Unsecured credit cards for bad credit exist, with no deposit required and real approvals down into the 400s. They charge fees where secured cards take deposits, and fees are not returned. This page covers every program in the category whose current terms we have verified against the issuers’ own documents — eleven cards — with the cost of each stated first. The short version: if you can fund any deposit, a secured card is usually cheaper, and within the no-deposit field, the fee gap between the cheapest and most expensive options is more than $150 a year.
The verified field, compared
| Card | Annual cost | Purchase APR | Rewards | How you apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tilt Motion | $0 | 29.24%–34.24% | 1%–10% select merchants | Open, soft prequalification |
| AvantCard | $0–$75 (website); up to $125 by mail | 29.99%–35.99% | Offer-dependent | Open, soft prequalification |
| Arro Card | Up to $60 | 24.99% starting | 1% gas & groceries | Open, no hard credit check |
| Prosper Card | $59 (waived year one with AutoPay) | 22.49%–33.99% | Merchant offers | Open, soft prequalification |
| Seen Mastercard | $0–$123 (account-specific) | 35.99% | None | Open prequalification or mail code |
| Tilt Engage | $59 | 29.24%–34.24% | 1%–10% select merchants | Open, soft prequalification |
| Perpay Card | ~$66–$108/yr in monthly fees + $9 opening | 27.74%–29.99% | 2% (marketplace credit only) | Open, no credit check — paycheck link required |
| Milestone Mastercard | $175 year one, ~$199 after | 35.9% | None | Open |
| Indigo Mastercard | $175 year one, ~$199 after | 35.9% | None | Open |
| OneMain BrightWay | $0–$89 | 33.99% or 35.99% | 1%–1.5% | Offer code required |
| Mercury Mastercard | Offer-specific | 25.99%–35.99% (sample) | Offer-specific | Invitation only |
All figures verified August 25–26, 2026 against each program’s own disclosures; ranges reflect offer- or channel-dependent pricing, and mailed offers can differ. Full sourcing in each linked review.
Start with the low-fee tier
The most common mistake in this category is applying for the most-advertised card instead of the cheapest one that fits. Six open-application programs now cost $75 a year or less in their base cases, and several check approval odds with no hard inquiry:
Tilt Motion Visa
- Annual fee $0
- Purchase APR 29.24%–34.24% variable
- Rewards 1%–10% cash back at select merchants
- Credit check Soft prequalification; hard pull on full application
Why it’s listed: The only $0-annual-fee open-application card in the category with published disclosures. Credit line increases are considered as early as four months.
AvantCard
- Annual fee $0–$75 through avant.com; up to $125 on mailed offers
- Purchase APR 29.99%–35.99%
- Starting limit $300–$3,000
- Credit check Soft prequalification
Why it’s listed: A mainstream fair-credit card with three-bureau reporting and the largest limit range in the low-fee tier. The fee depends on the application channel — check the exact offer before accepting.
Arro Card
- Annual fee Up to $60
- Purchase APR 24.99% starting — the lowest published rate in the category
- Credit check None — underwriting uses a linked bank account
- Reports to Experian and Equifax only (not TransUnion)
Why it’s listed: No hard credit check and the category’s lowest starting APR. The trade-offs: starting limits can be very small, and the account builds history at two bureaus rather than three.
Prosper Card
- Annual fee $59, waived the first year with AutoPay enrollment
- Purchase APR 22.49%–33.99% variable (disclosed in the agreement, not the marketing page)
- Starting limit $500–$3,000, with 50% available digitally at approval
- Credit check Soft prequalification
Why it’s listed: The highest starting-limit floor in the category and an APR range that can undercut every other card here. Bureau reporting specifics are not published — a gap we note in the full review.
Seen Mastercard
- Annual fee $0–$123, set per account
- Purchase APR 35.99%
- Starting limit $300–$3,000
- Credit check Soft prequalification, open to anyone (mailed offer codes also exist)
Why it’s listed: Three-bureau reporting with a possible credit line increase by the third statement. The fee is account-specific: read your offer’s schedule before accepting, since $0 and $123 are both possible outcomes.
Perpay Card
- Cost $9 opening fee + $5.50–$9/month (~$66–$108/yr)
- Purchase APR 27.74%–29.99% variable
- Credit check None — approval and repayment run through payroll direct deposit
- Reports to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion
Why it’s listed: No credit check and three-bureau reporting, at a monthly-fee cost. The defining condition: part of each paycheck must route to Perpay, which pays the card automatically — and losing that income stream puts the account at risk.
The high-fee tier: Milestone and Indigo
The two most-advertised cards in the category are also the most expensive: twin Concora Credit programs at $175 the first year and about $199 a year after, on a $700 limit at 35.9% APR. Their one distinct feature is a disclosed decline-safe application — no hard inquiry appears if you are declined. With six cheaper open-application options above, these are last-resort choices rather than defaults; the case for and against each is in the Milestone card review, the Indigo card review, and the side-by-side Milestone vs. Indigo.
Offer-gated cards
Two programs in the category cannot be applied for directly. OneMain BrightWay ($0–$89 fee, 1%–1.5% cash back, and a six-payment rewards program that can lower the APR or raise the limit) requires an offer code, distributed by mail and through OneMain’s loan branches. Mercury Mastercard is invitation-only by mail. If you hold either offer, the linked reviews cover how to read its terms; if you don’t, the open-application tier above is the actionable list.
A different animal: Grow Credit
Grow Credit is a membership service with a virtual Mastercard that pays only subscriptions, at 0% APR, reporting a small tradeline to all three bureaus. It is closer to a credit-builder product than a usable credit card, and its plan pricing currently differs between Grow’s own homepage and help center — details in the Grow Credit review.
What to watch in this category
- Fees post to the card. An annual fee charged at opening reduces your available credit and raises your starting utilization — the utilization calculator shows the effect.
- Never carry a balance at these APRs. The category runs 22%–36%; the card interest calculator prices any balance, and the current average card APR shows how far above market these rates sit.
- Confirm bureau reporting before applying. It ranges from all three (Avant, Seen, Perpay) to two (Arro) to unpublished (Prosper, BrightWay) in this field.
- “Guaranteed approval” versions of these ads are marketing. The breakdown is in the guaranteed approval card myth.
The alternative that still beats most of this page
A refundable deposit remains cheaper than any recurring fee. Capital One’s secured card opens a $200 line for a deposit as low as $49 with no annual fee (Capital One Platinum Secured review), and OpenSky approves with no credit check at all (OpenSky Plus review). The full economics are in secured vs. unsecured.
Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest unsecured card to get with bad credit?
Three programs remove the credit check entirely: Arro and Perpay underwrite through a linked bank account or paycheck instead of a credit pull, and Milestone and Indigo disclose that a declined application leaves no hard inquiry. “Easiest” and “cheapest” are different questions — compare fees before applying.
Can I get an unsecured credit card with a 500 credit score?
Yes — most cards on this page approve in that range, and several never pull your credit at all. At 500, though, a no-credit-check secured card builds the same credit for less money; the full walkthrough is in cards for a 500 credit score.
Do unsecured bad-credit cards build credit faster than secured cards?
No. Both report monthly to the bureaus; the score impact of clean payments and low utilization is the same. The difference is what you pay for the privilege: refundable deposit vs. non-refundable fees.