Best Florida Small Business Loans & Financing Resources 2022

Looking for business funding in the Sunshine State? Most Florida business owners will like Lendio best, thanks to its many funding options and personalized loan matchmaking.

We’ve found the best small-business lenders for small businesses all over Florida― from Pensacola to Jacksonville to Miami, or somewhere in between. Our list includes both traditional lenders (banks and credit unions) and online lenders (aka alternative lenders) to give you more options. We’ll tell more about Lendio―and other great options for Florida small businesses―in our reviews below.

Lendio offers the best small-business loans (and other financing products) for most Florida small businesses.

While a Florida bank or credit union can only offer you a handful of loan options, Lendio offers everything from term loans to business lines of credit to merchant cash advances to invoice factoring. That’s because Lendio is actually a lending marketplace, meaning it partners with lots of different lenders.

As a lending marketplace, Lendio can meet more business owners’ funding needs than a local bank can. Even if you have bad credit, a young business, or growing revenue, Lendio has funding products that can work for you.

Plus, Lendio will help match you with the loan products that make sense for you and your business. You can get personalized guidance instead of just applying for a one-size-fits-all product.

The downsides? Lendio’s matchmaking does take a couple days, so it’s not the fastest financing company around. And while Lendio does partner with some affordable lenders that offer low-cost loans, some types of financing can get pricey.

Still, Lendio offers tons of selection and personalized service―all while earning great reviews. So most Florida business owners should start their loan shopping at Lendio.

Got an urgent funding need? Then you’ll like Bluevine and its fast funding times.

Bluevine offers same-day funding on its lines of credit. Just fill out Bluevine’s easy application, and it will automatically make a decision. That means you get approved in just a few minutes. And by paying for a wire transfer of your new funds, you can get funded hours later. That’s way faster than a traditional bank or credit union in Florida can get you money.

You do need to understand, though, that Bluevine offers just business lines of credit at this point―no term loans or anything. And while Bluevine has pretty moderate credit score and time-in-business requirements, it does expect more revenue than your average online lender.

But if Bluevine’s revenue requirements don’t phase you, you can enjoy super-fast funding from this online lender.

Is your Florida-based business pretty new? You might have the best luck with Fundbox.

Fundbox has just lines of credit (like Bluevine). Unlike other lenders, though, Fundbox has very relaxed business age requirements. Does Fundbox prefer your business to have six months under its belt? Yep. But will Fundbox work with your business if it’s younger than yet? Sure will. Fundbox accepts applications from businesses as young as two months old.

As you might guess, Fundbox’s relaxed age requirement does come with a tradeoff. Fundbox costs more than traditional lenders. In fact, its lines of credit use a pricey draw fee instead of an interest rate. And since you have to repay your credit line so quickly (six months, max), Fundbox credit lines end up with a very high effective APR (annual percentage rate).

Even so, young startups can get financing through Fundbox―even when they don’t qualify for loans through anyone else.

Prefer to stick with a local Florida lender? We recommend Suncoast Credit Union.

Suncoast Credit Union offers several different loan options (which is more than we can say for many traditional lenders). You can get microloans, vehicle loans, real estate loans, and more for your Florida business. And while other credit unions and banks have very high borrower requirements, Suncoast Credit Union keeps things accessible. Its microloan has very relaxed credit and business age requirements compared to your average traditional lender.

Of course, since it’s a credit union, you do need to be a Suncoast Credit Union member to qualify. And while Suncoast has pretty simple membership requirements―you just need to be in one of 39 Florida counties―it won’t work for every Florida business owner.

If your business is one of Suncoast’s eligible counties, though, we think it’s your best bet for local Florida business lending.

Want the benefits of a big bank? Go with Bank of America’s business loans.

Bank of America has more financing options than lots of banks, with secured and unsecured loans of all kinds. It also has the lowest starting interest rates of any bank we’ve found, making it one of your most affordable borrowing options. Plus, Bank of America is available in Florida and lots of other states―making it great for businesses that have expansion plans.

Of course, as a big bank, Bank of America has very high borrower requirements. While its newest secured credit line accepts young businesses and lower credit scores, most products require a credit score in the high 600s, a business age of at least two years, and more than $200,000 in revenue. And like most big banks, Bank of America does get pretty poor customer reviews.

Still, many Florida business owners may feel that Bank of America’s low costs and many options make it worth braving the bad reviews.

