Every lender, one set of numbers
SaaS Funding Cost Calculator: Compare 20+ Lenders Side by Side
Every Founderpath comparison page answers one head-to-head. This table answers the question founders actually have: for your amount and your term, what does each lender really cost? Enter the numbers once — every lender is quoted with its own pricing structure and mandatory fees, then ranked by effective APR.
Founderpath publishes its starting rates and ranks itself in the same table, by the same math. Where a lender hides its pricing, we model the range reported by independent sources and cite them.
Lenders that don't offer your term are quoted at the nearest term they do offer (marked *).
# | Lender | Modeled rate | Term | Monthly equivalent | Total cost | Effective APR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Founderpath RPA Flat discount fee per year, fixed payments | 7%/yr published starting rate Min: $100K+ ARR | 24 mo | $23,750/mo | $70,000 | 12.9% |
2 | Founderpath Term Loan Amortizing term loan, interest-only periods available | 14% APR published starting rate Min: $3M+ ARR | 24 mo | $24,006/mo | $76,155 | 14.0% |
3 | Pipe (historic) Discount on traded ARR + 1%-per-side trading fee No longer offered to founders | 5–10% discount reported (modeled at 8%) Min: Recurring-revenue contracts | 12 mo* | $45,000/mo | $40,000 | 14.5% |
4 | Stripe Capital Flat fee, repaid via % of daily Stripe sales | 8–20% flat fee disclosed (modeled at 12%) Min: Processes payments on Stripe | 18 mo* | $31,111/mo | $60,000 | 14.7% |
5 | River SaaS Capital Senior-secured amortizing term loan, no warrants | 13–18% APR modeled vs BDC yields (at 15%) Min: $150K+ MRR, US only | 36 mo* | $17,333/mo | $123,976 | 15.0% |
6 | Espresso Capital Amortizing term loan, interest-only windows | 14–18% APR modeled ("mid-teens" per Espresso) Min: North American SaaS, financial covenants | 24 mo | $24,482/mo | $87,557 | 16.0% |
7 | Bigfoot Capital Senior-secured amortizing term loan | 13–18% APR industry band (modeled at 15%) Min: $2M+ ARR | 24 mo | $24,556/mo | $89,340 incl. $7,500 fees | 16.3% |
8 | TIMIA Capital Amortizing term loan | 15–18% published band (modeled at 17%) Min: $2M+ ARR | 36 mo* | $17,826/mo | $141,749 | 17.0% |
9 | Element SaaS Finance Amortizing term loan | 15–20% APR (modeled at 17%) Min: Funding capped at 6x MRR | 24 mo | $24,929/mo | $98,307 incl. $5,000 fees | 17.9% |
10 | Gynger Amortizing financing of software bills | 14–24% APR modeled (no published rate) Min: Pays a vendor invoice, not your payroll | 12 mo* | $45,840/mo | $50,080 | 18.0% |
11 | Capchase ARR advance, flat fee per year, fixed payments | 10–12%/yr reported (modeled at 10%) Min: $150K+ ARR, 3-month cash runway covenant | 24 mo | $25,000/mo | $100,000 | 18.2% |
12 | Efficient Capital Labs Flat discount fee per year, fixed payments | 10–12%/yr reported (modeled at 10%) Min: SaaS with US or India entity | 24 mo | $25,000/mo | $100,000 | 18.2% |
13 | Wayflyer Flat fee, revenue-based remittance | 5–10% flat fee disclosed (modeled at 8%) Min: Ecommerce, $20K+/mo revenue | 9 mo* | $60,000/mo | $40,000 | 18.8% |
14 | Arc Routed venture debt: APR + warrants + fees | 11–18% APR by lender tier (modeled at 13%) Min: Matched to third-party lenders | 24 mo | $25,385/mo | $109,252 incl. $38,750 fees | 19.7% |
15 | Merchant Growth Factor rate, daily or weekly debits | 1.13–1.30x factor reported (modeled at 1.20x) Min: Canadian small business | 18 mo* | $33,333/mo | $100,000 | 23.9% |
16 | RevTek Capital Interest-only with balloon payment | 13–16% APR modeled (no published rate) Min: $5M+ ARR, 50%+ gross margin | 36 mo* | $19,722/mo | $210,000 | 24.4% |
17 | Riverside Acceleration Capital Payback cap multiple via ~5–6% revenue share | 1.5–2.0x cap per RAC FAQ (modeled at 1.75x) Min: $3M–$15M ARR | 60 mo* | $14,583/mo | $375,000 | 24.7% |
18 | Clearco Flat fee per invoice, fixed weekly payments | 5–8% flat by term (modeled at 8% / 6mo) Min: Ecommerce, $10K+/mo revenue | 6 mo* | $90,000/mo | $40,000 | 26.9% |
19 | SaaS Capital Interest-only on drawn funds + commitment fee | 13–16% published band (modeled at 14.5%) Min: $3M+ ARR, covenants | 24 mo | $28,385/mo | $181,250 incl. $36,250 fees | 31.7% |
20 | Novel Capital Payback cap multiple | 1.5–1.75x cap reported (modeled at 1.65x) Min: $350K+ ARR, 10% YoY growth covenant, US only | 36 mo* | $22,917/mo | $325,000 | 36.1% |
21 | Decathlon Capital Payback cap multiple, 1–4% of monthly revenue | 1.3–2.0x industry band (modeled at 1.5x) Min: Growth-stage, $4M+ revenue typical | 24 mo | $31,250/mo | $250,000 | 42.4% |
22 | Lighter Capital Payback cap multiple, variable monthly payments | 1.35–2.0x cap reported (modeled at 1.5x) Min: ~$500K+ ARR, US | 24 mo | $32,083/mo | $270,000 incl. $20,000 fees | 45.4% |
* Quoted at the nearest term this lender offers. Total cost = everything repaid above the $500,000 principal, including mandatory origination, commitment, and closing fees where they apply. Effective APR is the annualized rate implied by level monthly payments over the modeled term. Modeled estimates for comparison — not offers. Sources per lender are listed in the methodology below; competitor rates without a published rate card come from independent third-party research.
