Last updated: November 2026
The right alternative to a business lender depends on what that lender gets wrong for you: the price, the amount, the payment schedule or the eligibility box. If you want a cheaper or more flexible line of credit, compare Bluevine, the American Express Business Line of Credit and OnDeck. If an online term loan is too small or too short, look at SBA 7(a) loans or a larger working capital lender. If your only offer comes from PayPal, Shopify or Square, a lender that reads all of your bank deposits can size an offer to the whole business, and online brands can also compare revenue-based providers such as Wayflyer and Clearco. If you would rather send one application to many lenders, a marketplace or broker does that. And if your credit score is under 625, lenders that underwrite mainly on deposits, such as Credibly and Forward Financing, publish lower minimums. Below, our nineteen lender-alternatives guides are grouped by need, with each lender's published amounts and minimums, all checked in November 2026.
All 19 lenders at a glance
| Lender | What it offers (checked November 2026) | Published minimums | Look elsewhere if | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OnDeck | Term loans up to $400,000; lines up to $200,000 | 625+ FICO, 1+ year, $100,000+ annual revenue | You want a lower cost, more than its limits, or your score is under 625 | OnDeck alternatives |
| National Funding | Working capital $6,000 to $500,000; equipment up to $150,000 | Most customers 600+ FICO; reviewers cite 6 months and $250,000 annual revenue | Revenue is lower, or you want monthly payments | National Funding alternatives |
| Funding Circle | No longer lends in the U.S.; U.S. business sold to iBusiness Funding in 2024 | Not applicable | You need a U.S. term or SBA loan | Funding Circle alternatives |
| Rapid Finance | Term loans up to $1 million; lines $5,001 to $250,000; merchant cash advances up to $500,000 | Per NerdWallet: 600 to 650 score, 2 to 3 years, $120,000+ annual revenue, by product | Your business is under 2 years old, or you want published APRs | Rapid Finance alternatives |
| Mulligan Funding | Working capital and term loans up to $10 million, 3 to 24 months | 625+ score, 6+ months, $750,000+ annualized revenue | Revenue is under $750,000 a year, or you need more than 24 months to repay | Mulligan Funding alternatives |
| Biz2Credit | Term loans $25,000 to $2 million; revenue-based financing; lines up to $500,000 in some states | Term loan: 650 score, 12 months, $100,000 annual revenue | Your score or revenue is lower, you need under $25,000, or its line is not offered in your state | Biz2Credit alternatives |
| Bluevine | Line of credit up to $250,000 | 625+ FICO, 12+ months, $10,000+ monthly revenue; corporations and LLCs only; not in NV, ND or SD | You are a sole proprietor, newer than a year or in an excluded state | Bluevine alternatives |
| Fundbox | Lines and term loans, now largely through partner platforms | Not published on its own pages; NerdWallet lists 600 score, 3 months, $30,000 a year | No offer reaches you, or you want a larger line or monthly payments | Fundbox alternatives |
| Kabbage | No longer lends under its own name; successor is the American Express Business Line of Credit ($2,000 to $250,000) | 660+ FICO, 1+ year, $3,000+ average monthly revenue (Amex line) | Your score is under 660 or you need more | Kabbage alternatives |
| PayPal Working Capital | $1,000 to $250,000 (up to $400,000 for repeat borrowers), repaid from PayPal sales | PayPal Business or Premier account 90+ days; $15,000 or $20,000+ annual PayPal sales | PayPal is only part of your revenue | PayPal Working Capital alternatives |
| Shopify Capital | Up to $2 million, by invitation, repaid from daily store sales | Selling on Shopify 90+ days | No offer appears, it is too small, or you want fixed payments | Shopify Capital alternatives |
| Square Loans | Offers from $100 to $500,000, by invitation, repaid from card sales | Processing with Square | No offer in your Dashboard, or Square is only part of revenue | Square Loans alternatives |
| Clearco | Up to $10 million for online direct-to-consumer brands, terms up to 12 months | 6+ months of revenue above $100,000 a month; U.S. incorporated | You sell under $100,000 a month, or need a line or a longer term | Clearco alternatives |
| Wayflyer | $10,000 to $20 million, as a term loan or a revenue-share cash advance | 6+ months trading, $10,000+ monthly sales; U.S. or one of 10 other countries | You want a revolving line, or would rather not connect your sales platforms | Wayflyer alternatives |
