According to FORBES the Peer to Peer lending (P2P market) is growing rapidly and it is a great fixed income for investors. P2P investments also have low volatility and a low correlation compared to the stock market.
Interest rates are at all-time lows and the normal historically “safe” investments are not as good as it used to be. Investing in P2P loans is a no-brainer 2020.
Below, I list the best peer to peer sites today for investors. You will have a quick overview of the average rate, my view of the sites and other important metrics for the platforms.
Under this list of P2P platforms I will answer the most important topics around how P2P lending work and give you some advice.
Quick overview of P2P sites
| Company | Avg. return % | Funded | Min. invest. | Raised | Investors | Buy back | Auto invest | Bonus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
11,99 % | 2015 | €10 | €5 100 000 231 | 280 472 | Yes | Yes | 0,5 % | |
 |
11,88 % | 2014 | €50 | €190 210 179 | 44 686 | No | Yes | 0,5% | |
 |
13,01 % | 2017 | €10 | €231 506 000 | +20 000 | Yes | Yes | 1 % | |
 |
17,2 % | 2014 | €100 | €89 002 010 | 46 195 | No | Yes | No | |
 |
12 % | 2017 | €10 | €138 372 884 | +20 000 | Yes | Yes | No | |
 |
16,80 % | 2015 | €10 | €49 344 509 | 10 734 | Yes | Yes | €25 Sign up | |
 |
6,00 % | 2015 | €1000 | €29 718 671 | 2 750 | No | No | €25 Sign up | |
 |
10,4 % | 2017 | €50 | €22 020 999 | 5 137 | No | Yes | 5% 30 days | |
 |
13 % | 2015 | €1 | €55 000 000 | 41 000 | Yes | Yes | No | |
 |
14,60 % | 2018 | €100 | €12 000 000 | – | No | No | No | |
 |
14,64 % | 2016 | €50 | – | 14 542 | No | Yes | No | |
 |
15,4 % | 2018 | €50 | €32 000 000 | 11 950 | Yes | No | No |
More information on the best Peer to Peer sites today
| Mintos launched 2015 and is now the world’s largest when it comes to P2P investments and Multi lending platforms. Here you can invest your money and get an average return of 12,4 %. They also offer a great buyback guarantee. Just create an account at Mintos to see the loans you can invest in. Minimum investment is only € 10 per loan. |
| AVERAGE RETURN: 12,03 % | TOTAL INVESTED: € 5 150 543 436 |
| NUMBER OF INVESTORS: 286 116 | LOANS AVAILABLE: +300 000 |
| BONUS: 0.5 % | READ MY MINTOS REVIEW |
| BUY BACK GUARANTEE: YES | Loan Originators: 65 |
 TrustScore 4.4 |
 | As of 31 march 2020, Grupeer has shut down most activities. It looks like they are making an exit and blaming the Corona pandemic. This looks bad right now, Do not invest in Grupeer! We will have to follow the outcome of this. I will update in the review when new things come to light. |
| AVERAGE RETURN: 13,32 % | TOTAL INVESTED: € 31 917 897 |
| NUMBER OF INVESTORS: 16 997 | INVESTORS FROM 86 COUNTRIES |
| BONUS: ON SPECIAL PROJECTS | READ MY GRUPEER REVIEW |
| BUY BACK GUARANTEE: YES | |
 TrustScore 4.0 |
| Bulkestate is a little different from other P2P sites. They focus on Real Estate development and re-developments projects together with Group buying deals for homes. This last thing is unique since it gives you option to buy apartments for a bulk price. When they list a whole apartment building for sale many buyers can go in and buy the apartment they want for a better price then if it was listed as only one apartment not the whole building. |
| AVERAGE RETURN: 15,2% | AVERGE LOAN TERM: 12 months |
| INVESTMENTS: 14 503 | OPERATING SINCE: 2016 |
| OFFER P2P LOANS APARTMENT DEALS | REGISTERED IN ESTONIA |
| SECURED LOANS VIA ESTATE MORTGAGE | |
| TrustScore 3.7 |
| Crowdestate goes for projects that is baked with real estate to keep things simple. This is a good security when doing an investment for both themselves and the investors. They have a good track record since they only approve around 5% of the projects that gets a green light to be listed at the platform. |
| AVERAGE RETURN: 17,9% | INVESTED: € 75 000 000 |
| NUMBER OF INVESTORS: 35 000 | FOUNDED: 2014 |
| AUTO INVEST: YES | INVESTORS FROM 108 COUNTRIES |
| BUY BACK GUARANTEE: NO | SECONDARY MARKET: YES |
| TrustScore 3.6 |
| Crowdestor is a platform with P2P loans targeted to companies and Real estate developments. They don’t handle private P2P loans as of now. Projects listed in the last months have been at between 11-16% which is good compared to other platforms. |
| AVERAGE RETURN: 14% | LAUNCHED: 2018 |
| PROJECT RANGE: € 20 000 to € 1 000 000 | INVESTORS FROM EUROPE |
| AUTO INVEST: NO | REGISTERD IN RIGA |
| BUY BACK FUND STARTED IN 2019 | READ MY CROWDESTOR REVIEW |
| TrustScore 4.1 |
| Estateguru is one of the biggest platform that is focusing on Real estate projects since it has a good security connected to these loans. They have an interest rate for investors that is in the middel of the playground of P2P platforms at 12% average today. |
| AVERAGE RETURN: 12% | INVESTED: € 190 000 000 |
| NUMBER OF INVESTORS: 44 000 | BUY BACK: NO BUT WITH SESURITY AS COLLATERAL |
| INTEREST PAID OUT: € 13 000 000 | SECONDARY MARKET: YES |
| AUTO INVEST:YES | READ MY ESTATEGURU REVIEW |
 TrustScore 3.2 |
