Best Restaurant Loans for Small Businesses
We compared restaurant loans across the industry so you don't have to. See real rates, credit requirements, and funding speed side by side — matched to how your restaurant actually makes money, not a generic small business score.
Restaurant-ready lenders, ranked objectively
Every lender below is evaluated on the same criteria: loan amount, minimum credit score, monthly revenue requirement, and funding speed for restaurant and food service borrowers.
AI-powered underwriting with no minimum credit score requirement. Decisions issued in as little as 3 hours based entirely on monthly business revenue, with a rate-match guarantee and zero paperwork.
- Max Amount
- $10K – $5M
- Funding Speed
- Same Day
- BBB Rating
- A-
Working capital loans, MCAs, equipment financing, and SBA products available from a single lender. 4-hour approval with transparent fees and no hidden costs. In operation since 2010.
- Max Amount
- $5K – $600K
- Funding Speed
- 24 Hours
- BBB Rating
- A+
10-minute application with no hard credit pull. OnDeck reports to all three business credit bureaus, helping you build business credit as you repay. Renewal available after 6 months.
- Max Amount
- $5K – $400K
- Funding Speed
- Same Day
- BBB Rating
- A+
Over $3 billion funded to US small businesses since 2006. Offers term loans, lines of credit, revenue-based financing, equipment leasing, and SBA loans — all with no prepayment penalties.
- Max Amount
- $10K – $5M
- Funding Speed
- 24–48 Hours
- BBB Rating
- N/A
Revenue-based approval accepts credit scores from 500, focusing on business cash flow rather than personal credit history. Early payoff discounts reduce your total cost of capital.
- Max Amount
- $5K – $1.5M
- Funding Speed
- 72 Hours
- BBB Rating
- A+
Sets no minimum credit score and still turns applications around in about four hours, with funding as fast as the same day terms are accepted. All costs are disclosed upfront before signing.
- Max Amount
- $5K – $2M
- Funding Speed
- Same Day
- BBB Rating
- A+
A restaurant's cash flow rarely moves in a straight line
Foot traffic, catering, and ingredient costs don't move together. Most restaurants feel the same handful of pressure points every year, the kind that are far easier to plan around once you can see them coming.
The post-holiday slowdown
After a strong December, January and February often bring a real dip as diners cut back following holiday spending, while rent, payroll, and loan payments don't take a season off.
The rebuild
Sales climb back through spring as patio season, graduations, and Mother's Day bring diners back, but staff and suppliers need to be funded ahead of that demand, not after it shows up.
The mixed middle
Summer swings differently by concept: tourist and patio-heavy spots often peak, while neighborhood regulars travel more, all as ingredient costs keep climbing regardless.
The holiday crunch
The biggest revenue window of the year also carries the biggest strain: extra staff, holiday menus, and inventory all have to be funded weeks before the parties and catering orders actually pay out.
Covers move fast. Your costs move faster.
Restaurants are one of the few industries where the busiest week of the year can also be the most cash strapped, since payroll, ingredients, and equipment rarely wait for a good month to actually pay out. Here is the case, reason by reason.
A slow week and a broken cooler can hit the same month
Full service restaurants typically run on 3 to 9 percent net margins, so a slow stretch or a failed piece of equipment can strain payroll fast, exactly what a line of credit is built to absorb.
Kitchen equipment fails on its own schedule
A walk-in cooler or commercial oven going down mid-service means turning away covers until it's replaced, not repaired next month when cash allows.
New hires need to be funded before the rush they're hired for
Bringing on line cooks or servers ahead of a holiday season or a known busy stretch means paying wages before that extra revenue actually lands, and payroll still runs every two weeks regardless.
Marketing spend lands months before the diners it brings
Delivery app placement, local ads, or a menu refresh need real budget upfront, and a first time diner rarely covers what it cost to bring them in the door.
The right opportunity rarely waits for cash to build up
A second location coming available, a chance to buy out a partner, or a lease renewal on better terms, these windows close whether or not a restaurant has saved enough to move on them yet.
