SoFi®vs. Laurel Road: Which Is Better for You?

Laurel Road and SoFi® are two of the best student loan refinancing lenders on the market. Both offer competitive interest rates and attractive terms and benefits.

But how do these companies compare head to head? Let’s take a look at what SoFi® and Laurel Road have in common and what sets them apart to help you make an informed decision about your student loans.

SoFi® vs. Laurel Road: Rates and terms

Here’s a quick look at how a Laurel Road student loan refinance and a SoFi® student loan refinance compare on interest rates, loan terms and minimums.

SoFi®

4.5 out of 5

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SoFi®: Best if you're unsure where to apply

• Positives: Competitive rates, flexible terms and view rates in just two minutes
• Allows cosigners: Yes, but no cosigner release offered
• Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, in limited situations
• Interest rates: Fixed rates 4.49 – 9.99% APR with all discounts; Variable rates 5.99 – 9.99% APR with all discounts
• Bonus: $500 for refinancing 100k or more (bonus from Student Loan Planner®, not SoFi®)

Visit SoFi® Up to $500 Bonus More Information

Laurel Road

5.0 out of 5

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Laurel Road: Best for medical professionals

• Positives: Flexible repayment terms, profession based discounts
• Allows cosigners: Yes, cosigner release available after 36 months
• Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, up to 12 months
• Interest rates: Fixed starting at 4.99% APR; Variable starting at 5.29% APR
• Student Loan Planner® bonus: $300 for refinancing 50k to 100k, $1,050 for refinancing over 100k, OR interest rate discount if applicable.

Visit Laurel Road Up to $1,050 Bonus More Information

You can get a bonus for refinancing through our Laurel Road link of up to $1,050, and you can get a bonus for refinancing through our SoFi link of up to $500 (note the SoFi bonus comes from Student Loan Planner®, and additional terms apply).

It's important to mention that since both SoFi® and Laurel Road are private lenders, you'll lose access to federal repayment programs if you refinance your federal loans with either company. For example, you'll no longer be eligible to join an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan or get your loan balance forgiven with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PLSF) program or any other student loan forgiveness program.

This won't be a concern if you have private loans. But if you're looking to refinance federal loans, carefully weigh the pros and cons. Note that if you're uncomfortable with surrendering these benefits, you can still simplify your payments by combining all your federal student loans together in a Direct Consolidation Loan (but won't get a rate discount).

SoFi® vs. Laurel Road: A lot of similarities

As you can see, Laurel Road and SoFi® are very similar when it comes to refinancing basics. In fact, the closer you look, the more you’ll notice that these lenders work hard to match each other on a variety of fronts. The lenders share a long list of matching terms and perks.

Laurel Road and SoFi® both:

• Offer multiple repayment terms from 5 to 20 years.
• Allow cosigners if you don’t qualify for refinancing on your own.
• Have no application or origination fees or prepayment penalties.
• Are available in all 50 states.
• Offer refinancing cash-back bonuses.
• Allow borrowers to check their rates without a hard credit check.
• Offer medical residency and fellowship refinancing (with student loan payments as low as $100).
• Give autopay discounts of 0.25% when you sign up for automatic payments.
• Have no maximum loan amount.
• Use MOHELA as their loan servicer.
• Allows borrowers to refinance Parent PLUS Loans and the transferring of Parent PLUS Loans to the student when they can qualify for a new loan on their own.

That’s a ton of matching features.

From a borrower’s perspective, that’s a good thing because it makes it easier to just pick the lender that offers the best rate to refinance your student loan debt. But, as we’ll see below, each lender does have a few areas in which it tends to excel above the other.

Related: Laurel Road Student Loan Refinance Review

SoFi® vs. Laurel Road: Where each lender wins

It can be hard to differentiate between Laurel and SoFi® on rates and terms alone. But when you compare each lender on the basis of additional intangible benefits as well as borrower profile, it’s easier to see what sets each lender apart when it comes to a refinanced loan. Here’s where each lender usually wins.

For excellent customer service: Laurel Road

Although fintech companies tend to have snazzy websites and streamlined applications, they don’t always perform as well on the customer service front. And this seems to be the case for SoFi® as well, according to our SoFi® student loan refinance reviews.

Although SoFi® ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in website and application experience, the lender ranked No. 6 in customer experience. Laurel Road, which has a banking background, may be better suited for strong customer service. Although it only ranked one spot ahead of SoFi® in the customer service category, it received a much better likeability rating of 3.69 compared to SoFi’s. 2.8.

What’s more, our Laurel Road student loan refinance reviews showed that the lender’s likeability rating is rapidly improving. Only a year prior, its rating was an uninspiring 1.0, meaning that an equal number of borrowers said they liked the lender the most as those who liked it the least.

