Every way a US business can raise money, cheapest first.
74 ways to fund a business, from cash you are already owed to selling shares on a stock market. Each one shows its downsides as clearly as its upsides, with sources and the date we last checked them.
Ordered by cost, never by who pays us. Nobody does. Filter to see what might fit your business, start from your situation, or compare routes side by side.
See your funding options: 9 questions
- L0
Free or nearly free
Little or no cash cost, though most take time and admin. Some bring money in, and a few have small fees.- Own cash and no-cost
Customer prepayments, deposits and pre-orders
Ask customers to pay some or all of the price before you deliver. The cash comes in before your costs go out, so you need to borrow less, but until you deliver you owe customers the goods or their money back.
Days - Own cash and no-cost
Late fees and Prompt Payment Act interest
Getting paid what you are owed, sooner: interest that federal agencies must add when they pay you late, and late fees you write into your contracts with private customers. It costs nothing to claim, but it only works if your paperwork and terms are in order.
DaysNot a raise - Own cash and no-cost
Supplier trade credit
Your suppliers let you pay for goods or services some time after you receive them, often 30 or 60 days later. Usually free if you pay on time, but giving up an early-payment discount can make it expensive.
Weeks - Grants, tax credits and prizes
Business tax breaks (section 179, bonus depreciation and credits)
Federal tax rules that let you deduct the cost of equipment in the year you buy it, and credits for things like offering staff health insurance. They cut the tax you owe, so they help only if the business has taxable profit or tax to pay, and they come after you have spent the money.
6 months or more - Grants, tax credits and prizes
Prize competitions and accelerators
Cash prizes from federal agencies and others for solving a set problem, and accelerator or incubator programs that give coaching, contacts and sometimes money. Prizes take no ownership; many accelerators do, so read the terms.
6 months or more - Grants, tax credits and prizes
Research and development tax credit
A federal tax credit for qualifying research spending. Young companies with little or no income tax to pay can use up to $500,000 a year of it against their payroll taxes instead.
Months - Grants, tax credits and prizes
SBIR and STTR research awards
Federal research and development funding for small US businesses, won in competitions run by 11 federal agencies. Nothing to repay and no ownership given up, but your project must match an agency's published topic.
MonthsUp to $2.2m - Grants, tax credits and prizes
State and local grants
Money from a state, county or city that you do not repay, usually tied to creating jobs, investing in a place or a set purpose. Rare, competitive and slow, and the field is full of "free government grant" scams.
6 months or more - Grants, tax credits and prizes
State export grants (STEP)
Grants from your state's trade office, funded by the SBA's State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), that pay part of the cost of finding customers abroad: trade missions, trade shows, translation, international marketing and export training. They pay for winning export sales, not for making the goods.
Months - Grants, tax credits and prizes
USDA grants for rural businesses and farmers
Competitive USDA Rural Development grants that pay part of a project's cost: the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for renewable energy and energy savings at rural small businesses and farms, and Value-Added Producer Grants for farmers turning their crops or livestock into new products. Neither was open to new grant applications on October 20, 2026.
6 months or moreUp to $500k - Supplier and buyer-led finance
Federal contract financing
Payments a federal agency makes to its contractor before delivery, as costs are incurred or milestones are met, plus the right to assign contract payments to a bank as security. No separate charge, but it has to be in the contract, and it is meant to show up in a lower price.
Weeks - Crowdfunding and community finance
Donation crowdfunding
Ask the public to give money online to a cause or project, with nothing promised in return. Nothing to repay and no shares given up, but people rarely give to a business run for profit, and donors cannot deduct gifts to one.
Weeks - Crowdfunding and community finance
Rewards crowdfunding
Raise money online from many backers who get a reward, often the product itself, instead of a share of the business. No repayment or dilution, but you must deliver what you promised, and the money is usually taxable income.
Months
- Own cash and no-cost
- L1
Very cheap or subsidised
Borrowing on better terms than the market, usually because a public body, community lender or large buyer is involved.- Own cash and no-cost
IRS payment plans
An agreement with the IRS to pay federal tax you owe over time instead of all at once. It eases cash flow, but interest and penalties keep growing until the bill is paid.
DaysNot a raise - Government-backed and community lending
Community development lenders (CDFIs)
Loans from community development financial institutions: mission-driven lenders certified by the US Treasury that serve low-income communities and people who find it hard to get finance elsewhere, often with advice alongside.
WeeksPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
Industrial revenue bonds (small issue bonds)
A state or local issuer sells tax-exempt bonds and lends the money to a manufacturer for a new plant or equipment. Bond buyers pay no federal tax on the interest, so the rate can be lower than a bank loan, but only for manufacturing projects of up to $10 million, and with public approval, legal work and fees.
6 months or moreUp to $10mPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
New Markets Tax Credit financing
Loans or investments on better terms than the market, from a Community Development Entity that has federal tax credits to offer its investors, for businesses and buildings in low-income communities. Flexible and cheap, but scarce, slow and complex, so it suits larger projects.
6 months or moreLoans, or shares if you choose - Government-backed and community lending
Program-related investments and impact funds
Loans, guarantees or investments from private foundations and other mission-driven funds, made to further a charitable purpose rather than for profit, often below market rates. Cheap and patient money, but only when your business does something the funder's mission is about.
MonthsLoans, or shares if you choose - Government-backed and community lending
SBA 504 loans
Long-term, fixed-rate financing for buildings, land and long-life equipment, split between a bank and a nonprofit Certified Development Company backed by the SBA. You usually put in 10% yourself.
MonthsUp to $5.5mPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
SBA disaster loans
Low-interest loans direct from the SBA for businesses in a declared disaster area: to repair or replace damaged property, or for working capital to get through the recovery. Up to $2 million, over as long as 30 years.
WeeksUp to $2m - Government-backed and community lending
SBA Microloans
A small business loan of up to $50,000 from a nonprofit community lender that the SBA funds, for working capital, supplies and equipment. The average is about $13,000.
WeeksUp to $50kPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
USDA farm loans (Farm Service Agency)
Loans for family farms and ranches from USDA's Farm Service Agency, or from a bank that FSA guarantees. For land, buildings, equipment, livestock and a season's costs. Direct loans have fixed rates set by FSA and go to farmers who cannot get credit elsewhere; guaranteed loans go up to $2,558,000.
MonthsUp to $3.2m - Supplier and buyer-led finance
Seller financing (when buying a business)
When you buy a business, the seller lets you pay part of the price later, under a promissory note (a seller note). It can bridge the gap between your cash, a bank loan and the price, and it keeps the seller invested in the handover.
MonthsPersonal guarantee likely - Supplier and buyer-led finance
Supply chain finance (supplier finance programs)
A large customer sets up a program with a bank or finance company so that you can choose to have its approved invoices paid early, for a charge, instead of waiting until the payment date.
Days
- Own cash and no-cost
- L2
Mainstream secured debt
Standard borrowing from banks, credit unions and mainstream lenders, often secured on assets or backed by a personal guarantee.- Own cash and no-cost
Retirement savings in your business (ROBS)
Moving retirement savings, without tax, into a new retirement plan that buys shares in your own new C corporation. It is your own money, but the IRS found most such businesses failed or were failing, and many owners lost their savings as well as the business.
Weeks - Government-backed and community lending
EXIM working capital guarantees and export credit insurance
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) guarantees 90% of a bank's working capital loan to an exporter, and insures exporters against foreign customers not paying. Its authority to take on new business ends on December 31, 2026 unless Congress extends it.
Weeks - Government-backed and community lending
SBA 7(a) loans
A business loan of up to $5 million from a bank or other lender, with part of it guaranteed by the SBA, for businesses that cannot get the credit they need on reasonable terms elsewhere.
MonthsUp to $5mPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
SBA export loans
Bank loans and lines of credit of up to $5 million for small businesses that sell outside the US, with the SBA guaranteeing up to 90% so lenders take on export risks they would otherwise turn down.
WeeksUp to $5mPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
SBA Express loans
A loan or line of credit of up to $500,000 from a bank or other lender with SBA Express authority. The lender decides under its own procedures and the SBA guarantees half, so there is less SBA paperwork than a standard 7(a) loan, but the same rate caps and the same rules on who can borrow.
WeeksUp to $500kPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
SBA lines of credit (CAPLines and others)
Bank lines of credit of up to $5 million for working capital, contracts, seasonal peaks or building projects, with the SBA guaranteeing part so lenders will say yes. Rates are capped, but owners usually guarantee the line and the lender watches your receivables and inventory closely.