Food costs swing faster than menu prices can follow
Produce, protein, and dairy prices can jump week to week, squeezing margins long before a menu reprice catches up, especially on high volume staple items.
One form beats six separate submissions
Applying to lenders one at a time costs you the two things a restaurant can least afford: time, and your credit score taking repeated hits.
Applying to lenders one by one
Comparing here, once
What restaurant business loans actually get spent on
Not every loan on this page goes toward equipment. Here's a rough sense of what restaurant owners actually finance most, and which product tends to fit each one.
Payroll & staffing
Line cooks and servers get paid on Friday whether last week was busy or dead. A short-term loan or a line of credit covers payroll through a slow stretch without you skipping your own paycheck.
Food & inventory costs
Produce and protein prices move week to week. Some restaurants use working capital to buy ahead when prices dip; others just need it to keep the walk-in stocked during a rough month.
Marketing & getting customers in the door
A delivery app placement or a local ad push costs real money weeks before it turns into actual reservations. Most restaurants fund that gap rather than cut the marketing budget the moment cash gets tight.
Kitchen equipment
A dead walk-in or a fryer that won't heat isn't something you schedule around. The equipment itself can secure the loan, which is usually why approval on this type moves faster than the others.
Renovation, buildout, or a second location
New patio seating, a dining room refresh, or an entirely new kitchen line is the kind of project that needs a lump sum up front and pays for itself over a couple of years. SBA and term loans are built for exactly this.
Refinancing existing debt
Rolling a stack of shorter, more expensive advances into a single term loan at one lower payment is one of the most common reasons a restaurant comes back a year or two after its first loan.
Capital matched to what your restaurant actually needs
Every link below goes straight to the best lenders for that specific type of financing, ranked for restaurant and food service borrowers rather than businesses in general.
Equipment Financing
Finance a range, a walk-in, or a full cooking line with the asset itself as collateral, preserving working capital for everything else the restaurant needs.
Working Capital Loans
Keep payroll, rent, and daily operations running through a slow stretch or a post-holiday dip, with most restaurants approved within 24 hours.
Business Line of Credit
A revolving buffer against uneven sales, drawn only when needed and repaid as revenue lands, rather than reapplying every time cash gets tight.
SBA & Long-Term Loans
Lower rates and longer terms for a planned second location, a full buildout, or buying an existing restaurant outright, in exchange for a slower, more document-heavy approval. The SBA 7(a) program alone backed over $1.7 billion in loans to full-service restaurants last year.
Invoice Financing
Built for catering and event businesses waiting on corporate clients to pay. Turn an unpaid invoice into cash now instead of waiting 30 to 60 days to collect.
Small Business Loans
Not sure which type fits your restaurant yet? Compare general small business loan options across every size and lender, then narrow down from there.
Term loan or line of credit: it depends what you're solving
These are the two most common shapes a restaurant business loan takes. One hands you a lump sum for something specific. The other sits ready in the background for whenever you actually need it.
Term loan
- How it worksOne lump sum, repaid on a fixed schedule over a set term
- Best fitA specific, one-time cost like a renovation or an SBA-backed expansion
- PaymentsSame amount every month, easy to plan around
- Once it's fundedYou can't draw more without applying again
- Typical range on this page$25,000 to $500,000, longer terms for SBA
Line of credit
- How it worksA revolving limit you draw from and repay, then draw from again
- Best fitRecurring, unpredictable needs like payroll gaps or inventory swings
- PaymentsYou only pay interest on what you've actually drawn
- Once it's approvedIt's there for the next slow month without reapplying
- Typical range on this page$10,000 to $250,000, renews as you repay
Eligibility requirements, in plain terms
Requirements vary by lender and loan type, but most fall into the same handful of categories. Here's what to have ready before you apply.
Best for a major, planned purchase where total cost matters more than speed, if your restaurant can wait two to six weeks for funding.
Best when the equipment itself can secure the loan, which tends to offset a thinner credit file or shorter track record.
Best for payroll, staffing, or bridging a reimbursement stretch, where revenue matters more than a clean credit history.
Best for a fast, revenue based need with little to no credit history to underwrite against.
