Bluevine vs. Lendio Business Loans

Considering a loan application with Lendio, but not sure if you should apply with Bluevine instead? Or thinking about a line of credit from Bluevine, but wondering if Lendio is the way to go?

Both Lendio and Bluevine are good choices for small-business financing (including lines of credit and invoice financing). But depending on your business’s specific funding needs, one might work better for you than the other.

That’s why we’re comparing Bluevine and Lendio―from loan options to funding times and beyond. Let’s figure out which of these two online lending companies has the best financing for your business.

On the surface, Bluevine and Lendio don’t look too different.

They both seem to be alternative lenders (also called online lenders or fintech lenders). That means that, unlike at many traditional banks, you can submit your loan application completely online―and usually get approved and funded more quickly than you would at a bank too.

And in good news, both Bluevine and Lendio get excellent customer reviews. Bluevine earns a 4.4 out of 5 on Trustpilot, while Lendio earns a slightly higher 4.8.^{1, 2} So with either option, you’re likely to have a good experience.

But when it comes down to it, Bluevine and Lendio actually do their small-business lending in very different ways.

Bluevine is a direct lender. With a direct lender, you apply for your loan, get funding, and repay your loan all through the same company.

Lendio, on the other hand, is a lending marketplace. With a lending marketplace, you submit a general loan application. Then the marketplace shops around for you to find loan offers you qualify for. You get to pick your favorite offer, and then get funded and repay your loan through a separate lender―not the lending marketplace.

It might seem like a subtle difference, but Lendio and Bluevine’s different lending models lead to a couple of much bigger differences―specifically with loan options and funding times.

As a direct lender, Bluevine doesn’t offer a ton of loan options. It only has two: invoice financing (which lets you get funding using unpaid invoices as collateral) and business lines of credit.

Lendio, in contrast, has way more loan types. It has invoice financing and lines of credit, yes, but it also offers term loans, SBA loans, merchant cash advances, commercial real estate loans, and more. And since Lendio partners with lots of different lenders, you get way more lender options too.

Put simply, if it’s loan choice you’re looking for, Lendio has you covered. Just keep in mind that Bluevine’s two loan types are still plenty versatile for most working capital needs―you don’t always need tons of options.

Besides, Bluevine’s direct lending model gives it an advantage when it comes to speed.

Because it’s a direct lender, Bluevine approves your loan application and funds you itself. That lets it do things quickly―like apply and get money in the same day quickly. Sure, things don’t always move quite that fast (it may take you a day or two to get funded), but Bluevine generally offers a fast turnaround.

But as a lending marketplace, Lendio has to shop around for you to find loan offers―a process that can take several days. And after you’ve received an offer you like, you still have to finalize your application and get approved before you can get funding. So while Lendio says you can get funded with 24 hours of loan approval, you need to remember that the approval process can take days (or longer, depending on your loan type).

In other words, if you want to get financing as quickly as possible, you’ll prefer Bluevine’s quick loan approval and funding process. But if you can afford to wait a few days, Lendio still works faster than many traditional lenders.

Loan options and funding times are the biggest differences between Bluevine and Lendio, but we’ve also found some other differences you should know about.

Bluevine and Lendio are neck-and-neck when it comes to requirements. But they are slightly different. With Bluevine, you can apply for invoice financing with a business as young as three months. Lendio, on the other hand, accepts slightly lower credit scores.

But with either BlueVine or Lendio, borrower requirements really come down to the type of financing you’re applying for.

BlueVine, for example, expects much more from business owners that want a line of credit (think a 600 credit score and six months in business).

Likewise, with Lendio, you’ll need a higher credit score and more time in business to qualify for a commercial real estate loan than to qualify for a merchant cash advance. Or if you want an SBA term loan, you’ll need higher revenue and credit than if you want invoice financing.

In both cases, remember that minimum borrower requirements are just that―minimums. Meeting those minimums isn’t a guarantee you'll get financing. And if you do, your specific borrower requirements will affect things like the loan amount and interest rate you can qualify for.

While we’ve been talking about loan products, we also want to point out that Bluevine and Lendio both offer other business products.

