LendingTree is a legitimate, free online loan marketplace, not a lender: you fill in one form, it passes your request to partner lenders, and they send you offers. Reviews are split. As of October 17, 2026, it rates 4.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot and 4.8 in Apple’s App Store, but 1.2 out of 5 on WalletHub, where most of the recent one-star reviews are about unwanted calls, texts or emails after a request.
If you are shopping for a business loan, the main alternatives are another marketplace such as Lendio, the SBA’s Lender Match tool, Nav, going straight to your bank or a direct lender, and, for a software company with recurring revenue, revenue-based financing.
Key Takeaways
- LendingTree reported $1.12 billion of revenue for 2025 in its annual report, earned mostly as match fees paid by its partners, and says it does not charge consumers.
- On October 17, 2026, LendingTree rated 4.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot (17,423 reviews), 4.8 in Apple’s App Store (37,826 ratings) and 1.2 out of 5 on WalletHub (1,926 reviews).
- MoneyLion’s September 2026 review of LendingTree personal loans and WalletHub’s recent one-star reviews name the same downside: calls, texts and emails from matched lenders after you submit.
- LendingTree’s 2025 annual report says its subsidiary QuoteWizard settled a telemarketing class action for $19 million, approved by the court in September 2025.
- The SBA says its Lender Match tool sends a summary of interested lenders two business days after a request, and is not a loan application.
What Is LendingTree and How Does It Work?
LendingTree is an online comparison marketplace for loans, credit cards and insurance. Its 2025 annual report describes a network of “approximately 770 partners” across mortgages, home equity, auto loans, credit cards, deposit accounts, personal loans, small business loans and insurance quotes. MoneyLion’s personal loan review and LendingTree’s own Trustpilot description cite a smaller figure, more than 300 lenders. The annual report’s figure covers every product, including insurance.
For a borrower, the process has four steps:
- One request. You enter what you need and your details: for a business, the amount, revenue, time in business and credit.
- Matching. LendingTree sends the request to partners whose criteria you fit. Partners generally pay LendingTree a match fee when they receive it.
- Offers and contact. Matched lenders show offers or get in touch by phone, text or email.
- Application. You apply directly with the lender you pick. That lender underwrites the loan, runs any hard credit check and funds it.
MoneyLion’s September 2026 review of LendingTree personal loans says prequalifying uses a soft credit check that doesn’t affect your score, and a hard inquiry happens only when you formally apply with a lender.
How LendingTree makes money
Lenders pay, borrowers don’t. LendingTree’s annual report says it “does not charge consumers for the use of our services”. It earns a match fee when it passes a request to a partner, and in some products a fee per click, call or closed loan. One home loan request can be matched with up to five partners, so up to five fees. That model is why several lenders call: each one has paid for your request.
Total revenue was $1,117 million in 2025, up from $900 million in 2024, and its Insurance segment (QuoteWizard) was the largest at $712 million. Small business loans sit inside its Consumer segment, which brought in $253 million.
LendingTree for business loans
LendingTree’s small business page lets you compare loans by business type, and says its small business concierge service “connected more than 5,000 businesses with over $300 million of loans in 2025” (as archived in August 2026). That is LendingTree’s own figure; we found no independent source for it.
LendingTree Reviews: What Customers Say
We read LendingTree’s rating on four sites on October 17, 2026. They disagree more than for most companies:
| Site | Rating | Based on | What the number measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot | 4.5 out of 5 | 17,423 reviews | Star reviews; 81% are 5-star and 7% are 1-star. LendingTree has claimed its profile since October 2014 |
| Apple App Store | 4.8 out of 5 | 37,826 ratings | Ratings of the LendingTree app |
| WalletHub | 1.2 out of 5 | 1,926 reviews | WalletHub reviews combined with ratings from other sites, last updated October 8, 2026 |
| Better Business Bureau | A+ | 164 complaints in 3 years | BBB’s opinion of how a business deals with customers; accredited since November 6, 2019 |
The scores measure different things. BBB says its letter grade is “BBB’s opinion of how a business is likely to interact with its customers” and that customer reviews are not used to calculate it, so an A+ can sit next to a long complaint list. Star averages also depend on where they are collected: the App Store figure rates the app itself, and WalletHub blends its own reviews with ratings from other sites.
