LendingTree Business Loans Review

Pros

• Relaxed loan qualifications
• Suited for new businesses
• Suited for small and large businesses

Cons

• Opaque terms and fees

Overview

LendingTree, based in Charlotte, NC, is an online platform connecting individuals and businesses to a wide range of financial products through its lending partners. LendingTree does not originate its own loans. Instead, the company charges its partners for use of its service. LendingTree’s partners include familiar names like OnDeck, Kabbage, Credibly, and Fora Financial.

LendingTree is best viewed as a time-saving tool for businesses that don’t want to slog through the alternative lending wilderness to find the best deal. LendingTree doesn’t really give you much information to work with until you’ve submitted your information, so keep that in mind before you apply.

Services Offered

LendingTree offers the following through its partners:

• Short-term loans
• Business lines of credit
• Equipment financing
• SBA loans
• Invoice factoring

Borrower Qualifications

When evaluating if your business is eligible for funding, LendingTree doesn’t have explicit rule-out criteria for potential borrowers. Instead, the company will use your credit, annual revenue, and overall profitability to try to match you with a lender who is willing to work with you and your circumstances.

That said, expect to get better offers if you have good credit, have been in business for a long time, and are profitable.

Terms & Fees

Each of LendingTree’s partners has their own criteria for who they’ll lend to, the fees they charge, the interest rates you’ll receive, and the length of time you’ll have to pay it back. Some of these will be contingent not only on the lender, but the type of product you’re approved for.

There are a number of things you’ll want to keep in mind. One of the biggest will be how interest is calculated and accumulates. Some products, particularly short-term loans, have fixed fees. You’ll also want to know all the service, administrative, and origination fees they charge; these can range from minimal to completely punishing.

You’ll also want to know how frequently you need to repay your loan. Depending on the lender and product, payment may be expected monthly, weekly, or even daily. In many cases the lender will want that payment automatically deducted from an account, so make sure you’re comfortable with whatever payment arrangement they require.

If you’re curious about who might end up underwriting your loan, you can check out LendingTree’s internal customer review page.

Application Process

It may sound funny, but the application process is probably the reason you’re looking at LendingTree. You can begin the application process online. You’ll be walked through a series of questions beginning with your business’s classification and including your credit score, your profitability, and time in business. At the end, you’ll be prompted to give your contact information.

Once you’ve submitted all the relevant documents, LendingTree will ideally match you with up to five offers from its partners.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

LendingTree gives window shoppers fairly little to work with on its site, at least not without submitting your personal information. To see the limited amount of information the company does offer to anonymous browsers, you’ll want to use the pulldown menu on the top navbar and navigate to the product you’re interested in.

Some of those subheadings, like small business loans, will offer tools like a loan calculator. Others, like the line of credit section, go more in-depth on what it takes to qualify. As I mentioned above, you can also go to one of the lender review sections if you want to see what previous customers thought of their experience.

Customer Service & Technical Support

If you need support, you can call LendingTree Monday – Thursday 8 a.m. – 9 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., or Saturday 10 a.m. – 7 p.m, ET. You can also submit a ticket.

If you prefer to interact with the company through social media, you can follow LendingTree on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

User Reviews

Negative Reviews & Complaints

LendingTree has an A- rating with the BBB. The watchdog agency cites “failure to respond to a complaint” as the primary reason for the lowered score. Customer reviews of the company are mixed, with a slight tendency toward positive. Customer complaints include:

• Communication: Customers complained that customer service wasn’t always able to answer their questions.
• Quote system: Customers didn’t like having to submit their personal information before being able to evaluate the products.
• Aggressive marketing: A very common complaint from customers was receiving persistent calls after submitting their information on the site.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

LendingTree scores highly on Trustpilot with a 9 out of 10.  Customers liked:

• The ease of use: Customers found the application process to be extremely easy.
• The customer service: Most customers found LendingTree staff to be helpful.
• Decent rates: A number of customers say they received good rates through LendingTree.

Final Verdict

LendingTree is a well-known, comprehensive service that can match most applicants to some kind of funding with relatively little fuss and pain. A few points of caution apply, however. The company doesn’t give you a lot of information to work with prior to submitting your information and, after you do submit it, you can expect some pretty aggressive marketing until you sign.

Not convinced you want to go this route? We can get you started with our comparison charts for merchant cash advances and small business loans.