Lendio vs. LendingTree Loans 2021

Let’s talk lending marketplaces.

Lendio and LendingTree are two of the most popular loan marketplaces out there, offering small-business owners the chance to shop around for loan offers with just one funding application. That gives you the chance to see all your financing options and find the best deal―but which lending marketplace does it better?

Well, we’ve found that Lendio is the best business loan marketplace―and in this article, we’ll tell you why. We’ll compare factors like loan options, borrower requirements, and funding processes so you can see which lending company you ought to go with.

As we’ve said, Lendio and LendingTree are both loan marketplaces (or lending marketplaces, if you prefer).

Since you’re interested in these two companies, you probably already have a pretty good idea of what that means―that they partner with lenders rather than extending loans themselves, that they let you compare your personalized loan options, and so on. You can think of them as business loan brokers, really.

So Lendio and LendingTree work in a pretty similar way. But the details matter―and that’s where Lendio and LendingTree start to look pretty different.

For starters, Lendio has more flexible (and more clear) borrower requirements than LendingTree does.

LendingTree doesn’t actually publish any application requirements. But if you submit an application with less than $200,000 in revenue or two years in business, LendingTree will tell you it can’t match you with any lender partners. It does note, however, that it has lenders that can work with pretty much any personal credit score.

Lendio, on the other hand, lets you submit a loan application even if your business is less than one year old. It also has lower minimum revenue requirements, and it too can work with bad credit.

Of course, with any lending marketplace, borrower requirements will vary between different lenders and financing types. But Lendio has overall lower, more flexible borrower requirements, making it better for young and growing businesses.

We’ve already told you that Lendio and LendingTree have similar business loan application processes: You fill out a brief online application, and then you get matched with potential loan offers. But between these two business loan brokers, we prefer Lendio’s process.

That’s partially because Lendio always gives you a dedicated loan specialist (your “personal funding manager”) to help explain your options and answer your questions. LendingTree offers to let you chat with someone, but you can also just view your matches yourself.

And that might be fine, except LendingTree doesn’t seem to put much work into the matchmaking. Its initial application is very brief compared to Lendio’s. They both ask about your credit score, revenue, business type, and so on―But Lendio also asks some extra things:

• What matters most to you in a loan (speed vs. loan amounts vs. loan costs)
• Special considerations about your business (such as nonprofit status, seasonality, and whether you invoice customers)
• How much of the business you own
• How much profit you make (rather than just revenue)

Lendio also asks for some initial documentation as part of your application. That helps it do a better job of pre-qualifying you for a business loan (though you will still have to finalize your application directly with the lender you choose).

These extra questions allow Lendio to find you better loan matches. That means less wasted time for you if you get matched with, say, a lender that doesn’t work with nonprofits or seasonal businesses. (And again, your Lendio lending specialist can help you spot these kinds of potential issues.)

So while either lending site can help you find relevant business loans, Lendio has a more personalized touch that makes its application process better overall.

With all its advantages, we recommend Lendio as the best option for most business owners.

See, Lendio is an all-around excellent lending marketplace. It offers a great selection of loans from a large list of lenders. And it doesn’t just stick to loans for everyday working capital, either―Lendio’s also got partners that can help with more specialized needs, like commercial real estate loans and business acquisition loans. Likewise, it has financing options even for young businesses without high revenue.

Plus, Lendio offers more details and transparency abouts its loans than LendingTree does. Lendio lists things like typical loan amounts, interest rates, and even borrower requirements for the different types of loans it offers―so you can have a better idea of what kind of financing you can qualify for.

And Lendio offers a more personalized loan matchmaking experience too. Its more thorough application process means you can get more tailored lender matches. Then, with the help of your personal lending specialist, Lendio can help you find which loan offer fits your business needs best.

So while Lendio can’t help you with personal loans like LendingTree can, it’s the better business loan marketplace. That’s why we recommend it as the first stop for most small-business owners.

(For even more on why we love Lendio, check out our Lendio review.)

While you definitely can explore your business loan options with LendingTree, we’d stick to using it for personal loans.

LendingTree partners with both traditional financial institutions and alternative lenders to offer a wide variety of personal loans. It can help you get a car loan, a home mortgage, or a student loan. Likewise, LendingTree can help you refinance and consolidate existing loan or credit card debt.

And sure, LendingTree partners with business lenders too. But as we’ve explained above, Lendio seems to do a better job with the small-business loan side of things. LendingTree doesn’t offer much information about the specific types of loans you can get or what it takes to get them. Even when you get matched with potential business lenders, LendingTree won’t give you any interest rate information.

Speaking of matches, LendingTree’s loan application is short and easy―but probably too short. Without getting enough detail from business owners, we suspect LendingTree is more likely to match you with loans that ultimately won’t work for you as a borrower.

That doesn’t make LendingTree a bad place to apply for a business loan―just a worse option than Lendio. So with all that in mind, we recommend sticking to using LendingTree for personal loan needs rather than business working capital.

Lendio is a legitimate business loan broker, but it’s not a lender itself. Instead, it partners with business lenders to help match you with the right loan for your business.

Lendio partners with more than 75 business lenders. Its list of lending partners includes plenty of lenders you may have heard of (like Bank of America and Kabbage) to lesser-known lenders (like Financial Pacific Leasing and Knight Capital Funding).

LendingTree competes with other personal and business loan marketplaces (like Bankrate, Funding Circle, and Lendio) as well as online lenders (like Kabbage and SoFi).

Both Lendio and LendingTree give you an easy way to match with and compare potential business loans. But Lendio offers the better experience overall, thanks to its additional types of business loans, more flexible borrower requirements, and more personalized loan application experience.

So while we’d still recommend LendingTree as a fine option for personal loans, we prefer Lendio for your business loan needs.

Want to see how Lendio compares to another business loan marketplace? Check out our comparison of Fundera vs. Lendio.

We looked at factors like loan offerings, borrower requirements, customer reviews, and more to score Lendio and LendingTree. We based our reviews and recommendations on these scores.

Disclaimer

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.