4 best startup business loans of October 2024

Starting a business can be costly, especially if you require expensive equipment or need to do some hiring in your first year. Fortunately, some lenders offer small business loans that can help you get up and running. We’ve rounded up the best of them, so read on to find out which one is right for you.

Who’s this for? Kiva offers microloans of up to $15,000, making this lender an accessible option for businesses that don’t need to borrow a ton of money.

Standout benefits: The microloans offered by Kiva come at a 0% interest rate, which is a big help to new businesses that want to save money.

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Who’s this for? Credibly offers pre-qualification for a small business loan in just a few minutes, according to the lender’s website. They also boast same-day funding in under 24 hours.

Standout benefits: This lender considers credit scores as low as 500.

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Who’s this for? Fora Financial offers term loans of up to $1.5 million, making it attractive to businesses that need a glut of capital.

Standout benefits: Fora Financial doesn’t charge any fees or penalties for early repayment.

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Who’s this for? Greenbox Capital offers secured loan options, which can help applicants with less-than-ideal credit circumstances get funding and become a less risky borrower.

Standout benefits: Borrowers can get funded in as little as one business day.

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Kiva is a non-profit offering a peer-based lending platform for entrepreneurs to crowdfund their loans. This is how they’re able to offer 0% interest funding. According to the lender’s website, they’ve helped over 2.5 million borrowers.

Loan amounts

Up to $15,000

Eligibility requirements

To qualify, you must be over 18 years old and based in the United States. Your business can’t be engaged in multi-level marketing, direct sales, illegal activities or financial investing. Your business also can’t be in foreclosure, bankruptcy or under any liens.

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As a fintech platform, Credibly offers a variety of financing solutions for businesses including merchant cash advances and business lines of credit. In addition to traditional credit factors, Credibly considers the business’s overall health when deciding whether to underwrite a loan.

Loan amounts

$5,000 to $600,000

Eligibility requirements

Typically requires six months in business, a credit score of at least 500 and an average monthly revenue of at least $15,000.

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Loans from Fora Financial can be used for almost any business expense across many industries, including retail, medical, hospitality, and construction.

Loan amounts

$5,000 to $1.5 million

Eligibility requirements

Must be in business for a minimum of six months, have a monthly revenue of at least $15,000 and have no open bankruptcies.

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Greenbox Capital has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and also offers different funding options including invoice factoring, a business line of credit and merchant cash advances.

Loan amounts

$3,000 to $500,000

Eligibility requirements

Must be in operation for at least five months

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You’ll need some basic contact and identifying information like your name, address, phone number and name of your business. Some other information lenders commonly require include:

• What industry your business is in (lenders can have different restrictions around what types of businesses they give loans)
• Business bank statements, so lenders can understand your basic finances. Many lenders also have a minimum annual revenue requirement in order to qualify for a loan.
• A business plan that gives lenders an idea of how you plan to grow your business and how the funds will be used.

Some lenders may have a more robust set of requirements for documentation that may also include licenses and permits, personal and business tax returns and income statements.

If you can’t qualify for a startup business loan (or don’t think it’s the right move), consider these alternative funding sources:

• Business grants: Grants provide you with funding that you don’t have to pay back. The downside is that grants can be difficult to get since they require a robust application process and often take months to provide a decision. If you quickly need money, this isn’t a good option.
• Business lines of credit: Lines of credit usually have lower funding limits and are revolving (similar to a credit card), but that also makes them easier to obtain than loans.
• Crowdfunding: A large number of people may provide you with small amounts of money to help you reach a fundraising goal. Keep in mind that many crowdfunding platforms charge a fee (such as a percentage of the total funds raised).
• Personal savings: Using your own money to bootstrap your business comes with risk, but it can help you avoid taking on debts that may be difficult to repay.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every small business loan review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of loan products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best bad credit small business loan lenders.

To determine which small business loans offer the best financing for business startup costs, CNBC Select analyzed a dozen U.S. loans offered by both online and brick-and-mortar lenders. For this roundup, we didn’t evaluate business lines of credit, invoice factoring/financing, merchant cash advances since they either have a long application process (like SBA loans) or act differently than a traditional term loan, which gives you a lump sum that you pay back over a fixed time period.

We compared each small business loan on a range of features, including:

• Minimum and maximum loan amounts
• Length of term
• Credit score needed
• Application requirements
• Streamlined application process
• Fund disbursement
• Customer support
• Better Business Bureau rating
• Customer reviews, when available

The rates and fee structures for small business loans are subject to change without notice, and they often fluctuate in accordance with the prime rate. However, once you accept your loan agreement, a fixed-rate APR will guarantee that the interest rate and monthly payment will remain consistent throughout the entire term of the loan. Your APR, monthly payment and loan amount depend on your credit history and creditworthiness.

To take out a small business loan, lenders will conduct a hard credit inquiry and request a full application, which could require both personal and business proof of income, identity verification, proof of address and more. You’ll likely also need to put up collateral, which can include business equipment, real estate or personal assets.

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