Lantern Credit

What Lantern Credit does

Lantern Credit, LLC is a financial product comparison marketplace operating as "Lantern by SoFi." The platform enables consumers and small business owners to search, compare, and apply for personal loans, auto loan refinancing, mortgages, student loan refinancing, credit cards, small business loans, and savings accounts through a single application, with rate checks performed via a soft credit pull that does not impact the user's credit score. The site is owned and operated by SoFi Lending Corp (a Social Finance, Inc. subsidiary, NMLS 1121636) in cooperation with Engine by MoneyLion, which processes loan applications and distributes them across a network of 75+ lenders and product providers. Underlying technology consists of a consumer-facing web marketplace integrated with Engine by MoneyLion's application-processing and lender-routing infrastructure, supplemented by editorial content (Lantern Learn), lender reviews, financial calculators, and a free credit-score monitoring module (SoFi Insights) tied to the parent SoFi ecosystem.

Name

Lantern Credit

Legal name

Social Finance, Inc.

Website

https://lanterncredit.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lantern Credit (Lantern by SoFi) is a financial product comparison marketplace that lets consumers and small businesses search, compare, and apply for loans, credit cards, mortgages, and savings products across a network of 75+ lenders, operated by SoFi with Engine by MoneyLion.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Lending Marketplace

NAICS

Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (52231)

SIC

Loan Brokers (6163)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail Credit (Closed-End) & Promotional Financing (0%/Deferred Interest) (FSAKAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Credit Cards & Revolving Credit (FSABAAAC)

Keywords

• Loan comparison marketplace
• Financial product referral
• Consumer lending platform
• Lender matching service
• Credit marketplace

Headquarters

HQ city

Newport Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Affiliate/Marketing Referral Fees: Lantern receives compensation from lenders and financial product providers when users obtain loans, financial products, or services through the Lantern marketplace. This is a performance-based marketing arrangement where providers pay for customer referrals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Lantern Credit operates a free consumer-facing financial product comparison marketplace ("Lantern by SoFi") that aggregates loan, credit card, mortgage, and deposit offerings from multiple third-party lenders. Users submit a single application to receive personalized rate offers via a soft credit pull, and Lantern is compensated through referral and marketing fees paid by lender partners. The platform is owned by SoFi and operated in cooperation with Engine by MoneyLion, which handles application processing and lender matching.

Product overview

Lantern by SoFi is a financial product comparison marketplace/platform operated by SoFi Lending Corp. in cooperation with Engine by MoneyLion. The platform aggregates and compares financial products from multiple lenders, functioning as a consumer-facing marketplace where users can search, compare, and apply for various financial products with a single application. The core product portfolio includes Personal Loans, Auto Loan Refinancing, Mortgages, Small Business Loans, Credit Cards, Student Loan Refinancing, and Savings Accounts. These products are connected through a unified search-and-compare workflow where users input their financial details once to receive personalized loan options from multiple lenders. The platform is supplemented by educational content (Learn section), lender reviews, free credit score monitoring (SoFi Insights), and financial calculators. Lantern Credit does not originate loans directly but connects consumers with third-party lenders including SoFi, LendingClub, Rocket Loans, LendingPoint, Best Egg, Avant, and others through its marketplace.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lantern by SoFi Marketplace Free online marketplace where consumers search, compare, and apply for personal loans, auto refinance, mortgages, credit cards, student loan refinance, small business loans, and savings accounts from a network of third-party lenders using a single application and soft credit pull.
• Personal Loans Comparison Comparison and matching of unsecured and secured personal loans from multiple lenders, with loan amounts ranging from $1,000 to $100,000 for debt consolidation, home improvement, medical costs, car purchases, and other consumer needs.
• Auto Loan Refinancing Comparison Comparison marketplace for auto loan refinancing offers from lenders such as Caribou and AUTOPAY, enabling consumers to compare current loan rates against refinancing options to potentially lower payments or interest rates.
• Mortgage Comparison Comparison marketplace for home loan products including conventional, VA, FHA, and jumbo mortgages, with a single application to compare rates from multiple lenders.
• Small Business Loans Comparison Comparison platform for small business financing including SBA loans, term loans, lines of credit, equipment financing, invoice financing, merchant cash advances, and startup loans from 75+ lender partners, with offers ranging from $1,000 to $5 million.
• Credit Card Comparison Comparison marketplace for credit-building and general-purpose credit cards from issuers including Current, Self, Chime, CreditStrong, and Kovo, with filtering by credit score, rewards, and card features.
• Student Loan Refinancing Comparison Comparison platform for refinancing private and federal student loans from lenders including SoFi, Earnest, LendKey, and Splash Financial, allowing borrowers to compare rates and terms.

