Independent and free. We’re not a lender. We just show you the math funders don’t. No signup.

That funding offer has a price tag they didn’t show you.

“A 1.3 factor rate” sounds like 30% interest. It almost never is. With daily payments over six months, it’s usually the same money as a 100%+ APR loan. Run your offer through the calculator and see the true cost printed, line by line, before you sign anything.

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The True-Cost Calculator

EST. v1
Your true cost EST. ANNUALIZED RATE (APR) –

An estimate, for education only. It is not an offer, a quote, or financial advice. We assume equal payments each period and turn the cost into a yearly rate, the same way every other loan is measured. Your contract’s own disclosure is the number that counts. Every offer differs. Always read yours.

How we calculate this

We solve for the periodic rate that makes your payment stream worth what you actually received (an equal-payment internal rate of return), then annualize it: 260 payment days a year for daily plans, 52 weeks for weekly. The 109% headline on this page is recomputed live by this same code. Nothing is typed in by hand.

Why a “1.3” hides a number like this: Factor rates, decoded

$0what using this site costs, ever
0signups or phone calls required
4funding types tested and compared
≈109%the APR a “1.3 factor” can hide

Why “1.3” doesn’t mean 30%

A factor rate multiplies. Borrow $50,000 at 1.3 and you repay $65,000. That part is simple. The trick is time and speed: you repay it in daily withdrawals over about six months. You lose the use of the money almost immediately. You keep paying as if you still had it.

California has required funders to hand you a disclosure with an APR on it since December 2022, on commercial financing of $500,000 or less. Since January 2026 they also have to state the APR every time they quote you a price during the application, and they can no longer call a factor rate an interest rate. We show it by default.

The math

Annualize a “30% fee” the way every other loan in America is measured, and it prices out near 109% APR.

The four ways businesses get funded

All four have a real use. All four get oversold. Here’s the honest version of each:

Funding typeWhat it isThe trade-off

Merchant cash advance

Fastest · costliest

A lump sum repaid from future revenue via daily or weekly withdrawals. Approvals in 24–72 hours, paperwork-light, credit-flexible.

Speed is the product and you pay for it. Most deals annualize between 60% and 200%. Longer terms land lower, short ones far higher.

Term loan

Slower · cheaper

Fixed amount, fixed monthly payment, stated APR. Banks are cheapest and slowest; online lenders faster and pricier.

If you qualify (≈1yr+ in business, fair credit, real revenue), this usually beats an MCA by a wide margin.

Line of credit

Flexible

A limit you draw on when needed and pay interest only on what you use. Best for uneven cash flow, not one-time purchases.

Watch draw fees and monthly maintenance fees. A “cheap” line can cost plenty sitting idle.

SBA loan

Slowest · best terms

Government-backed bank loans with the best rates and longest terms available to small business.

Weeks to months of paperwork. If your need can wait, it’s worth the wait.

Check which options fit your business Free · takes ~90 seconds · no credit pull, ever, from us

Read the fine print before it reads you

Written in plain English, with the math shown.

Factor rates, decoded

What 1.2, 1.3, and 1.5 really cost, why daily payments change everything, and the one question to ask any funder.

MCA vs. term loan

Sometimes speed is worth the premium. Here’s when it quietly eats your margin instead.

What funders actually check

The five things underwriters look at before they approve you. And what to fix 60 days out.

What California funders must disclose

The one page the law makes them hand you: what it must show, when you should get it, and what to do if you never did.

How to get out of an MCA

Every exit, cheapest to last resort. Plus the “relief” offers that are just another advance.

Renew or stack? The math

Why a renewal charges you twice for the same money, why a second advance can break your contract, and how to price both.

The True Cost letter

Real offers broken down line by line, funding traps spotted in the wild, and the math your funder hopes you skip. Free, weekly, unsubscribe anytime.

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