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Alternative lenders make it easier than traditional lenders for the self-employed to get the capital they need. Find out if any of these freelance loans will work for you.
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Last updated onUpdated
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Loans for freelancers exist, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy to find. Traditional lenders tend to view freelancers, gig workers, and the self-employed as risky borrowers. That means you can’t just walk into your local bank branch and apply for a small business loan. You can, however, explore alternative loans.
Online alternative lenders are more relaxed in their borrower requirements, making it easier for the self-employed to get small business loans. This article will explore the best small business loans for freelancers. Whether you need an SBA loan to cover a major expense or a flexible funding option such as a cash advance, we’ll cover it all.
Learn More About Our Top Picks
| Company | Best For | Next StepsBest For |
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BusinessLoans.com
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Credibly
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Upstart
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Prosper
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Fundbox
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Bluevine
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| Show Fewer Options |
Read more below to learn why we chose these options.
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Freelance businesses — aka sole proprietorships — may need loans to invest in growth, cover bills, or buy equipment. Someone that is self-employed may also need a loan if their income is irregular or clients don’t pay on time. Some examples of loans for freelancers are short-term loans, personal loans, and cash advances.
| Type(s) Of Financing Offered | Revenue Requirement | Maximum Loan Amount | Bad Credit Options? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BusinessLoans.com | Invoice financing, term loan, merchant cash advance, line of credit | $100,000/year | $3 million | |
| Credibly | Short-term loan, term loan, line of credit, SBA loan, equipment financing, merchant cash advance, invoice factoring | $15,000/month | $600,000 | |
| Upstart | Personal loan | $12,000/year | $50,000 | |
| Prosper | Personal loan | N/A | $50,000 | |
| Fundbox | Line of credit | $30,000/year | $150,000 | |
| Bluevine | Line of credit, short-term loan | $10,000/month | $250,000 |
Pros
Cons
BusinessLoans.com is a business financing marketplace that connects applicants to business loans and other financial products from lending institutions in its network. This free service can help freelancers obtain various types of business financing, including merchant cash advances, invoice factoring, short-term loans, and lines of credit.
In particular, merchant cash advances have a low barrier to entry for self-employed 1099 contractors, as they typically have easy-to-meet borrower requirements and lower fees than predatory payday loans.
Get Started With BusinessLoans.com
Pros
Cons
Credibly is an alternative business lender that makes SBA loans easy to apply for online. For example, freelancers with an established business and decent credit may qualify for an SBA working capital loan -- a sub-type of SBA 7(a) loan for borrowers seeking less than $150,000 -- which you can apply for online using Credibly (or another of our best SBA lenders that we recommend).
Additionally, Credibly offers traditional working capital (term) loans, lines of credit, invoice factoring, equipment financing, merchant cash advances, and other business lending services you might be able to benefit from if you don't meet the qualifications for an SBA loan. Invoice factoring especially can be useful if you are a freelancer with slow-paying clients.
Pros
Cons
The best personal loans for businesses are a great source of financing for freelancers because they do not have any time-in-business or business revenue requirements.
Upstart, in particular, offers a couple of big advantages with its personal loans. First, this online lending platform lets you borrow up to $50,000 -- a limit that exceeds many of its competitors. Second, these loans are available to borrowers with a limited credit history.
Pros
Cons
Prosper is another online personal lender with a great reputation among its customers. Because these are personal loans, freelancers with no official business credentials can borrow up to $50,000 through Prosper.
Prosper prefers applicants with good credit, but will accept fair-credit applicants. You also have the option to add a co-signer to your loan if your score is too low.
Pros
Cons
If you're a freelancer looking for the best business line of credit, you’ll find that Fundbox is one of the easiest online lenders to work with. Fundbox offers revolving lines of credit up to $150,000.
A Fundbox LOC is suitable for freelancers who are bringing in a steady stream of income but need more time or deeper pockets to pay ongoing business expenses or vendors.
Pros
Cons
Bluevine is another easy-to-use line of credit that may be suitable for some self-employed individuals. Though only established businesses with strong revenues are eligible for a Bluevine LOC, you can borrow more than with Fundbox -- up to $250,000.
Bluevine also offers short-term loans up to $250,000 and business checking accounts. (We have a resource on the best business bank accounts for freelancers if you want other bank options.)
We spend hours researching and evaluating each business loan and funding product that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate our ratings.
When rating lenders and funding providers, we use a 31-point rubric that looks at rates and fees, services, eligibility requirements, application, sales and advertising transparency, customer service, and user reviews. We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating. This rubric is applied to traditional term loans, as well as short-term loans, start-up loans, lines of credit, online lending products, merchant cash advances, and equipment financing products.
Each section is further broken down into granular, weighted subsections, in which we examine specific attributes like terms lengths, conditions of repayment, credit score and revenue requirements, ease of application, length of time to funding, the ethics involved in promoting the lending product, customer support, and the overall reputation of the lender or funding provider.
Read more about how we rate small business lenders.
Most of the above loans for freelancers fall into the categories of personal loans, lines of credit, and invoice factoring. A couple of options also offer some business term loans that may be suitable for freelancers.
| Type Of Financing | Best For… | Recommended Options |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Loan | Business growth or other one-time funding needs | Upstart, Prosper |
| Line Of Credit | Quick access to cash for emergencies or other funding reasons | BusinessLoans.com, Fundbox, Bluevine, Credibly |
| Invoice Financing/Factoring |
Freelancers with slow-paying customers | BusinessLoans.com, Credibly |
| SBA Loan | Freelancers with established businesses | Credibly |
| Merchant Cash Advance | Gig workers, freelancers that take credit card payments | BusinessLoans.com, Credibly |
Freelancers who don’t qualify for any of these loan options might consider looking at the best business credit cards for startups or business crowdfunding.
Once you decide to pursue a freelancer loan, there are a few steps you need to take to make sure you’re successful in your pursuit.
Although it’s very easy to start applying for loans as soon as you find the link, you are not likely to secure a high-quality loan if you just start blindly applying without putting any thought or research into it.
To help ensure that you get funded and to make sure you get a good deal on your freelancer loan, read our step-by-step guide to getting a small business loan.
Online loans for freelancers are fast and easy, giving you access to funds in as little as 24 hours in some cases.
However, in exchange for less stringent requirements and fast funding, many online lenders have higher interest rates, additional fees, and less favorable terms than traditional lenders.
So before signing on the dotted line, make sure that you explore your options, compare loan offers, and choose the loan that will best benefit your freelance business.
If your revenue or credit score doesn’t qualify you for funding just yet, you can at least start saving money in credit card fees by using one of these freelancer payment methods.
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Our expert reviewers found BusinessLoans.com to have a quick and easy application process alongside excellent support and guidance for borrowers.
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The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
Our expert reviewers found BusinessLoans.com to have a quick and easy application process alongside excellent support and guidance for borrowers.
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