A closer look at our top LLC business loans
Funding Circle: Best for building business credit
Overview: The fintech lender Funding Circle blends the convenience of an online application with the personal touch of assigning a dedicated account manager to review your financing needs. The company offers small business lines of credit and SBA 7(a) loans in addition to their business term loans.
Why Funding Circle is the best for building business credit: Loan payments are reported to credit bureaus Experian and Dun & Bradstreet, so on-time payments can help grow your business credit score. Its loans also offer long repayment terms to business owners, which can help make loan payments more manageable. Its repayment terms stretch from six months to seven years.
Who Funding Circle is good for: Funding Circle works well for businesses with solid personal credit scores of at least 660. It does welcome low-revenue businesses down to $50,000 per year, an unusually low standard for any lender.
Bluevine: Best for LLC line of credit
Overview: Founded in 2013, Bluevine is a fintech company offering high-yield checking accounts as well as unsecured lines of credit for established small businesses. You can access its revolving credit line as many times as you need, replenishing the available credit as you pay down past withdrawals.
Why Bluevine is the best for LLC line of credit: Bluevine offers a speedy online application process and a seamless online dashboard for your line of credit. Once approved, you can withdraw funds and get them deposited to your bank account within 24 hours. You can borrow up to $250,000, choosing between a six- or 12-month term. You can also choose between weekly or monthly payments, unlike some lines of credit that only allow you to repay weekly. Well-qualified and well-established borrowers may enjoy a low starting interest rate.
Who Bluevine is good for: Bluevine is ideal for LLCs that have been around for at least two years and have a high level of revenue. It offers lines of credit to businesses with at least $40,000 in monthly revenue for six-month repayment terms and $80,000 monthly for 12-month terms. These are stricter requirements than what most lenders set. Bluevine may also work well if your LLC wants to combine banking and lending services, helping you manage your accounts in one place.
SMB Compass: Best for large term loans
Overview: SMB Compass bills itself as a bespoke business financing company that tailors its loan offers to each of its small business clients. SMB Compass’s loan choices include term loans, lines of credit, asset-based loans and inventory and invoice financing. It also offers low interest rates, starting at 5.99 percent APR.
Why SMB Compass is the best for large term loans: SMB Compass’s term loans offer loan limits from $25,000 to $5 million, meaning it can successfully serve both small and large companies. Its standard term loans offer wide-ranging repayments from two to 25 years, with interest rates starting at 6.99 percent APR. And its bridge loans have repayment terms of up to 36 months — over 12 months longer than many other short-term loans.
Who SMB Compass is good for: SMB Compass is a good choice for companies that need large term loans and want to explore a variety of options with one lender. Businesses need strong credit to qualify, at least a business or personal credit score of 600 to 680, specific to each loan. Both SBA and term loans also need high annual revenue of at least $500,000.
National Funding: Best for early payoff
Overview: National Funding calls itself “a pioneer in alternative lending.” It offers several business loans, including equipment financing, working capital loans and short-term loans, all with low minimum credit score requirements.
Why National Funding is the best for early payoff: While some lenders charge prepayment penalties, National Funding offers early payoff discounts. For working capital loans, you get a 7 percent discount on the remaining amount you owe if you repay within the first 100 days. For equipment loans, you get a 6 percent early repayment discount.
Who National Funding is good for: National Funding works well for business owners looking for short-term, online business loans. You’re most likely to receive the early payoff discount if you borrow a small amount that you can repay within the first three to four months.
Triton Capital: Best for equipment loans
Overview: Triton Capital offers a fast funding solution if you’re in the market for equipment financing or a working capital loan. It keeps low interest rates on par with what you’d find at your local bank, starting at 5.99 percent for equipment financing.
Why Triton Capital is the best for equipment loans: Triton Capital can be used for anything from heavy machinery to medical equipment. On their website, Triton states they offer loan amounts up to $250,000, though a spokesperson stated loans go up to $500,000. You also have repayment flexibility that you can match to your business’s seasonality. Choose from monthly, quarterly, annual, semi-annual or even seasonal payments.
Who Triton Capital is good for: LLCs that make $350,000 or more each year may be well-qualified for Triton Capital's equipment loans. Triton Capital focuses on helping small businesses that struggle with qualifying for traditional lending. A spokesperson stated that it’s also willing to work with startup businesses.
Taycor Financial: Best for unsecured loans
Overview: Taycor Financial offers a variety of unsecured loan products for businesses, including business lines of credit, term loans and merchant cash advances. It’s one of the more experienced fintech lenders out there, helping small businesses for nearly 30 years.
Why Taycor Financial is the best for unsecured loans: For lines of credit, term loans and cash advances, there is only a one-page online application for loan amounts under $400,000. All three loan choices offer small loan sizes, fast funding and short repayment terms, good for covering small or emergency expenses.
Who Taycor Financial is good for: Business owners with bad or fair credit can qualify for its unsecured loan options. It’s also welcoming to startups that need a business loan for new LLCs, though you'll need at least three months in business. Most online lenders want to see six months to a year or more, while traditional banks often need at least two years in business.
OnDeck: Best for short-term LLC loans
Overview: OnDeck was founded in 2006. Its proprietary software collects thousands of data points about a business’s operations to determine loan eligibility. It’s also committed to providing funding quickly — as fast as the same day for term loans up to $100,000.
Why OnDeck is the best for short-term LLC loans: OnDeck offers term loans with repayments going from 18 to 24 months. Loan amounts start at $5,000, much lower than the typical $10,000 to $25,000 where most term loans begin. This low amount makes its term loans accessible to small businesses that only need a limited amount of financing.
