By : 
Mr Credit Card
Mr Credit CardTwo Well-Known Credit Builder Loan with Slight Differences
Self has both a credit builder loan and a secured credit card and allow you to use part of your savings in your credit builder loan to fund the security deposit in the secured credit card (if you choose to get one).
In this comparison, we will looking at Self and SeedFi in greater detail and see which is the better credit builder loan.
The Basics
SeedFi Credit Builder Prime Basics
The SeedFi Credit Builder Prime is a credit builder loan that does not charge any interest rate (yes, that means the APR is 0%) and also has no maturity. Instead, SeedFi lets you access your cash once you have saved up $500. You can then choose to end it or continue to save for the next $500. There are no credit checks and you will benefit from them reporting to the three major credit bureaus.When you sign up for SeedFi, you will technically open a SeedFi Savings Account and SeedFi will also open an unsecured revolving line of credit for you. Just before you get paid every month, SeedFi will take money from the unsecured credit line and pay it to your savings account (as little as $10). Once you get paid, you can then pay back SeedFi. You can and should also set up autopay to make the whole process seamless.
Self Basics
The Self Credit Builder allow you to choose 4 payment plans. The maturities of each plan is either 12 or 24 months. In addition to the credit builder loan, Self also has a secured credit card. You get get the secured credit card once you have saved up at least $100 and have made a minimum of three $25 monthly payments. The $100 that you have saved up can be used for the security deposit of the Self secured credit card. If you want to have a larger security deposit, then you just simply have to wait until you saved that amount. Both the Self credit builder loan and secured credit card does not perform any credit checks or hard inquiry. Below is a table highlighting their four payment plans.| Program | Installment Amount | Maturity | Payment Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self | $520 | 24 Months | $25/month |
| Self | $724 | 24 Months | $35/month |
| Self | $539 | 12 Months | $48/month |
| Self | $1,663 | 12 Months | $150/month |
Similarities
- No Credit Checks - Both Self and SeedFi Credit Builder Prime do not check your credit when you apply so you will definitely be approved.
- Reports to credit bureaus - Both report to all three major credit bureaus.
Differences
- Interest Charges - The major difference between the two is that SeedFi Credit Builder Prime program does not charge any interest on their credit builder loan whereas Self Lender does.
- Self also has secured credit card - The other major difference is that Self also has a secured credit card in addition to their credit builder loan. Those with the Self Credit Builder Loan can use their savings to fund the security deposit in the Self secured credit card if they wish to get it. The minimum security deposit needed is $100.
- Different payment plans - While both SeedFi and Self allow you to choose the monthly paymen plan, SeedFi requires you to save up to $500 before you can cash out. Hence, the term maturity of SeedFi depends on the amount of payment you choose. In contrast, while you get to choose the monthly payment amount on Self, the term maturities are fixed at either 12 or 24 months and the loan amount varies.
Which is Better
However, Self also has a secured credit carrd and you can use part of your savings in your Self credit builder account as a security deposit once you have saved at least $100. Hence, Self would be more suited for those of you who want to get a secured credit card but need to save for the security deposit. If this describes you, then Self offers a seamless process for this.
If you are just looking at a credit builder simply to diversify your credit mix, then SeedFi would be the obvious choice because the do not charge any interest.
To sum up, simply from a cost perspective, SeedFi is better than Self because the APR is 0% for their credit builder loan. However, if you are looking to save for a security deposit in a secured credit card, then Self offers a seamless process with both their credit builder loan and secured credit cards and is a better alternative.