MCA Calculator. True cost, in seconds.

What the calculator is computing

An MCA isn't a loan; it's a sale of future receivables. The lender buys a fixed dollar amount of your future revenue, paid back via a percentage of daily sales until the agreed total is delivered. That structure is why MCAs use factor rates instead of interest rates, and why an APR isn't disclosed up front in most contracts.

Four numbers determine the entire deal: advance amount (cash to you), factor rate (multiplier; 1.30 means $1.30 owed for every $1 received), holdback percentage (the share of daily revenue routed to repayment), and daily revenue (your business's average daily deposits). From those, every other figure is derived.

The five formulas

Total payback = advance × factor rate. A $100,000 advance at 1.32 factor means you owe $132,000 regardless of how fast you pay it back.

Daily payment = daily revenue × holdback percentage. $10,000 in daily revenue × 12% holdback = $1,200/day routed to repayment.

Payback period = total payback ÷ daily payment. $132,000 ÷ $1,200 = 110 business days (about 5.2 months at 21 banking days per month).

Simple annualized cost = (factor rate − 1) ÷ (payback period in years) × 100. (1.32 − 1) ÷ (110 ÷ 252) ≈ 73%. This spreads the fixed dollar cost evenly over a year as if you held the full advance the whole time. Quick, but it understates the rate.

APR estimate (payment-schedule based) is computed like a loan APR, from the remittance schedule itself. Solve the daily rate r from advance = daily payment × (1 − (1 + r)^−N) ÷ r, where N is the number of daily payments, then APR = r × 252 business days. $100,000 = $1,200 × (1 − (1 + r)⁻¹¹⁰) ÷ r gives r ≈ 0.53% per business day, so APR ≈ 133%. It is higher than the simple figure because you pay the balance down from day one and only have about half the advance outstanding on average. The shorter the payback period, the higher both numbers — which is why "low" factor rates can produce eye-watering APRs. Neither figure includes fees.

Use the APR figure to compare across products

The single most useful output of this calculator is the APR estimate (payment-schedule based). That's the number that lets you compare an MCA apples-to-apples against a term loan, SBA loan, line of credit, or any other financing. Factor rates alone are deliberately confusing — a 1.20 factor sounds like 20% but computes to roughly 75% APR on a 6-month daily-remittance schedule and about 149% on a 3-month one. The simple annualized cost is shown alongside it because that is the figure most funders and articles quote; the two should never be treated as the same number.

If your APR estimate is under 60%, you're in the exceptional band for MCAs. 60–120% is the better half of the market. 120–200% is the typical upper-mid tier. Above 200% APR, you're looking at the most expensive MCA tier — usually because the factor rate is high (1.45+), the payback period is short (60 business days or less), or both. Read our MCA pillar for full context on when each tier makes sense.

What this calculator doesn't include

Real lender contracts often add costs on top of the factor rate: origination fees (typically 2–5% of the advance), underwriting fees ($395–$995 flat), and ACH fees ($25–$50 per debit). These can add 4–8% to the effective cost beyond what the factor rate alone implies. Always model your real contract numbers, not the headline factor rate.

The calculator also assumes fixed-percentage holdback (true for most MCAs). Some contracts use fixed daily payment structures — same $X every business day regardless of revenue — which exposes the merchant to default risk during slow periods. The math is identical for cost, but the cash-flow profile is materially different.