"Short-term" is not a defined thing. Across the providers below it ranges from a three month settlement period to a seven year loan, and four of them publish no term at all.
Since the term is what decides your monthly outflow, that is worth pinning down before anything else. Everything here was read from each provider's own website, and from sba.gov, on 6 August 2026.
| Provider | Published term | Set by |
|---|---|---|
| Payoneer, freelancers and SMBs | Up to 3 months | The offer |
| Payoneer, marketplace sellers | Up to 6 months | The offer |
| Onramp Funds, fixed option | 1 to 12 months | The structure |
| Shopify Capital | Maximum 18 months, 2 minimum payments | The agreement |
| SBA microloan | Maximum 7 years | Programme rules |
| Kickfurther | Per deal, extendable if stock sells slowly | Sell-through |
| Wayflyer | A timeframe aligned with your business cycles | Your cycles |
| Bluevine | Revolving, no end date | You |
| Clearco | Not published, capped weekly payments | Not published |
| Fundbox | Not published, described as flexible | Not published |
Genuinely short: three to six months
Payoneer publishes the tightest terms here, and they differ by who you are. Marketplace settlement periods run up to 6 months on amounts up to 140% of average monthly payout capped at 750,000 USD. For freelancers and small businesses, settlement periods run up to 3 months on amounts up to 100% of average monthly payments, capped at 80,000 USD.
Those are short enough that the repayment is a large share of monthly cash flow. That is the trade for a short term, and it is usually understated in guides that treat short as automatically better.
Around a year
Onramp Funds' fixed option repays weekly or every two weeks over one to twelve months, which is the clearest published term on this page. Alongside it, the variable option repays as a share of sales that moves with revenue, so its duration depends on how fast you sell, and the rolling cash line is a revolving capacity that grows with sales and can be drawn as often as every two weeks. Requirements are a legal US business entity, at least $10,000 in monthly sales and at least 6 months of selling history, with no personal credit check, across nine platforms. There is one transparent fee with no hidden costs and no equity is taken.
Shopify Capital runs to a maximum of 18 months, with 2 minimum payments applying, and repays as a fixed percentage of daily sales taken only on days the store sells. The maximum is the important word: strong sales finish it sooner.
Not short at all
SBA microloans run to a maximum term of seven years. That is a different instrument to everything else here, and it belongs in a short-term comparison only as a contrast. Seven years of commitment on an average loan of about $13,000 is a very different proposition to six months on $200,000.
The ones where the term is an outcome, not an input
Kickfurther's cost includes a monthly consignment fee based on financials and deal duration, so the term is set per deal, and if inventory sells slower than expected the timeline can be extended, which may adjust costs. The term is driven by sell-through rather than by a schedule.
Wayflyer remits the funding amount plus a fixed fee over a timeframe aligned with business cycles. Bluevine is a revolving line of credit up to $250,000, so there is no end date at all unless you close it. A previous version of this page also quoted a Bluevine funding time and a starting rate; the published figure is a decision in as little as five minutes, and no rate is published.
Clearco uses capped weekly payments without publishing a term. Fundbox publishes flexible repayment terms and no early repayment fees, without stating a term length.
Choosing a term deliberately
- Shorter is not cheaper. On a flat fee, the same fee over three months instead of twelve is far more expensive in annualised terms and far heavier on monthly cash flow.
- Match the term to the cash cycle it funds. If your inventory turns in 90 days, a 90 day settlement works. If it turns in 200, it does not, whatever the offer says.
- A maximum is not a term. Shopify Capital's 18 months is a ceiling; sales decide the actual duration.
- Ask what happens if you are slow. Kickfurther publishes that the timeline can be extended with a possible cost adjustment. Most providers publish nothing on this, which is the question to ask them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the shortest published term?
Payoneer's settlement period for freelancers and small businesses runs up to 3 months, on amounts up to 100% of average monthly payments capped at 80,000 USD. For marketplace sellers it runs up to 6 months.
What is the longest?
SBA microloans run to a maximum of seven years. Among the eCommerce-focused providers, Shopify Capital's maximum of 18 months is the longest published term.
Which providers do not publish a term?
Clearco and Fundbox publish none. Wayflyer publishes a timeframe aligned with your business cycles rather than a length. Bluevine is revolving. In all four cases, ask for the term in writing alongside the total repayable.
Does a shorter term mean lower cost?
Usually the opposite. If the fee is flat, compressing repayment into fewer months raises the effective annual cost and the monthly burden. Compare total repayable and duration together, never one without the other.
What happens if I cannot repay on time?
Only Kickfurther publishes an answer: the timeline can be extended, which may adjust your costs. Everyone else is silent, so this is a question for your specific agreement rather than a comparison table.
See the funding structures or read how underwriting works.
Terms were read from each provider's own website and from sba.gov on 6 August 2026. They change without notice, so confirm before applying.
