Best Fast and Easy Business Loans in 2023

Need a fast business loan? Thanks to online lenders, you’ve got plenty of loan options―and we’ve rounded up the best ones for you.

We compared financing options, rates, funding speeds, and more from dozens of business lenders to find the best quick business loans. And in this article, we’ll show the best lenders for fast financing, no matter your business needs.

Whether you need a low interest rate, a loan you can get with bad credit, or you have a specific type of business financing in mind, we’ve got a fast loan recommendation for you.

Pretty much all the fast business loans on this list come from online lenders (also called alternative lenders). That’s because online lenders tend to offer much faster approval times and funding times than traditional lenders (aka banks or credit unions) do.

Rather than taking days or weeks to get to your application, online lenders can often approve you within minutes or hours. And once you’re approved, many alternative lenders can get your financing to your bank account by the next day―if not sooner.

Of course, fast financing does come with some tradeoffs you should know about. For example, most online lenders have pretty limited loan options when compared to traditional lenders. You can’t get a super fast commercial real estate loan, for example, or SBA loans. Instead, you’ll be looking at short-term loans, invoice financing, lines of credit, and other types of working capital loans.

Those types of business funding tend to come with higher interest rates and loan fees than things like long-term loans. That means that while you do get your loan much more quickly, you’ll likely end up paying more to do so―especially if you don’t have great personal credit. Still, if you need a business loan in a jiffy, you’ll likely find the tradeoffs worth it. So let’s look at the best lenders for fast business loans. 

Bluevine offers the best fast business loans for most businesses.

In part, that’s because Bluevine offers two versatile financing products: a business line of credit and invoice factoring. A line of credit gives you revolving credit, so you can use it over and over again, making it a great source of flexible working capital. And since invoice factoring lets you get money from unpaid invoices, it offers a good cash flow solution for businesses that invoice their customers.

Fortunately, we see plenty to like about both of Bluevine’s business funding options. They have low starting rates (in fact, Bluevine’s line of credit has one of the most competitive interest rates we’ve found from an online lender) and few other loan fees. And with invoice financing up to $5 million, Bluevine has some of the largest loan amounts on this list.

Now, Bluevine does have higher business revenue requirements than many other lenders, so not all businesses will qualify for its financing. But Bluevine has moderate credit score requirements and lends to very young businesses, making Bluevine more accessible than a traditional lender.

And by the way, Bluevine is one of a few lenders that offers same-day financing. Yes, you’ll need to pay an additional wire transfer fee to get it―but even so, Bluevine might be the fastest lender on this list. 

So between its flexible financing, low costs, and moderate borrower requirements, Bluevine is our favorite source for fast and easy business loans.

Backd gets points for flexibility and speed to funding.

Applying for a line of credit is simple and fast. You apply online with your proof of ownership, most recent tax return and bank verification. You will receive an answer and funding within 24 hours. Backd's funding turnaround is one of the fastest in the biz. 

Backd also has the most flexible repayment requirements we’ve seen for a line of credit. Backd allows for terms of six months or 12 months. As you need funds, your credit automatically reloads when you pay your balance. There is no need to contact an agent each time you need more funds.

The biggest drawback is that Backd does not fund all industries. Some industries Backd will not work with include financial services, real estate services, government or non-profit agencies, cannabis, and adult entertainment to name a few. 

Think you’ll want more than one term loan over the next few years? Then let’s talk about OnDeck’s perks for repeat borrowers.

OnDeck has some nice bonuses for its repeat customers, like lower origination fees and interest rates on its financing. Likewise, if you get approved for another loan through OnDeck while you’re still paying off your first one, OnDeck may waive the remaining interest on your first loan. In other words, OnDeck can save you money on your repeat financing needs.

As you can imagine, you do have to qualify for these kinds of perks. While OnDeck’s minimum borrower requirements are pretty standard, this lender admits that typical borrowers have much higher qualifications. And since its average APR (annual percentage rate) is more than 45%, OnDeck definitely isn’t the cheapest option.

If you don’t mind those potential issues, though, OnDeck has plenty to offer your business as you borrow over the years.

Don’t have the best credit score? With SnapCap, you may be able to find financing even with bad credit.

SnapCap accepts credit scores as low as 500―“poor” personal credit according to the FICO scoring system. That’s a much lower score than any traditional lenders will accept, and lower than most online lenders too. And SnapCap offers both merchant cash advances and term loans, so you still get at least a couple financing options with your low credit score.

Remember, though, that SnapCap’s minimum credit score is just that―a minimum. You’ll likely need to have more impressive revenue and an older business to qualify for financing with poor personal credit. And as you’ve probably guessed, you should expect to pay more for your loan.

