Borrowing is the most expensive signature most small businesses ever put on paper — and the price is quoted in at least three incompatible languages. This section translates them all into dollars and comparable rates, so you can see the real cost before you sign.
Start here: run any offer through the Business Funding Cost Analyzer. It prices merchant cash advances and term loans on the same basis — total cost, equivalent APR, and cash-flow demand side by side.
How to use this section
- Have an offer in hand? Start with How to Compare Business Loan Offers for the framework, then run the numbers in the analyzer. If the offer is a merchant cash advance, read Merchant Cash Advance vs. Term Loan and Merchant Cash Advance Renewals and Stacking before anything else.
- Shopping for the cheapest capital? SBA 7(a) Loan Fees (FY 2026) lays out the SBA 7(a) fee schedule — usually the lowest-cost borrowing most small businesses can access, at the price of a slower process.
- Financing equipment? Equipment Financing vs. Leasing prices the loan-vs-lease decision over the equipment’s full useful life, not just the monthly payment.
- About to sign? Business Loan Agreement Red Flags is the last read — the eight clauses where the real price hides.
A note on the numbers: every equivalent APR on this site is computed the same way — the actuarial (IRR) method on the projected payment schedule, expressed as a nominal rate so it compares directly with quoted loan APRs. The method, its regulatory grounding, and its limits are documented on our methodology page.
The guides
- Merchant Cash Advance vs. Term Loan — the anchor comparison. A $50,000 need funded two ways: the MCA costs $17,500 (125.85% equivalent APR); the term loan costs $11,408.92 all-in (21.17% APR). The full math, line by line, plus when people choose the MCA anyway.
- How to Compare Business Loan Offers — the decision framework. APR quotes, factor-rate quotes, and “total payback” quotes normalized to the same three numbers, plus the ten questions to ask every lender.
- What Is a Factor Rate? — a 1.35 factor is not “35% interest.” The honest translation to equivalent APR, why daily repayment makes it worse than it looks, and the folk formula — shown once, labeled as misleading.
- SBA 7(a) Loan Fees (FY 2026) — the guarantee fee schedule for loans approved October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026, with worked examples ($1,700 on $100K; $7,875 on $350K; $53,750 on $2M), packaging fees, and the true all-in cost.
- Business Loan Agreement Red Flags — eight clauses to read before you sign: confessions of judgment, blanket liens, personal guarantees, prepayment terms, auto-renewal clauses, and more.
- Equipment Financing vs. Leasing — a $40,000 machine, priced both ways over five years: $48,663 financed (and you own it) vs. $44,700 leased (and you don’t). The buyout is where lease comparisons are won or lost.
- Merchant Cash Advance Renewals and Stacking — how renewals and stacked advances turn one expensive decision into a cycle, and what to do if you’re already in it.
The principle
Speed and ease cost money; patience and paperwork save it. Every page in this section exists to put a number on that trade before you make it — because “know the real cost before you sign” is never more true than when the signature is on a financing agreement.
Also on SignLater
If the money question sits next to a formation question, the Start section covers what it costs to form and run an LLC — state fees, registered agents, and the real year-one math. And if cash flow is the problem rather than capital, the Get Paid section covers payment processing costs, where a few tenths of a percent compound quietly every month.