Loan Types Explained: Every Way to Borrow, Compared
From a $100 advance until payday to a $500,000 SBA Express loan — every loan type has a job it does well and a price for doing it. Compare amounts, speed, credit requirements and real costs side by side, then pick the one built for your situation.
ExpressLoans.com is not a lender. Amounts, rates and terms below are typical market ranges for information only — your actual offers come from independent lenders and vary by credit profile and state law. Some loan types are restricted or unavailable in certain states.
All loan types at a glance
Click any loan type for the full guide — rates, requirements and how to qualify.
| Loan type | Typical amount | Funding speed | Credit needed | Typical cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal loan | $1,000 – $50,000 | 1 – 7 days | Fair+ (580+) | 6.99% – 35.99% APR | Planned expenses, debt consolidation |
| Installment loan | $500 – $10,000 | Same / next day | Poor – fair | 36% – 225% APR | Mid-size needs with weaker credit |
| Payday loan | $100 – $1,000 | Same day | Any | $10–$30 per $100 (≈400% APR) | True emergencies only |
| Cash advance app | $50 – $750 | Minutes – 1 day | No check | 0% interest + small fees/tips | Small gaps before payday |
| Title loan | $100 – $10,000 | Same day | Any (car required) | ≈25%/month (≈300% APR) | Last resort if you own your car |
| Bad credit loan | $300 – $10,000 | Next day | Poor (300–579 OK) | Varies — often 60%+ APR | Access while rebuilding credit |
| No credit check loan | $100 – $5,000 | Same / next day | None | High — fee or APR based | Thin or no credit file |
| Flex loan | $100 – $4,000 | Same day | Any | Fee-based, often 200%+ APR equivalent | Revolving small credit line |
| SBA Express loan | Up to $500,000 | 2 – 8 weeks | Business + ~640 personal | Prime + 4.5% – 6.5% | Established small businesses |
| Other business loans | $5,000 – $5M | Days – weeks | Varies | Varies by product | Equipment, working capital, growth |
💡 Read the table top to bottom as a price ladder: the further down the consumer rows you go, the easier the approval — and the more you pay for it. If you qualify for a row above, never borrow from a row below it.
Personal borrowing, type by type
What each loan really is, what it costs, and when it makes sense.
Personal loans
Fixed amount, fixed rate, fixed monthly payment. The benchmark every other loan should be compared against.
- ✓$1,000 – $50,000 over 1–7 years
- ✓Lowest APRs outside SBA
- ✓On-time payments build credit
Installment loans
Personal loans’ more accessible sibling — smaller amounts, shorter terms, approvals that reach deeper into fair and poor credit.
- ✓$500 – $10,000 over 3–36 months
- ✓Predictable equal payments
- ✓Far cheaper than payday rollover
Cash advances
Apps and employers that front part of your earned wages before payday — usually the cheapest short-term money that exists.
- ✓$50 – $750 in minutes
- ✓0% interest, optional fees
- ✓No credit check at all
Payday loans
Cash today, repaid in full from your next paycheck. Fast and easy to get — and the most expensive legal credit in America.
- ✓$100 – $1,000, same day
- ✓Any credit accepted
- ✓≈400% APR — exit fast, never roll over
Title loans
Borrow against a vehicle you own outright. No credit check, real money fast — with your car as the collateral you can lose.
- ✓Up to ~50% of car value
- ✓Same-day cash, any credit
- ✓≈300% APR — last resort only
Bad credit & no-check loans
Lenders that decide on income and banking history instead of your FICO score — access when the bureaus say no.
- ✓Scores under 580 considered
- ✓Soft-pull or alternative data
- ✓Compare hard — spreads are huge
Business loan types
When the borrower is your company, the government will co-sign — use it.
Up to $500,000 with a 50% government guaranty and an SBA answer in 36 hours. Rates capped at Prime + 4.5%–6.5% — the cheapest growth capital most small businesses can reach.
The same program as a revolving line: draw for payroll or inventory, repay, draw again. Pay interest only on what you use.
Conventional term loans, equipment financing, merchant cash advances and more — faster than SBA, priced accordingly. Compare both routes.
Which loan type is right for you?
Match your situation — each path links to the full guide.