But its likeability rating has grown by 2.69 points since January 2019. SoFi’s likeability, on the other hand, stayed fairly steady, only slightly improving from 2.4 to 2.8.

So, Laurel Road is not only pleasing more of their customers now, but it appears that it’s still on an uptrend. For these reasons, Laurel Road could be your best bet if you’re looking for a strong customer service experience.

For member perks: SoFi®

SoFi® has put a lot of effort into building a loyal community of borrowers, who it refers to as its “members.” We received many glowing SoFi® student loan refinance reviews from our Student Loan Planner® audience survey, including the comment below:

“SoFi® is extremely user friendly, supportive, and honestly I got the feeling they actually wanted to HELP me, not just make money off of me.”

How does a lender build up that kind of goodwill in its borrowers? One of the ways SoFi®has been able to do so is by offering a lot of extra services for free.

For example, SoFi® members get access to financial planner services. And they’re also invited to exclusive member events, which one of Student Loan Planner®’s survey respondents cited as a valued perk:

“There are several perks just by refinancing with them such as a free t-shirt, and cool activities in NYC.”

SoFi® also offers a huge menu of additional products including mortgages, personal loans, investment accounts, insurance and more. If you’re just looking for a lender, SoFi® and Laurel Road are both great options. But if you’re looking for a community or an all-in-one financial solution, SoFi® is the clear choice.

For cosigner release options: Laurel Road

Laurel Road will allow borrowers to submit a cosigner release request after they've made at least 36 consecutive on-time payments. Unfortunately, SoFi® doesn't currently offer any cosigner release program for refinanced student loans.

If you’re a dentist or physician assistant: Laurel Road

Our refinancing survey clearly showed that Laurel Road focuses a great deal on healthcare professionals. And that’s especially true for borrowers who work as dentists or physician assistants.

Laurel Road was by far the most popular lender with the dentists in our survey — landing a whopping 36.8% of borrowers from that profession. And it tied with Earnest as the most popular lender with physician assistants while no PAs from our survey chose SoFi®.

If you’re a dentist or a physician assistant, there’s a good chance the Laurel Road may offer you a competitive rate. If you went to medical school and want to refinance your school loans, they also may be a good fit.

If you’re a business professional or lawyer: SoFi

SoFi® was the clear winner with borrowers who identified as working in the business or corporate world, with 24.2% of the profession served by SoFi® compared to 12.1% served by Laurel Road. SoFi® also fared better with lawyers, serving 16.7% of the profession versus only 6.7% for Laurel Road.

Read our full SoFi®student loan refinancing review.

If you have a low six-figure income: Laurel Road

For income levels below $100,000, Laurel Road and SoFi’s borrower numbers were very similar. It is clear, however, that Laurel Road seems to offers its lowest interest rates to borrowers who have a stable income of $100,000 to $200,000.

In fact, 40% of our survey respondents who said they had refinanced with Laurel Road came from that compensation level compared to only 25% for SoFi®. If your income falls within that range, you may qualify for one of Laurel Road’s best offers.

If you have a high six-figure income: SoFi®

Once your income passes $200,000, however, SoFi® becomes a stronger option. In our audience survey, 28% of respondents from that income level chose SoFi® for their student loan consolidation and refinancing compared to only 18% who chose Laurel Road.

And SoFi® didn’t just beat out Laurel Road in this category. It was the most popular lender overall for income levels above $200,000. If you have a high six-figure income, it’s obvious that SoFi® wants you. And the lender may offer you the lowest rates that are hard to beat.

Should you refinance with Laurel Road or SoFi®?

When you’re trying to decide between SoFi® vs. Laurel Road, consider various factors such as your profession, income and specific financial needs. Review your monthly payment, variable rates versus fixed rates, your repayment options, any deferment options, and what the application process looks like.

Travis Hornsby, founder of Student Loan Planner®, says, “Ultimately, both companies have been known to compete for people’s business, especially people with really high incomes.” Hornsby also says that you may be able to get the lenders to compete against each other on rates, especially if you have a good credit score and strong credit history.

If you prefer one company over the other, don’t be afraid to let that lender know if the other lender has quoted you a better rate. They may decide to match rates.

In that way, you get to choose the company you feel has the more attractive intangible benefits without having to sacrifice the interest rate. That’s a big win-win. Just be aware that if you have federal loans, you give up protections when you refinance student loans. They essentially become private student loans and have their own requirements. But scoring a lower interest rate could be worth it.

In any case, it would be wise to get an additional quote from at least one more lender. For a full breakdown of the best refinancing lenders available today and their current rates and benefits, check out our refinancing guide.