Fundera vs. OnDeck 2023

Both Fundera by Nerdwallet and OnDeck offer a convenient way to get a business loan (or other kind of business financing) with an online application. But while that might make them sound pretty similar, we’ve found key differences in things like their product offerings, loan costs, and more.

Fundera offers way more kinds of business financing than OnDeck―which also means it offers lower interest rates and fees. But OnDeck has lower borrower requirements and faster funding times, which may make it more appealing to some business owners. 

Want more details? Then let’s dive into our comparison of Fundera and OnDeck capital.

The first thing you need to know about these two lending companies? Only one is a lender.

As we explain in our Fundera by Nerdwallet review, Fundera is actually a lending marketplace. It’s kind of like a loan broker, matching small-business owners with partner lenders (which include lenders like Chase Bank, BlueVine, and even OnDeck itself).

So you’ll submit a loan application to Fundera, get matched with lenders, and then get to choose the loan offer you like best. At that point, you’ll finalize your application with your lender of choice.

OnDeck, on the other hand, is a direct lender. Your application goes only to OnDeck, which means that OnDeck approves you (hopefully), and then it’s OnDeck that gives you your funding. (You can learn more about how OnDeck works in our OnDeck review.)

Now, you might wonder why we bother mentioning this. As it turns out, these different small-business lending models make OnDeck and Fundera work quite differently. With that in mind, let’s start talking about some specific differences. 

For starters, Fundera has a lot more kinds of financing for business owners than OnDeck does.

Sure, you can always apply for a simple term loan with Fundera. But it has way more funding options than that:

• Business credit cards
• Business line of credit
• Equipment financing
• Invoice factoring (a.k.a. invoice financing or accounts receivable financing)
• Merchant cash advance
• Personal loan
• SBA loan
• Short-term loan
• Term loan

(If you need a refresher on any of these, our ultimate guide to small-business loans has you covered.)

So whether you want a standard small-business loan, a revolving business line of credit, or some other kind of working capital entirely, Fundera can help you get it. It offers pretty much everything except commercial real estate loans.

OnDeck, on the other hand, gives you two funding choices:

• Short-term loan
• Business line of credit

To be clear, those may be all the loan options you need. After all, term loans and credit lines offer lots of flexibility, making them good for all kinds of working capital needs.

But at the end of the day, Fundera has more financing products than OnDeck, meaning it can meet more specialized funding needs.

Fundera also offers lower interest rates and loan fees than OnDeck can.

The exact costs of financing through Fundera will depend on the type of funding you want, the lender you match with, and your specific borrower qualifications (like your credit score). But as you can see in the table below, Fundera offers several types of financing with very low starting interest rates.

You should definitely expect to pay more for something like a merchant cash advance or even a short-term loan. For well-qualified business owners, though, Fundera has very affordable business financing options.

Things get a little pricier over at OnDeck. Best-case scenario, you end up with a low double-digit APR on your term loan. Worst case, you pay a whole lot more.

To be fair, OnDeck does use APR, or annual percentage rate, which includes the cost of both your interest rate and any loan fees. APR almost always looks higher than a simple interest rate. And for an online lender, OnDeck’s pricing isn’t that bad.

Even so, with starting rates in the double digits, OnDeck doesn’t have the same kind of affordable financing choices Fundera has. If you’re looking for low interest rates, apply with Fundera.

OnDeck does have its advantages though. For instance, OnDeck has lower business loan requirements than Fundera does.

If you want to apply for an OnDeck term loan or line of credit, you’ll need to have the following:

• 600 credit score
• $100,000 in annual revenue
• 1 year in business

In other words, you don’t need a great credit score or an old business to get OnDeck capital (though we do want to point out those are minimums, and typical borrowers have higher qualifications than the bare minimum).

To get a short-term loan at Fundera, on the other hand, requires the following:

• 600 credit score
• $150,000 in annual revenue
• 2 years in business

You need more revenue and an older business. Likewise, for a line of credit, Fundera expects more from its borrowers than OnDeck:

• 630 credit score
• $180,000 in annual revenue
• 1 year in business

Now, Fundera’s borrower requirements do vary a lot depending on the type of financing you want. You can apply for a merchant cash advance with just a 550 credit score (though you’ll need lots of revenue), while a term loan requires a 680 personal credit score. Most loan options fall somewhere in the middle.

On the whole, though, OnDeck has lower borrower requirements than Fundera, making it more accessible for many business owners.

OnDeck has one other advantage worth mentioning: speed.

Remember how Fundera matches you with its partner lenders? That takes time, especially when you factor in the parts where you have to compare loan offers and then finalize an application.

Still, Fundera can get you funded within one business day sometimes. That assumes you’re on top of things and that you want either a short-term loan or a line of credit. In most cases, it will take three to seven days to get funding. In some cases, it takes even longer.

OnDeck, on the other hand, offers faster funding. Because it’s a direct lender, you don’t have to wait for matchmaking or anything. And you won’t have to choose between loan offers―instead, you’ll just decide whether or not you want to accept OnDeck’s offer.

As a result, OnDeck can offer same-day funding. If you apply and get approved in the morning, you may very well get money in your bank account the same day you apply.

OnDeck doesn’t always work that quickly―it’s not a guarantee―but for the most part, OnDeck offers faster funding than Fundera.  

Both Fundera by Nerdwallet and OnDeck offer simple online funding for small  businesses.

That said, Fundera by Nerdwallet has more loan options and lower interest rates than OnDeck. If you want specialized kinds of loans or you just want the best possible deal, we suggest applying with Fundera.

But OnDeck still has some advantages, like its more accessible borrower requirements and its same-day funding options. So if you’ve got a young business, imperfect credit, or you just want working capital ASAP, OnDeck is the online lender for you.

Not quite sold on OnDeck or Fundera? Find some other great lending options on our list of the best small-business loans.

No, Fundera is not a lender―it’s a lending marketplace. So instead of funding your business itself, it matches you with lenders based on your borrower qualifications and business needs.

Yes, Fundera is a reputable company that’s worked with more than 85,000  businesses.¹. And if it helps, Fundera has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.² Plus, Fundera routinely earns great customer reviews from business owners, with a 4.7 out of 5 score on Trustpilot.³

Before we started comparing Fundera and OnDeck, we individually graded each lending company on factors like their loan options, funding times, interest rates, and customer reviews. We used these grades to calculate overall scores for OnDeck and Fundera, and then those scores guided our reviews and recommendations.

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.