Free tool
Business loan comparison tool
Answer eight quick questions and see which kinds of business finance fit your situation, ranked and compared side by side. Nothing is sent or stored.
Best starting point
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| Loan type | Fit | Speed | Security | Paperwork | Repayments |
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General information only. Not an offer of finance or financial advice. We never publish rates: every business loan is priced on your circumstances.
Have a real person compare these for me →Why compare loan types before lenders?
Most business owners start by asking "who's cheapest?". The better first question is "which kind of finance fits?". A line of credit, an unsecured term loan, invoice finance and a property-backed loan can all provide $80,000, but they suit different purposes, ask for different security and paperwork, and are repaid in completely different ways. Picking the right structure usually saves more than picking the right lender within the wrong structure.
This tool does that first step. It weighs your answers against how each type of finance is normally assessed and repaid, then ranks them. The top two or three are the ones worth getting offers for.
How to read the results
- Fit is a relative score. A full bar means the loan type suits every answer you gave; a short bar means it suits some but not others.
- Speed, security, paperwork and repayments describe how that type usually works, so you can see the trade-offs at a glance.
- Loan types that clearly don't fit, such as property-backed lending when you have no property, drop out of the table.
Change any answer and the ranking updates instantly. It's worth trying "what if" combinations: what if you could wait a few weeks, or you caught up on your tax returns, or you were willing to use property? Each shows you which options would open up.
What the tool weighs
The purpose matters most, because finance works best when it matches what it pays for: equipment finance for assets, credit lines for recurring gaps, invoice finance for slow payers. Then speed, security, paperwork, credit history and time trading narrow the field, in the same way a lender's assessment would. The amount matters at the extremes: very small amounts suit simpler products, and amounts beyond what turnover supports usually need property.
An illustrative example
A Wollongong landscaping company needs $80,000 within a few weeks to buy a second truck and trailer. It has traded for four years, its books are current, its credit is clean and the owners would rather not use their home. The tool ranks equipment finance first, an unsecured loan second and a property-backed loan well down the list. That matches what most lenders would suggest: finance the truck against itself, and keep the house out of it.
After the comparison
Once you have a shortlist, get offers within those types and compare them in dollars with the loan offer comparer. Our guide on how to compare business loans walks through the full method, and the pages under compare by need go deeper on each factor.
Want someone to do the comparing?
If you'd rather have the shortlist checked against real offers, that's what we do. Asking doesn't put a mark on your credit file; a check only comes up once you decide to proceed. We don't spray your details at a list of lenders. A real person looks at your answers and comes back with the options that genuinely fit. Please fill in the form accurately so the first comparison is the right one. Start your enquiry.
Frequently asked questions
How does the comparison tool rank loan types?
Each answer adds or takes away points from each loan type based on how well it usually fits that situation. For example, needing money within days favours unsecured loans, credit lines and caveat loans, while having no property rules out property-backed options. The scores are a guide to where to start, not an approval.
Why doesn't it show rates or lenders?
Business loans are priced on each borrower's circumstances, so any figure we showed would be wrong for most people. The tool compares structures, which is the first and most important choice. Lenders and prices come once you know which structures fit.
Does using the tool affect my credit file?
No. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or stored. It runs entirely in your browser.
What if two loan types score about the same?
That's common, and it usually means both are worth comparing. Get offers for each and compare them on total dollar cost, monthly equivalent repayment, security and early payout terms.
Why is an ATO payment plan in the results?
Because if the money is for a tax debt, a payment plan with the ATO is the main alternative to a loan, and it should be compared on its own merits.
Is this financial advice?
No. It's general information to help you think through your options. A real person can look at your actual situation once you enquire, with no credit check to ask.
Got your shortlist?
A real person will compare real offers within it, in plain dollars. No credit check to ask.
Comparing costs you nothing
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A real person, not a robot