In the continuation of our battle series we look at two more of America’s largest online business loan companies. We compare Bluevine vs Kabbage across a number of different factors which are vital to understand when choosing a small business loan company. We’ll look at the minimum borrowing requirements of each provider, the products they offer and the other ways that these two online lenders can add value to your business.

BlueVine vs Kabbage: Quick Comparison

	Bluevine	Kabbage
Loan Amount	$5,000 – $250,000	Up to $250,000
Loan Term	6 – 12 months	6 – 18 months
Unsecured Loans	No	Yes, unsecured line of credit.
Fully Online?	Yes (telephone available too)	Yes (telephone available too)
Client Reviews	92% Positive	94% Positive
Editorial Score	93.8%	94.8%
Website Address:	https://www.bluevine.com	https://www.kabbage.com
Response Time	Same day.	Same day.
Sign-up Time:	Apply in under 2 minutes, no credit check unless you accept the loan offer.	Fast but currently not accepting new applications other than PPP.
General Feedback from Clients Online:	4.3 / 5 on TrustPilot from over 2,300 reviews. Professional service and an excellent team.	4.3 / 5 on TrustPilot from over 6,600 reviews. Unanimously praised for a simple and easy process.

Bluevine vs Kabbage: Products

Both BlueVine and Kabbage structure their line of credit in the same way. Businesses are granted a pre-approved revolving credit line and the borrower can draw funds on demand, as many times as they require, providing it is within their agreed limit. When drawing down on the facility the borrower can opt for either a 6 or 12 month repayment term with Bluevine or, a slightly more flexible, 6, 12 or 18 month repayment term with Kabbage.

The maximum size of the facility is also exactly the same – $250,000 – with both Bluevine and Kabbage but when we consider Bluevine has a significantly higher minimum set of requirements it could be limiting for the larger businesses that Bluevine is aiming for.

You can’t direct the same criticism at BlueVine for their invoice factoring product however – the total size of the facility can be up to $5 million with unpaid invoices acting as collateral in the invoice factoring facility. BlueVine’s invoice factoring facility provides borrowers with an advance on the unpaid invoice amount, then when the invoice due date is reached, the customer pays the amount due to BlueVine instead of sending it to the borrower’s account. Providing the invoice is paid as expected, there is no repayment on part of the borrower, and they take on no debt or liability.

BlueVine will only offer its line of credit on a secured basis, though they do not require a specific asset to be used as collateral. Instead, the Bluevine line of credit is secured “by a general lien on the assets of the business”, and a personal guarantee of a director. Kabbage, on the other hand, only requires a personal guarantee of a director.

Minimum Requirements
Bluevine	Kabbage
Varies depending on the loan product of choice. 530+ FICO (invoice factoring) / 650+ FICO (line of credit) $10,000 monthly revenue (invoice factoring) / $40,000 monthly revenue (line of credit) 3+ months in business (invoice factoring) / 3+ years in business (line of credit)	Business has been operating for at least one year Yearly revenue of $50,000 or monthly revenue of $4,200 Bank account and routing number

 

There’s no doubt that for a line of credit, Kabbage is significantly easier to access. Small businesses with a lower monthly turnover or less time in operation will have much more joy with Kabbage in comparison to Bluevine who stimulate a quite hefty $40,000 in monthly turnover and a minimum of 3 years in business – some of the highest borrowing requirements in the online lending market. That being said, the Bluevine minimum requirements for their invoice factoring facility are very fair, particularly as invoices up to the value of $5 million can be processed under the facility.

BlueVine vs Kabbage – Pricing

	BlueVine	Kabbage
Line of Credit	Starting at 4.8%	Starting at 4%
Invoice Factoring	Starting at 0.25% per week.	N/A

 

The starting interest rates for both BlueVine and Kabbage on their line of credit are very reasonable – particularly when you consider you only pay interest on the portion of funds you draw on the facility. It should be noted, however, that these rates will only be available to the most financially sound of businesses. There is no mention of maximum interest rates by either provider and the rate on offer will be completely unique to each borrower’s situation.

Invoice Factoring starting at 0.25% per week is perfectly reasonable and structured just as you would expect any invoice factoring solution to be. Borrowers pay a fee on a weekly basis and the longer the unpaid invoices take to be paid, the higher the amount of interest the borrower will pay.

BlueVine vs Kabbage: Additional Features

It would appear BlueVine has been keeping itself busy during the coronavirus pandemic with the launch of the BlueVine business checking account. They are the second online lender to launch a business checking account. The first to launch? Kabbage. 

If you compare the business checking accounts on offer by both providers, there is very little to choose between the two:

	BlueVine	Kabbage
Debit Cards	Yes – no fees for ATM withdrawals.	Yes, virtual debit cards can be generated for online purchases too.
Balance Requirements	No minimum balance requirements	No minimum balance requirements
Interest	1%	1.1%
FDIC Secure	Funds are FDIC insured up to $250,000.	Funds are FDIC insured up to $250,000.
Partner Bank	Provided in partnership with Bancorp Bank.	Provided in partnership with Green Dot Bank.

 

The Bluevine business checking account is an innovative new product launched in partnership with Bancorp Bank. The 1% interest on offer represents a very reasonable return, especially when you consider the US federal reserve has set the base rate at 0%. It is only eclipsed by Kabbage’s 1.1% annual return. The Kabbage checking account also allows users to set-up multiple digital wallets to separately manage their income streams and set aside money for specific business goals.

As well as the Kabbage checking account, users can also benefit from Kabbage insights. It’s a completely free-to-use tool that uses algorithms and analytics to help businesses make better cash-flow decisions. Kabbage insights analyzes the real-time data of businesses on a transactional level to provide insights into past, present and future cash positions. We shouldn’t forget about Kabbage payments either – a facility to take online card payments from your customers. When we take all of this into account, Kabbage is way out in front when it comes to additional features.

BlueVine vs Kabbage: Our Take

The product offering and pricing of Bluevine and Kabbage is almost identical. The line of credit is structured in exactly the same way but Kabbage allows for a longer repayment term of 18 months, compared to BlueVine’s 12 months. The lower borrower requirements set by Kabbage also means that businesses with a lower monthly turnover or less time in operation can still apply. That being said, BlueVine offers a very fair set of borrower requirements for its invoice factoring product. If we had to pick BlueVine vs Kabbage? It would be Kabbage for small business and Bluevine for growing or mid-size corporates.