Small-business money, by the numbers
Small-business money, with the numbers shown
We read the loan records, the fee notices and the fine print behind small-business financing, and publish what they say. Every figure links to where it came from.
From the data
Guide
SBA loans to buy a business: the 2026 rules and what 5,371 loans show
26% of SBA 7(a) dollars pay for the purchase of a business. The manual in force since October 1, 2026 asks for 10% down and coverage of 1.25 on past earnings. The rules, and the loan records.
Updated October 6, 2026
Guide
SBA loan personal guarantee and collateral: who signs, what is pledged, what happens in a default
Every owner of 20% or more guarantees an SBA 7(a) loan without limit, and 87% of recent loans were also backed by collateral. What SBA's manuals require, and what 49,521 loan records show.
Updated October 6, 2026
Guide
SBA Express vs. standard 7(a): what 17,380 Express loans show
An SBA Express loan carries half the guaranty of a standard 7(a) loan. In the loan records Express loans are smaller, mostly lines of credit, no more expensive at the same size, and charged off less often.
Updated October 6, 2026
Guide
Refinancing business debt with an SBA loan: what qualifies, the 10% test and what it costs
A 7(a) loan can pay off other business debt if the new payment is at least 10% lower. Which debts qualify under SBA's manual in force since October 1, 2026, why an active cash advance does not, and what a longer term costs.
Updated October 6, 2026
Data study
How long does an SBA loan take to fund? What 78,078 approvals show
SBA's records time every 7(a) loan from approval to first payout. Half were funded within 21 days, one in ten took more than 83, and 18% of approvals were cancelled first.
Updated October 6, 2026
Data study
The 69 busiest SBA 7(a) lenders, and what each one charges
1,201 lenders made an SBA 7(a) loan in the last year. We list the 69 that made at least 100, with each one's typical rate, loan size and share of fixed-rate loans.
Updated October 5, 2026
Data study
SBA loan default rates by industry: what happened to 478,963 loans
We followed every SBA 7(a) loan made from 2010 to 2019. 7.1% were charged off. See the rate for 73 industries, by loan size, and how long failure takes.
Updated October 5, 2026
Data study
SBA 7(a) loan rates in 2026: what 49,520 borrowers were actually charged
We read every SBA 7(a) loan approved from July 2025 to June 2026. The median rate was 9.5%. See rates by loan size, lender type, state and industry.
Updated October 5, 2026
Calculators
Calculator
SBA refinance calculator: which debts qualify, the 10% test and the total cost
List your business debts. See which ones an SBA 7(a) loan can pay off under the rules in force since October 1, 2026, whether the new payment passes SBA's 10% test, and what the longer term costs in total.
Updated October 6, 2026
Calculator
SBA personal guarantee checker: who has to sign, and whether a home must be pledged
Enter each owner's share, the loan and a property. See who must guarantee an SBA 7(a) loan under the rules in force since October 1, 2026, what collateral SBA requires, and whether the equity in a home counts.
Updated October 6, 2026
Calculator
SBA 504 vs 7(a) calculator: compare the payment, the cash down and the fees
Enter a building or equipment project and compare an SBA 504 package with a single 7(a) loan: cash down, fees added to the debt, monthly payment and what you still owe after ten years.
Updated October 6, 2026
Calculator
Merchant cash advance calculator: turn a factor rate into an APR
A 1.30 factor rate is not 30% interest. Enter the advance, the factor, the fees and the payment to see the APR, the total cost and how much of your sales it takes.
Updated October 6, 2026
Calculator
DSCR calculator for SBA loans: will your cash flow carry the payment?
Work out debt service coverage the way SBA's rules define it, see the minimum that applies to your loan (1.10, 1.15 or 1.25) and test what happens to it if rates rise.
Updated October 6, 2026
Calculator
Business acquisition loan calculator: test a purchase against SBA's rules
Enter the price, your cash, any seller note and the cash flow of the business. See the SBA loan and its payment, and whether the deal meets the 10% equity rule, the valuation limit and the 1.25 coverage test.
Updated October 6, 2026
Calculator
SBA 7(a) loan calculator: payment, guaranty fee and APR for fiscal 2027
Work out the monthly payment on an SBA 7(a) loan, the upfront guaranty fee under the schedule that took effect October 1, 2026, and the APR once the fee is counted.
Updated October 5, 2026
How this site works
We start from records. The U.S. government publishes every SBA-guaranteed loan: who made it, how big it was, what rate it carried, whether it was repaid. We download the files, do the arithmetic and show the result. When a rule matters, we read the rule itself, not a summary of it.
Every page shows its work. Charts come with the numbers behind them. Articles list their sources and the date we last checked each one. If the data cannot answer a question, the page says so.
Nobody pays to be covered. We are not a lender, a broker or a lead seller. Lenders appear in our tables because they are in the public record, in the order the record puts them.
Read more about how we work and where the data comes from.