Bondora review
7.5
(our review)
Bondora offers loans to consumers and is one of the oldest peer-to-peer platforms in Europe. Their Go & Grow fund automatically spreads the risk. The team of Investment Platforms.EU has been active on Bondora for years. In our latest review, we gave the p2p platform a score of 7,5.
Content:
Note: online investing through Bondora carries risks, and you may lose (a part of) your investment
What characterizes Bondora
Active since 2007, Bondora is one of Europe’s oldest and largest p2p platforms. It is based in Estonia, with 70 percent of loan applications originating in its home country in 2020. As of mid-2025, the platform has issued over 1.5 billion euros in loans. It claims to have been profitable since 2016.
A typical feature of Bondora is the Go & Grow fund, which offers a fixed return. The platform is also known for the cartoon characters used on its website and in its branding. These figures, visible on the homepage, look like Elsa and Anna from the Disney movie Frozen, but dressed in racing or astronaut suits.
Bondora is often compared to other large peer-to-peer platforms like Mintos and PeerBerry and Debitum.
Invest via Mintos, with 11.62% average return, or Debitum focused on business loans. Both are MiFID-licensed and top-rated by Investmentplatforms.eu. Investing involves risks. You may lose your investment.
Bondora in numbers
P2p lending is mainly known for its sometimes high interest rates. When Bondora started, investors could choose individual loans, with an average interest rate of 24 percent at that time. Now, it only offers a fund with a fixed return of around 6 percent.
This may seem like a big drop, but investing in peer-to-peer loans can involve major risks. Even in the early years when our editorial team invested with Bondora, the net return was not much higher than the current results.
The average interest rate is around 6 percent.
Offerings: p2p loans
When you invest in Bondora’s Go & Grow, you lend money to consumers. These people often cannot get a good loan in their own country. This may be due to a lack of competition between lenders, a weak economy, or because the financial system is not well developed.
At Bondora, you do not select individual loans yourself. That was possible in the past, but even then it was not popular. Already 92 percent of investors chose Go & Grow. This makes Bondora different from many other p2p platforms. The expected return is about 6 percent per year. This is only an estimate, not a fixed interest rate like a savings account. There is risk involved. Bondora may change the interest rate, pause payouts, or pass on losses.
The platform offers a fixed return of 6 percent per year.
Bondora usability
Bondora is available in several languages. In addition to English we tested German and Dutch, though the translations can sometimes seem a bit artificial. At Investmentplatforms.eu, we find the English texts slightly better, but the choice is yours.
In terms of usability, Bondora is user-friendly because the Go & Grow program offers only one product. One advantage of the fund is that you receive daily interest and are not tied to fixed terms, which is usually the case with peer-to-peer investments or crowdfunding. The platform does state in its terms that withdrawals depend on supply and demand, but we have been investing for years and our withdrawals have always been processed quickly.
No individual loans or secondary market
Previously the platform also offered the option to invest in individual loans and had a secondary market for that. The secondary market was never a good idea, and both are no longer active.
Bondora in Europe
European users have been able to invest via Bondora since early 2019, now available in 24 languages. Within Europe, the platform mainly attracts investors from the UK and Germany. Most loans originators are from Estonia, Finland, and Spain.
Customer Service in English
Customer service is somewhat limited, offering only email support in English or German. During our review, we asked questions at various times, and responses could take a while during busy periods.
Fees
Investors pay 1 euro per withdrawal. Borrowers cover Bondora’s fees. There are no fees for account setup, and the platform does not charge management fees.
Reliability and Risks
Bondora was founded in 2007, making it almost 20 years old. Over the years, it has become a reliable and profitable platform.
Compared to (deposit) savings, Bondora offers a good return, but it is not a bank and does not fall under the deposit guarantee scheme. Returns on the platform are not guaranteed, and certain terms apply to the rates advertised in the Go & Grow program.
Compared to other p2p platforms, Bondora is one of the more reliable. Since March 21, 2016, Bondora AS has a credit license from the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA), the main regulatory body in Estonia. KPMG Estonia, based in Tallinn, provides audit services for Bondora. Erki Mägi from AS PricewaterhouseCoopers in Tallinn is responsible for Bondora’s internal audit reporting, ensuring thorough oversight.
Review Score: 7,5
In our latest review, we gave Bondora a score of 7,5. The fixed return makes Bondora attractive for people who want to invest passively and earn more than on a savings account. The interest rate from Go & Grow is slightly lower than on other p2p or crowdfunding platforms, but those usually have fixed terms.
With Bondora, you earn interest daily and can withdraw your money at any time. This is useful if you are not sure how long you can miss your money. The return is stable, but it is still an investment. There is risk. The interest rate may go down, withdrawals can be paused, and the platform may pass on losses to you.
