Secure the best unsecured business loans without putting your assets at risk.

An unsecured business loan provides financing for your business without requiring collateral, such as business equipment, real estate, or cash. Lenders typically offer this type of loan based on your creditworthiness and business history. You can utilize an unsecured loan to support your small business in various ways, including purchasing inventory and covering payroll.

We evaluated various small business loan lenders to identify the top unsecured business loans for specific requirements. (For details on our methodology, please refer to our approach.)

Best for variety of financing options

This business loan provider offers a variety of loan options to meet different needs. You can choose from a merchant cash advance, a term loan, and a business line of credit. It's also a suitable option for those with lower credit scores, as it only requires a credit score of 500.

Certain types of financing offer same-day funding, and you can pre-qualify without a hard credit pull, with approval possible in less than four hours.

Best for line of credit

If you need a credit line you can borrow against, a business line of credit might be a better option. Bluevine offers business credit lines of up to $250,000 and may increase your credit limit as your business grows. They consider applicants with credit scores as low as 625.

Bluevine offers a business line of credit with no fees for opening, maintaining, or closing, and there are no penalties for prepayment. The application process is fast, and you can receive the funds within hours if you choose the bank wire option.

Best for short-term loans

What is Funding Circle's term loan for? With a term loan from Funding Circle, you can obtain funds for almost any business purpose and receive money within two business days. You may be able to borrow as much as $500,000. Additionally, Funding Circle does not have a minimum revenue requirement. However, it's important to note that Funding Circle also provides secured loans and long-term loans (those longer than three years) may require collateral. Due to this, we recommend Funding Circle for shorter term lengths.

Funding Circle offers a quick and easy way to get approved for funding without a hard credit check. If you're approved, you can receive the funds in just two days, and there are no prepayment penalties to worry about.

Best for microloans

If you need to borrow less than $15,000, Kiva can be an excellent option. This crowdfunding platform is especially good for young businesses, as it offers a 0% interest rate and allows you to demonstrate your creditworthiness by inviting friends and family to lend to you.

Kiva doesn't adhere to conventional business and credit score criteria.

More on our top unsecured business loans

Credibly

Credibly is a fintech platform that provides financing solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. Unlike other lenders, Credibly considers applicants with credit scores as low as 500. In addition to traditional financial and credit factors, Credibly evaluates the overall health of businesses when deciding whether to approve an application.

Loan amounts

$5,000 to $400,000

Eligibility requirements

To qualify for a business loan, you typically need six months in business, a credit score of 500 or higher, and an average monthly revenue of at least $15,000.

Repayment schedule

Daily, weekly or monthly

Bluevine

Another fintech company, Bluevine, provides a variety of financial services for businesses, including credit cards, loans, and checking accounts.

Loan amounts

Up to $250,000 for credit lines

Eligibility requirements

An eligible U.S. state is where a business must be incorporated or operating to qualify for a 625 personal FICO score, 24 months in business, and at least $40,000 in monthly revenue.

Repayment schedule

Fixed monthly or weekly payments over six or 12 months for each draw

Funding Circle

A global lending platform, Funding Circle, offers small business loans in the form of term loans, lines of credit, and SBA (7) loans.

Loan amounts

$25,000 to $500,000

Eligibility requirements

A FICO score of 660, a business that has been in operation for at least two years, no personal bankruptcies within the past seven years, and a business that does not operate in certain industries, such as nonprofit organizations, weapons manufacturers, speculative real estate, gambling businesses, marijuana dispensaries, and pornography, are the requirements for obtaining a loan.

Repayment schedule

Bi-weekly or monthly payments

Kiva

Kiva is a non-profit platform that enables entrepreneurs and small businesses to obtain interest-free loans through crowdfunding. As per Kiva's website, over 2.5 million individuals have raised more than $1.6 billion using the platform.

Loan amounts

Up to $15,000

Eligibility requirements

To qualify for a loan, you must be over 18 years old and use the funds for business purposes. Your business must be located in the United States and not involve multi-level marketing, direct sales, illegal activities, or financial investing. Additionally, you cannot be in foreclosure, bankruptcy, or under any liens. To prove your creditworthiness, you will need to invite a small number of friends and family to make a loan to you.

Repayment schedule

Not advertised

Bottom line

A business loan without collateral is a widely sought-after financing option. While it can be helpful for various business purposes, you'll likely need to show good credit and revenue to be approved. To ensure you receive the best terms, it's recommended to pre-qualify with multiple lenders.

Why trust CNBC Select?

Our mission at CNBC Select is to deliver top-notch service journalism and in-depth consumer advice to our readers, enabling them to make well-informed decisions when it comes to their finances. Each business loan review we publish is the result of thorough reporting by our team of expert writers and editors, who possess extensive knowledge of the various business loan products available. At CNBC Select, we take pride in our commitment to journalistic standards and ethics, and we ensure that all our content is created without any input from our commercial team or external third parties. To learn more about our methodology and how we select the best unsecured business loans, please refer to our detailed guide.

Our methodology

A dozen U.S. loans offered by both online and brick-and-mortar lenders were analyzed by CNBC Select to determine the best financing terms for unsecured small businesses.

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 interest rate and monthly payment for small business loans may fluctuate based on changes in the prime rate, but once you accept your loan agreement, a fixed-rate APR will ensure consistency throughout the loan term. Your APR, monthly payment, and loan amount are determined by your credit history and creditworthiness.

To obtain a small business loan, lenders will typically perform a thorough credit check and demand a comprehensive application, which may necessitate providing personal and business income proof, identity confirmation, address verification, and other documentation.

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