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A marketplace won't pick the right loan for you. It will show you several, quickly.
Lendio and similar marketplaces take one application and return offers from dozens of lenders. The good ones include SBA lenders; all of them include products you should read very carefully.
At a glance
as of November 2026
- Typical size
- $1,000 to $1M+
- Speed
- Days for offers; funding depends on lender
- Guarantee or collateral
- Depends on the lender
- Cost structure
- Depends entirely on the lender you match with; ranges from SBA rates to cash-advance factors
- Best for
- Owners who want to compare several offers at once
How it works
You fill out one application, connect your bank, and the marketplace shops it to its lender network. Offers come back ranging from SBA loans to term loans to merchant cash advances. The platform earns a fee from the lender you choose.
This is useful when you don't know where you stand and want to find out fast without talking to six banks. It's dangerous when you take the first offer, because the fastest offers are the most expensive. Read the factor, the term and the holdback before you accept anything.
We place owners through a marketplace when it's the fastest way to see real offers, and we may be paid when you apply. We'd recommend the same route if we weren't.
The trade
For
- ✓One application, many offers
- ✓Good for discovering where you stand
- ✓Includes SBA options
Against
- ✕Fast offers are often MCAs in disguise
- ✕The platform is paid by lenders
- ✕Quality varies widely by lender
How we're paid
Covers may receive a fee from the marketplace when you submit an application. This does not change what we recommend. Full disclosure.
More funding options, explained
All of them
Find out which of these we'd place for your room.
Covers Advisory is an independent capital advisory, not a lender. We do not make funding decisions, and we are compensated by funding partners when a placement we arrange closes. Our recommendation is the same whether or not a partner pays us. How we're paid.