Quantifiable outcome

• Helpped hundreds of thousands of users compare rates and find financial products

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Engine by MoneyLioncoreTechnology or IntegrationEngine by MoneyLion operates the Lantern site in cooperation with SoFi Lending Corp. Engine processes loan inquiries, delivers user information to its network of lenders/partners, and handles the application matching and fulfillment technology for personal loans and other financial products.
• Multiple Personal Loan Lenders (LendingClub, Rocket Loans, SoFi, LendingPoint, Best Egg, Avant, Achieve Personal Loans, OneMain, Upgrade, Prosper, Universal Credit, Reach Financial, Reprise Financial)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerThese lenders pay SoFi and Engine by MoneyLion compensation for marketing their products and services on the Lantern site. They provide loan options ranging from $1,000 to $100,000 for various credit profiles.
• Small Business Lenders (iBusiness Funding, OnDeck, Lendio, Biz2Credit, Fundera)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerThese lenders provide small business financing options featured on Lantern's SMB marketplace. Products include term loans, SBA loans, lines of credit, equipment financing, and revenue-based financing ranging from $1,000 to $5 million.
• Auto Refinance Lenders (Caribou, AUTOPAY)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCaribou and AUTOPAY pay SoFi compensation for marketing their auto loan refinancing products on the Lantern site. They offer refinancing options for consumers looking to lower their car loan rates or payments.
• Student Loan Refinance Lenders (LendKey, SoFi, Earnest, Splash Financial)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerThese lenders compensate SoFi and Engine by MoneyLion for marketing student loan refinancing products. They offer options to refinance federal and private student loans with competitive rates and various term lengths.
• Credit Card Issuers (Current, Self, Chime, CreditStrong, Kovo)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerThese credit-building card issuers provide secured and credit-builder cards featured on Lantern's credit card comparison section. Products target consumers looking to build or rebuild credit.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• LendingTree: LendingTree is the largest US consumer loan comparison marketplace, connecting borrowers with multiple lenders across personal loans, mortgages, auto, student, and SMB loans — a direct functional peer to Lantern's marketplace model.
• Credit Karma: Credit Karma (owned by Intuit) is a free consumer finance platform that aggregates credit cards, loans, and insurance offers from multiple providers — directly comparable to Lantern's multi-product comparison marketplace, with deeper brand and SEO authority.
• NerdWallet: NerdWallet operates a content-driven financial comparison platform for credit cards, loans, banking, and investing products — competing with Lantern for the same organic search-driven comparison shopper.
• Bankrate: Bankrate (owned by Red Ventures) compares mortgages, credit cards, banking, and loans from multiple providers, monetizing via referral fees — directly comparable to Lantern's marketplace economics.
• Credible: Credible operates a multi-lender marketplace specializing in student loan refinancing, personal loans, and mortgages — overlapping with Lantern's student refi, personal loan, and mortgage verticals.
• Finder.com: Finder is a global financial product comparison platform that aggregates credit cards, loans, and banking products from multiple providers — a content-led comparison peer to Lantern's marketplace.
• WalletHub: WalletHub provides free credit scores and financial product comparisons across credit cards, loans, and banking products — competing for the same credit-conscious comparison shopper as Lantern.
• Lendio: Lendio operates a small business loan marketplace connecting borrowers with 75+ lenders — directly comparable to Lantern's SMB lending vertical, and one of its featured lender partners.

Emerging players

• MoneyLion: MoneyLion operates the Engine platform that powers Lantern's backend; it also runs its own consumer lending, banking, and investing products — adjacent competitor that is simultaneously Lantern's technology partner.

Broad incumbents

• SoFi: SoFi is the parent company of Lantern and operates a broader direct-to-consumer platform for lending, banking, and investing — competing with the same lenders featured on Lantern's marketplace.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sofi
• Xx.com/lanterncredit

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lantern Credit