Written by the Lendus editorial team. Last updated .
The best Capify alternatives include Liberis for a representative factor rate of around 1.18 instead of 1.3, YouLend for advances up to £1 million, 365 Business Finance for a factor rate capped at 1.4, Bizcap for same-day funding, iwoca for a loan without card sales, Fleximize for a 27.6% representative APR, and Nucleus Commercial Finance for facilities up to £2 million.
Capify has been advancing money against card sales since 2008, which makes it one of the longest-running merchant cash advance providers in the UK. It runs a relationship manager model rather than a pure algorithm, it takes businesses with historic CCJs and thin credit files, and it advances from as little as £3,500.
That human review is also why people leave. Capify decides within 24 hours but releases funds within 1 to 3 business days, so it is a days lender, not an hours lender. Its representative factor rate of around 1.3 sits above what two specialist providers quote, and its own representative example is £20,000 advanced against £26,000 repayable. Its second product, the business loan, repays by fixed daily or weekly debits, which removes the one thing people like about revenue-based finance. And the merchant cash advance needs a card terminal, so a B2B business that invoices is out.
This guide splits into two halves. Three lenders compete directly with Capify’s merchant cash advance. Four compete with its business loan.
Liberis quotes a representative factor rate of approximately 1.18 against Capify’s approximately 1.3. On a £20,000 advance that difference is meaningful money, and Liberis will advance from £1,000 where Capify starts at £3,500. It is also pre-integrated with Barclaycard, Worldpay and Lloyds Cardnet, so many businesses receive a pre-qualified offer rather than making a cold application.
Rates and amounts: Factor rate 1.08 to 1.5, representative approximately 1.18; £1,000 to £500,000; no fixed term.
Eligibility: 6+ months of card payment history; £5,000 per month in card sales.
Pros: Lowest representative factor rate here; advances from £1,000; pre-qualified offers through major card acquirers; repayments flex with card takings.
Cons: 6 months of card history is stricter than Capify’s 4 months for its advance; funds land within 1 to 3 business days, the same as Capify, so no speed gain; £500,000 ceiling matches rather than beats Capify.
Best for: Card-taking businesses already processing through Barclaycard, Worldpay or Lloyds Cardnet that want the cheapest published factor rate.
Liberis states that it is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and that the Financial Ombudsman Service cannot consider a complaint about Liberis. It is registered as an EMD agent, FRN 902157, of Modulr FS Limited, which is the FCA-authorised e-money institution, FRN 900573. Business cash advances are unregulated products.
YouLend advances up to £1,000,000, double Capify’s £500,000 ceiling, and quotes a representative factor rate of 1.25 against Capify’s 1.3. For a high-volume hospitality or e-commerce business that has already taken the maximum Capify will offer, this is the obvious next step.
Rates and amounts: Factor rate 1.1 to 1.5, representative 1.25; £5,000 to £1,000,000; no fixed term.
Eligibility: 6+ months trading; £5,000 per month in card sales.
Pros: Double Capify’s maximum advance; lower representative factor rate; repayments taken as a share of card and online sales so they fall in quiet weeks; the same £5,000 monthly card sales threshold as Capify.
Cons: £5,000 minimum advance against Capify’s £3,500; 6 months trading rather than 4; funds within 1 to 3 business days, matching Capify rather than beating it; not suitable if you take payment by bank transfer.
Best for: Established card-taking businesses whose funding requirement has passed £500,000.
YouLend Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a payment institution under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, firm reference number 947287.
365 Business Finance quotes 1.1 to 1.4, the tightest ceiling of the four merchant cash advance providers here, where Capify, Liberis and YouLend all run to 1.5. If your credit profile puts you near the top of the range rather than the bottom, that ceiling is where the money is.
Rates and amounts: Factor rate 1.1 to 1.4; £5,000 to £400,000; no fixed term.
Eligibility: 6+ months trading; £5,000 per month in card sales.
Pros: Lowest factor rate ceiling in this guide; a merchant cash advance specialist rather than a multi-product lender; decisions within 24 hours; suits hospitality, retail and leisure with strong card volume.
Cons: £400,000 maximum is the smallest here; £5,000 minimum advance against Capify’s £3,500; 6 months trading rather than 4; no published representative factor rate, so the range is all you have to go on.
Best for: Higher-risk card-taking businesses that expect to be priced near the top of a factor rate range and want that top capped at 1.4.
Merchant cash advances are not regulated credit agreements under the Consumer Credit Act. 365 Business Finance Ltd is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority for anti-money laundering purposes, and its Companies House number is 08267810.
This is the one clear speed upgrade. Capify decides within 24 hours and then funds within 1 to 3 business days. Bizcap decides within 24 hours and funds same-day in many cases, and like Capify it accepts adverse credit and decides on bank statement analysis rather than credit score alone.
Rates and amounts: 1.5% to 5% per month; £10,000 to £500,000; 43.2% APR representative.
Eligibility: 4+ months trading, the same as Capify’s merchant cash advance; £120,000 annual turnover; adverse credit accepted.
Pros: Same-day funding in many cases; matches Capify’s 4 month trading requirement; no card terminal needed; no early repayment penalty, and interest is charged only for the period the loan is outstanding.
Cons: £120,000 annual turnover is a much higher bar than Capify’s £5,000 per month in card sales; £10,000 minimum against Capify’s £3,500; a personal guarantee from directors is always required; fixed repayments do not flex with revenue.
Best for: Businesses with the turnover to qualify that need funds in hours rather than days.
Bizcap Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 994366.
