Depending on the lender and type of financing, you can usually borrow anywhere from $1,000 to over $5 million. But not all businesses can qualify for loans on the higher end — and you might not want to if it’s more than you actually need.
How much a lender offers and how much you can qualify for are often two different numbers. This depends on several factors, including:
If you have a startup that’s less than six months old, you may want to consider a personal loan from a lender like Upstart instead of a loan for an LLC or other business entity. Business loans are largely based on revenue, while personal loan amounts are based on income. The best business lenders will also offer larger loan amounts to established businesses.
Simply because you can borrow a certain amount doesn’t mean you should go up to that limit. The more you borrow, the more you’ll pay in interest and fees — and the higher your monthly cost will be. Calculate exactly how much you need to finance and limit yourself to that amount. If you can’t predict all of your costs, consider a line of credit.
Use our business loan calculator to see how much a business loan will cost you each month before you apply. Enter the loan amount, APR and term you expect to see the monthly payment and total financing cost.
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Different types of lenders offer different ranges of loan amounts, with banks offering the largest loans and microlenders offering the smallest. Keep in mind that applying for a large amount of funds will also extend the business loan application process.
Banks tend to offer the largest business loans of any provider — especially large, national banks. You can often borrow over $1 million, depending on your business’s finances, collateral and needs. Some larger banks don’t even have maximum borrowing amounts, while community banks might be more limited.
The average business loan from a large bank in 2017 was $493,000, while small banks lent an average of $146,000, according to data from the Federal Reserve.
You can borrow up to around $5 million if you get a loan partly backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA). However, getting even more is possible if you take out an SBA 504 loan for equipment or real estate — that program technically has no limit.
The best online lenders typically offer financing up to $500,000, though you may be able to find providers that lend as much as $10 million. Larger funding amounts are typically backed by collateral, like equipment or vehicle financing.
Typically, you can borrow up to $250,000 with a short-term business lender. These loans tend to be lower because your business has less time to pay them off — usually between three and 18 months. As with other types of business loans, larger amounts are typically only available with collateral.
Business lines of credit typically run up to $100,000. However, it’s possible to get more through the SBA CAPLine program, which offers credit limits of up to $5 million.
Typically, you can borrow between 80% and 100% of the value of the equipment or vehicles you’re purchasing — usually up to $500,000 with a bank or online lender. You can often get more if you apply for an SBA loan.
Microloans run from around $500 to around $10,000, depending on the provider. These are meant to fund small startup costs and are usually available to entrepreneurs and bad-credit borrowers. Unlike short-term loans, these typically are available through nonprofits and come with relatively low rates. Microlender Kiva even has a 0% interest program.
Selling your invoices to a third party can get you between 80% and 95% of the value of the invoices, depending on the lender. Typically, these are meant to cover cash flow gaps while you’re waiting for payment to go through on a large project and can run as high as $10 million.
The two key underwriting ratios at banks I’ve worked at over the last 20 years are the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio and the global debt service coverage ratio (DSCR).
LTV is the amount of the loan divided by the value of the collateral. For real estate, this could be as high as 80%. The DSCR is the amount of cash flow before debt payments divided by debt payments. The standard minimum for this is 1.25.
At the last institution I worked for, I approved pricing for any loan over $1 million that had a fixed rate for longer than five years. The most important ratio to receive good pricing is a high DSCR. The LTV only protects the bank if they have to foreclose.
Select the ranges for how much you want to borrow, your business’s revenue, time in business and your credit score to view your personalized options.
You have a few options to lower the cost of your loan — both in the short and long term.
From applying for government-backed financing to making a hefty down payment, here are a few ways to qualify for a larger loan:
Alternative business loans like merchant cash advances and factoring might get you quick access to cash flow and more funding than a term loan or line of credit because of the way they’re structured. A merchant cash advance gives you an advance on your business’s future sales and can run as high as $10 million. Factoring involves selling your unpaid invoices at a discount and can also get you several million dollars.
But beware: Both tend to be much more expensive than your standard term loan and are generally best saved as a last resort.
Finder data suggests that men aged 25-34 are most likely to be researching this topic.
| Response | Male (%) | Female (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 65+ | 1.91% | 0.83% |
| 55-64 | 3.66% | 2.58% |
| 45-54 | 9.33% | 5.16% |
| 35-44 | 14.08% | 8.30% |
| 25-34 | 22.59% | 9.23% |
| 18-24 | 15.16% | 7.17% |
Personal loans can be an inexpensive alternative to startups that need funds to get you through those first few months — as long as you have income from a source outside your new business.
Narrow down your options by comparing the APR, minimum credit score and loan amount to find the right choice for your business. Select Compare for a side-by-side look at how these stand up to each other.
How much business lenders offer and how much you can borrow are two different numbers. But the one you might want to focus on is how much you actually need to borrow for your project to avoid taking on more debt than necessary.
You can compare business lenders and learn more about how it all works with our guide to business loans.
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