| Lendio | Loan marketplace; does not lend its own money | Varies by lender (Finder cites 520 score, 6 months, $8,000 a month) | You want one point of contact or a different network | Lendio alternatives |
| Kapitus | Loans, lines, revenue-based financing and more, through Kapitus and its network | Line of credit page: 2+ years, $250,000 annual revenue, 550 score | Your business is younger or smaller than that | Kapitus alternatives |
| Credibly | Working capital loans and merchant cash advances, $5,000 to $600,000 | 500+ score, 6+ months, $15,000+ monthly revenue | You qualify for a cheaper line or want monthly payments | Credibly alternatives |
| Forward Financing | Revenue-based financing and loans, $5,000 to $500,000, about 3 to 18 months | 500+ score, 1+ year, $10,000+ monthly revenue | You want a lower cost, monthly payments, more than $500,000 or a longer term | Forward Financing alternatives |
| Libertas Funding | Revenue-based financing and term loans, $500,000 to $10 million (sometimes from $100,000) | Not published | You need a smaller amount, a longer term or published criteria | Libertas Funding alternatives |
Amounts and minimums are each provider's own published figures unless a reviewer is named; each guide lists its sources.
Online term lenders
Online term lenders fund a lump sum quickly and collect fixed weekly or monthly payments, usually over two years or less. OnDeck publishes its minimums and its average APRs, which makes it a useful benchmark; our OnDeck alternatives guide covers cheaper lines, larger loans and lower credit minimums. National Funding offers larger working capital amounts and equipment financing, mostly on daily or weekly payments; see National Funding alternatives if you want monthly payments or have lower revenue. Funding Circle was known for multi-year U.S. term loans but left the U.S. in 2024; Funding Circle alternatives explains what replaced it, including SBA routes. Rapid Finance offers term loans, lines and advances, but NerdWallet lists two to three years in business as its minimums; Rapid Finance alternatives covers younger businesses and lower scores. Mulligan Funding lends up to $10 million but asks for $750,000 or more in annualized revenue; see Mulligan Funding alternatives for smaller businesses. Biz2Credit publishes a 650 score and $100,000 revenue floor for its term loans; Biz2Credit alternatives compares lower-minimum lenders and marketplaces.
Lines of credit
A line of credit lets you draw, repay and draw again, which suits recurring timing gaps better than a one-time loan. Bluevine has one of the lower advertised starting rates but excludes sole proprietors and three states; Bluevine alternatives covers who it leaves out and where they can go. Fundbox still has a low time-in-business bar but now offers much of its credit through partner software; see Fundbox alternatives. Kabbage no longer lends under its own name, and its direct successor is the American Express Business Line of Credit; Kabbage alternatives explains what changed. Headway Capital, another former online line provider, is no longer accepting new applications and refers applicants to its affiliate OnDeck, according to OnDeck.
Platform and ecommerce financing: PayPal, Shopify, Square, Clearco and Wayflyer
Payment platforms offer financing by invitation, sized on the sales that run through them and repaid as a share of those sales. They are fast and need no separate application, but they only see one slice of your revenue. Our guides to PayPal Working Capital alternatives, Shopify Capital alternatives and Square Loans alternatives compare the other platform programs with lenders that underwrite your whole bank account. Revenue-based providers that connect to several sales channels at once are the other route for online brands: Clearco funds U.S. direct-to-consumer brands above $100,000 a month, and Wayflyer starts at $10,000 a month in sales; see Clearco alternatives and Wayflyer alternatives. A flat fee repaid in a few months can cost more per year than it looks, so convert it to an annual rate first.
Marketplaces and multi-offer networks
A marketplace or broker takes one application and shows it to several lenders, which can save time and surface offers you would not find alone. Lendio is a marketplace and does not lend its own money; Lendio alternatives compares other marketplaces, brokers and direct lenders. Kapitus lends and also works through a financing network, with higher published minimums on its line of credit; see Kapitus alternatives for younger or smaller businesses. Before you use any intermediary, ask who pays it and when. A legitimate broker should never ask for an upfront fee; our guide to business funding scams to avoid lists the warning signs, and how to choose a business funding broker covers the questions to ask.
