The Best Business Loan Companies for 2023
Are you fed up with the frustrations of dealing with big banks and lenders? Don’t miss out on the best small business loans available online. Our focus is on online lenders and small business loan companies who are able to supply quick and transparent financing. Read the best online business lender reviews below, learn about the process and how to optimize it.
… Before You Apply for a Small Business Loan Through a Lender…
If your goal is not to find a specific business lender but rather get the quickest business financing from small business loan companies, we recommend using Become’s unique matching algorithm, connecting you with the best opportunities for you on the market.
→ Apply for a small business loan with 15 lenders in one click!
Apply for The Best Small Business Loans 2023
The following online small business lenders are editorially selected and provide the best online small business loans with quick applications and approval processes, while providing clarity on repayment schedules. The business loan interest rate will not necessarily be the lowest with these lenders, but the process will be the smoothest.
- Funding: $5,000 to $300,000
- Multi-award Winning Market Leader
- 1-2 Days for Response to Application
- 4.9 / 5 on TrustPilot
- Unsecured Business Loans Available
- 100,000+ Businesses Funded Worldwide
Est. 2011
- Funding: $1,000 to $100,000
- Very Easy to Set Up
- Line of Credit + Invoice Finance Available
- Strong Tech and Interface
- 4.5/5 on TrustPilot
- Prestigious Industry Awards
Est. 2014
- Funding: $5,000 to $250,000
- Secured Business Loans Only
- Machine Learning Based Algorithm
- Smooth Process
- For FICO Score 600+
Est. 2013
- Funding: $5,000 to $500,00
- Great Reputation
- Large Lender
- Excellent Rates Obtainable
- Unsecured Lending
- Very Easy for Beginners
Est. 2006
Small Business Loans Comparison?
There are easier ways to decide online than browsing through the various business lender reviews.
If you require funding of $5,000 to $500,000, you could use an online marketplace, rather than applying to the best small business lenders on a one-by-one basis. A marketplace is essentially an aggregator of many options readily available for small business lending, regardless of the size of your business, your location, or your credit score – a good marketplace will be able to offer you solid options, mitigating the need to compare many different options yourself. A good marketplace will also only accept the absolute best small business loan companies, making your decision safe and easy.
Our marketplace of choice, with editorial rating of 94% is Become Business Loans:
Visit Become (become.co) MarketplaceRead Our Become Business Funding Review
Small Business Loan Company Reviews: How to Compare
The target we have set for ourselves here at BusinessLoanCompanies.com is to compare and review the best financing options a business can have. We don’t necessarily compare the quality of the lender by traditional means of the APR.
Our goal is to help find the best place for online business loans for small businesses, and knowing what businesses really care about, we understand that while big banks cater to larger, more established businesses with meticulous business plans at their disposal, that’s not what small businesses care about most.
There is no best way to get a small business loan but to our judgement smaller U.S businesses care about the following:
- How easy it is to apply online
- How quickly will I receive my business funding
- Do I have a clear repayment schedule
- Is this a company I can trust
- Will it be easy for me to re-borrow funds when I need to
And while the actual interest rate paid makes a substantial difference in any business’ finances, the majority of businesses don’t really qualify for the lower-interest bank business loans out there – and even if they do, the type of groundwork required to apply and the very long period it takes before you actually receive the financing to your bank account, can easily deter them from completing the process with the bank.
So how do you rank online business loan companies if not by interest rate?
- Appropriate regulation or have a banking partner who has the satisfactory qualification by the SEC to lend money to small businesses in the USA.
- Large and established (compared to other lenders, not banks), who have been in the business for several years and have funded businesses for at least hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Willingness to provide unsecured business loans for small businesses. Our focus is on unsecured business funding.
- Flexibility on loan terms, size, and repayments to tailor them to the borrowing business.
- Diversity of funding options available – for example, the ability to borrow money through invoice financing.
- Quick and easy application processes and user-friendly websites that make the whole procedure smoother.
- Not limiting the usage the borrower can do with those funds.
- Great reputation and lender reviews.
Small Business Funding Reviews
Top 5 of the Largest Small Business Lenders Online:
Lending Club Review
With more than 2,000 employees, Lending Club, a publicly traded company, is one of the absolute dinosaurs providing business loans to small businesses. The firm, which was started in 2006, has received tremendous acceptance online from both media and borrowers with 98% positive online reviews. It is generally regarded as one of the best small business loan companies in the U.S today.
The company boasts a moderate average APR for its small business financing (approximately 10.5% APR) which is very impressive considering the fact 100% of their lending is unsecured and under $100,000.
Expedited Loan Application Lending ClubReview – All Data
BlueVine Review
BlueVine leads the pack of the best online small business loan companies for secured lending under $250,000 for periods of 6 to 12 months, as well as a line of credit. The company boasts more than $3bn in money lent to American small businesses since BlueVine’s inception in 2013.
Expedited Loan Application BlueVine Review – All Data
OnDeck Review
OnDeck is one of the best known names in the small business lending industry, and is a multinational corporate, regulated to operate as a small business lender in the US, Canada and Australia. The company boasts the fact it is always extremely transparent and easy/flexible about repayments, in addition to an array of free tools available for customers such as credit score calculators.
