Merchant cash advance calculator: factor rate to APR.

Enter three numbers from your MCA offer: the advance amount (what the funder deposits), the factor rate (a decimal such as 1.25 or 1.40 printed on the offer), and the repayment term in months. Then pick the payment frequency — daily, weekly, or monthly. The calculator immediately shows your estimated APR, total repayment, and the amount of each payment. No signup is required and nothing is stored.

If your offer quotes a “specified percentage” of daily card sales instead of a fixed term, use the funder's estimated payback period as the term — the APR estimate works the same way.

A factor rate is a flat multiplier: a $50,000 advance at a 1.30 factor rate means you repay $65,000, full stop. APR (annual percentage rate) expresses that same cost as a yearly rate that accounts for how fast you repay. Because an MCA is repaid in months — not years — and you give back principal with every payment, the APR on a 1.30 factor rate is far higher than the “30%” it resembles. Over a 12-month term with monthly payments it works out to roughly 52% APR; paid daily over 6 months it can exceed 100%.

Lenders quote factor rates because they look smaller. APR is the only basis on which an MCA can be compared to a term loan, SBA loan, or line of credit — which is exactly why regulated loan offers must print it and MCA offers usually don't.

The same factor rate costs more, in APR terms, the faster you repay. Daily payments return the funder's money quickest, so a 1.30 factor rate paid daily carries a higher effective APR than the same 1.30 paid monthly. This calculator recomputes the APR when you switch frequency — try it and watch the number move while the total repayment stays fixed. That difference is invisible on the offer sheet, where only the factor rate and payment amount are printed.

Take a $50,000 advance at a 1.30 factor rate, repaid daily over 9 months. Total repayment is $50,000 × 1.30 = $65,000, so the advance costs $15,000. Spread over roughly 270 daily payments of about $241, the actuarial APR works out to approximately 70% — about six times a typical SBA 7(a) rate. The identical advance repaid monthly over 12 months lands near 52% APR. Same factor rate, same $15,000 fee, meaningfully different annual cost.

For the full arithmetic, see what a 1.30 factor rate means and how to convert a factor rate to APR.

It can tell you the estimated APR of an offer, the total dollar cost, the size of each payment, and how the cost compares to typical SBA and bank term-loan ranges. It cannot see origination fees, wire fees, or prepayment terms that aren't in the factor rate — read the contract for those. It also cannot tell you whether the money will earn more than it costs in your business; only your margins can answer that. Treat the result as an educational estimate, not financial advice or a loan offer.

Is a merchant cash advance a loan? Legally no — it is a purchase of future receivables, which is why APR disclosure rules often don't apply. Economically it behaves like a short-term loan, which is why converting to APR is the honest comparison.

What is a typical MCA factor rate? Most offers fall between 1.1 and 1.5. Below 1.2 is comparatively cheap for the product; above 1.4 is expensive even by MCA standards.

Can I pay an MCA off early to save money? Usually not — the factor rate fixes the total repayment regardless of speed, unless your contract includes an early-payoff discount. Check before assuming.

What are the alternatives? SBA 7(a) loans (typically 8–13% APR), bank term loans (12–18%), business lines of credit, and revenue-based financing. Slower to fund, but materially cheaper. Check what your profile qualifies for — no hard credit pull.