Ranges reflect typical published criteria across the lenders in our matrix and can shift by lender; exact requirements are confirmed at the offer stage, not before.
Typical qualification criteria
- Time in business: Most lenders want 6 or more months of operating history; newer restaurants have fewer, revenue-weighted options.
- Monthly revenue: Commonly $15,000 to $30,000 per month, though several lenders in our matrix set no fixed floor.
- Credit score: Ranges from no minimum on revenue-based products to 650+ for the lowest advertised rates.
- Collateral: For equipment financing, the equipment itself typically serves as collateral, which can offset a thinner credit file.
Documents to have ready
Having these on hand before you apply is the single biggest factor in how fast an offer comes back.
Four steps from question to capital.
Tell us what's going on
How much you need, what it's for, and how long you've been open. Takes under two minutes, and looking doesn't touch your credit score.
See who'll actually lend to you
Not every lender on this page will fit your file. We only show the ones whose minimums you already clear, with their real rates next to each other.
Read the fine print before you sign
Total cost, not just the monthly payment. Origination fees, prepayment terms, whatever a lender would rather you skim past.
Get funded and get back to service
Some lenders here can have cash in your account the same business day. Others take a week. Either way, you pick, not us.
What makes this comparison different
Absolute transparency
We display the full cost of capital including origination fees and effective APR, so the number you see is the number you pay.
Built for speed
A lightweight interface and soft credit check mean matched offers appear within seconds, with funding possible as fast as same day.
Bank-grade security
Your data is encrypted in transit and shared only with the specific lenders you choose to move forward with, never sold to third parties.
No commission bias
We never accept payment to place a lender higher. Our recommendations are driven entirely by fit for your profile, not by which lender pays the highest referral fee.
Verified lender data
Each lender is independently reviewed on loan amount, minimum credit score, funding speed, and service quality, with data sourced directly from lenders and updated monthly.
A living marketplace
Rates, terms, and lender eligibility criteria update continuously, so every comparison you run reflects the state of the market as it stands today.
Every restaurant concept has its own equipment list
The core financing process is the same, but the equipment and typical deal size shift by concept. Explore the guide closest to your restaurant.
Fast Casual
POS, counter equipment
Fine Dining
Wine storage, high-end kitchen
Food Trucks
Mobile kitchen, generators
Catering
Transport, bulk cooking
Bars & Nightlife
Draft systems, ice machines
Coffee Shops & Cafes
Espresso machines, roasters
Pizzerias
Deck ovens, dough equipment
Bakeries
Proofers, mixers, display cases
Restaurant business loans, answered plainly
Does comparing loans here hurt my credit score?
No. Every lender on this page starts with a soft credit check to generate a matched offer. A hard pull only happens once you move forward with a specific lender's actual offer.
How fast can money actually land in my account?
Depends what you're getting. Some working capital and equipment lenders in our matrix can fund the same day once approved. A term loan usually takes a few business days, and SBA loans can run several weeks.
Will one slow season hurt my chances?
Not as much as you'd think. Most lenders here look at monthly revenue over several months, not a single bad week, which matters if your restaurant has a real seasonal swing around holidays or summer.
What credit score do I actually need?
It depends entirely on the lender and product. A handful of options on this page, including some revenue-based and equipment-backed loans, don't set a fixed minimum and lean on cash flow instead.
Can a restaurant that just opened qualify for anything?
Sometimes, though the list gets shorter. A few lenders skip the time-in-business requirement entirely and rely more on your personal credit and current deposits to make the call.
Term loan or line of credit, which one do I actually want?
If you know exactly what you're spending it on and how much, a term loan is usually cheaper. If you just want something sitting there for whenever cash gets tight, a line of credit fits better, since you only pay for what you draw.
Do I need collateral to get approved?
Not always. Equipment loans use the equipment itself, and larger SBA loans sometimes ask for real estate or other assets. Working capital and revenue-based products are frequently unsecured, backed by a personal guarantee instead.
Find the right capital for your restaurant in ninety seconds.
One form, transparent offers, zero obligation. See exactly what restaurant funding your business qualifies for today.