SoFi Student Loan Refinance Review
SoFi’s student loan refinance is a strong option for borrowers with excellent credit who want nationwide availability and flexible features like soft credit rate checks and member benefits such as career and financial coaching. However, the lender does not offer a co-signer release option and only honors the remaining grace period from a borrower’s previous lender.
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Editorial disclosure: Our goal is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances.
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Our Take
SoFi refinance loans are a strong choice for borrowers with excellent credit who want flexible repayment terms and member perks like career and financial coaching. However, SoFi lacks a co-signer release option and only honors the remaining grace period from your previous lender, which can reduce flexibility for some borrowers.
Min. Credit Score:
N/A
Loan Amount:
$5,000 up to the full balance
Fixed APR:
4.74 - 9.99% with autopay
Variable APR:
5.99 - 9.99% with autopay
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15 or 20 years Years
Loan Types Offered:
General refinance, Medical Professional, Medical Resident, Parent Plus, Law and MBA
Pros
- Refinance loans don’t come with any fees.
- Allows applicants to see the rate they could receive with a soft credit check.
- Loans are offered in all 50 states, including D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Cons
- Doesn’t offer a co-signer release option.
- Has a grace period of only the existing time remaining from a six-month grace period of the former lender.
What is SoFi?
Social Finance, Inc., SoFi, founded in 2011, is an online lender and the first to offer refinance loans for federal and private loans. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and since expanded into a full-service digital financial platform.
Refinance loans from SoFi come with no origination or prepayment fees, and borrowers can choose between fixed or variable interest rates with repayment terms of 5, 7, 10, 15, or 20 years.
In addition to providing general student refinancing, SoFi also provides specialized loan refinance products, including Medical Residency, Parent Plus and Law.
Who would benefit the most from SoFi Student Loan Refinance?
- Applicants who prefer an entirely online loan experience with access to added benefits like career coaching and financial planning
- Borrowers with strong credit scores who could qualify for SoFi’s most competitive rates.
- Those looking for flexible repayment options like the SmartStart option, which allows interest-only payments for the first nine months.
How can SoFi Student Loan Refinance improve?
- Add a co-signer release option. SoFi doesn’t offer co-signer release. Adding this feature would give borrowers flexibility to release co-signers from the loan agreement once they meet income and credit requirements on their own.
- Extend the grace period. SoFi only honors the remaining grace period from a borrower’s previous lender. Offering a new full grace period, like six months after refinancing, would give borrowers more time to prepare before payments begin.
Related: Student Loan Refinance Without a Cosigner: How to Qualify on Your Own
Terms, fees and details
- Loan terms: 5, 7, 10, 15 or 20 years. Parent Plus loans do not include a 20-year term option.
- Loan amounts: $5,000 – Total amount borrowed.
- Soft credit check offered: Yes.
- Allows you to transfer a parent loan to a child: Yes.
- Application or origination fee: No.
- Prepayment penalty: No.
- Late fees: No.
Friendly Finly Advice
If possible prequalify with multiple lenders before committing to a loan offer. Prequalifying allows you to compare potential rates and terms to ensure you’re getting the lowest rate. Rates can depend on a variety of factors, including credit history and income.
Fixed APR:
4.79 - 9.99% with autopay
Variable APR:
5.88 - 9.99% with autopay
Min. Credit Score:
665
Max. Loan Amount:
$500,000
Fixed APR:
4.29% - Undisclosed with autopay
Variable APR:
4.74% - Undisclosed with autopay
Min. Credit Score:
680
Max. Loan Amount:
$0
How do we select lenders?
About This Comparison:
We select three alternative refinance lenders that offer similar products to the lender featured in this review. These lenders are chosen based on their relevance to common borrower-related information—such as APR ranges, repayment terms, credit score requirements and loan amount options—their overall competitiveness in the refinance market, and their strong performance on our lender rating rubric. Our editorial team makes these selections independently to help borrowers easily compare key features and make an informed decision.
To help readers evaluate whether the featured lender is the right fit for their needs, we include a comparison section highlighting three alternative student loan refinance lenders. These lenders are selected using the following criteria:
1. Direct Relevance to Borrower Decision-Making
We choose lenders whose core offerings overlap with the featured lender—specifically in APR ranges, repayment terms, required credit scores and loan amount minimums/maximums. This ensures borrowers can make an apples-to-apples comparison of the factors most likely to influence their refinance decision.
2. Competitive Position in the Market
Alternative lenders are selected based on their market presence, competitive rates, and borrower-friendly features. We prioritize lenders that are commonly considered alongside the featured lender by refinance shoppers and industry experts.
