A 500 FICO is not a closed door. These programs evaluate your revenue, your clients' creditworthiness, or your equipment equity — not your personal credit score. Ranked by accessibility.
Bad personal credit is a genuine obstacle in traditional banking — but the alternative lending market has built products specifically for business owners with credit challenges. These programs prioritize what the business actually earns over what the owner's personal credit history says. The tradeoff: higher rates. The benefit: access to capital that enables revenue growth that, over time, enables credit improvement.
Under 580 FICO: Traditional banks, credit unions, and SBA 7(a) are largely inaccessible. Focus on MCA (if you have revenue), invoice factoring (if you have B2B invoices), equipment financing with larger down payment (20%+), and CDFI microloans.
580–620 FICO: MCA programs widely accessible. Some alternative term loan programs. Equipment financing at standard rates. CDFI programs. SBA Microloans through some intermediaries.
620–650 FICO: Most alternative lending accessible. Business line of credit at higher rates. Equipment financing at competitive rates. SBA Microloan. Path opens to SBA 7(a) as credit improves toward 680+.
One application. All programs. Fast decision. No cost to apply.
Editorial deep-dives comparing specific lenders side-by-side in this category.
Lenders accepting FICO under 650 and broad paper-grade access, ranked by Editorial Score.