$500,000 costs $70,000 with Founderpath RPA — -$10,000 less than the next-cheapest option.
That's the modeled comparison. Your real number takes 5 minutes: connect Stripe, Chargebee, or Maxio and see your offer in under 24 hours. No personal guarantee.
And if you raised the same $500,000 from VCs?
Equity never shows up in a payment table, which is why it feels free. It isn't: sell 20% to raise $500,000 and a $100,000,000 exit pays your investors $20,000,000 — a net cost of $19,500,000, versus $70,000 for the cheapest row in the table above. Equity is the right tool for some companies; see the full math in Founderpath vs VC equity.
How each lender is modeled
Each row uses the same model as the dedicated Founderpath-vs-lender comparison page, at the typical point of the lender's published or reported range. Flat-fee advances charge the fee regardless of term; annual discount fees scale with term length; payback-cap multiples fix the total repayment; amortizing loans pay level principal and interest; interest-only facilities pay interest monthly with the principal due at maturity. Mandatory upfront fees are added to the total cost.
- Capchase — No published rate card; 10–12% range per Startupsavant and Ratio.
- Efficient Capital Labs — No published rate card; 10–12% flat per third-party research, 12-month standard term.
- Pipe (historic) — Direct-to-SaaS marketplace wound down in early 2024; range per Not Boring and Capchase research.
- Stripe Capital — 8–19.99% premium band per Stripe Capital for Platforms docs; no fixed term — payback tracks Stripe volume.
- Wayflyer — 5–10% fee per Wayflyer help center; 3–9 month terms per products page.
- Clearco — 5% / 6.25% / 8% on 4 / 5 / 6-month terms per clear.co/blog; Cash Advance product priced separately.
- Merchant Growth — Factor range per The Globe and Mail (2019); Finder Canada cites ~13–40% effective APR.
- Lighter Capital — 1.3–1.5x per Lighter Capital FAQ, up to 2.0x per SlideShare sample; ~$20K closing costs per independent reviews.
- Novel Capital — Multiples per co-founder Keith Harrington (Alejandro Cremades interview): 1.5x–1.75x over 3–4 years.
- Decathlon Capital — No published rate card; multiples reflect industry-standard RBF ranges per FunderIntel and Crestmont Capital.
- Riverside Acceleration Capital — Cap per RAC FAQ; 5-year repayment and revenue-share mechanics per Christian Stein (Made It podcast).
- Element SaaS Finance — 15% published floor per Element; also offers RBF at a 1.4–1.6x multiple.
- Espresso Capital — No published rate card; "priced in the mid-teens" per Espresso's own blog. Deal-specific arrangement fees not modeled.
- Gynger — No published APR, factor rate, or fee; TechCrunch (2024) confirms interest plus origination fees exist.
- Bigfoot Capital — No published rate card; defaults reflect industry-standard senior-secured SaaS debt.
- River SaaS Capital — No published rate card; band anchored to Hercules (~14.7%) and Trinity (16.4%) effective portfolio yields.
- TIMIA Capital — "Risk-adjusted rates between 15–18%" per timiacapital.com; also offers interest-only loans for $5M+ ARR.
- Arc — Arc routes to third-party lenders; defaults model a mid-bank-tier venture-debt facility per Kruze and Re:cap. Arc's own finders fee is not public and not modeled.
- RevTek Capital — Interest-only + low amortization per revtekcapital.com; band reflects standard senior-secured growth debt.
- SaaS Capital — 13–16% interest and 1–1.5% commitment fee per saas-capital.com/our-approach; 24-month draw period modeled, the follow-on 36-month amortization phase is not.
Founderpath's rows use its published starting rates: 7% flat discount fee per year on the Revenue Purchase Agreement and 14% APR on the Term Loan, with no origination, closing, or platform fees on either product.
Frequently Asked Questions
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