Need under $1,000, fast
Start with a cash advance app — near-zero cost. Only if that fails, compare payday offers and repay on the first due date, never rolling over.
Need $1,000 – $50,000
Credit 580+? A personal loan is your benchmark. Below that, compare installment and bad credit offers side by side — spreads between lenders are enormous.
Funding a business
Two years of operations and decent personal credit? SBA Express first — nothing beats a government guaranty. Need money this week? Compare conventional business loans.
How to choose between loan types
Secured vs. unsecured loans
Every loan type is one or the other. Unsecured loans — personal, installment, payday — are backed only by your promise to repay, so the lender prices the risk into your APR. Secured loans — title loans, and SBA loans backed by business assets — pledge collateral, which lowers the rate but raises the stakes: default on a title loan and the lender takes your car. The rule: collateral buys you a cheaper rate only when the repayment plan is solid.
Installment vs. single-payment loans
The single biggest cost driver isn’t the interest rate — it’s the repayment structure. Installment products (personal, installment, SBA) spread repayment across months or years of equal payments. Single-payment products (payday, most title loans) demand the full balance at once, typically in two to four weeks — and when borrowers can’t pay it all, they roll over and pay the fee again. The CFPB has found that the majority of payday loans are taken within a month of a previous one. If there’s any doubt you can repay in full on day one, choose an installment structure even at a similar APR.
Compare cost in dollars, not just APR
APR makes loans of the same shape comparable, but across shapes it can mislead. A two-week $300 payday loan at 391% APR costs $45 — while a $10,000 personal loan at 12% over five years costs about $3,350 in interest. The payday loan has a terrifying APR and a small dollar cost; the personal loan the reverse. Run both numbers in the loan calculator: total dollars tells you what you’ll pay, APR tells you whether a better deal exists for the same money.
Your credit score sets the menu
Above roughly 660, the whole table is open to you, and a personal loan almost always wins. Between 580 and 660, personal loans get pricier and installment loans become competitive. Below 580, you’re shopping bad credit and no-credit-check products — where comparing several offers matters most, because subprime pricing varies wildly for the identical borrower. Wherever you start, on-time payments on an installment product are also the way back up the ladder.
State law changes what you’ll see
Loan availability is set state by state: payday lending is effectively banned in around 20 states, capped in others; title loans are legal in fewer than half. That’s why two borrowers with identical profiles see different offer menus — the options shown to you are filtered to what’s legal where you live.
Loan type questions, answered
The comparisons borrowers actually search for.
What is the cheapest type of loan?
For individuals, a personal loan with good credit (from 6.99% APR) — or a cash advance app for small amounts, which is near-free. For businesses, nothing beats SBA Express at Prime + 4.5%–6.5% thanks to the government guaranty.
What is the easiest loan to get approved for?
Payday, title and no-credit-check loans approve almost any applicant with income — that’s exactly why they’re the most expensive rows of the table. Easy approval is a cost, not a feature: always check one row higher first.
What’s the difference between an installment loan and a payday loan?
Structure. An installment loan is repaid in equal monthly payments over months or years; a payday loan is due in full from your next paycheck. Same borrower, same amount — the installment version is almost always cheaper once rollovers are counted.
Which loan type should I choose with bad credit?
In order: a cash advance app for small amounts, then installment or bad-credit loans compared across several lenders. Treat payday and title loans as last resorts with a written exit plan.
Which loan types build my credit score?
Only loans reported to the bureaus: personal loans, most installment loans and SBA loans. Payday, title and most no-credit-check lenders don’t report on-time payments — you carry the cost without the credit benefit.
Can I have more than one loan at the same time?
Legally yes, and lenders decide based on your debt-to-income ratio. Some states cap the number of simultaneous payday loans. Stacking short-term loans is the classic debt-spiral pattern — consolidating into one installment loan is usually the better move.
Are these loan types available in my state?
Not all of them. State law decides: payday loans are unavailable in roughly 20 states, title loans in more than half. The offers you receive are automatically limited to products legal in your state.
Can I get a loan with a Direct Express® card?
Receiving SSI or SSDI on a Direct Express card without a bank account narrows the field, but specialized lenders do exist — see our dedicated guide to Direct Express card loans.
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