All the same, SnapCap’s low minimum credit score requirement makes financing accessible for business owners with all sorts of credit scores.

If you’ve been considering a merchant cash advance as an emergency business loan, then we recommend going with Lendr.

Now, we generally advise against merchant cash advances. They’re confusing and expensive, so we recommend sticking to other types of small-business financing if you can. But cash advances are fast and relatively easy to qualify for―so if you’re sure you understand how they work and you want one, Lendr is the best place to get one.

We like Lendr for its excellent customer reviews (much better than many other cash advance companies) and for its transparency around pricing. It’s still expensive, and we still wouldn’t get a merchant cash advance as a first resort.

But if you’re confident that a merchant cash advance can help your business, Lendr offers speed and transparency.

As a lending marketplace, Lendio works more like a loan broker than a lender. You submit a brief application, and then Lendio does some shopping for you. Then you get to choose from loan offers. That makes lending marketplaces like Lendio a great way to find the cheapest business financing you can qualify for―especially since Lendio has a huge stable of lenders and excellent customer reviews.

Just know that the matchmaking process does slow things down a bit. Lendio can get you matched and funded within a couple days, but that’s not a guarantee. So if you need funding within 48 hours, apply directly with a lender instead.

But if you can afford to wait a couple days, Lendio’s lending marketplace can get you a great deal on your working capital.

Like Lendio, Fundera is a lending marketplace. So again, one loan application can lead to multiple loan offers that you get to choose from. Fundera also has great customer reviews. But it does work with a slightly different set of lenders than Lendio (though there’s overlap), and offers a couple types of loans (like personal loans for business) that Lendio doesn’t. So you may find Fundera better fits your needs.

You’ll see the same downsides, though. Fundera matchmaking can take a day or two, as can finalizing your loan application. So again, a lending marketplace like Fundera will never be your fastest option.

But if you don’t mind slowing down just a bit, Fundera offers another great way to compare loan offers.

Need equipment? Whether you’re financing a vehicle, restaurant equipment, or even software, Balboa Capital has fast loans for you. Balboa capital offers same-day equipment financing, so you never have to miss out on a great deal. You can get up to $500,000 the day you apply. Just apply online, and you should get your answer within one hour. 

As you might have guessed, equipment loans don’t have the lowest borrower requirements. But unlike some other lenders, Balboa has pretty moderate requirements―just one year in business and $100,000 in revenue.

So if you need equipment and you need it soon, Balboa Capital offers the fastest way to get equipment financing.

We’ve highlighted several lenders with lines of credit already, but Kabbage provides another good option. Its lines of credit come with longer repayment terms than many other online lenders (if you qualify). And while its monthly fees aren’t cheap, they’re less expensive than credit lines from some alternative lenders.

That said, Kabbage currently only lends to existing customers and American Express users (though it may start lending more broadly soon). And Kabbage isn’t as fast as it used to be―funds can now take up to three days to appear in your account.

Still, Kabbage’s line of credit works faster than traditional alternatives―so it may be a good credit option for your business.

Unlike other lenders on this list, Rocket Loans offers personal loans―but personal loans that you can use for business. While we usually recommend sticking to business loans when possible, personal loans do have some advantages. Like your business revenue and time in business don’t matter as much as your personal credit score and income. That makes them a good option for some startups.

And among personal lenders for business, Rocket Loans is one of our favorites. It offers same-day funding and has relatively low borrower requirements. 

As long as you can deal with the small loan amounts and the personal liability, a Rocket Loans personal loan might be just the fast loan you need.

For most small-business owners that need a quick business loan, we recommend Bluevine. It has a couple flexible working capital options with low rates and reasonable borrower requirements.

If you plan to get more loans, OnDeck has great discounts for repeat borrowers. Business owners with bad credit will like SnapCap’s low credit requirements. And if you’re convinced you need a merchant cash advance, Lendr offers the best ones we’ve found.

Plus, our honorable mention picks offer more great, fast financing options. So what are you waiting for? Go apply for your loan. With any luck, you’ll have your money in no time.

Ready to apply for financing? Expedite your loan application process by learning the details of how to get a business loan.

To get the best loan for your small business, we recommend applying with Lendio. It’s a lending marketplace, so it lets you compare loan offers from different lenders. That way, you can find the best loan that you personally qualify for.

The easiest place for your business to get a loan will depend on your specific situation and qualifications. That said, lenders like BlueVine, Fundbox, and the others reviewed above accept young businesses and lower credit scores, making them much easier to get loans from than traditional lenders like banks.

We compared factors such as loan options, interest rates, borrower requirements, and funding times at dozens of lenders. We use those factors to create scores and rank lenders. The lenders in this article are the top-scoring lenders that offer funding times of less than one week.

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.