The most common complaint: calls from lenders
The criticism that repeats most is contact, not rates. MoneyLion’s review of LendingTree personal loans tells borrowers to “expect a wave of calls, texts and emails from matched lenders afterward”. Of the 11 most recent one-star reviews on WalletHub, from June 2025 to October 2026, 8 complain of unwanted calls, texts or emails after a request. One business owner wrote:
I put in one online request only. That one request was with lending tree. Before the page even refreshed from hitting submit my phone was blowing up with both texts and calls from different lenders.
WalletHub reviewer srosee1983, a one-star review of LendingTree Business Loans, August 11, 2026. Read on WalletHub
That follows from the model: a request goes to several lenders, and each one paid to reach you. Before you submit, read the consent text on the form, use a phone number and email address you are ready to hear from lenders on, and keep a list of who contacts you, so you can ask each one to stop.
Is LendingTree Legit? Ownership, History and Lawsuits
Yes. LendingTree, Inc. is listed on Nasdaq as TREE and files annual reports with the SEC. Its history, from its 2025 annual report and the Associated Press report on its founder’s death:
- 1996: Doug Lebda founds the company, after his own frustration shopping for a first mortgage.
- 1998: the marketplace launches nationwide.
- 2000: it becomes a public company, according to the AP.
- 2003: IAC/InterActiveCorp acquires it.
- 2008: IAC spins it off as Tree.com, Inc., a separate public company. It took back the LendingTree, Inc. name in January 2015.
- October 2025: Lebda dies in an all-terrain vehicle accident. The board appoints COO Scott Peyree as CEO and lead independent director Steve Ozonian as chairman.
- January 2026: Ian Smith, who led the insurance business, becomes chief operating officer, per an SEC filing.
One lawsuit people ask about is Mantha v. QuoteWizard, the only legal matter named in LendingTree’s 2025 annual report: a class action filed in 2019 against LendingTree’s insurance subsidiary under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, over telemarketing texts. A federal court in Massachusetts certified the class in August 2024, which law firm Day Pitney analyzed in January 2025. LendingTree’s annual report says it settled for $19 million, the court approved the settlement on September 29, 2025, and the case was dismissed with prejudice.
LendingTree Alternatives for Business Loans
The right alternative depends on what you are short of: offers, an SBA lender, credit history or a lender that understands recurring revenue. Each option below is described in its own words, with the date we read it.
| Alternative | What it is | What it says (date read) | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lendio | Business loan marketplace | “We work with more than 100 lenders and funders” and “Lendio does not make loans directly” (site as archived September 14, 2026) | Owners who want several business loan offers from one application |
| SBA Lender Match | Government referral tool | Sends “a summary of all the interested lenders two business days after you submit”; it “isn’t a loan application” (October 17, 2026) | Owners who want an SBA-guaranteed loan from a local lender |
| Nav | Business credit and funding platform | A free plan, and paid plans from $39.99 a month billed monthly (October 17, 2026) | Owners who want to check business credit before they apply |
| Your bank or a direct lender | No middleman | Terms come from the lender you approach | Owners with a banking relationship who know which loan they want |
| Revenue-based financing | Capital repaid from future revenue | Founderpath: “From 7% discount rate”, for companies at $1M-$3M ARR (October 17, 2026) | SaaS companies with recurring revenue |
Why SaaS founders often look past loan marketplaces
Many bank and SBA loans lean on collateral and personal guarantees. A software company has little of that. Oliver Mohseni, co-founder of the small business lender Froda, explained the gap:
I think that what the bank or any traditional lender does is they look for some kind of collateral for the loan. And most of these small businesses lack that. They don’t own property, they don’t own anything that could work as collateral. So we have a different approach, looking much more at cash flow to make sure that this business actually can repay the loan.
Oliver Mohseni, Co-founder, Froda ($80M run rate). Watch at 3:25
SBA loans add a personal promise. Under the SBA’s loan rules, anyone who owns 20% or more of the business “generally must guarantee the loan”. Ben Carpel, owner and director of Galleon, put the trade-off plainly at a Founderpath event:
SBA, lots of paperwork and, as you just said, personal guarantee. So one of the big drawbacks to SBAs is [it] requires you to personal guarantee, meaning… if you can’t pay it back, you got to find another way to pay it back.
Ben Carpel, Owner and Director, Galleon ($3.4M revenue). Watch at 16:07
Revenue-based lenders underwrite the recurring revenue itself. Read our reviews of Capchase, Hum Capital, Stenn and Liquidity, or the overview of SaaS financing options. If a marketplace offers you a merchant cash advance, read how merchant cash advances work for startups before you sign.
Five Questions to Ask Before You Submit a Marketplace Form
- Who will receive my request? Read the consent text and the partner list before you click.
