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Transparency · how we are funded

Advertiser disclosure

We are funded in part by referral fees from some of the lenders and marketplaces we link to. This page explains exactly how that works and the firewall between it and the numbers we publish.

By the UpStart Loans editorial team Effective November 1, 2026 5 min read Primary sources cited
Effective date: November 1, 2026  ·  Operator: Upstart Loans USA ([legal entity name]), [street address, city, state ZIP]  ·  Contact: [contact email]
Items in brackets are placeholders to be completed by the site owner before launch. This page is written in plain language and is not a substitute for review by an attorney licensed in your state.
Summary

The short version

  • We may be paid when you clickSome links to lenders and loan marketplaces are affiliate links. If you click one and pre-qualify, apply or are funded, we may receive a referral fee. It costs you nothing extra.
  • Compensation never changes a numberRates, fees, statistics, scores and rankings come from published sources and a fixed methodology. No lender can pay for a better score, a higher position or a softer sentence.
  • We are not a lenderWe do not make loans, take applications, run credit checks or make credit decisions. Any application is between you and the lender, on its terms.
  • We are not Upstart Network, Inc.This site is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Upstart Network, Inc. or any other lender. "Upstart" in our name is the ordinary English word.
Revenue

How this site makes money

Upstart Loans USA is an independent educational publisher. Our costs (research, data subscriptions, hosting, editing) are paid for in the following ways, listed from most to least significant:

  1. Affiliate referral fees. When you click certain links to a lender or a loan comparison marketplace and take an action there (typically completing a pre-qualification or being funded), the lender or marketplace may pay us a fee. These relationships are governed by written agreements that do not give the partner any control over our content.
  2. Display advertising. We may show clearly labeled advertisements. Advertisers do not see content before publication and cannot select the pages or positions adjacent to specific lender reviews.
  3. No paid placement, no paid reviews. Lenders cannot pay to be reviewed, to be included in or excluded from a list, or to alter a score, rank or description. We do not accept payment for sponsored articles presented as editorial content.

Not every lender we review has a referral relationship with us, and we review lenders that pay us nothing. Where a lender does compensate us, the terms we publish for it are verified from the same public disclosures and held to the same methodology as every other lender.

Independence

What compensation does and does not affect

Never affected by compensation

  • Statistics, which are quoted from dated primary sources (Federal Reserve, TransUnion, CFPB, FTC, NCUA, lender disclosures)
  • Lender scores, which follow the published four-part weighting on our About page
  • The order of lenders in review lists and comparison tables, which is by score or alphabetical as stated on the page
  • Who we say should skip a lender, and the cons we list
  • Calculator formulas and worked examples
  • Whether a lender is reviewed at all

May be affected by compensation

  • Which lenders have a "Check your rate" button (we can only link where a referral relationship or a public pre-qualification page exists)
  • Which marketplace provides the rate-check form on our homepage
  • Which lenders appear in display advertisements, which are labeled
  • Our ability to keep the site free of charge
Editorial

Editorial independence in practice

The people who research and write our guides do not negotiate affiliate agreements and are not paid based on clicks or conversions to any particular lender. Partners do not review content before publication. If a partner disputes a factual claim, we re-verify it against the primary source and correct it only if it was wrong; corrections are noted under our corrections policy. We disclose material changes to lender terms (for example, the June 2026 rebrand of LendingClub as Happen Bank) regardless of the effect on our revenue.

Scope

What our content is, and is not

Everything on this site is general educational information. It is not financial, legal, tax or credit advice, not an offer or solicitation of credit, and not a recommendation that any particular product is suitable for you. Rates, fees and eligibility change frequently and vary by state; the lender's own disclosures at the time you apply are authoritative. Please read our Terms of Use.

Contact

Questions about this disclosure

Email [contact email] or write to Upstart Loans USA, [mailing address]. We update this page whenever our revenue model changes materially; the effective date at the top records the last revision.