Getting a $6,000 loan should be fairly easy, even for people with bad credit. This is because lenders are more likely to issue small amounts with fewer eligibility criteria since there’s less risk of you defaulting. You’ll usually have to pay higher interest rates for a $6,000 loan, but you’ll be able to pay it off quickly if you make reasonable monthly payments.
Compare $6,000 loans
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You can get a $6,000 loan from banks, credit unions, private lenders and peer-to-peer lending services in Canada.
Bank loans for $6,000
Best for: Good to excellent credit
Bank loans usually come with mid-level interest rates and you’ll need a high credit score to qualify for a $6,000 loan. You may be able to borrow money with bad credit if you secure your loan with an asset or get a cosigner.
How it works. Apply in person or online. If approved, money will be deposited into your bank account as a lump sum and you’ll pay the loan back over a set term.
How do I qualify? Be a Canadian citizen or resident and the age of majority in your province, have a high credit score, regular income and working bank account.
Sample lenders. BMO, TD Bank, RBC, CIBC, Scotiabank, Canadian Western Bank and National Bank.
Credit union loans for $6,000
Best for: Good to excellent credit
Credit union $6,000 loans may come with slightly lower interest rates and more flexible repayment terms than banks. You may be able to apply with bad credit if you get a credit builder loan, secured loan or cosigned loan. You’ll usually need to be a member to apply.
How it works. Apply in person or online. If approved for a $6,000 loan, money will be deposited into your bank account as a lump sum and you’ll pay the loan back over a set term.
How do I qualify? Be a Canadian citizen or resident and the age of majority in your province, meet credit score and income requirements and have a credit union membership.
Sample lenders. Providers include Meridian, Servus, Vancity, connectFirst, Conexus, First West, Steinbach, Alterna Savings and Coast Capital Savings.
Online lenders offering $6,000 loans
Best for: Poor to excellent credit
Online lenders usually offer loans with less strict eligibility criteria and higher than average interest rates. You’ll often get your funds deposited in less than 24 hours and there’s less paperwork involved. Borrowers may qualify for a $6,000 loan with bad credit or low income. You can compare $6,000 loan options in our curated list of online lenders in the table above.
How it works. Apply online in most cases. You can often get funds deposited into your bank account on the same day you’re approved.
How do I qualify? Be a Canadian citizen or resident and the age of majority in your province, meet credit score and income requirements and have a working bank account.
P2P loans are usually offered through an online platform that connects you to other Canadians who want to lend you money. Interest rates for these loans will usually be lower than bank or private loans, and you may be able to apply for a $6,000 loan with bad credit in some cases.
How it works. The platform connects you with lenders who will send you a lump sum of money plus interest that you pay back through the platform.
How do I qualify? Be a Canadian citizen/resident and the age of majority in your province, have a decent credit score and a regular source of income.
Sample lenders. Providers include goPeer and the r/borrow subreddit (but be aware that r/borrow is not regulated in Canada and is typically for smaller amounts).
Types of $6,000 loans
You’ll have to choose an unsecured vs a secured loan as well as a variable rate vs a fixed rate loan. The most popular loan type for $6,000 loans is an unsecured fixed rate loan.
Unsecured loans come with higher interest rates than secured loans. Because lenders take a greater risk by loaning you $6,000 without any collateral to fall back on, they’ll charge you a higher interest rate.
Unsecured loans are commonplace for online lenders—the application and approval process is usually pretty quick, which means you could secure a $6,000 personal loan within the same day of applying. Interest rates on unsecured loans can typically range from 9.75% to as high as 46.96%.
Secured loans generally come with lower interest rates—usually as low as 6.99%—because they involve collateral. The collateral is an asset you own, like a house or investments. Your lender has the right to repossess the asset if you default on your $6,000 loan or can’t keep up with repayments. It may be easier to get approved for secured loan since you are reducing the risk for the lender.
A fixed-rate loan has an interest rate that stays the same throughout the entire loan term. This gives you predictable monthly payments so you can easily budget for your loan repayments. Check banks, credit unions, online lenders and P2P lenders for fixed-rate loans.
Variable-rate personal loans have interest rates that fluctuate in line with the Bank of Canada’s prime rate. So you’ll pay off more of your principal each month if the rates go down, but end up paying more in interest if rates go up. Generally, variable rates have lower starting rates than fixed. Banks and credit unions offer variable-rate personal loans.