 | Robocash started their p2P platform in Europe 2017 and is owned by the the Robocash group. They operate in EU and Asia and the company started in Russia 2013. Robocash focus on private consumer lending with buyback guarantee. |
| AVERAGE RETURN: 12 % | LAUNCHED: 2017 |
| INVESTED: € 51 000 000+ | INVESTORS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD |
| NUMBER OF INVESTORS: + 8500 | ISSUED LOANS: € 4 000 000 + |
| BUY BACK GUARANTEE: YES | |
| TrustScore 4.0 |
| Neo Finance is aP2P platform from Lithuania. They have been in the market for a few years now and handles consumer loans in Europe. It’s an easy website to navigate and they have a lot of information and transparency on the platform which is good to see. interest rates for different loans can range between 5% up to 25% |
| AVERAGE RETURN: 13% | INVESTED AMOUNT: € 40 000 000 |
| NUMBER OF INVESTORS: 8300 | INTEREST RECIVED: € 5 000 000+ |
| AUTO INVEST: YES | OPERATES FROM LITHUANIA |
| BUY BACK GUARANTEE: YES | SECONDARY MARKET: YES |
| TrustScore 4.2 |
How P2P lending works
P2P lending or Peer to Peer lending like it’s called has been growing fast over the last 10 years. These P2P platforms works like a marketplace where they match investors with borrowers looking for either a private or business loan. In some platforms, the platform itself is the one making the credit assessment of the borrower before its approved like it is on Crowdestor. At Crowdestor they only present loans towards companies they vetted and see that the projects have a good chance of being profitable.
In other platforms they work together with other credit companies ( loan originators ) that does this before they post the loans on these platforms, like you have on Mintos that is one of the biggest sites in P2P for private loans in EU. The Loan originators goes through a checklist at the platforms so they can see that everything is going okay and that they keep to the criterias set by the platform to be able to post loans for the investors.
This is a new way for both private persons and companies to borrow money in other ways than from a bank or a close friend. Instead of lending it through a bank which is the common way and sometimes wont let you borrow, these crowdfunding and peer to peer lending sites can give you the loan.
And for you as an investor you’re able to get the interest on interest effect that is much higher than what you would get from your normal savings account. This would add up to a big difference over a few years which is great.
Which is the best P2P Platform?
There is no good answer to this because it all depends on what you are looking for.
I could say the best P2P platforms is the biggest once but that might not be true for your own criteria. Usually the biggest platforms will have the safetynet of being well known and also operating for a good time which is showing stability. On the other hand these platforms might have lower interest rates for investors then smaller platforms that also is doing good. Or they just have another focus area like private or company loans. All these P2P platforms I have listed on this page are good choices for now since the industry is growing and all of them are showing good numbers and gains.
A good example is the difference between the platforms of Mintos and Crowdestor.
Mintos with a huge platform in EU with average interest on 12-13% for EU loans with buyback safety. They have huge amount of loans to invest in and many different types of loans like private loans, short term loans and many more categories.
Crowdestor is a smaller platform that only focus on bigger loans towards companies and projects. There average interest rates for investors is at 16% sometimes also over 20%. They post around 5-10 projects every month so not even close to Mintos that have hundreds of thousands of loans in. Since they have two different approaches to their concepts and loans this is understandable.
How to start with P2P lending?
This is very easy at most of the P2P platforms. You sign up to their platforms through some simple steps filling in name, address, number, email and so on. Then you have to activate it through an email you get.
It’s only two things left before you can start investing. Making a deposit which usually is through bank transfer and when the money is on the platform you have to pick the loans you want to invest in. You are now live and earning interest 🙂
I would recommend to send in the verification documents they ask for at the peer to peer lending platforms. This is usually proof of address and passport so that you have everything finished for the day you want to make a withdrawal. This is something every platform has because of the money laundry laws in EU.
Do you have to pay TAX on P2P income?
Interest recived and profits from Peer to Peer lending is considered as normal income in most countries today in EU. If you do it as a private person or Company doesn’t matter but there can be some differences depending on which countries you pay taxes to in these 2 options. It’s always good to contact an accountant to check the rules around this for your country.