In Bluevine’s case, you can get a business checking account―and a pretty good one at that. Bluevine doesn’t charge normal banking fees (like monthly fees or transaction fees). And as an added perk, Bluevine business checking accounts earn interest on your account balance. (You can get all the details in our Bluevine banking review.)

Lendio can’t help you get a bank account, but it can help you get a business credit card. Like with its loan marketplace, a single application can help you get card offers from several different credit card companies―making it an easy way to compare your card options.

Of course, you don’t need to use Bluevine and Lendio’s other offerings to get a business loan from them―or vice versa. But it can be convenient to get several of your business needs met in one place.

So with all these differences in mind, which lender should you apply with―Bluevine or Lendio?

If you need funding in a jiffy, then Bluevine is the better lending option for your business.

Bluevine offers near-instant loan application approval on its lines of credit. And while its invoice factoring can take a little bit longer to get approval on, you can still get approved within 24 hours. Bluevine offers invoice factoring through their partner FundThrough, so you won’t be working with Bluevine directly.

Funding can happen almost just as quickly. If you opt to get your funds via wire transfer (a $15 fee), you can get money within a few hours. Or you can use the free ACH transfer option. In that case, you should have money in your bank account the next day.

The point? With Bluevine, you can go through the funding process in a matter of hours at fastest or a couple days at slowest. So you won’t have to sit around waiting to get approved or funded.

And as you can see in our Bluevine review, Bluevine has more going for it than just speed. It offers super low starting interest rates on lines of credit, for example. Likewise, Bluevine has nice, low borrower requirements on its invoice factoring, making it an accessible form of working capital.

That doesn’t mean Bluevine is perfect. It has way fewer loan types than Lendio does. So if you’re picky about your loan preference, Bluevine may not be able to meet your needs.

Still, with fast funding on its versatile working capital financing, Bluevine is a great alternative lender for many businesses.

Want plenty of loan choices―and to feel confident you’re getting a good deal? Then Lendio’s the lending company for you.

As we said above, Lendio partners with lots of different lenders (more than 75). So with one loan application, you can get offers from all sorts of lending companies (including both online lenders and a few traditional lenders).

And with so many lenders, you also get tons of loan options. Whether you want a merchant cash advance or a commercial real estate loan, Lendio can help you out. That means that you can get a loan that works for your business’s specific needs rather than trying to force a generic loan to work for you.

Plus, since Lendio shops around to find you offers, you don’t have to worry about missing out on a better offer like you might if you apply with a direct lender. Lendio will help you find the lowest interest rates and largest loans you can qualify for.

Lendio’s biggest downside? The wait times. It takes time for Lendio to shop around for you. And after you choose your loan offer, you’ll spend additional time finalizing your loan application―and then more time waiting to get funded. (For more details on Lendio’s application process, see our Lendio review).

But if you can afford that kind of a wait time, then Lendio’s lending marketplace can offer you plenty of options―and hopefully a great deal on your loan.

Both Bluevine and Lendio have plenty of great qualities―and a couple drawbacks.

Bluevine offers super fast application approval and funding times, so you can get your loan money ASAP. But with only two types of financing available, Bluevine might not have quite the right loan option for you.

Lendio gives you way more loan choices (thanks to its marketplace model), plus the ability to compare loan offers. But you’ll need to be patient, and Lendio’s loan shopping can add days to your loan application process.

So which of the two should you go with? Whichever you think meets your small-business lending needs better. Because ultimately, both lenders are great options.

Not convinced by either Bluevine or Lendio? See more of our favorite lenders on our rankings of the best small-business loans.

No, Bluevine and Lendio are not the same―but they do partner together. Bluevine is a direct lender, while Lendio is a lending marketplace that works with Bluevine as one of its lending partners.

Bluevine is legitimate. It has very positive customer reviews, partners with trustworthy lending marketplaces (like Lendio), and has funded more than 450,000 small-business owners.³

Bluevine is an approved lender for some types of SBA business loans, but not all. It’s approved for SBA Paycheck Protection Program loans (aka PPP loans), but not for other SBA loans, like SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 loans.

Yes, Bluevine is a legitimate lender for PPP loans (Paycheck Protection Program loans). But like all PPP lenders, Bluevine has stopped accepting new PPP loan applications.

Disclaimer

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.