3. Coverage of a Representative Spectrum of Options
We include lenders that together provide a balanced view of the refinance market, such as:
- A lender with low advertised APRs
- A lender with flexible or unique loan terms
- A lender with broad loan amount ranges or borrower eligibility criteria
- A lender with strong performance on our lender rating rubric
- A lender with minimum credit scores that fit borrowers who may visit the featured lender review.
This mix helps borrowers understand how the featured lender compares across different strengths.
4. Data Availability and Consistency
We only include lenders for which we have current, verifiable information on APRs, repayment options, loan amounts, and eligibility requirements. This ensures the comparison is accurate, transparent, and aligned with our editorial standards.
5. Editorial Independence
Alternative lenders are chosen by our editorial team based solely on borrower benefit and informational value. Lender partnerships or compensation agreements do not influence which lenders are selected or how they’re presented.
How to qualify for SoFi Student Loan Refinance
You’ll have to meet SoF’s eligibility criteria to refinance your student loan. The company has various requirements for applicants to meet:
Financial criteria:
We contacted SoFi to confirm certain underwriting details, including minimum income, debt-to-income requirements and bankruptcy policies, but did not receive a response in time for this review.
While those exact thresholds aren’t publicly disclosed, SoFi generally approves borrowers with steady income, strong credit and a stable financial profile. In most cases, that means a credit score in the mid-600s or higher, consistent employment and manageable existing debt.
If you’re not sure where you stand, pre-qualifying can show your potential rates and help you see whether SoFi is likely to be a fit—before you commit to a full application.
- Minimum credit score: 640
- Minimum income: Undisclosed by lender.
- Debt-to-Income ratio maximum: Undisclosed by lender.
- Allow applicants with bankruptcies to apply: Undisclosed by lender.
- Average credit score for approved borrowers or co-signers: Undisclosed by lender.
- Average Income of approved borrowers or co-signers: Undisclosed by lender.
Location, citizenship and education criteria:
- Citizenship requirements: Must be a United States citizen, or permanent resident with more than two years until their status expires or have filed an extension, or non-permanent resident alien.
- Location restrictions: Available in all 50 states, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Graduation criteria: Borrowers must have graduated from a Title IV–accredited program. SoFi doesn’t refinance loans still being used for ongoing education.
- School criteria: Borrowers must have attended an eligible, Title IV–accredited school.
- Percentage of borrowers with a co-signer: Undisclosed by lender.
- Other restrictions: N/A
Friendly Finly Advice
SoFi, and other refinance lenders, may have additional criteria they may use to determine eligibility for potential borrowers. Always check the lender’s website and reach out to them to confirm or inquire about criteria.
Repayment, deferment, forbearance and discharge options
We reached out to SoFi for more detail on the types of repayment structures it offers, such as interest-only or partial payment options, but did not receive a response in time for this review.
Based on publicly available information, SoFi’s refinance loans are structured around standard full amortizing payments, meaning each monthly payment covers both principal and interest from the start of repayment.
Borrowers can still choose from multiple term lengths and fixed or variable rates, which allows some flexibility in setting a monthly payment that fits their budget, even though alternative repayment structures are not clearly disclosed.
- Allows greater than minimum payments autopay: Yes
- Offers bi-weekly payments via autopay: No
- Academic: Yes. Available for borrowers who return to graduate school on a half or full-time basis.
- Disability: Applies to borrowers in an approved full-time disability rehabilitation program.
- Active duty military: Yes. Eligible for borrowers serving during a war, military operation, national emergency, or qualifying National Guard duty.
SoFi provides up to 12 months of unemployment protection in the form of forbearance over the life of the loan. This is offered in three month increments. Borrowers can also skip-a-payment if they need a break from payments due to a temporary hardship. SoFi also offers natural disaster forbearance.
- Death or disability discharge for borrower: Yes.
- Death or disability discharge for co-signer: No. If a co-signer dies, the student will be responsible for the balance on the loan.
- Co-signer release: No. A cosigner can only be removed if they pass away, or if you qualify to refinance your SoFi loan.
The SoFi Student Loan Refinance customer service experience
- Loan servicer: MOHELA and SoFi.
- Online chat support (Bot, live or both): SoFi’s chat support offers a 24/7 virtual assistant for initial questions and the option to reroute to a live chat support agent for more complex matters their website.
- Physical location or branch: No.
- In-house customer service representatives: Once loan repayment begins, you can contact your respective servicer for any questions or concerns.
- FAQ experience: Yes, SoFi answers over 45 questions regarding eligibility, the application process and repayment.
- Provides borrowers a representative who works with them throughout the entire repayment process: No.
- Offers a process for making and escalating complaints: Sofi encourages borrowers to call the main customer service number to discuss complaints and concerns.
- Has tools that allow applicants to calculate potential monthly payments: Yes, they have a refinance calculator and a loan recommendation quiz.
- Typical time from loan approval to funding: The funding process takes about 7 to 15 business days.
