Best private credit funds for individual investors (2026)
A brokerage share, a non-accredited interval fund, and a broker-sold BDC are three different ways in.
Short answer, checked on issuer pages on September 23, 2026: a regular investor buys the PRIV ETF in a brokerage account. It closed at $24.44 on September 22, 2026, with a 0.55% gross expense ratio and no accreditation test. Private credit is generally 10% to 35% of that portfolio. The Fundrise Income Real Estate Fund is the non-accredited interval fund, and Fundrise states a $10 platform minimum, with an 8% annualized distribution rate as of April 2026. BCRED fits someone who can clear a broker suitability test: Class S and Class D start at $2,500, and the homepage prints a 9.2% annualized distribution rate as of September 2026.
Financeradar data: of the 33 private credit products we verify, 17 do not require accreditation, 52% of the set (figures checked October 2026; we have logged 427 dated rate checks since August 2026). A private credit fund pools loans made outside the public bond market and pays investors from interest. The minimum on the door is not the same thing as the loan book behind it: a low door can still be one borrower, and a brokerage share can still be mostly public bonds.
PRIV wins this list for a person who is not accredited and already has a brokerage login, because the share trades on NYSE Arca and the fund does not run a net-worth test. The catch is the sleeve: most of the fund is public investment-grade debt, so a buyer who wanted the whole position to be private credit is in the wrong product. Fundrise is the pick when the whole position should be a private credit interval fund and accreditation is off the table. Blackstone Private Credit Fund, Blue Owl Credit Income Corp, and Apollo Debt Solutions are direct-lending BDCs sold through a broker, not a ticker, and without that broker the purchase stops.
Financeradar may earn a commission from some links, and that payment does not change the order (how we make money).
Top Picks
Based on features, user feedback, and value for money.
| Tool | Starting price | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRIV (State Street IG Public & Private Credit ETF) | Custom | n/a | Investors who may need to sell without waiting for a tender. |
| Fundrise Income Real Estate Fund | Custom | 4.8(37,714) | People who want a private credit fund without an accredited test. |
| Groundfloor | Custom | 4.5(2,120) | Non-accredited investors who want to pick a real estate loan. |
| Worthy Property Bonds | Custom | n/a | Small balances that want a stated rate and penalty-free access. |
| Honeycomb Credit | Custom | n/a | Investors who will underwrite one local business and can absorb a miss. |
| Connect Invest | Custom | n/a | Investors who want a short note and will hold to the term. |
| Percent | Custom | n/a | Accredited investors who want short deals they can turn over. |
| Blackstone Private Credit Fund (BCRED) | Custom | n/a | Investors who can buy through a broker and can leave the shares. |
| Blue Owl Credit Income Corp (OCIC) | Custom | n/a | Brokerage clients comparing a second direct-lending book with BCRED. |
| Apollo Debt Solutions BDC | Custom | n/a | Brokerage clients who want Apollo's book and can wait out the first year. |
Investors who may need to sell without waiting for a tender.
People who want a private credit fund without an accredited test.
Non-accredited investors who want to pick a real estate loan.
Small balances that want a stated rate and penalty-free access.
Investors who will underwrite one local business and can absorb a miss.
Investors who want a short note and will hold to the term.
Accredited investors who want short deals they can turn over.
Investors who can buy through a broker and can leave the shares.
Brokerage clients comparing a second direct-lending book with BCRED.
Brokerage clients who want Apollo's book and can wait out the first year.
Other Alternative Investing worth considering
Beyond the editorial top picks, these are also strong choices we evaluated.
What a private credit fund is, and who is allowed to buy one
A private credit fund is a pool that lends to companies, or to the lenders who lend to them, and pays you from interest rather than from a bank deposit. The wrapper decides whether you can sell on a Tuesday. An ETF share trades all day, which suits cash you might need this year. An interval fund and a non-traded BDC repurchase on a schedule, and only up to a cap the board can shrink, so money you cannot leave through a missed tender does not belong there. A note from one borrower pays you on that deal's calendar, or not at all if the borrower misses, so you are underwriting one credit.
The SEC's accredited investor page, updated April 24, 2026, sets the individual test at more than $1 million of net worth excluding a primary home, or income over $200,000 ($300,000 with a spouse or partner) in each of the last two years with the same expected this year. Series 7, 65, and 82 licenses also qualify. Several products below use a lower suitability test instead: net worth of at least $250,000, or gross income of at least $70,000 plus net worth of at least $70,000. That lower line lets some non-accredited people into a BDC, and it still requires a broker who offers the share class.
None of these is a savings account. Worthy states on its bond page that the bonds are not bank deposits and are not insured by the FDIC, and the private credit report dated September 17, 2026 reaches the same conclusion for that snapshot: no federal deposit guarantee. A reader who needs deposit insurance should leave this list. A distribution rate is the issuer's math on a recent payout divided by NAV, not a promised yield, and several prospectuses say distributions can be paid from sources other than interest.
The minimum you see is often a different product from the yield you screenshot
The expensive mistake is buying the high distribution on a non-traded fund and later learning the shares only leave through a quarterly tender. On BCRED's own books for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, repurchase requests exceeded the quarterly limit and were filled pro rata. You can ask for your money and receive only your slice of that window. Apollo's product page says the same style of tender is expected and not guaranteed, and shares held under one year come back at a discount to NAV. Someone who needs the cash within a month wants a brokerage ETF or a bank account, because a tender will not meet that deadline.
The private credit statistics page puts the median minimum at $500 as of September 23, 2026. That median mixes a one-share ETF, small notes, and broker tickets in the thousands, so it maps the door and says little about the loan. PRIV's 30-day SEC yield was 4.85% as of September 22, 2026, while BCRED's homepage distribution is the higher rate in the comparison table. Those are not competing prices on the same asset: one is mostly public bonds with a private sleeve, and the other is a portfolio you may not exit in full.
How we ranked: on September 23, 2026 I read the product page for each name below, plus BCRED's prospectus for the fee and the tender, Apollo's prospectus for the dollar minimum, OCIC's terms, Percent's fee FAQ, and Fundrise's June 5, 2026 repurchase notice filed with the SEC. Ten published products made the list because a person can buy credit exposure through them. Art, wine, startup equity, and farmland platforms in the same catalog are a different purchase, which is why they sit in the real estate crowdfunding guide and the guide to alternatives without accreditation. Nobody paid for a slot. This is general information, not personalized financial, investment, or tax advice. Editorially reviewed by Louis Corneloup, founder of Financeradar and Dupple. The method is on how we rate, and the full directory is best private credit.
Key Features to Look For
PRIV trades on NYSE Arca, so a brokerage account is the whole application. Fundrise, Groundfloor, Worthy, Honeycomb, Connect Invest, and Percent use their own accounts. BCRED, OCIC, and Apollo Debt Solutions are sold through a financial representative, and the share class depends on that firm, so the fund you want and the fund the broker sells can differ.
Percent requires the SEC accredited test, so a reader who misses that line is done with this name. The three BDCs publish the lower suitability line above, and some states go higher, which still requires a broker who offers the share class. Fundrise's education page says the platform has no accreditation or net worth test. A Series 7, 65, or 82 license can clear the accredited test on its own.
PRIV sells on the exchange at the market price, which can sit above or below NAV, so the exit is a trade that minute. Fundrise's June 5, 2026 notice offers a quarterly repurchase at NAV, with no repurchase fee, up to the cap in the table. BCRED and Apollo discount shares held under a year. OCIC caps each quarter and states no early withdrawal charge, which is the comparison when that first-year discount is the deal-breaker.
PRIV publishes a 30-day SEC yield and a distribution yield, which are recent income, not a coupon locked for the year. BDC pages annualize one month's distribution and divide by NAV, so a strong month looks like a yearly rate. Worthy's figure is a stated APY, compounded daily, and Groundfloor's Signature Note is a fixed rate for a 12-month term. Percent's trailing return is history after losses, not the coupon on the next deal.
The headline rate is not your cost. PRIV's gross expense ratio is a fee on fund assets. BCRED and Apollo add an annual management fee plus an incentive fee above a hurdle, so the distribution is before that incentive. Percent takes a slice of the coupon, so the advertised deal rate is not what you keep. OCIC's all-in expense ratio includes interest on the fund's own borrowing, so it is not the same kind of fee as PRIV's expense ratio.
Honeycomb puts your money into one small business, and a missed payment is a vote among investors, so one failure is your loss. Worthy's bonds are obligations of Worthy Property Bonds, Inc., which means the issuer is the credit. PRIV reported 361 holdings as of September 22, 2026, so a single default is a small piece of the ETF. A single-name note can pay a higher stated rate because you are holding the default.
Class I has no upfront placement fee and no servicing fee, and brokers reserve it for fee-based accounts, so a commissioned account often will not receive it. Class S can carry an upfront charge and an annual servicing fee, and Class D sits between them. The homepage distribution is usually the lightest fee class, so the screenshot can be better than the share you are offered.
Match the wrapper to the cash you can leave alone
If the cash might be needed this year, PRIV is the fit, because the share trades on the exchange and the interval funds and BDCs do not.
If you are not accredited and want the position itself to be private credit, rather than a sleeve inside a bond fund, the Fundrise Income Real Estate Fund is the fit, and Opportunistic Credit Fund II is a different product.
If you want to pick a real estate loan, Groundfloor Loans start below the note minimum, and the higher target products on that site are a separate accredited shelf.
If you already have a financial advisor, the practical question is which of BCRED, OCIC, and Apollo Debt Solutions the firm actually sells, and which share class the account would receive.
If you are accredited and want deals that mature in months rather than a perpetual BDC, Percent's direct deals are the fit, and the fee is a slice of interest rather than a management fee on principal.
If the appeal is a stated rate and penalty-free access, Worthy's bonds are the product that says that, and they are still an unrated obligation of one issuer, unavailable in Texas.
If the only goal is a higher cash yield with daily access, this list is the wrong shelf. A savings account in the high-yield savings guide is the comparison, and a CD in the CD guide locks a bank rate instead of a loan book.
Evaluation Checklist
Confirm whether the account is accredited under the SEC test or only suitable under the lower BDC test above, because clearing the wrong test does not open the account.
Name the share class before you subscribe, because Class I, Class D, and Class S do not cost the same, and the headline distribution is usually the cheapest class.
Read the exit before you fund: an exchange sale, a quarterly tender at the cap in the table, a fixed note term, or an on-demand bond. If last quarter's tender was oversubscribed, assume yours can be too.
Separate the income figure's date from today's date: Fundrise's distribution line is April 2026, PRIV's SEC yield is September 22, 2026, and Apollo's class rates are July 23, 2026.
Check whether interest on the fund's borrowing is inside the expense ratio. OCIC's Class I ratio is 1.54% without that interest and 9.10% with it, and only the smaller figure compares with a management fee.
For a single-name product, read that campaign's term, rate, and what happens on a missed payment. The platform range is not the note you are buying.
Pricing Overview
PRIV, when you are not accredited and you may want to sell without waiting for a quarterly tender.
Fundrise Income Real Estate Fund for a diversified real estate credit book. Groundfloor, Worthy, Honeycomb, and Connect Invest when you will hold a note.
BCRED, OCIC, and Apollo Debt Solutions for direct lending. Percent when you want to pick deals and you already clear the accredited test.
Pricing Comparison
| Product | Minimum to get in | Income figure on the page | Ongoing cost | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRIV ETF | One share. Close $24.44 on Sep 22, 2026 | 4.85% 30-day SEC yield as of Sep 22, 2026 | 0.55% gross expense ratio | Private credit is generally 10% to 35% of the fund |
| Fundrise Income Real Estate Fund | Platform minimum $10. No accreditation test on the education page | 8% annualized distribution as of April 2026 | 0.85% management fee of average daily net assets | Quarterly repurchase up to 5% of shares. NAV $10.15 on Jun 4, 2026 |
| Groundfloor | $10 on Loans. Notes $100 to $1,000 | Signature Note 8.5% fixed, 12 months, from $1,000 | No fee on Notes or Loans | Pre-IPO portfolio is accredited and starts at $10,000 |
| Worthy Property Bonds | $10 a bond. Not offered in Texas | 6.5% APY, compounded daily, on the savemore page | Page states no fees or penalties | Not FDIC insured. Obligation of one issuer. On demand, unrated |
| Honeycomb Credit | From $100. Age 18 and a U.S. tax ID | Typical debt offerings 6% to 14% a year | Interest on the note is what the business pays you | One business. Refund only if the campaign misses its goal |
| Connect Invest | From $500. Terms of 6, 12, or 24 months | 7.5% on the 6-month note. 7.75% on the 6-month rollover | Homepage calculator does not add a separate investor fee | Fixed term. Returns are not guaranteed on the calculator |
| Percent | From $500 a deal. Accredited only | ABS net return after losses 14.6% for the year ended Mar 31, 2026 | 10% of the coupon on direct deals. Blended Notes from $5,000 | 13.7% after losses and fees in that same trailing year |
| BCRED | Class S and Class D $2,500. Class I $1,000,000 | 9.2% annualized distribution as of September 2026 | 1.25% management fee. Class S servicing fee 0.85% | Tender up to 5% a quarter. Under one year: 98% of NAV |
| OCIC | Minimum varies by representative. Suitability test, not a ticker | 9.25%, 9.01%, and 8.41% annualized, from the August distribution | Management fee 1.25%. Class I expense ex-interest 1.54% | Tender up to 5% a quarter, 20% a year. No early withdrawal charge |
| Apollo Debt Solutions | Prospectus minimum $2,500. Subsequent $500 | Class I 9.06% as of Jul 23, 2026. Class S 8.20%. Class D 8.81% | 1.25% management fee on NAV. Incentive fee 12.5% over a 5% hurdle | Under one year, repurchases at 98% of NAV. Monthly subscriptions |
Issuer pages, BCRED and Apollo prospectuses, and Fundrise's June 5, 2026 repurchase notice, checked September 23, 2026. Distribution rates are not guaranteed. A broker can set a higher minimum than the prospectus.
Mistakes to Avoid
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Buying PRIV for a private credit yield and then discovering the private sleeve is only a slice of the fund. The SEC yield in the table is the comparison with a bond fund, and the BDC distribution is a different product with a different exit.
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Treating Fundrise's Opportunistic Credit Fund II as the same door as the Income Real Estate Fund. One is accredited and starts at $50,000. The other is the non-accredited interval fund, and a reader who is not accredited cannot use the first one.
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Subtracting OCIC's 9.10% all-in expense ratio from the 9.25% distribution. The larger ratio includes interest on the fund's borrowing. The ratio that excludes interest is 1.54% for Class I, and that is the figure to set next to a management fee.
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Assuming a non-traded BDC will repurchase every share you tender. The quarterly cap is in the table, the board can offer less, and year-one shares at BCRED and Apollo come back at a discount to NAV.
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Funding Honeycomb or a Groundfloor loan with money that has to stay intact. A missed payment or a single property is a loss you hold, and the campaign refund applies only when the raise itself fails.
Expert Tips
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If you own Class S, ask the broker what the upfront placement fee was on your ticket. At BCRED that charge can be as high as 3.5%, and the homepage distribution rate is not net of a fee you paid the seller.
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Use PRIV when the position has to stay inside a normal taxable brokerage account. Use the interval fund or a BDC only for money that can sit through a quarter in which the tender is prorated.
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On Percent, compare the coupon after the fee, not the headline coupon, because the charge is a slice of interest and it is skipped only when the deal pays nothing. Blended Notes add a 1% annual fee on top of that slice.
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Read the BDC distribution footnote before you annualize it yourself. BCRED says the September rate is September's distribution divided by August NAV, and the prospectus warns that distributions are not guaranteed.
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Keep the emergency fund in a savings account, not on this list. The comparison for cash you might spend is the high-yield savings guide, where the exit is a transfer rather than a tender.
Red Flags to Watch For
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A distribution rate with no share class and no 'as of' date. Class S can trail Class I by the servicing fee in the table, so the cheapest-class screenshot is not the ticket a commissioned broker may sell.
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A quarterly tender described as liquidity. BCRED's quarter ended June 30, 2026 filled repurchase requests pro rata because they exceeded the cap, so a full exit was not available to people who asked.
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An expense ratio that includes interest on borrowed money, set next to PRIV's expense ratio as if they were the same kind of fee. One figure is mostly the cost of the fund's own loans, and the other is what you pay to hold the ETF.
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A target IRR on an accredited shelf, such as Groundfloor's Pre-IPO portfolio, quoted as if it were the rate on the loan anyone can buy. That higher range is a different gate.
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A trailing return, such as Percent's figure after losses, treated as the coupon on the next deal. The next deal has its own coupon, and the fee is a slice of that coupon.
The Bottom Line
A regular investor in 2026 buys private credit in one of three ways: a brokerage share of PRIV at the close in the table, a non-accredited interval fund at Fundrise, or a broker-sold BDC if the suitability test clears. The higher distribution rates in that table, including Apollo's Class I rate of 9.06%, belong to shares you may not fully exit in the quarter you ask. Notes from Groundfloor, Worthy, Honeycomb, and Connect Invest are single credits with their own terms, not a diversified fund. Percent is the accredited marketplace, and the fee comes out of the coupon.
This is general information, not personalized financial advice. Cite this: Financeradar, "Best private credit funds for individual investors (2026)", September 2026. The head-to-head among the three BDCs and PRIV is BCRED vs OCIC vs Apollo Debt Solutions vs PRIV.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best private credit fund for an individual investor in 2026?
For a person who is not accredited, PRIV is the practical buy: the September 22, 2026 close is in the comparison table, it trades on NYSE Arca, and the gross expense ratio is the ETF fee in that table. Private credit tops out at 35% of that fund, so most of the holding is public debt. The Fundrise Income Real Estate Fund is the non-accredited product that is itself a private credit interval fund, with an 8% annualized distribution rate as of April 2026. BCRED is the direct-lending fund if a broker will sell you Class S or Class D and you can live with a quarterly tender.
How much does it cost to buy private credit in 2026?
PRIV is one share at the September 22, 2026 close in the comparison table, plus any brokerage commission, so the cost is a market fill rather than a fund subscription. Fundrise's education page states the platform minimum in that table. BCRED Class S and Class D, and Apollo's initial buy, use the minimums in that table, and BCRED Class I starts at $1,000,000. Percent then takes a slice of the coupon on a direct deal, so the advertised rate is not the rate you keep. Our private credit statistics page reports the median minimum as of September 23, 2026.
Is there a free private credit fund?
No product on this list is free of cost. PRIV charges a 0.55% gross expense ratio, which is the holding cost even when the broker charges no commission. Groundfloor says it charges no fee on Notes or Loans, and Worthy says its bonds have no fees or penalties, but you still bear the credit. Percent's direct-deal fee is a slice of interest received, which its FAQ illustrates as 1.5% off a 15% coupon, leaving 13.5%. BCRED and Apollo each charge a 1.25% management fee plus an incentive fee. Opening a Percent account to look at deals does not require funding it.
Can a non-accredited investor buy private credit?
Yes, several products do not use the SEC accredited test. PRIV has no such test, which is why it is the brokerage path. Fundrise's education page says the platform is open with no accreditation or net worth restriction. Honeycomb says unaccredited investors can join offerings from $100, and the risk is still one business. The BDCs use the lower suitability test above, which is not the SEC line of $200,000 of income or $1 million of net worth excluding a home, and you still need a broker who offers the fund. Percent is accredited only.
How do BCRED, OCIC, and PRIV differ?
PRIV trades all day and held a 4.85% 30-day SEC yield as of September 22, 2026, with private credit only a sleeve of the fund, so the yield is a bond-fund figure and the exit is a market sale. BCRED and OCIC are non-traded BDCs sold through brokers, with homepage distribution rates of 9.2% (BCRED, as of September 2026) and 9.25%, 9.01%, and 8.41% (OCIC, from the August distribution). Both cap repurchases each quarter. OCIC states no early withdrawal charge. BCRED repurchases shares held under a year at 98% of NAV. The longer comparison is the BCRED vs OCIC vs Apollo vs PRIV article.
How do you get your money out of a private credit fund?
PRIV sells on the exchange at the market price. On September 22, 2026 the NAV was $24.43, a cent from the close in the table, which describes that day and not the next one. Fundrise's June 5, 2026 notice offers to repurchase Income Real Estate Fund shares at NAV each quarter, up to the cap in the table, with no repurchase fee, and it prorates if too many shares are tendered. BCRED and Apollo offer a quarterly tender at the board's discretion, at a discount to NAV if you have held the shares under a year. A Groundfloor note or a Connect Invest note pays on its term. Worthy says its bonds can be redeemed without a penalty, which is access, not deposit insurance.
Are private credit distributions guaranteed?
No. BCRED's site says distributions are not guaranteed and may be funded from sources other than operating cash flow, even though inception-to-date distributions through August 31, 2026 were funded from net investment income or realized short-term gains. OCIC says the board can reduce or stop the distribution. Apollo says its July 23, 2026 rates were funded from operations and that this need not continue. Percent's 14.6% figure is a trailing net return after losses for the year ended March 31, 2026, not a coupon on the next deal. A fixed note, such as Groundfloor's 8.5% Signature Note, is still subject to the borrower's ability to pay.
Sources
Rates, fees and terms on this page were checked on each provider's own site:
- PRIV (State Street IG Public & Private Credit ETF), checked
- Fundrise Income Real Estate Fund, checked
- Groundfloor, checked
- Worthy Property Bonds, checked
- Honeycomb Credit, checked
- Connect Invest, checked
- Percent, checked
- Blackstone Private Credit Fund (BCRED), checked
- Blue Owl Credit Income Corp (OCIC), checked
- Apollo Debt Solutions BDC, checked
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