Merchant Cash Advance vs Revenue-Based Financing Cost Calculator

Key facts

• Effective cost = total cost divided by the amount; the right measure for short-term revenue-based capital, unlike APR.
• Onramp Funds: flat fee, published example 9% ($4,500 on $50,000), repaid as a percentage of sales, no personal credit check.
• Shopify Capital and Amazon Lending are invite-only and underwrite on one platform's sales.
• A merchant cash advance collects fixed debits regardless of sales; a bank term loan is usually cheapest on rate but slower and often requires a personal guarantee.

Last updated September 7, 2026. Fee presets, payout timing, and Onramp Funds eligibility and fee example checked against the published sources listed at the end of this page.

How to use the comparison

Enter the capital amount and your monthly revenue. The table shows the same amount from five sources: an Onramp Funds advance, Shopify Capital, Amazon Lending, a generic merchant cash advance, and a bank term loan. Each column shows total cost, total repaid, effective cost, time to repay, weekly cash out, and whether the payment flexes with sales. Open the terms section to replace the example rates with real quotes.

What the comparison assumes

Terms are illustrative, from public sources as of September 2026, and vary by merchant. Confirm with each provider before relying on them.

• Onramp Funds advance: a flat fee on the funded amount, shown as an editable example matching the published worked example of 9% ($4,500 on $50,000), repaid as a percentage of sales. Underwrites on combined sales across 9 platforms; no personal credit check.
• Shopify Capital: a fixed fee on the amount, publicly reported in the low-double-digit percent range, remitted as a share of Shopify sales. Invite-only and based on Shopify sales alone.
• Amazon Lending: a term loan with a fixed monthly payment, publicly reported APRs in the low-to-mid teens, invite-only and based on Amazon sales alone.
• Merchant cash advance: a factor rate on the amount (1.20 to 1.40 is common) collected as fixed daily or weekly debits regardless of sales.
• Bank term loan: the lowest rate for merchants who qualify, with a fixed monthly payment, a longer process, and often a personal guarantee.

What makes this different

• Weekly cash impact, not just total cost: two sources can cost the same and feel completely different in a slow week. The share-of-weekly-revenue row and the timeline make that visible.
• Flexing versus fixed payments on one chart: the timeline runs a normal seasonal swing through both an Onramp advance and a fixed-debit MCA so you can see where a fixed payment bites.
• Cash timeline on every result: when the money goes out, when it comes back, and the lowest point in between.
• Compare two scenarios side by side, share a link with your numbers, or save the result as a PDF. Inputs carry over between the calculators on this site.
• Nothing is stored. Everything runs in your browser.

Reading the result

Effective cost is total cost divided by the amount. It is the right measure for short-term revenue-based capital; APR is the wrong one because it annualizes a fee that is not meant to be carried for a year. A bank loan usually wins on rate and loses on speed, flexibility, and the personal guarantee. Platform capital wins on convenience and loses on breadth: it sees one store. Onramp Funds is built for sellers whose business is bigger than any one platform's view of it. See how much capital your combined revenue unlocks.

Sources

• Shopify plans and payment processing rates
• Amazon selling fees and FBA rate card
• Onramp Funds: how it works, eligibility, and fee example

Frequently asked questions

Why not compare on APR?

Because a flat fee repaid over a few months is not a loan carried for a year. Annualizing it inflates the number without changing what you pay.

Is Onramp always the cheapest?

No, and the table will show you when it is not. A bank term loan is usually cheaper on rate for merchants who qualify. The comparison is about total cost, speed, and how the payment behaves when sales dip.

Where do the competitor terms come from?

Public rate cards, help pages, and press coverage as of September 2026. They are starting points, not quotes, and every field is editable.

Does this calculator store my data?

No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded.