Compare business & personal financing — ranked by fit, not by who pays. Money, made clear, with Brian Kim, CPA.
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The ClearValue pick in every category.
One verified pick per category. Chosen by fit, not commissions.
Updated August 2026
Business Loans · SBA Preferred
Live Oak Bank
Top SBA 7(a) lender by dollar volume, vertical-specialty teams
Personal Loans
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Fair-credit access with broad use-case flexibility.
Business Banking
Mercury
Default pick for funded startups — $0 fee, unlimited digital, clean integrations.
Mortgages
Veterans United Home Loans
The default pick for VA loan borrowers — both rate and process.
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Travel rewards
Sign-up bonuses and transfer partners for flights and hotels.
Cash back
Flat-rate or bonus-category cash on everyday spending.
0% intro APR
Interest-free windows for a balance transfer or a big purchase.
Business cards
Separate business spend and build business credit.
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Find my best matchWhat's new in every category
Small Business Loan Statistics 2026: SBA and Federal Reserve Data
Approval rates by lender type, SBA loan volume, average loan size, and the current rate environment — every statistic on this page is sourced to the SBA or the Federal Reserve's Small Business Credit Survey, with no fabricated figures.
7 min read BlogSmall Business Grants for Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses: A 2026 Sourcing Guide
Real funding paths for minority- and women-owned businesses: SBA 8(a) and WOSB federal contracting, NMSDC and WBENC corporate certification, and direct cash grants like the Amber Grant — with an FTC scam warning and no fabricated award figures.
10 min read PickBest Alternative Business Lenders 2026
Seven alternative business lenders and one broker/marketplace worth comparing in 2026 for revenue-based financing (MCA), working-capital term loans, and lines of credit. ClearValue Lending is a comparison and referral platform, not a lender — every figure here is sourced at the lender itself.
10 min readOur standards
"We rank every product the way we'd advise our own family — by fit and cost, never by who pays us."
Our 4-factor rubric (cost / fit / speed / transparency) is set by the team, not by partner commissions.
We earn when readers apply with partners we'd recommend anyway. Same commission across ranks. Read details
Every product is scored against the same published methodology — a tax-first lens on cost, because the cheapest cost of capital is the one you don't pay twice.
Good to know
Your questions, answered.
How we operate, how we stay independent, and how we make money.
Read full guides →What is ClearValue Lending?
It's a business and personal financing platform from the team behind ClearValue Tax. We write plain-English guides and put your options side by side — business loans, lines of credit, SBA, personal loans, auto, debt consolidation, refinancing — so you can see what each one really costs and pick the one that fits. We're a platform, not a lender or a bank. We don't loan the money. We help you understand it before you sign.
How does ClearValue make money?
Straight answer: when you pick a product through one of our comparisons, some partners pay us a referral fee. Costs you nothing. And it doesn't touch the ranking — every list is ordered by fit, not by who paid to be there. If the product that fits you best pays us zero, it still goes on top.
What can I compare on ClearValue?
Business and personal loans. Business and personal credit cards. Banking. Insurance — auto, home, life, renters, pet, and travel. Mortgages, small-business grants, and debt help. New categories go up all the time. Pick one at the top of the page and go.
Is ClearValue free to use?
Yes. The guides, the comparison tools, the reviews — all of it, free. No sign-up wall, no paywall. Read as much as you want.
Are your reviews and rankings independent?
Yes. Every product gets scored against our published methodology — cost, value, and whether it actually fits a real person's situation. And here's the part that matters: we publish the ClearValue verdict even when it costs us the commission. Want to see exactly how the scoring works? It's all in our ratings methodology.
Who is behind ClearValue?
The team behind ClearValue Tax, alongside co-founder Brian Kim, CPA — whose plain-English money education reaches more than 2.89 million people. Education first is the whole point: understand the decision, then make the move. Not the other way around.