Most people comparing business finance start with rates. That is the last question. What you are funding decides which instruments are even eligible, and half the options in any given comparison were never available for that deal.

Twelve calculators outside the SBA, eight inside it, six head-to-head comparisons and seven guides. Every rate on every page carries the date it was true, because SBA terms move with each rulebook revision and the base rate moves with the FOMC.

All figures current as of August 2026, WSJ Prime 6.75%

Start with what you are actually doing

Buying a businessGoodwill is most of the price, and only some instruments will fund it. Start with 7(a), then work out what the seller carries.Size the deal →Buying the buildingThe deposit and the fixed rate usually decide this before the interest rate does. And since July 2026 you can often do both.Compare 504 and 7(a) →Funding the operating cycleReceivables and inventory against a borrowing base. What you get is what your eligible assets support, not what you ask for.Build a borrowing base →Waiting on invoicesA factor quotes a discount on face; a lender quotes an annual rate. Converted, they are rarely as close as they look.Convert the quotes →Needing an answer this weekSBA Express returns an answer in thirty-six hours. Below $350,000 it is often not even the more expensive option.Price the speed →Working out if you qualifyForm 413, then the collateral test a lender runs on it, at the discounted values that actually apply.Run the test →

Most of it runs through the SBA

Five program cover almost every small business deal, and all but one sit inside 7(a) and share its rate ceilings. There are others — Export Express, the Export Working Capital Program, International Trade — which are not covered here. The last three tiles below are not program but tools that sit across them: a three-way comparison, the combined structure, and the personal statement every application asks for. They differ on size, speed, guaranty and what the money is allowed to do — and picking the wrong one costs more than any mistake you can make inside the right one.

Exclusive to US-based businesses · US citizensSince 1 March 2026, 100 percent of direct and indirect owners must be US citizens or US nationals with their principal residence in the United States, its territories or possessions. Lawful permanent residents are no longer eligible to hold any interest.

— The SBA hub

Five program, and the tools that compare them

A comparison table across size, guaranty, term, speed and rate ceiling, the tiers where 7(a) and Express cross, eight calculators and four program guides in one place — plus a dated record of every rule change since 2025, which is where most stale advice comes from. Every figure carries the date it was true.

Open the SBA hub →

Standard 7(a)To $5,000,000The default. Acquisitions, goodwill, working capital, real estate.

SBA ExpressTo $500,000An SBA answer in 36 hours. Half the guaranty, and often not the more expensive ceiling.

504To $5,000,000A bank first, a fixed CDC debenture and your equity. Fixed assets only.

CAPLinesTo $5,000,000Four revolving subprogram against receivables, inventory and contracts.

Working Capital PilotTo $5,000,000A monitored line where the guaranty fee follows usage. Ends 31 July 2027.

7(a) vs 504 vs conventionalThree waysThe same purchase under all three, so the trade is visible rather than argued.

7(a) plus 504 combinedTo $10,000,000Stacked since 4 July 2026. The 504 takes the property, the 7(a) takes the rest.

Personal statementForm 413Net worth, then the collateral test at the discounted values a lender actually applies.

Everything outside the SBA

The SBA calculators are in the hub above. These cover the rest of the capital stack: conventional debt, revolving credit, equipment, receivables, seller paper and the personal side. Each states its assumptions and flags where a figure is your lender's rather than a rule. Software is tagged in blue throughout this page, comparisons in amber and reading material in grey.

SoftwareLoan comparisonSeveral offers side by side on total cost rather than headline rate.SoftwareBusiness credit vs loanRevolving credit against a term loan, and what each is actually for.SoftwareLine of credit qualifierWhether revenue, time trading and credit clear the usual bar.SoftwareCommercial mortgagePayment, amortization and the balloon you will have to refinance.SoftwareEquipment loanFinancing kit against buying it outright, and what the term costs.SoftwareFactoringAdvance rate and discount fee, converted to the APR the quote does not show.SoftwareHELOCBorrowing against your home to fund a business, and what that puts at risk.SoftwareSeller financingWhat a note is worth once standby and subordination are applied to it.SoftwareFranchise financeFunding a unit, the fees, and what the franchisor requires of the deal.Software1031 exchangeDeferring gain on investment property, and the deadlines that end it.SoftwareNet worthWhat you own against what you owe, before a lender works it out for you.SoftwareDiscount rateWhat rate to discount a stream of cash flows at, and why it moves so much.

Head to head

One pair at a time, with the thing that actually decides it rather than a table of specifications.

Head to head7(a) vs 504Goodwill, occupancy and rate certainty decide it.Head to head7(a) vs bank loanThe balloon is the difference, not the rate.Head to head504 vs bank loanThe deposit and the balloon.Head to headLine of credit vs factoringTwo percent is not two percent.Head to headSBA line vs bank lineThe fee and the renewal date.Head to headSBA vs seller financingLayers, not alternatives. And standby changed.

Guides

GuideAll financing comparedEight instruments against what you are funding.GuideSBA 7(a)The default program, end to end.GuideSBA 504Two loans, your equity, and the occupancy rule.GuideSBA ExpressWhere the two program cross.GuideSBA CAPLinesFour types and how a borrowing base is built.GuidePurchase price allocationThe second negotiation, and Form 8594.GuideQuality of earningsWhat a buyer will discount you for.

Two rules that apply across all of it

Collateral is not a decline reason on its own

An SBA lender cannot decline an otherwise eligible loan solely because it is under-collateralised. Most acquisitions are under-secured once goodwill is valued at nothing for collateral purposes. That is expected rather than disqualifying, and it is the main structural difference between SBA and conventional lending.

A rate is not a cost

An SBA loan carries a guaranty fee and a longer process. A conventional loan carries a balloon and tighter collateral. A factoring facility carries a discount on face that is not an APR. Compare total cost across the period you will actually hold the debt, and price the refinancing risk rather than ignoring it.