MonthsUp to $5mPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
State small business capital programs (SSBCI)
Loans and investments that a state, territory or Tribal government helps a bank or fund make, using federal SSBCI money: it buys part of the loan, guarantees it, puts up cash collateral or insures it. You apply to the bank or fund, and what is on offer differs from state to state.
MonthsUp to $20mLoans, or shares if you choosePersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
USDA Business and Industry loan guarantees
A loan from a bank or other lender, with up to 85% guaranteed by USDA Rural Development, for businesses, cooperatives and others whose project is in a rural area. Up to $25 million, for up to 40 years, for buildings, equipment, buying a business and more.
MonthsUp to $25m - Bank and mainstream debt
Bank and credit union term loans
A lump sum from a bank or credit union, repaid in fixed installments over an agreed term, usually one to five years. Usually cheaper than online lenders, but slower, and usually secured on assets with a personal guarantee.
WeeksPersonal guarantee likely - Bank and mainstream debt
Business credit cards
Revolving credit for everyday business costs, up to a limit. Free if you clear the balance each month, but expensive if you carry it, and most consumer credit card protections do not apply.
DaysPersonal guarantee likely - Bank and mainstream debt
Business line of credit
A credit limit from a bank, credit union or online lender that you can draw on, repay and draw again, for short-term costs such as inventory, payroll and seasonal gaps.
WeeksPersonal guarantee likely - Bank and mainstream debt
Commercial real estate loans
A loan secured on business property, to buy, build or refinance the building you trade from or one you rent out. Long-term money at a lower risk to the lender than most business loans, but you need a deposit, and many loans end with a large final payment you must refinance.
Months - Bank and mainstream debt
Equipment leasing and sale-leaseback
Paying to use equipment that a lessor owns, with options to buy it at the end, or selling equipment you already own to a lessor and leasing it back to raise cash. Little or no deposit, but you may pay more in total and own nothing at the end.
Weeks - Bank and mainstream debt
Equipment loans and finance agreements
A loan or finance agreement to buy machinery, vehicles or other equipment now and pay for it over time. The equipment itself usually secures the deal, and tax rules can let you write off much of the cost in the first year.
Weeks - Bank and mainstream debt
Personal borrowing for the business
Borrowing in your own name to fund the business: a home equity loan or line, a 401(k) loan, or a personal loan or card. Often easier to get than business credit, but you, your home or your retirement savings carry the risk if the business fails.
Weeks
- Own cash and no-cost
- L3
Specialist secured debt
Borrowing secured on specific assets such as invoices or inventory, with more fees and conditions than mainstream debt.- Bank and mainstream debt
Venture debt
Loans to startups that are backed by venture capital but do not yet make enough cash to repay them, from banks and specialist funds. Less dilution than another equity round, but the lender takes a lien on everything, usually gets warrants, and is counting on your investors putting in more money.
WeeksMay give up shares - Asset-based and specialist lending
Accounts receivable financing
A loan or line of credit secured on your unpaid invoices. The invoices stay yours, you usually keep collecting from your customers, and how much you can borrow rises and falls with what they owe you.
Weeks - Asset-based and specialist lending
Asset-based lending
A revolving credit line secured on your receivables and inventory, where how much you can borrow moves with the value of those assets. Flexible for growing or seasonal businesses, but closely monitored and usually dearer than ordinary bank lending.
Weeks - Asset-based and specialist lending
Inventory and floor plan financing
Loans secured on the goods you hold for sale. Dealers of vehicles, boats, equipment and similar goods use floor plan lines that pay for each item and are repaid as it sells; other businesses borrow a smaller share of their stock's value.
Weeks - Asset-based and specialist lending
Invoice factoring
A finance company (a factor) buys your unpaid invoices to other businesses at a discount, pays you for them before your customers do, and collects the money from your customers.
Days - Asset-based and specialist lending
Private credit and mezzanine debt
Loans from lenders that are not banks, such as private credit funds, business development companies and SBA-licensed SBICs, to established mid-sized companies, often for growth, acquisitions or buyouts. Faster and more flexible than a bank, but at a higher price, and sometimes with a share of the company attached.
MonthsFrom $250kMay give up shares - Asset-based and specialist lending
Purchase order and contract financing
Money to fill a specific order or contract you have won but cannot afford to carry out, repaid when your customer pays. The SBA backs one version through banks; specialist finance companies offer others on their own terms.