Most online lenders will require a minimum credit score of 600 or higher to qualify for a $6,000 loan. However, if your credit score is lower, you may still be able to get approval from select lenders. Consider Fat Cat Loans (minimum credit score requirement of 300) or free loan broker platforms like Loans Canada or LoanConnect if your credit is lower than the standard cutoff.
Am I eligible for a $6,000 loan?
To get a $6,000 loan in Canada, you’ll usually need to meet the following criteria:
Be a Canadian citizen or resident who is the age of majority in your province.
Meet income and credit score requirements with your chosen lender.
Have a working bank account.
Enlist a cosigner or put up an asset as collateral for some bad credit loans.
Have an acceptable debt-to-income ratio (usually under 36%)
Your debt-to-income ratio is the total cost of your monthly bills divided by your monthly income. You can figure out your DTI ratio using these steps:
Add up all of your monthly bills including rent, credit cards, student loans, alimony, child support, car loans, utilities and other expenses.
Divide the sum of your bills by your monthly take-home pay.
Convert that number into a percentage and that is your DTI ratio.
Steps to apply for a $6,000 loan online
Follow these steps on how to apply for a personal loan to get the $6,000 loan you want.
1. Figure out a budget
Do the math to figure out how much you can afford to pay back each month. Try to choose the shortest term possible that still gives you affordable monthly payments. This will help to cut down on the amount of interest you pay over time.
2. Compare lenders
Compare, compare, compare! This is the best way to get a full picture of how much you should pay based on your credit score and other personal factors. Try comparing lenders with a personal loan broker or get quotes from numerous lenders individually.
3. Get pre-approved when possible
Aim to get preapproved for several $6,000 loans so you can see the actual rates you’ll need to pay (instead of the advertised rates). Getting preapproved for a personal loan won’t affect your credit score and can give you an idea of where you might find the best deal.
4. Finish the application
Fill out an application once you’ve decided on the lender that will give you the best rates and conditions for your loan. You’ll usually need to submit contact details and financial information to apply as well as submit to a credit check.
How much is a monthly payment on a $6,000 loan?
Your monthly payments on a $6,000 loan can easily land between $120 and $500 depending on your interest rate and term length. As a general rule, higher interest rates and shorter loan terms will result in more costly monthly payments.
You can use the loan calculator below to calculate the monthly payment on any $6,000 loan offer you’re considering.
Personal loan monthly payment calculator
Calculate how much you could expect to pay each month on a $6,000 loan
Write the loan term in years (not months) under Loan terms.
Enter the loan’s interest rate if there are no fees under Interest rate. Otherwise, write the annual percentage rate (APR), which includes interest and fees.
Hit Calculate.
Review your results.
How much the monthly payment on a $6,000 loan is based on interest rates
This example shows how much a monthly payment will cost on a $6,000 loan over 5 years based on different interest rates. As you can see, you’ll pay higher monthly payments and a significantly larger loan amount as your interest rates go up.
Interest rates
Total interest
Total loan cost
Monthly payment
8.5%
$1,385.95
$7,385.95
$123.10
14.3%
$2,432.67
$8,432.67
$140.54
20.9%
$3,718.97
$9,718.97
$161.98
29.9%
$5,625.12
$11,625.12
$193.75
How much the monthly payment on a $6,000 loan is based on different term lengths
This example will look at the payments you’ll make on a $6,000 loan over three different loan terms—all with the same interest rate of 8.5%. With this example, your monthly payments will go up with a shorter term but you’ll pay less in interest over time.
You can try these strategies to find a low interest $6,000 loan in Canada:
Shop around. Compare lenders to make sure you lock in the lowest interest rates. For reference, low interest rates on a personal loan will fall beneath the national average of 9.32%.
Secure your loan. Use an asset as collateral to secure your $6,000 loan and drop your rates by several percentage points.
Enlist a cosigner. Ask someone with good to excellent credit to cosign your loan so you can take advantage of their good rates.
How to get a $6,000 loan with bad credit
While you’ll have fewer $6,000 loan options if you have a bad credit score of 659 or less, there are still options. Use these tips to secure a $6,000 loan with bad credit:
Bad credit lenders
Your best bet is to find lenders who specialize in offering loans of $6,000 loans to bad credit borrowers, which will likely be alternative online lenders—like the ones listed above. Look at eligibility criteria for loans before you start applying and make sure you meet income/credit score requirements.
Credit builder loan
Check with your local credit union for credit builder loans, which come with lower rates and are designed to increase your credit score. However, you should know that with this type of loan, you will not receive the $6,000 until after you make your on-time loan repayments (with interest).