While we think Suncoast Credit Union is the best local lender for most Florida businesses, we did find some other Florida and regional lenders worth looking at.

City National Bank of Florida has quite a few different kinds of business financing. You’ll find standard term loans, sure. But City National Bank of Florida also has funding types you don’t usually see at a bank―like accounts receivable financing (aka invoice financing).

And City National Bank has both SBA 7(a) loans and SBA 504 loans, which means it offers some of the largest (but still affordable) business loans around.

First Florida Credit Union has term loans, lines of credit, vehicle loans, and real estate loans. Aside from owner-occupied real estate loans, First Florida Credit Union has investment property loans―not very common for traditional banks.

You’ll need to be a member of First Florida Credit Union to apply for its business financing. Eligibility is location based, with membership available to people living or working in any of 39 different Florida counties.

Florida Credit Union has some specialized loan options, like truck and van loans, equipment loans, and investment real estate loans. It also has standard business lines of credit, meaning that most businesses can use its financing.

As a credit union, Florida Credit Union does have membership requirements. You need to live or work in one of 48 Florida counties or be a student or alumni of a school in certain Florida counties.

One Florida Bank has all the usual financing options of a bank, like term loans, lines of credit, and SBA business loans.

But One Florida Bank also has some less-common options, such as agriculture business loans, construction loans, and even commercial bridge loans. So agricultural or real estate businesses may want to take a closer look at One Florida.

SouthState Bank actually serves several Southern states, including Florida. You can get term loans, lines of credit, SBA business loans, commercial real estate loans, and more.

The most interesting product? SouthState Bank offers franchise financing, along with other franchise-specific services. If you’ve got your eye on opening or buying a franchise location, SouthState could be the bank for you.

If you don’t mind using an out-of-state lender, plenty of alternative lenders offer financing for Florida small businesses. These are some of our favorites.

• OnDeck - Best for repeat borrowers
• Avant - Best personal loan option
• Kiva - Best for 0% interest
• SmartBiz - Best for SBA loans
• Lendr - Best for bad credit

You can learn more about these lenders (and others) on our guide to the best small-business loans.

Lendio has the best business loans and financing for most Florida businesses (and businesses in other states). Its lending marketplace can match you with all kinds of funding options, making Lendio versatile enough to work for all sorts of Florida businesses.

If time is of the essence, you may prefer to get a same-day line of credit from Bluevine. Florida startups can benefit from Fundbox’s financing for even very new small businesses. Suncoast Credit Union can give you a local lender with all the benefits of a traditional bank but without the restrictive borrower requirements. And Bank of America offers the best big bank option for Florida businesses, thanks to its ultra-low interest rates.

Estimate how much your new business loan will cost your small business with Business.org’s business loan calculator.

To find the best Florida small-business loans, we compared dozens of lenders―including both online lenders and traditional lenders (banks and credit unions) that service Florida. We compared funding options, interest rates, customer reviews, and more to score and rank the best lenders.

As you look for a business loan for your Florida-based business, don’t limit your search just to Florida lenders.

See, traditional lenders (like banks and credit unions) with brick-and-mortar locations are great―especially if you prefer an in-person touch. But these traditional, local lenders also usually have pretty high business loan requirements. In many cases, they look for business owners that have at least the following qualifications:

• Credit score in the high 600s
• 2 years in business
• More than $200,000 in annual revenue

That makes funding inaccessible to lots of businesses―like small-business owners with bad credit, young startups, and more.

Fortunately, just because your business is in Florida doesn’t mean you have to get funding from Florida. Online lenders, also called alternative lenders, offer nationwide lending. And they tend to have much lower borrower requirements than traditional lenders (though they do cost more).

We’ll give you options for both kinds of lenders. If you want to keep your money in Florida, we’ve got some local banks and credit unions you can consider. But if you need more accessible loans, we’ve got plenty of online lenders to apply with.

Either way, you need to make sure your lender of choice is a good match for you. So ask yourself these questions:

• Do I meet this lender’s borrower requirements?
• Does this lender offer the kind of loan or financing I want?
• How quickly can this lender fund my business?

That way, you can be sure to find a lender that works well for your business’s needs.

Bank of America is the best bank for business loans, thanks to its many loan options and very competitive interest rates.

The minimum credit score for most SBA loans is a 640―but you’ll have better chances of getting approved with a higher score.