- SoFi’s track record with customers:
SoFi has a score of 4.2 out of five on Trustpilot, with over 10,000 reviews. The overall theme for experiences with the company were positive, with reviewers highlighting quick funding times, the convenience of managing loans through the company’s app and an efficient application process.
However, there were some reviews that discussed issues with making payments and customer service.
All Trustpilot reviews are not specific to SoFi’s student loan refinance product. They reflect interactions with many of SoFI’s other products.
SoFi has received 2,616 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) complaints over the last 12 months. Most complaints were closed with an explanation (about 91%), while a small portion resulted in monetary (7%) or non-monetary relief (1%), with less than 1% still in progress or receiving an untimely response.
Seventy-nine complaints, only 3%, are related to SoFi’s student loan services. Some problems referenced include issues with how payments are handled and miscommunication about loan product information. Out of the 79 complaints, four were closed with monetary relief, two closed with non-monetary relief and all the rest closed with explanation.
Perks and Benefits
SoFi offers various benefits to borrowers who join their SoFi Plus membership. Individuals must have or open up a SoFi checking and savings account, and set up qualifying direct deposits to the accounts or sign up for a $10 monthly subscription to enroll in SoFi Plus.
Borrowers who join SoFi Plus can access exclusive rate discounts, higher yields on checking and savings accounts, and complimentary sessions with certified financial planners. Borrowers must enroll in SoFi Plus within 30 days of loan funding to receive the 0.125% student loan refinance rate discount.
Members also earn reward points through the SoFi Member Rewards program for actions like making on-time payments, referring friends, or monitoring their credit activity. Points can be redeemed toward loan payments, investments, or other SoFi products.
SoFi also provides financial planning to help members improve their financial health.
While SoFi provides various perks through SoFi Plus, borrowers have to weigh if benefits like student loan refinance rate discounts outweigh the potential costs of opening a SoFi Checking and Savings account or paying a monthly subscription.
Related: Student Loan Refinancing Bonus: What It Is and How to Compare Offers
Promotional offers
SoFi offers a $1,000 bonus for medical and dental student loan refinancing borrowers when you refer a friend to refinance their student loan or take out an eligible loan using your unique referral link. You don’t need to be a current borrower to participate, but both you and your referral must meet SoFi’s eligibility requirements to qualify for the reward. Additional terms, conditions, and restrictions apply, and offer amounts may vary based on the product and time of promotion.
Borrowers have a $10,000 cap on referral bonuses each calendar year.
Borrowers can also receive a 0.25% interest rate reduction by enrolling in AutoPay. This discount applies when you authorize automatic payments from a linked checking or savings account. AutoPay discounts can save you money over time, and help you pay off your loan faster.
Even if SoFi has competitive rates, compare multiple refinance lenders before committing to a loan. Prequalifying and comparing lenders is the best way to ensure you’re getting the lowest possible rate and most affordable repayment plan for your budget.
How to apply for student loan refinancing with SoFI
- Prequalify online. Start by filling out SoFi’s short prequalification form with details about your income, employment, education and existing loans. This step uses a soft credit check, so it won’t affect your credit score.
- Review your rate offers. If you qualify, you’ll see estimated fixed and variable rate options along with available repayment terms. This helps you compare potential monthly payments before committing.
- Complete the full application. Choose the offer you want and submit a full application. You may need to upload documents to verify your income, identity or loan details. This step includes a hard credit check.
- Sign your loan agreement. Once approved, you’ll review the final terms and electronically sign your refinance loan documents.
SoFi pays off your existing loans. After your loan is finalized, SoFi sends payments directly to your current lenders. Your old loans are paid off, and you’ll begin making one monthly payment to SoFi under your new rate and term.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. SoFi is a well-established online lender founded in 2011. It was the first company to refinance federal and private student loans. While it does have a 4.2 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot, always do your research to see if SoFi’s features, terms and rates are a fit for your financial situation.
SoFi is a strong option for borrowers with good to excellent credit who want competitive rates, no fees and member perks like career coaching and financial planning. However, it may not be the best fit for those who need co-signer release or have fair credit.
No, SoFi does not offer federal student loans. It’s a private lender that provides private student loans for undergraduate and graduate borrowers, and refinancing options for existing federal and private loans.
Sofi is both a bank and an online lender.
Methodology
Making finance more human through transparent rating methodologies…
Finly reviews student loan refinance lenders using a transparent, borrower-first methodology built around real financial outcomes. We evaluate lenders across six weighted categories—including cost, protections, flexibility and accessibility—using a structured scoring model grounded in what matters most to borrowers.
Our ratings are developed independently and regularly updated to reflect current rates, terms and lender policies, helping you compare options with clarity and confidence. Take a look at our Methodology page for an even more in-depth view of our scoring process.