Who OnDeck is good for: OnDeck works well for LLC business owners with fair credit. LLCs only need $100,000 in annual revenue and a personal credit score of 625 to get a term loan. But if you have strong credit, you may qualify for better interest rates. OnDeck’s starting rate for term loans is 29.90 percent APR, but the average is 60.90 percent APR, both of which are steep compared to traditional lenders whose loans may start at 7.00 to 8.00 percent APR.
Bank of America: Best for LLC bank loans
Overview: Bank of America is one of the largest banks in the United States, offering almost every financial service imaginable, from banking to investing. Homing in on business loans, this household name provides lines of credit, term loans, SBA loans, equipment loans and commercial real estate loans.
Why Bank of America is the best for LLC bank loans: Bank of America offers specialized business loan products, including equipment financing, commercial real estate loans and term loans with low starting interest rates, ideal for qualifying businesses. For those seeking to build credit or are a newer business, Bank of America provides a flexible option through its Cash Secured line of credit, which only requires a security deposit of at least $1,000. Requirements include a minimum of six months in business and an annual revenue of $50,000, both of which are significantly lower than traditional requirements.
Who Bank of America is good for: Bank of America is good for LLCs that value being able to apply for a loan in person or already do business with the bank. Its Cash Secured line of credit accepts new businesses under two years old and with little revenue.
Live Oak: Best for SBA loans
Overview: Founded in 2008, Live Oak's mission is to become “America’s small business bank.” It now offers lending and banking services to all types of businesses. Its products include high-interest business savings as well as SBA loans, business acquisition loans or expansion loans customized to your project.
Why Live Oak is the best for SBA loans: Live Oak is one of the few fintech lenders in the SBA Preferred Lender Program. This status means it can streamline the SBA loan process, approving loans three to four weeks faster than the usual timelines. SBA loan approvals typically take 30 to 90 days.
Live Oak was the top lender of SBA 7(a) loans by dollar amount in FY 2023, showing significant experience with SBA financing. It also doesn’t carry a prepayment penalty for loans with less than 15-year terms.
Who Live Oak is good for: Live Oak can help for-profit businesses that can come prepared with at least a 10 percent down payment for their project. For 7(a) loans, you’ll need a minimum personal credit score of 650 or higher.
Types of LLC loan
There are many types of LLC business loans. Some have strict eligibility requirements and are usually only available to business owners with great credit and strong business credentials.
But there are also bad credit business loans. These types of loans are good options for any LLC that would struggle to qualify for traditional financing, including newer LLCs and business owners with low credit scores. Depending on your credit score, revenue and time in business, business loans for bad credit may have loan amounts of $100,000 or less. Here’s a look at some of the most popular options
Term loans
A term loan is a lump sum that is borrowed and repaid over a specified period. For business loans, this window may be anywhere from a few months to 10 years.
Lines of credit
A business line of credit is a fixed amount of money your lender allows you to borrow. Like credit cards, lines of credit are a type of revolving credit. You can borrow up to your limit and repay over time. Line of credit rates can be high, especially if you have bad credit.
SBA loans
SBA loans are partially guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration and have generous loan amounts and favorable interest rates. Depending on the loan type, maximum funds can range from $50,000 all the way to $5 million. SBA loans can be slow to fund and hard to qualify for, but in the event of default, the SBA will repay your lender the portion of the loan it guaranteed.
- SBA 7(a) loan: Its most popular loan program for general purposes like working capital
- SBA 504 loan: Financing for new construction or renovation projects or buying equipment or real estate
- SBA microloans: Small loans up to $50,000 offered through approved microlenders, often nonprofits serving disadvantaged communities
- Express loans: A 7(a) loan with express approvals offering loans up to $500,000
- Economic Injury Disaster Loans: Provides cash to cover operating expenses that a business can’t cover because a government-declared disaster caused business interruption
- CAPLines: Lines of credit used to cover expenses for specific work contracts or during down seasons
- Community Advantage loan: A 7(a) loan up to $350,000, provided through approved community lenders, often serving underserved communities like low-income areas
Equipment loans
Equipment loans work well for LLCs looking to boost productivity or offer a new product or service. These loans provide financing for one or more pieces of equipment over a term of several years. They may offer lower interest rates than standard term loans, typically ranging from 5 percent to 35 percent APR. Lenders can offer lower rates or approve businesses with less experience or credit history because the collateral offsets risks for lending to these businesses.
Invoice factoring
Invoice factoring is a type of borrowing that allows businesses to float expenses while awaiting payment of invoices. This is a short-term solution for small businesses with inconsistent cash flow.
You sell your unpaid invoices to the factoring company for between 70 percent and 90 percent of your invoiced amount. Then, the company collects those invoices and pays you the remainder, deducting a percentage as a fee.
Invoice financing
Invoice financing offers a lending solution based more on the security of invoices for services or products your LLC has already delivered. It doesn’t weigh your business’s past credit history and financial outlook as heavily as standard business loans. It comes in the form of a financed loan or factoring. But this type of business funding charges fees based on the outstanding invoice amount, and fees may go up the longer your clients don’t pay.
Merchant cash advances
Merchant cash advances are a form of short-term alternative financing. You receive a loan based on past credit and debit card sales and make daily or weekly payments based on future sales.
Since they’re not technically a loan, usury laws don’t apply, which means there are no limits on how much interest you can get charged. That’s why it’s possible to find yourself paying high interest rates, from 30 percent to 99 percent and up, with MCAs.
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