- Is this check soft or hard? Prequalifying should be soft; ask each lender before a full application.
- What is the total cost? Compare APR or total repayment on the same amount and term, not the headline rate.
- Is it a loan, a line of credit or a cash advance? A merchant cash advance is priced with a factor rate, not an interest rate.
- What is personally guaranteed? Ask whether you, or only the business, are on the hook if it can’t repay.
Funding Built for SaaS Founders
A marketplace is a good way to see what banks and online lenders will offer a business with assets and a credit history. A SaaS company with steady recurring revenue can borrow against that revenue directly instead.
Founderpath provides non-dilutive capital for B2B SaaS companies; its revenue financing page lists companies at $1M-$3M ARR and its term loan page $3M+ revenue (October 17, 2026). There’s no equity, no warrants, no board seats and no full personal guarantee: Founderpath takes a lien on business assets only. Connect your billing, banking and accounting data, and most founders see funds within 24-48 hours with revenue financing.
Check what you qualify for. It takes less than 5 minutes.
LendingTree FAQ
Is LendingTree legit?
Yes. LendingTree is a public company listed on Nasdaq under the ticker TREE, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it has run its loan marketplace nationally since 1998. It isn’t a lender: it passes your request to partner lenders, who pay it a fee, and you apply with the lender you choose.
Is LendingTree a good company to get a loan from?
LendingTree doesn’t make loans, so the loan comes from one of its partner lenders and is only as good as that lender’s offer. It is useful for seeing several offers from one form. As of October 17, 2026, it rates 4.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot and 4.8 in Apple’s App Store, but 1.2 out of 5 on WalletHub, where most of the recent one-star reviews are about unwanted calls and texts.
Does LendingTree hurt your credit score?
Comparing offers shouldn’t. MoneyLion’s September 2026 review of LendingTree personal loans says prequalification uses a soft credit check, and a hard inquiry happens only when you formally apply with a lender. Ask each lender which kind of check it runs before you submit a full application.
Why do I get so many calls after using LendingTree?
Your request is shared with several partner lenders, and each one can contact you. LendingTree’s 2025 annual report says one request for a home loan can be matched with up to five partners, each paying a fee. Read the consent text on the form, and use an email address and phone number you are ready to hear from lenders on.
Does LendingTree verify income?
LendingTree itself doesn’t approve or fund loans. The lender you apply with does the underwriting, which can include checking income, bank statements and, for a business, revenue and time in business. What a lender asks for depends on the loan.
Is there a lawsuit against LendingTree?
One lawsuit people ask about was against its insurance subsidiary QuoteWizard, and it is the only legal matter named in its 2025 annual report. A 2019 class action, Mantha v. QuoteWizard, alleged telemarketing texts that broke the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. LendingTree’s 2025 annual report says it settled for $19 million, the court approved the settlement on September 29, 2025, and the case was dismissed.
Is LendingTree free to use?
Yes for borrowers. LendingTree’s 2025 annual report says it does not charge consumers for its services and earns its revenue from the partners it sends requests to, mostly as match fees. The lender you choose charges its own interest and fees.
What are the best LendingTree alternatives for a business loan?
It depends on what you need. Lendio is another business loan marketplace, the SBA’s Lender Match tool connects you with SBA lenders, Nav helps you check business credit and funding options, and your own bank or a direct lender skips the middleman. A SaaS company with recurring revenue can also look at revenue-based financing.
Sources and Method
We checked every figure on this page on October 17, 2026, against the source named next to it. Ratings were read that day and will change. Where only the company itself states a fact, the text says so. We removed figures from the earlier version of this post that we could not trace to a source, including its lender comparison tables.
- LendingTree, Inc., annual report on Form 10-K for 2025, filed March 9, 2026
- LendingTree, Inc., SEC filings on Form 8-K: CEO and chairman appointments, October 16, 2025, and COO appointment, January 9, 2026
- The Associated Press via NBC News, October 13, 2025
- Trustpilot, BBB, WalletHub and Apple App Store profiles, read October 17, 2026; BBB rating method
- MoneyLion, LendingTree personal loans review, September 2, 2026
- Day Pitney, analysis of Mantha v. QuoteWizard, January 29, 2025
- LendingTree small business page and Lendio homepage, as archived by the Wayback Machine in August and September 2026
- SBA Lender Match, 13 CFR 120.160 and Nav pricing, read October 17, 2026
- Founderpath revenue financing and term loan pages, read October 17, 2026
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