Secured or cosigned loan
Asking someone with a better credit score than you to cosign on the loan can help increase your chances of getting approved for a $6,000 loan for bad credit. You can also consider using an asset to secure your payments, which reduces your overall risk factor for the lender and may help you get a approved.
Where to get a $6,000 loan with good credit
If you’re looking for a $6,000 personal loan with good credit (above 660), you have more lower interest rate options, especially from traditional lenders such as banks or credit unions. For reference, ATB’s interest rates range from 7.2% to 14.2% for personal loans.
How to evaluate a $6,000 loan offer whether you have good or bad credit
You can ask yourself the following questions to evaluate your $6,000 loan offer and make sure that the loan is right for you:
Am I getting the best rate? Personal loan rates can be fixed or variable and usually range from 6.99% to 46.96%. Compare multiple lenders to make sure you get the best deal.
How fast do I need the loan? Think about how quickly you need the money. Consider fast personal loans if you need your cash in 24 hours or less.
What will my monthly payments be? Look for the shortest term with affordable monthly payments. This will cut down on how much interest you pay over time.
What is the payment breakdown? Before signing anything, examine the payment schedule. Know how much of your repayments is going towards paying the interest vs reducing the principal.
What’s the overall cost? Some lenders charge fees plus interest on your loan (also known as your APR). Read the fine print to make sure you don’t end up paying too much.
Can I get lower interest rates? Consider securing your $6,000 loan with an asset or getting a cosigner to bring down the total cost of your loan.
Do I really need the money? If you’re making a non-essential purchase, it can be better to save up and pay out of pocket to avoid paying interest.
What are the signs of a reputable $6,000 loan lender?
Look for the following signs to make sure you’re working with a reputable lender before moving forward with any $6,000 loan offer:
Online presence. Aim to borrow from companies with a solid online presence, including a well-designed website and readily available email, phone number and office address.
Positive reviews. Look for lenders that have a lot of positive reviews on Google as well as on customer review sites and forums such as Trustpilot and Reddit.
Plain language contract. Only sign loan contracts that are easy to understand and give you all the information you need upfront.
Business licence. Ask for a lender’s business licence if you’re unsure about its legitimacy. This should also be prominently displayed on the lender’s website.
No unsolicited contact. Be wary of lenders that reach out to you unexpectedly and never do business with unknown callers over the phone.
No pressure. Avoid lenders that pressure or rush you into signing a contract.
Almost 3 in 4 Canadian borrowers looking for loans under $10K
According to data collected in the Finder: Consumer Sentiment Survey August 2023, 17% of respondents who stated they were planning to take out a loan in the next three months were looking to borrow between $5000 and $9999.
FAQs about $6,000 loans
The interest rates you'll pay on a $6,000 loan will vary depending on factors such as your credit score, income and DTI ratio. You can use a personal loan calculator to figure out how much interest you'll pay for the duration of your loan.
You may be able to get a $6,000 loan even if you have bad credit if you shop around for the right lender. Just be prepared to pay very high interest rates. You can bring those rates down by getting a cosigner with a high credit score or by securing your loan with an asset.
You may be able to get a no credit check loan if you secure your payments with an asset such as your home or vehicle. That said, most reputable lenders will perform a credit check to determine your loan eligibility. For this reason, you should be wary of lenders offering no credit check loans since they may be running a fraud or scam.
Low interest personal loans come with rates that fall anywhere below the national average rate of 9.32%. The lowest personal loan rates will only be available to excellent credit borrowers. Low interest rate personal loans if you have bad credit could start at 18%.
It can be relatively easy to get a $6k loan depending on the lender you apply with. Banks to tend to have the strictest eligibility requirements, while online lenders typically have much more lenient requirements. Even if you have bad credit, online lenders like Spring Financial and Fat Cat Loans may still be willing to lend you $6,000.
Interest rates are a standalone percentage that gets added to your loan amount based on factors such as your credit score. APR is the cost of your interest rates plus the fees you'll have to pay for your loan (such as origination fees and closing costs).
Claire Horwood was a writer at Finder, specializing in credit cards, loans and other financial products. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Gender Studies from the University of Victoria, and an Associate’s Degree in Science from Camosun College. Much of Claire’s coursework has focused on writing and statistics, with a healthy dose of social and cultural analysis mixed in for good measure. In her spare time, Claire enjoys rock climbing, travelling and drinking inordinate amounts of coffee. See full bio
Here are 6 easy loans to get in Canada, but watch out for high interest rates.
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