OnDeck has lended more than 1bn USD since its establishment and is traded on the NYSE under ticker ONDK.
While OnDeck can be more difficult in accepting newer or less established businesses than some of its peers, the type of A+ journey it provides, with 97% of all online reviews pointing at “positive experiences” suggests it is well worth applying and highly recommended.
Expedited Loan Application OnDeck Review – All Data
FundBox Review
FundBox is a unique option for quick and easy business financing, either via drawing down on a line of credit or against unpaid invoices. In layman terms, what FundBox does is use the unpaid invoices your business has issued as a form of a guarantee. The company offers $1,000 to $100,00 in a line of credit.
The company has grown to be a leader in its niche netting prestigious awards such as the 2018 Best Overall Business Lending Company by FinTech Breakthrough.
Expedited Loan Application FundBox Review – All Data
Best Business Funding Tips for 2023
Borrowing money to run or expand your business is not an easy decision to be making. Business financing is one of those critical crossroads in which if you travel the wrong path, your business may end up troubled.
When you borrow funds, there is more to it than finding the best way to borrow money for your business, or discovering the best place to get a small business loan. It’s about borrowing the right amount of money at the right time for you to be able to repay it successfully and still achieve your goals.
That’s why you should never borrow money you aren’t 100% certain you can repay by the due date. We know it’s easier said than done, but the downward spiral you will be sucked into if you CAN’T make your repayments is simply not worth the risk. If you have an appetite for risk and looking to borrow money to expand your business, you could go for equity financing or the like – but borrowing money that accumulates high interest from an online lender should be a shorter-term cash flow gap fulfillment rather than a way to borrow money instantly without looking back.
That’s why it also makes sense to go through a small business financing process with your own bank, as there is a high likeliness, based on 2019 data that the interest you will pay will be 2.5-6% APR as opposed to an online loan with a wide range of 7-10% APR, Invoice Financing at 13% and up, and Merchant Cash Advance up to 250% APR. Statistically you should be able to access CHEAPER funding through your bank.
Our Guide
Business Loan Companies is not just a website creating reviews and comparisons for business financing specialists. It’s also supposed to serve as a guide for SMEs facing a major decision – whether to use business financing, how much to borrow, how to choose an online business lender (or alternatively, use a bank or a business broker)… it’s a very complex decision and while we cannot provide any individual advice, we can provide general guidelines relating to the decision making.
For example, we have wrote extensively on what happens when you default on a business loan in the U.S because it’s important that business owners are aware of having too fast of a trigger when it comes to borrowing money for their business. We have also written about many different types of business loans from invoice financing to acquisition finance to construction loans… to provide basic information for businesses who many want to go with something more complex but potentially much cheaper than unsecured business loans.
We have also summarized the topic of SBA business loans including a specific guide on “do I have to pay back an SBA loan“. We plan on expanding our content in this area and also cover small business grants which we haven’t touched yet on Business Loan Companies.
Additional Financial Services a Small Business May Need
- Banking services: A small business needs access to reliable banking services, including checking and savings accounts, credit card processing, and loans. These services can help you manage your cash flow, make payments to suppliers, and access capital when you need it. We like HSBC and either of the top 5 best rated on MTC.
- Accounting and bookkeeping: Accurate record-keeping and financial tracking is essential for any business. Professional accounting and bookkeeping services can help you stay on top of your financial transactions, prepare financial statements, and file tax returns on time.
- Payroll management: Proper payroll management is essential for ensuring that your employees are paid accurately and on time. This includes calculating and paying salaries and taxes, and managing other aspects of employee compensation. We like G2’s comparison for domestic payrolls and Papaya Global for overseas payrolls.
- Tax planning and compliance: Tax planning and compliance are critical for any business, as failure to comply with tax laws and regulations can result in significant financial penalties. A tax professional can help you ensure that you’re in compliance and minimize your tax liability.
- Investment and retirement planning: A long-term investment strategy and retirement planning can help ensure that you have the resources you need to maintain your business and support yourself in retirement. We recommend this documented journey to financial freedom by MDJ.
- Insurance: Insurance is critical for protecting your business against potential risks, such as liability, property damage, and loss of income. Having the right insurance policies in place can help you manage these risks and ensure the financial stability of your business. We recommend reading about the integration of AI in insurances.
Online Business Loans: An Epilogue
A small business loan is, for many businesses, a necessity. Overcoming cash gaps is oftentimes a good idea with few alternatives. Many of America’s SMEs are also experiencing an overwhelming lack of access to bank business financing, leaving them to seek for online alternatives.
In the U.S, there are more online business lenders than anywhere else in the world offering diverse small business financing solutions. Although even the best business loan options available for your business may be “expensive” (as in, carrying high interest) they still may provide the remedy you require so that your business will keep functioning.
Hence, our best guidance for using an online business lender is to be weary of borrowing money you can’t repay, choosing the right online business loan company which is offering no early repayments fines and a transparent and clear terms and conditions, and try to use online business loans as a short-term means of finance rather than relying on it for the long term and paying heavily in fees.