WeeksUp to $5mPersonal guarantee likely - Asset-based and specialist lending
Spot factoring (single invoices)
Selling one unpaid invoice, or a few, to a factor for cash now, without signing up to sell it all your invoices. Useful for an occasional large invoice, but each deal is priced on its own.
Days - Asset-based and specialist lending
Trade finance and letters of credit
Bank tools that make buying from or selling to other countries safer and easier to finance: letters of credit, documentary collections, standby letters of credit and forfaiting. They cost fees, need careful paperwork, and each suits a different level of trust between buyer and seller.
Weeks - Public and quasi-public markets
Corporate bonds and private placements of debt
A larger company borrows by selling notes or bonds to investors: privately to a few institutions, through a Rule 144A offering to large institutional buyers, or in a public bond offering registered with the SEC. It can raise large sums for many years without giving up shares, but suits only established companies, and the interest and repayment are fixed.
Months
- Bank and mainstream debt
- L4
Expensive or fast
Quick to arrange, often unsecured, and usually the most expensive way to borrow.- Alternative and fast debt
Bridge and hard money loans
Short-term loans secured on real estate, to buy, fix up or carry a property until it can be sold or refinanced. Hard money comes from private lenders who look mostly at the property; it is fast but expensive, and you can lose the property if the exit does not happen.
Weeks - Alternative and fast debt
E-commerce and payment platform finance
Financing offered by the platform you sell through or take payments with, worked out from your sales there and repaid automatically as a share of each sale. Quick and simple, but only for its own sellers, and a fixed fee can make it expensive.
Days - Alternative and fast debt
Merchant cash advance
A lump sum now in exchange for a share of your future sales, usually collected by daily or weekly withdrawals from your bank account until a fixed total is repaid. Fast, but one of the most expensive ways to raise money.
DaysPersonal guarantee likely - Alternative and fast debt
Online business loans
Term loans and lines of credit applied for online, often from finance companies rather than banks. Decisions can come within days, but rates run well above bank loans, and payments may be taken weekly or even daily.
DaysPersonal guarantee likely - Alternative and fast debt
Revenue-based finance
A lump sum repaid as a fixed share of your monthly revenue until an agreed total is paid back. Payments fall when sales fall, but the total is fixed, so repaying quickly makes it very expensive.
DaysPersonal guarantee likely
- Alternative and fast debt
- Equity rungs. These routes cost no interest, but you give up part of the ownership and control of your business. They are ranked by how much you give up, not by a made-up interest rate. Over time, equity can be the most expensive money of all.E1
Light dilution
You sell a small share of the company, usually to many small investors or people you know, and keep control of how it is run.- Crowdfunding and community finance
Co-op member shares and community offerings
A cooperative raising money from its own members, through membership shares, other shares or member loans, under state cooperative and securities law. Other community businesses can make small public offerings registered with their state.
MonthsGives up shares - Crowdfunding and community finance
Intrastate offerings and state crowdfunding
Selling shares or notes only to people who live in your own state, under the federal intrastate exemptions and your state's securities law. Some states have their own crowdfunding exemptions with low limits per investor, which let local customers and neighbors invest small amounts.
MonthsGives up shares - Crowdfunding and community finance
Regulation Crowdfunding
Raise up to $5 million in 12 months from the public, including people who are not wealthy investors, by selling shares, debt or other securities through one SEC-registered online platform.
MonthsUp to $5mLoans, or shares if you choose - Private equity investment
Friends and family
Money from people you know, as a loan, convertible debt or shares, usually at the very start. Quick and flexible, but even a small round is usually a securities offering, and a failure can strain relationships.
WeeksLoans, or shares if you choose - Hybrid instruments
Convertible notes
A loan from investors that usually turns into shares at your next funding round. It puts off agreeing a valuation, but until it converts it is real debt, with interest and a repayment date.
WeeksMay give up shares - Hybrid instruments
SAFEs (simple agreements for future equity)
An investor pays now for the right to shares later, usually when the company raises a priced round. Quick and cheap to agree, with no interest or repayment date, but it is a promise of future ownership, and its terms decide how much of the company you give up.