Capify’s business loan wants £10,000 per month of turnover and 6 months of trading. iwoca wants £25,000 a year and 3 months, and it lends from £1,000. For a service business or a B2B operation without a card terminal, iwoca is the most accessible loan here.
Rates and amounts: 2% to 6% per month on the outstanding balance; £1,000 to £500,000; 49.9% APR representative.
Eligibility: 3+ months trading; £25,000 annual turnover; some adverse credit considered.
Pros: Lowest trading requirement in this guide at 3 months; £25,000 annual turnover; lends from £1,000; many decisions made within hours via Open Banking; revenue-based finance available alongside the loan.
Cons: 49.9% representative APR is higher than Capify’s approximately 39.9% on its business loan, so this is an access win rather than a price win; monthly interest gets expensive past 12 months.
Best for: Businesses without meaningful card sales that were pushed toward Capify’s loan product and found the thresholds too high.
iwoca is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 723636.
Against Capify’s approximately 39.9% representative APR on its business loan, Fleximize quotes 27.6%, with monthly rates from 0.9% where Capify’s loan pricing runs from around 20% to 80% APR depending on risk. It is built for businesses with fluctuating cash flow that may want to adjust repayments or top up.
Rates and amounts: 0.9% to 3.9% per month; £5,000 to £500,000; 27.6% APR representative.
Eligibility: 6+ months trading, matching Capify’s business loan requirement; £60,000 annual turnover.
Pros: Representative APR around 12 percentage points below Capify’s loan; same 6 month trading requirement; decisions within 24 hours; designed around repayment flexibility and top-ups.
Cons: £60,000 annual turnover is a higher bar than Capify’s £10,000 per month for its loan when measured across a full year; no merchant cash advance product, so revenue-linked repayment is not on offer; £5,000 minimum against Capify’s £3,500.
Best for: Businesses that already qualify for Capify’s business loan and want the same shape at a materially lower representative APR.
Lendus has not verified Fleximize’s regulatory status against a primary source, so no FCA claim is made for it here. Check the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk before committing.
Nucleus lends up to £2,000,000, four times Capify’s ceiling, at a 36% representative APR against Capify’s approximately 39.9% on its loan. It also carries asset finance, so a business funding equipment and working capital at the same time can do both in one place.
Rates and amounts: 1.5% to 5% per month; £3,000 to £2,000,000; 36% APR representative.
Eligibility: 6+ months trading; £50,000 annual turnover.
Pros: Four times Capify’s maximum; lower representative APR on the loan; asset finance from the same lender; decisions within 24 hours.
Cons: Broker-led rather than self-serve, so it is not a fully digital application; no merchant cash advance product; 6 months trading rules out businesses using Capify’s 4 month advance route.
Best for: Growing businesses that have outgrown a £500,000 ceiling and want unsecured lending and asset finance from one relationship.
Nucleus Commercial Finance is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FCA reference number 718310.
| Lender | Product | Max amount | Pricing | Min trading | Card sales needed | Funding speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberis | Merchant cash advance | £500,000 | Factor 1.08 to 1.5, rep 1.18 | 6 months card history | £5,000 per month | 1 to 3 business days |
| YouLend | Merchant cash advance | £1,000,000 | Factor 1.1 to 1.5, rep 1.25 | 6 months | £5,000 per month | 1 to 3 business days |
| 365 Business Finance | Merchant cash advance | £400,000 | Factor 1.1 to 1.4 | 6 months | £5,000 per month | Within 24 hours |
| Bizcap | Business loan | £500,000 | 1.5% to 5% per month, 43.2% APR | 4 months | No | Same day in many cases |
| iwoca | Business loan | £500,000 | 2% to 6% per month, 49.9% APR | 3 months | No | Within 24 hours |
| Fleximize | Business loan | £500,000 | 0.9% to 3.9% per month, 27.6% APR | 6 months | No | Within 24 hours |
| Nucleus Commercial Finance | Business loan | £2,000,000 | 1.5% to 5% per month, 36% APR | 6 months | No | Within 24 hours |
| Capify | Both | £500,000 | Factor 1.1 to 1.5, rep 1.3; loan around 39.9% APR | 4 months advance, 6 months loan | For the advance | 1 to 3 business days |
Choose Liberis if you take card payments through Barclaycard, Worldpay or Lloyds Cardnet and want the lowest published representative factor rate.
Choose YouLend if your advance requirement has passed £500,000 and you want repayments that still flex with card takings.
Choose 365 Business Finance if your credit profile puts you near the top of a factor rate range and a 1.4 ceiling beats a 1.5 one.
Choose Bizcap if the money genuinely has to be there today and you clear £120,000 of annual turnover.
Choose iwoca if you do not take cards and Capify’s £10,000 monthly turnover requirement for its loan was the obstacle.
Choose Fleximize if you already qualify for Capify’s loan and object only to the price.
Choose Nucleus Commercial Finance if you need more than £500,000 or want asset finance from the same lender.
One rule for all of them: ask for the total repayable in pounds before you compare anything. A factor rate of 1.3 on £20,000 is £26,000 repayable whether you clear it in six months or twelve. A loan quoted at a representative APR gets cheaper the faster you repay. Those two numbers cannot be compared side by side without doing the arithmetic on your own expected repayment period.
Lendus has not verified Capify’s own regulatory status against a primary source, so this guide makes no FCA claim about it. Lendus is an introducer, not a lender or a credit broker. We do not approve, decline or price any advance or loan. Merchant cash advances are frequently unregulated products, so confirm each provider’s status at register.fca.org.uk and read the agreement before you sign.
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