Convert a merchant cash advance factor rate into what it really costs — total payback, total fees, and an estimated effective APR — so you can compare it honestly against other financing.
Illustrative estimate only, not a quote or financing offer. APR is approximated from a fixed-remittance model and assumes no early-payoff discount, fees, or holdback changes. Runs in your browser; nothing is submitted.
A factor rate tells you total payback, not interest: multiply the advance by the factor rate to get what you repay. A $50,000 advance at a 1.35 factor means $67,500 back — $17,500 in cost, or 35% of the advance. But because an MCA is repaid in fixed daily or weekly remittances, the borrower never holds the full amount for the whole term, so the effective APR is far higher than 35%. To estimate APR, find the periodic rate that makes the present value of the remittances equal the advance, then annualize it — a short 8-month, $50,000 advance at 1.35 can work out to an APR well over 100%. The calculator below does this from your own numbers.
An interest rate accrues on a declining balance; a factor rate is a flat multiplier on the original advance that doesn't change as you pay down. Advance × factor rate = total payback, full stop. That's why a 1.35 factor isn't '35% interest' in any comparable sense — it's a fixed dollar cost that, spread over a short term with frequent remittances, translates into a much higher annualized rate.
APR accounts for time. Because an MCA is repaid through fixed daily or weekly remittances over a short term, you give the money back quickly and never have use of the full advance for long. The calculator finds the periodic rate that equates the present value of those remittances to the advance, then annualizes it. The shorter the term and the more frequent the remittances, the higher the APR for the same factor rate — which is the key thing a flat factor rate hides.
This is an illustrative estimate, not a financing offer. Real MCAs vary with holdback percentage, actual remittance schedule, origination fees, and any early-payoff discount — all of which move the true cost. Use the APR estimate to compare an MCA against a term loan or line of credit on a level basis, then confirm exact terms with the funder before signing.
First get total payback: advance × factor rate. Then, because an MCA is repaid in fixed periodic remittances, find the periodic rate that makes the present value of those remittances equal the advance, and annualize it by the number of payment periods per year. Because the term is short and remittances are frequent, the resulting APR is usually much higher than the factor rate implies — the calculator on this page does this automatically.
It means you repay $1.35 for every $1.00 advanced. On a $50,000 advance that's $67,500 back — a $17,500 cost, or 35% of the advance. That 35% is the flat cost, not an annual rate; spread over a short term with daily or weekly remittances, the effective APR is considerably higher.
Relative to bank loans, usually yes on an APR basis — factor rates commonly translate into triple-digit effective APRs because of the short term and frequent remittances. The trade-off is speed and accessibility: MCAs fund fast and approve thin-file or lower-credit businesses that can't get a term loan. The calculator helps you see the real cost so you can weigh that trade-off deliberately.
Yes — it's free and runs entirely in your browser; nothing you enter is submitted or stored. JYNI offers it as a planning tool. For brokers, JYNI also reads bank statements and applications with Document AI and manages deals in a CRM — useful for underwriting and quoting MCAs at scale.
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