WeeksGives up shares
- Crowdfunding and community finance
- E2
Significant dilution and investor rights
Investors take a meaningful stake and usually get rights such as a board seat, a veto over big decisions, or a preferred return.- Private equity investment
Angel investors
Wealthy individuals, alone or in groups, buy a stake in an early-stage company and often bring advice and contacts. It is a securities offering, usually made under the SEC's Regulation D, mostly to accredited investors.
MonthsGives up shares - Private equity investment
Corporate venture capital
A large company invests its own money in a smaller one whose product or technology matters to its business, in return for shares. You can gain a customer, a partner and a route to market, but you share plans with a company that may compete with you or want to buy you.
6 months or moreGives up shares - Private equity investment
Family offices
A company set up to manage one wealthy family's money invests directly in your business, usually for shares. Family offices can be more patient and flexible than funds, but each sets its own rules, and you usually need an introduction to reach one.
6 months or moreGives up shares - Private equity investment
Opportunity Zone investment
Investors who have sold something at a gain can put that gain into a Qualified Opportunity Fund, which invests in businesses and property in low-income census tracts, and pay less tax as a result. For a business in a zone it means equity from investors with a tax reason to back it, but the business has to keep meeting strict tests for years. New zones take effect on January 1, 2027.
6 months or moreGives up shares - Private equity investment
Venture capital
Investment from venture capital funds in fast-growing companies, in return for shares (usually preferred stock) and a say in how the company is run. Large sums for growth, but only for a few businesses, and at the cost of ownership and control.
6 months or moreGives up shares - Public and quasi-public markets
Private share sales and tender offers
Founders, early staff or investors in a private company sell some of their shares to new investors, one by one or together in a tender offer, while the company stays private. It gives shareholders cash, but brings no new money into the business.
MonthsGives up sharesNot a raise - Tokens and digital assets
Token offerings
Raising money by selling a crypto asset (a "token") that your project creates, before or after its network is running. In the US, a token sold with promises of the work you will do to make it valuable is usually part of a securities offering. The SEC set out new guidance in 2026 and has proposed new exemptions, but they are not final. Here is what is settled and what is not, as of October 20, 2026.
MonthsMay give up shares - Tokens and digital assets
Tokenized securities
Shares, bonds or other securities issued or recorded as crypto assets on a blockchain. The technology is new, but the securities laws apply in full. US rules are still moving: here is what is settled and what is not, as of October 17, 2026.
6 months or moreLoans, or shares if you choose
- Private equity investment
- E3
Major dilution, loss of control or public obligations
Investors take control, or the company becomes publicly traded and takes on ongoing public rules, costs and scrutiny.- Private equity investment
Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)
Owners sell some or all of their shares to a retirement plan that holds them for the company's employees, usually paid for with a loan the company repays over time. A way for owners to sell, not a way for the business to raise money.
6 months or moreGives up sharesNot a raise - Private equity investment
Management buyout
The people who run a business buy it, or a large part of it, from its owners, usually with a mix of their own money, loans, a note to the seller and sometimes a private equity investor. Owners can sell to people who know the business, but the business takes on the debt that pays for it.
6 months or moreLoans, or shares if you choosePersonal guarantee likely - Private equity investment
Private equity
Investment from private equity funds in established, profitable companies, often buying control so the owners can sell some or all of their shares, sometimes paid for partly with money the company borrows. Large sums, at the cost of control and a sale on the fund's timetable.
6 months or moreGives up shares - Public and quasi-public markets
Over-the-counter (OTC) quotation
Your shares are quoted and traded over the counter, through broker-dealers and quotation systems, without listing on a stock exchange. Being quoted does not raise money by itself, but it gives investors a way to trade, which can help a company that raises money through a public or Regulation A offering. Lighter than an exchange listing, but the SEC tightened its rules in 2020 to curb fraud and manipulation in OTC shares.
MonthsGives up shares - Public and quasi-public markets
Regulation A offerings
A public offering of up to $75 million in 12 months that the SEC must qualify before any sale, lighter than a full registered IPO. Anyone can invest, with limits on investors who are not accredited in the larger tier.
6 months or moreUp to $75mLoans, or shares if you choose - Public and quasi-public markets
Stock exchange listing (IPO, direct listing or SPAC)
Become a public company by listing your shares on a national securities exchange such as the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, through an initial public offering, a direct listing or a merger with a SPAC. Access to large amounts of capital, with ongoing public reporting, costs and scrutiny.
6 months or moreGives up shares
- Private equity investment