Bay Street Lending vs Fundbox: which one should you use? (2026)

1. Fundbox

An online lender with a small, self-serve revolving line, and the better pick for newer businesses and needs under $25K.

Best for

Businesses with 3+ months of bank history and 600+ credit that need a small, short line

Amounts

Up to $250,000 per its help center; no minimum or maximum on its current site

Price

"Rates start at 4.66% for a 12-week repayment plan," per Fundbox: a fee for the term, not an APR

Reviews

BBB A+ (not accredited), 4.67 from 139 reviews

Fundbox is an online lender that has served businesses since 2013. It is not a broker or a marketplace: it underwrites, prices and services its own line of credit, and your file goes to Fundbox, not to a network of lenders. You open an account online, connect your business bank account or accounting software, and apply with a soft credit pull. Fundbox says it decides "in as little as 3 minutes" and can fund as soon as the next business day; its FAQ says funds should arrive within two business days. A hard credit pull happens at your first draw. Fundbox says its underwriting is 99% automated, and there is no assigned advisor.

Once approved, you draw what you need, pick a 12- or 24-week repayment plan for that draw, and repay it in equal weekly auto-debits. Every payment frees up credit to use again. There is no application fee, origination fee or prepayment penalty, the fee for each draw is shown before you take it, and paying a draw off early waives the fees you have not yet paid. Fundbox reports payments to the business credit bureaus, which can help build business credit.

Fundbox's headline price is a fee for the term, not an annual rate. Its help center says "Rates start at 4.66% for a 12-week repayment plan, but can change over time and vary from one applicant to the next." On a $10,000 draw, that is $466 in fees and 12 weekly payments of about $872. Because the balance falls every week, a 4.66% fee repaid weekly over 12 weeks works out to roughly 37% APR by our calculation; the 8.99% fee for 24 weeks on its archived January 2025 pricing page is about 36% on the same basis. Higher-risk applicants pay more, and Fundbox publishes no maximum. Its public pricing page stopped serving in mid-2025 and now redirects to the homepage, so the help center is the only live statement of its starting rate.

For a newer business, fair credit, or a need under $25,000, Fundbox is the better choice than us. It asks for a business checking account with at least three months of transactions and, per its help center, a personal credit score above 600. Its own pages disagree on the revenue minimum: a help-center article dated August 2023 and still live says $100,000 or more a year, while its January 2025 site said $30,000 or more, and its current site gives none. The maximum line is stated only in a February 2025 help-center article (up to $250,000); its current site publishes no minimum or maximum. Ask Fundbox which figures apply to you before you apply.

2. Bay Street Lending

This is us. A broker for larger amounts, longer terms, and several products compared at once.

Best for

Established businesses needing $25K to $10M, or more than one kind of financing

Amounts

Lines of credit $25K–$1M; working capital $25K–$2.5M; SBA to $5M; factoring to $10M

Cost to you

No fee from us; the funder pays us if you fund

Reviews

5.0 on Google from 45 reviews

Bay Street Lending is a broker, not a lender, founded by an investment banker and a partner who has spent his career in commercial finance. You apply once (a soft credit pull, about two minutes), and one named advisor works your file from start to finish. We compare 100+ funding partners, send your file only to the ones that fit it, and never sell your information to other lenders.

We place lines of credit from $25,000 to $1M (typically 650+ FICO and a year in business), working capital from $25,000 to $2.5M (500+ FICO, 6+ months in business, $25,000+ a month in deposits, funding as fast as 6 hours), SBA 7(a) and 504 loans from $50,000 to $5M, equipment financing up to $5M, invoice factoring up to $10M with 80–95% advanced, and purchase order financing. Every option comes back priced side by side, with total cost, payment and term in writing, before you sign, and you are under no obligation to accept. Our team has arranged $250M+.

Where we fall short: we do not lend our own money, we cannot place anything under $25,000, we do not work with businesses under six months old, and an advisor is part of the process, so it is not fully self-serve. Our working-capital programs need $25,000+ a month in deposits, well above any revenue minimum Fundbox has published. We have 45 Google reviews; Fundbox says it has helped over 190,000 small businesses.

The differences that matter

Size

Fundbox: up to $250K per its help center. Us: lines to $1M, working capital to $2.5M.

Term

Fundbox: 12 or 24 weeks per draw. Us: set by product, up to SBA terms.

Who you deal with

Fundbox: an app and a support line. Us: one named advisor.

Size and term. Fundbox is built for bridge cash: a few weeks to a few months of receivables, payroll or inventory. Every draw is repaid within 24 weeks, so it does not suit equipment, an expansion or an acquisition. If you need $400,000 for a build-out or want to spread payments over years, a short weekly line will not stretch that far, and an SBA loan, equipment financing or a larger working-capital facility is a better fit.

Weekly payments and missed payments. Payments come out automatically every week. Fundbox's missed-payment policy makes the overdue amount due immediately, adds a late fee equal to the average of the plan's original fees plus a $6 NSF fee, and suspends further draws. A personal guarantee applies, and Fundbox says past-due accounts may be reported to a consumer credit bureau. BBB complaints describe accounts charged off and sold after about a month late, draws denied or held without notice, and draw deposits reported as sent but not received. Fundbox has 26 BBB complaints in the last three years.

One lender, one box. Fundbox says it does not extend credit to businesses with more than three lenders in addition to Fundbox in a 90-day period, and it sets and reviews limits by algorithm, up or down. If Fundbox declines or cuts your line, it has no other lenders to show you. We put each option, whether a line, working capital, SBA or factoring, in writing side by side so you can compare total cost and payment directly.