How will you know what tax to pay?
Almost all P2P platforms have a section in your account where you can download the numbers and tax rapport for the period you need and from that rapport you will see how much you earned and on what sum you should pay taxes on. This documents is usually very simple but understandable so most people can read them and know what to do.
Some countries even let you earn up to a certain amount before you will need to pay any tax on the gains you made from P2P lending. So it’s important to check this out yourself where you live so you get it correct.
The tax can be from 0% up to your normal income taxation depending on where you live and what you earn.
I moved to Cyprus some time ago and since I’m an EU citizen I can make these investments privately and get down to 0% tax on the earnings for the first 17 years. Other countries like Portugal have a similar system if your from EU and moved there. Portugal lets you off with 0% tax on capital income made outside Portugal for the first 10 years.
Then we have other countries like the UK. I heard that depending on how much your earning you can have to pay up to 45% in taxes on this income depending on what your earnings are per year.
Most of the countries tax the income from P2P like normal income and percentages, it’s like any other investment you make.
So you see It all depends on your situation and where you live.
Become the “Bank”
With Peer to Peer lending if you are an investor not a borrower, you can be like a “bank” and collect interest from the loans you invest in through these platforms. People and companies can jump in and take the risk involved and get the rewards if everything goes as planned.
Most platforms also have some extra layers of protection for you as an investor. Some platforms offer Buyback option where if the borrowers don’t pay in time the platforms or the loan originators will step in to buy the loan back for you with the interest up to the day its bought back. This puts the risk on the Loan originator or Platforms so you don’t have to worry about every single borrower. The buyback protection can be different on these platforms so always check it before so you know.
Diversify through more than one platform
When investing in anything, it’s good to spread it out on more than one platform and investment type. Having all the money in one basket is never optimal for any investor so to spread the risk between atleast 2-3 platforms would be smart. This is not so important if you already are invested in other things like stocks, real estate, gold and want to test P2P out.
Same goes for what you invest in on the platforms. try and pick different borrowers and also type of loans like towards property, some in company loans and also some private loans. It’s better with many small loans in different categories than all the money in one loan.
Is Peer to Peer lending safe?
P2P lending is something that is getting more and more attraction these days. We have new platforms opening almost every month. These P2P lending platforms usually work together with Loan originators ( credit institutes) that have to follow certain criteria so that the loans can be posted for investors to participate in.
I would say P2P lending comes with a small risk depending on how you pick the loans you invest in. But there is still always a risk involved when investing money in anything, this is important to remember. If you invest in P2P platform in Europe they all have to follow EU laws and AML ( Anti Money Laundering) criterias so that part is as safe it can be.
How to minimize the risk with Peer to Peer lending ?
First do your own research before investing in one of the P2P platforms. Is it a well known platform? Can you find others that have made reviews and showing results over a period of time? These things are good to know before jumping in as an investor.
* Try and see if you can find out how the platform is doing financially with yearly reports and so on. Also Trustpilot can be a good place to read quick reviews and what people think of them.. Check for bloggers and others in the P2P community what they say, this is a good way to find out how they do it and what to expect.
When you invest at these platforms always try and go for loans with some kind of Buyback guarantee so that the risk gets taken away from the single borrower and is on the Loan originators and platforms.
* People can for some reason not pay their loans sometimes, so now you don’t have to think about the individual. Better to trust that the Platform or Loan originators have money.
Don’t put all the money in one loan / loan originator or Platform to minimize the risk further.
Example: If you have 1000 Euro you want to invest. To be safer don’t put all 1000 Euro in one loan / loan originator or Platform if you dont want to take that risk ofc.
* I would have invested 20 Euros in 50 different loans spread over many different loan originators or platforms so that if one of the loan originators goes out of business and cant fullfill the buyback guarantee it will not effect you so negatively. The same goes for if one platform for any reason goes bust.
How P2P platforms make their money?
These Peer to peer lending platforms is like a middleman that takes a cut on top of the interest you are paid. In most cases, the platforms can take a fee from the company or person that wants to post loans to be funded in on their platform to start with. Then they will also have a higher interest rate to the borrower then the interest you are given as an investor so they get a small cut there too.
Example:
You find a loan on one P2P platform to invest in that will give you 13% interest over a 1 year period. Then the cost for the borrower is usually 1-10% higher than this and that will go straight to the platform and loan originators to cover expenses and other things while you still get your 13%.
After Envestio you understand that the greatest risk does not come from who finances, but from the platform, which can disappear with your euros. € 4800 gone. Nobody controls anything
Yeah this thing that has happened to the platforms of Kuetzal in December and Envestio now in January is not good at all. The problem is that there will always be some companies and people trying to scam people. This is also a reason why investing any money in anything will have a risk to it, like I always specify. If it’s the borrower not paying, the platform going bust or even if its a scam like these two platforms. With regulations coming in the future this will help to prevent it to some degree.