Top P2P lending platforms compared

About Top P2P lending platforms compared

Peer to peer platforms pool money into business loans and invoices, then pay investors a share of the interest. This ranking covers 51 of them, from euro based operators to platforms that lend in a single market, so the same model can be compared under very different rules. The main trade-off is entry cost against the safety of the money. A low minimum investment makes a platform easy to try, but a platform with no buyback guarantee leaves a defaulted loan with the lender, and no secondary market means waiting for a loan to finish rather than selling it. Supervision matters just as much: 26 of the 51 brands here name a regulator. Returns come as platform target ranges rather than promises. The median target return in this category is 9.2%, entry points run €0 to €100,000, and 81.5% of the platforms do not offer a buyback guarantee. Support is worth checking, since a help centre appears on 81.4% of them.

How we picked

Every brand here is scored on three things, and the weights are fixed before any order is set. Trust carries the most at 40%, because a peer to peer platform is only as good as its regulation and its record on defaults. Cost weighs 35% and covers the published account and inactivity fees across the sites tracked on the site, where the median account fee is €0 and the median inactivity fee is €0, plus the minimum investment each platform asks for. The offer weighs 25%, covering target return ranges, buyback guarantees and secondary market access. Figures come from each platform's own material: help centre articles, investment pages, terms of use and legal notices, along with the regulators named there, plus the European banking authority register entry behind the Mintos legal entity and headquarters. Where a platform quotes a range, the whole range is kept rather than the flattering end. Partner platforms are listed first, then the rest in score order. A label such as top pick or highest target return is attached only where that brand holds the highest value on that measure in this list.

Our top picks

1. 3. Mintos: best for Top pick

   Mintos heads this ranking because it pairs a named legal entity, SIA Mintos Payments, registered with Latvijas Banka, with a secondary market and an entry point of €50 most of the field can reach. Founded in 2015 and based in LV, it quotes a target return of 9.2%, right on the median for this category. The secondary market does the heavy lifting for a lender who needs money back early, and few platforms below it in this ranking can match that. Nectaro, next in this ranking, quotes a higher band of 10% to 14% but keeps the same entry point. Against that, support runs on email, help centre and community, with no live chat or phone line.

   • Minimum deposit: €50
   • Account fee: €0
   • Inactivity fee: €4.90

   Pros

   • The account fee is €0, and Mintos ranks at 1 of 138 brands on that measure
   • Investing is commission-free, and the minimum investment is €50
   • A secondary market is available, so loans can be sold before they mature
   • The target return is 9.2%, and cash held earns an interest rate of 2.5%
   • Support runs through email, help centre and community

   Cons

   • Card deposits cost Free bank transfer withdrawal; 2% card deposits, so topping up is dearer than a bank transfer
   • An inactivity fee of €4.90 applies, against an inactivity fee position of 33 of 56
   • The minimum deposit of €50 sits far above a site minimum deposit median of €4.64
   • Markets listed are bonds, etfs and crypto, so there is no share dealing here

2. 4. IUVO

   IUVO lands in this ranking on the same economics as iuvoSAVE above it: an entry point of €10, a target return quoted as 5% to 15%, a secondary market for early exits, and a buyback guarantee of no. Founded in 2016, the operator is IUVO GROUP OÜ in EE, so the two entries are one platform listed twice. The support line differs, and that is where the case rests: email, phone and help centre covers email, phone and a help centre, but no live chat. Funding Societies, the next member in this ranking, names the Monetary Authority of Singapore as its regulator, which is a different supervisory footing again.

   • Target return: 5% to 15%
   • Minimum investment: €10
   • Buyback guarantee: No

   Pros

   • The minimum investment of €10 sits well under the peer-to-peer median of €50, putting IUVO at position 4 of 23 brands on this measure.
   • A target return of 5% to 15% is set out as a plain range, and its top end is above Mintos at 9.2%.
   • A secondary market is available, so a loan can be sold before the borrower finishes repaying rather than held to the end.
   • Support runs on email, phone and help centre, so a question can go out by email or by phone, with a help centre for written queries.
   • The platform has traded since 2016 under the legal entity IUVO GROUP OÜ, which gives a track record to judge.

   Cons

   • There is no buyback guarantee, so a loan that goes unpaid stays with the investor.
   • The target return of 5% to 15% is a wide range rather than a promised yield, and its top end is far below the 197.6% Afluenta states.
   • Contact options are limited to email, phone and help centre.

3. 5. iuvoSAVE

   iuvoSAVE earns its place in this ranking by dropping the entry point to €10, well under the median of €50 for the category, and by keeping a secondary market so a lender can exit before a loan matures. Support runs through email, chat and phone, adding a phone line that neither platform above it in this ranking lists, and the target return of 5% to 15% is quoted as a range rather than a single figure. Founded in 2016, the operator is IUVO GROUP OÜ in EE. The buyback guarantee is a no, as it is across most of this ranking. Afluenta, next in this ranking, quotes the highest target return here at 197.6% but starts at ARS 50,000.

   • Minimum deposit: €10
   • Account fee: €0
   • Deposit and withdrawal fees: 2 free withdrawals per month, then 1 EUR per withdrawal

4. P9. PeerBerry: best for PeerBerry

   European alternative investment marketplace for investing in loans, advertising returns of up to 10% p.a.

5. L10. Lonvest: best for Lonvest

   Lonvest is a p2p loan investing platform where investors can start from 50 euros and invest in loans from partner loan originators with an auto-invest feature.

What to look for

Entry point

The median minimum investment across the 51 platforms is €50, the lower quartile is €10 and the upper quartile is €375. Read the currency as carefully as the figure, since a modest entry point in a weak currency can still be a heavy commitment.

Regulator on the page

26 of the 51 platforms here publish a regulator, including Latvijas Banka, the Banco Central de la Republica Argentina, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Central Bank of Ireland. Supervision is what the trust weight of 40% is paying for, so a missing name costs more than a missing feature.

Buyback guarantee

Only 18.5% of the platforms in this category offer a buyback guarantee, against 81.5% that do not. A guarantee means a missed payment is bought back from the investor, and without one the default sits with the lender.

Secondary market

The field splits evenly at 52.2% and 47.8%, yet this decides whether money can leave early or has to wait for a loan to finish, which is a different question from whether a default is covered.

Target return against the median

The median target return is 9.2%, the lower quartile is 6.55% and the top of the field is 197.6%. Ranges are the norm, so a wide band tells you as much about the platform as its midpoint does.

Support channels

A help centre appears on 81.4% of the platforms and phone support on 69.8%, while a community channel is rare at 23.3%. Money tied to a loan is illiquid, so a route to a human is worth checking before you commit.

Frequently asked questions

Top P2P lending platforms compared by country

• Australia
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Italy
• Singapore
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV