Short answer: SBI publishes a full rate range (10% to 15% a year) and caps its fee at ₹15,000, but its Digi Personal Loan needs an SBI salary account and starts at ₹1 lakh. HDFC Bank is open to salaried borrowers who bank elsewhere, with a fee capped at ₹25,000 and a published salaried range of 10.50% to 21%.
Last verified: 12 October 2026 from each company’s official website and, where marked, its Google Play listing. Rates and fees change; the lender’s Key Fact Statement (KFS) and loan agreement decide your actual terms. FundsTiger does not rank lenders.
SBI vs HDFC Bank at a glance
| SBI | HDFC Bank | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Public sector bank | Scheduled commercial bank |
| Loan amount | ₹1 lakh to ₹50 lakh (Digi Personal Loan), within 30x monthly income | Up to ₹50 lakh |
| Interest rate | 10% to 15% a year (personal loan scheme, from 15 Dec 2025) | From 9.99% a year (main page); 10.50% to 21% for salaried (rates page) |
| APR | Not published | Not published |
| Processing fee | Up to 1.5% (minimum ₹1,000, maximum ₹15,000) + GST | Up to 2.5%, capped at ₹25,000, for salaried borrowers (+ GST) |
| Tenure | 6 to 84 months | Not stated on the page we checked |
| Minimum income | ₹20,000 a month (government and defence); ₹25,000 (corporate employees) | ₹25,000 a month |
| Who can apply | Salaried only, with an SBI salary account; rates vary by employer category (defence, government/PSU, corporates) | Salaried (2 years employment, 1 year with current employer) |
| Age | Not stated on the page we checked | 21 to 60 |
| Prepayment and foreclosure | Not specified on the Digi Personal Loan page; the older Xpress Credit page says 3% of the amount prepaid, nil if closed by a new loan under the same scheme | No prepayment for the first 12 EMIs; then 4% (13 to 24 months), 3% (25 to 36), 2% (after 36) of principal outstanding. Part-payment up to 25% once a year. |
| Product | Term loan; Xpress Flexi overdraft variant | Term loan (EMI) |
| RBI-regulated lenders | SBI lends directly | HDFC Bank lends directly |
| On RBI’s digital lending app list | Yes: its own banking app is listed | Bank: not an app-only lender |
| Also worth knowing | Fully digital through YONO with Aadhaar e-sign; EMIs can be up to 65% of net monthly income | Pre-approved offers for existing customers with little paperwork; Fee capped at ₹25,000 |
Install counts and ratings are from Google Play, as recorded on RBI’s digital lending app list check of 5 October 2026.
What a ₹3 lakh loan over 36 months would cost
We costed the same loan on each lender’s advertised figures, using the standard reducing-balance EMI formula and adding 18% GST to fees where the lender quotes them before tax. The lowest advertised rate is usually for the strongest credit profiles; many borrowers are offered more.
| Lender | Scenario | Rate a year | EMI | Total interest | Fee incl. GST | Total cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBI | Low end of scheme range | 10% | ₹9,680 | ₹48,486 | ₹5,310 | ₹53,796 |
| SBI | High end of scheme range | 15% | ₹10,400 | ₹74,386 | ₹5,310 | ₹79,696 |
| HDFC Bank | Rates-page low end | 10.5% | ₹9,751 | ₹51,026 | ₹8,850 | ₹59,876 |
| HDFC Bank | Rates-page high end | 21% | ₹11,303 | ₹1,06,891 | ₹8,850 | ₹1,15,741 |
Try your own numbers in our personal loan EMI calculator. For loans quoted only as APR, the APR already includes fees, so the total is an estimate.
Key differences
- Who can apply: SBI needs an SBI salary account; HDFC Bank does not.
- Rate range: SBI 10% to 15%; HDFC Bank 10.50% to 21% (rates page).
- Fee cap: SBI ₹15,000 (+ GST); HDFC Bank ₹25,000 (+ GST).
- Tenure: SBI 6 to 84 months; HDFC Bank’s tenure was not shown on the page we checked.
Which should you choose?
SBI may suit you if your salary is credited to SBI, especially if you work for the government, defence or a PSU, which get SBI’s lower rates.
HDFC Bank may suit you if your salary is not with SBI, or you need less than ₹1 lakh.
Whichever you pick, compare the APR in the KFS you are actually offered, not the advertised starting rate.
Before you apply
- Find the lender’s name in the app and check it on RBI’s list of digital lending apps or our RBI-registered NBFC search.
- Read the Key Fact Statement (KFS) before you accept. It must show the APR, every fee and the total you will repay.
- Never pay a fee before the loan is disbursed. Regulated lenders deduct fees from the loan or add them to the EMI.
- Apply to one or two lenders, not ten. Each application is a hard enquiry on your credit report.
- Check that the EMI fits your budget with our FOIR calculator.
Want to see offers from several RBI-regulated lenders in one place?
Frequently asked questions
Can I get an SBI personal loan without an SBI salary account?
SBI’s Digi Personal Loan (Xpress Credit) is for salaried customers with an SBI salary account. Other SBI personal loan schemes have their own rules; ask your branch.
Why does SBI quote rates by employer?
SBI prices its loans by employer category. Defence, central and state government and PSU employees usually get lower rates than corporate employees.
Are these lenders RBI-regulated?
The loans described here are given by RBI-registered NBFCs or banks named in the table. Check the lender named in your loan agreement on RBI’s digital lending app list.
Where do these figures come from?
From each company’s official website and, where noted, its Google Play listing, checked on 12 October 2026. Where a company’s own pages disagree, we show both figures.
Sources
- SBI Digi Personal Loan (Xpress Credit)
- SBI personal loan interest rates
- SBI processing fees
- HDFC Bank personal loan page
- HDFC Bank rates and fees
- HDFC Bank eligibility
Read more: All loan app reviews · Lender directory
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Disclosure: FundsTiger (Gatimaan Finance Advisors Pvt. Ltd.) is a loan marketplace and lending service provider for RBI-regulated lenders. Aparampaar Finance Pvt. Ltd. (Omozing), one of those lenders, is a related party of FundsTiger. This article is general information, not financial advice. Read your loan agreement and KFS before you decide.