months. Federal credit union payday alternative loans run from $200 to $1,000 (PAL I) or up to $2,000 (PAL II). Lendarbor's examples are worked numbers, not offers.
Why lenders set a minimum
Verifying your identity, pulling credit, checking income, sending the money and collecting payments cost a lender roughly the same on a small loan as on a large one. The interest does not. As worked examples with a fixed rate and no fees: $1,000 at 24% APR over 12 months earns $134.72 of interest; $5,000 at 18% over 36 months earns $1,507.36; $25,000 at 12% over 60 months earns $8,366.60.
So a small loan is either unavailable, priced at a higher APR, or offered by lenders built for it, mainly credit unions and licensed finance companies. State laws that cap the charges on small loans narrow the room further, which is one reason some lenders start their range above the amounts those laws cover.
How the range differs by lender type
Credit unions
The most likely place for a loan of a few hundred dollars, including payday alternative loans at federal credit unions. Larger amounts are usually available to members with the income for them.
Banks
Ranges vary widely, and many banks lend unsecured mainly to existing customers. Some also offer loans secured by savings or a certificate of deposit, which can reach smaller amounts.
Online lenders
Often higher minimums than credit unions and the widest maximums for applicants with strong income and credit. Many deduct an origination fee, so the amount you request is not the amount you receive.
Finance companies
State-licensed lenders that often make smaller installment loans within the amount and rate limits of their state's consumer finance law.
Floors and ceilings written into the rules
Federal credit unions may offer two kinds of payday alternative loans under NCUA rules, with an application fee of no more than $20 and an APR of up to 28%, above the 18% ceiling on their other loans.
| Rule | PAL I | PAL II |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | $200 to $1,000 | Up to $2,000, no minimum |
| Term | 1 to 6 months | 1 to 12 months |
| Membership first | At least 1 month | No waiting period required |
| Worked example at 28% APR | $1,000 over 6 months: $180.54 a month | $2,000 over 12 months: $193.01 a month |
State law also shapes the range. In California, loans of $2,500 to under $10,000 from lenders licensed under the California Financing Law must run at least 12 months, and those of $3,000 to under $10,000 no longer than 60 months and 15 days. North Carolina's Consumer Finance Act covers licensed installment loans of up to $25,000, repayable over 12 to 96 months. Loan amount and the law sets out these thresholds, and LendCedar lists the rate caps of every state.
What sets your own maximum
A lender's advertised maximum is the most it lends to anyone. Yours is usually lower and comes from four things: your income against your debts, your credit, the lender's policy for your profile, and any collateral. Income is often the binding one. The table assumes a 36% debt-to-income limit, a 15% APR, a fixed rate, equal payments and no fees.
| Gross monthly income (other debts) | Payment room | 36 months | 60 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 ($700) | $380.00 | $10,961.96 | $15,973.14 |
| $4,500 ($1,100) | $520.00 | $15,000.58 | $21,857.99 |
| $6,000 ($1,500) | $660.00 | $19,039.20 | $27,742.83 |
| $9,000 ($2,200) | $1,040.00 | $30,001.16 | $43,715.98 |
Lender policy adds limits of its own. A lender may cap a first loan below what your income supports, offer more to existing customers, or lend more against collateral such as a car or savings than it will unsecured. Those limits are not published in a form you can test in advance; you see them in the offer. If the offer is smaller than the room in the table, policy or credit is usually the reason, not your income.
A lower credit score shrinks the same room through a higher APR; credit score and loan amount shows by how much. The borrowing room calculator runs the table with your own figures.
Borrowing near either edge
- Do not borrow up to a minimum. If you need $1,200 and a lender's floor is $2,000, the larger loan at 24% over 12 months costs $269.44 in interest instead of $161.64, and the payment rises from $113.47 to $189.12. Look for a lender whose range starts lower, such as a credit union.
- A maximum approval is a ceiling, not advice. Take the amount your plan needs; how much to borrow shows how to price it.
- For very large sums, few lenders go far unsecured; secured loans and home equity can reach further. Lendmira compares home equity loans. For a PAL against other loans, see TrustCedar on personal loans versus credit union PALs.
Questions people ask
What is the smallest personal loan I can get?
Federal credit union PAL I loans start at $200, and PAL II loans have no minimum amount. Other lenders set their own floors, often higher. A smaller sum may be cheaper on a credit card or from savings than as a loan.
Why did the lender offer less than its advertised maximum?
The advertised figure is for applicants with the strongest income and credit. Your offer reflects your debt-to-income ratio, your credit and the lender's policy. Loan counteroffers explains your options.
Can I get a larger loan by choosing a longer term?
Often, because a longer term lowers the payment and frees debt-to-income room. In the table, $520 a month of room carries about $15,001 over 36 months and about $21,858 over 60, but the longer loan costs more interest.
Where the numbers come from
- NCUA, MyCreditUnion.gov, Payday alternative loans
- Federal Register, NCUA final rule, Payday Alternative Loans (PALs II), October 1, 2019
- NCUA, Permissible Loan Interest Rate Ceiling Extended, letter 26-FCU-02 (February 2026)
- California DFPI, requirements for licensees making consumer loans of $2,500 to $10,000
- North Carolina General Statutes, G.S. 53-176 (Consumer Finance Act)
Payments, interest and loan amounts computed by Lendarbor with the standard amortization formula. Facts checked November 12, 2026.
Send lenders the amount you have in mind
Tell us how much, for how long and what for. Lendarbor passes your request to lenders and loan brokers who may make you an offer; you decide whether any offer fits.
- 1 The amount, the term and the purpose.
- 2 Your name, phone and email, and your consent to be contacted.
- 3 A lender or loan broker may contact you with an offer, sometimes for a different amount or term. Nothing is decided until you sign.
You pay Lendarbor nothing. The lenders and loan brokers who contact you set their own rates, fees and loan sizes. How we make money.
Next rings to read
-
Sizing guide
Loan amount and the law
The $73,400 Truth in Lending line for 2026, PALs up to $2,000, and state caps that shift at $2,500, $10,000, $12,000.
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Sizing guide
Credit score and loan amount
How credit sets the APR, and why $400 a month repays $15,189.58 at 12% but $11,109.26 at 30% over 48 months.
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Loan size
$1,000 personal loans
PAL I or PAL II: $180.54 a month over 6 months or $96.51 over 12 at 28% APR, plus state rules.