Merchant cash advance and working capital providers
Deposit-based providers look mainly at your bank statements, so they accept lower credit scores and younger businesses, usually at a much higher cost and with daily or weekly payments. Credibly publishes a 500+ score and 6-month minimum and offers both working capital loans and merchant cash advances; Credibly alternatives shows when a line of credit or an SBA loan could cost less. Forward Financing funds $5,000 to $500,000 with a 500 score and 1 year in business, repaid daily or weekly; Forward Financing alternatives covers cheaper and longer options. At the large end, Libertas Funding offers $500,000 to $10 million of revenue-based financing without published minimums; Libertas Funding alternatives compares providers that publish their criteria. Before signing any factor-rate offer, work out the total payback and an estimated APR with our guide to how much a merchant cash advance costs.
How to pick the right alternative
- Start with the need. Recurring gaps suit a line of credit; a one-time purchase suits a term loan or equipment financing; slow-paying B2B customers suit invoice factoring.
- Compare total cost, not the headline. Put every offer in the same terms: total payback, payment amount and frequency, and an estimated APR.
- Check the box before you apply. Credit score, time in business, monthly revenue, entity type and state rule many applicants out before pricing even matters.
- Match the payment to your cash flow. Daily or weekly debits are harder to carry than monthly payments when revenue is uneven.
- Count the credit inquiries. Some lenders and marketplaces use a soft check to pre-qualify; a hard inquiry usually comes later.
How FSE compares options from multiple lenders
Every lender above has its own credit box, and applying to them one at a time takes days and repeats the same paperwork. FSE (Funding Solutions Experts) is an independent commercial finance brokerage that works with 50+ lending partners across working capital, lines of credit, term loans, equipment financing, real estate-backed funding and merchant cash advances. You complete one application, and FSE compares what your business may qualify for across those partners, so you can weigh these lenders' alternatives side by side on total cost, payment schedule and term.
- No fee to you. FSE never charges the business any fee; FSE is paid by commission from its funding partners.
- Minimums. At least 1 year in business and $10,000 or more in monthly revenue.
- No credit check to apply. FSE's application does not ask for your Social Security number and does not pull your credit. An individual lender may check credit later in its own process.
- No promises we cannot keep. Approval, amounts and terms are set by each lender, and no approval is guaranteed.
If your business meets those minimums, you can apply once with FSE and compare offers from multiple lenders.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to an online business lender?
For a business with good credit and time to wait, an SBA 7(a) loan or a bank line of credit usually costs the least. For speed with good credit, compare online lines such as Bluevine and the American Express Business Line of Credit. For lower scores, deposit-based lenders such as Credibly publish lower minimums, at a higher cost.
Which business lenders have stopped making new loans?
Kabbage no longer lends under its own name (American Express retired the brand in 2023), Funding Circle no longer operates in the U.S. (it sold its U.S. business in 2024), and Headway Capital is no longer accepting new applications, according to its affiliate OnDeck.
Is a loan marketplace the same as a lender?
No. A marketplace such as Lendio passes your application to lenders in its network and does not lend its own money. The loan, its price and its terms come from the lender you choose.
Do I need good credit for these alternatives?
Not for all of them. Published minimums range from a 500 score (Credibly, Forward Financing) to 625 (OnDeck, Bluevine) and 660 (the American Express line). PayPal and Shopify say they do not check personal credit for their platform financing, and Square says applying does not affect your credit score.
How many alternatives should I compare?
At least two or three offers on the same terms: amount, total payback, payment schedule and term. One application through a broker can bring several offers at once.
Sources
- Each linked guide above lists the provider pages and reviews used for its figures, all checked in November 2026.
- OnDeck, "You've been redirected from Headway Capital" (Headway Capital no longer accepting applications)
- U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) loans
Provider details were checked in November 2026 and change often; confirm current terms with each provider before you apply. Inclusion is not an endorsement and does not mean a provider is part of FSE's network. Brand names belong to their owners; FSE is not affiliated with them.
Part of our Business Lines of Credit guide.
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