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SBA loan cost estimator

SBA is the one loan whose maximum rate is set by federal law. Pick the program, then move the sliders to see the federal maximum interest rate for your loan, the realized market center, and the estimated payment, total repaid, and total interest cost. Push the rate above the cap and the tool tells you no valid SBA loan can price there. Nothing you enter is collected.

SBA loan cost · educationalEducational federal and market data. Not Trident pricing, not a quote, and not an offer.
SBA program

Three programs, priced and capped separately, never blended. 7(a) standard and Express are variable or fixed and capped by federal law; 504 is a fixed, below-market real-estate and heavy-equipment loan.

Rate type

7(a) caps are spreads over WSJ Prime, 6.75% as of Jul 2026. The SBA Optional Peg (4.75%) is an alternative base; alternative base rates do not lower the ceiling, which stays anchored to Prime plus the allowed spread.

Federal maximum interest rate for this loanFact12.75%13 CFR 120.214(d): the codified variable-rate ceilingThis is a legal ceiling, not a promise of the rate. A quote above it is not a valid SBA rate.
Realized center10.69%honest default, size-indexed
Best-qualified floor8.75% to 9.50%directional estimate

Larger 7(a) loans cap LOWER: the federal maximum steps down as the loan grows. Move the amount and watch the maximum above re-compute.

Illustrative amortization term. 7(a) runs to 10 years for working capital and equipment, to 25 years for real estate. The capped rate is size-driven, not term-driven, so a longer term does not raise the maximum.

Drag the rate to test a quote against the federal maximum of 12.75%: anything above it is out of bounds. Realized 7(a) rates sit near 10.69% at this size, above a best-qualified floor around 8.75% to 9.50% (federal and market data, Jul 2026). Not Trident pricing.

Loan amount$250,000
Interest rate10.69%
Estimated monthly payment Level monthly payment, fully amortizing.$3,400 / mo
Estimated total repaid$408,003
Total interest cost Always shown in dollars. Never hidden.$158,003
SBA guaranty fee Market-typical one-time SBA program fee on the guaranteed portion (3% of $187,500). Paid to the SBA, not Trident, and not part of the rate.$5,625
How this is estimated The tool amortizes the rate over the illustrative term as a level monthly payment. Figures are approximate; the schedule and fees on any signed SBA note govern.Approximate
Market context · federal and industry data, Jul 2026*

The 10.69% rate sits around the realized market center for an SBA 7(a) loan at this size.

* Federal and market data sources
  1. 13 CFR 120.214(d): the codified 7(a) variable-rate ceiling, spreads of 6.5 / 6.0 / 4.5 / 3.0 points over the base rate by loan size, which render 13.25% / 12.75% / 11.25% / 9.75% at WSJ Prime 6.75%. Larger loans cap lower.
  2. 13 CFR 120.213 and Federal Register notice 2022-16162: the SBA-published 7(a) fixed-rate maximum, spreads of 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 points, which render 14.75% / 13.75% / 12.75% / 11.75% at Prime 6.75%. 13 CFR 120.215 was removed in 2022 and no longer exists.
  3. SBA program pages and SOP 50 10 8: the SBA Express two-tier ceiling (Prime + 6.5% to $50,000, Prime + 4.5% above) and the 85% / 75% guaranty shares.
  4. SBA Information Notice 5000-872051 (FY2026 7(a) fees): the one-time guaranty fee of 2% / 3% / 3.5% on the guaranteed portion by loan size, 0.25% for short-term loans.
  5. SBA Federal Register Interest Rates notice FR 2026-13159: the Optional Peg 4.75% and the 504 statutory maximum of 6% over New York Prime.
  6. CDC and 504 debenture publishers (SomerCor, Growth Corp, TMC), July 2026 print: the fixed 504 effective rate 6.17% to 6.20% by term, about 5.9% for manufacturers, over a raw debenture near 5.0%.
  7. PeerSense 2026 SBA Lending Report and SBA FOIA analyses: the size-indexed realized 7(a) center, about 11.4% under $150,000 stepping down to about 9.2% at $2 million and above (single-vendor, directional).

Federal-regulatory and educational market data with full citations on file in substantiation/sba-pricing-2026-07.md. Not Trident partner pricing, and not a quote.

Actual amounts, rates, and terms are set by the SBA lender, not by Trident, and depend on your credit, business, collateral, and the lender. The federal maximum is a legal ceiling, not a promise of the rate, so your rate will differ. The figures shown are federal-regulatory and market data as of Jul 2026, not Trident pricing. Ask for the guaranty fee and any packaging fee in writing.

The 7(a) ceiling is federal law, so a quote above it is out of bounds as a fact. See the full explainer

How the math works

Reading an SBA rate.

A short read on the three-layer model, the federal ceiling, and where the real numbers still come from.

The ceiling is federal law

SBA is the one loan where the maximum rate is a fact, not an opinion. The 7(a) variable cap is codified in 13 CFR 120.214(d), and the fixed cap is set by the SBA in the Federal Register under 13 CFR 120.213. So a quote above the applicable maximum is out of bounds as a fact. The tool computes that exact ceiling live and flags anything above it.

The defining feature

Ceiling, center, floor

Read an SBA rate in three layers. The ceiling is the federal maximum for your size and rate type. The center is the realized market rate, which is size-indexed and directional: larger loans price lower. The floor is the best-qualified rate, a directional estimate. The tool defaults to the center, shows the ceiling as the hard cap, and labels the floor as directional.

How the math works

Larger loans cap lower

On 7(a) the federal maximum steps DOWN as the loan grows: a small loan can be capped near 13% variable or just under 15% fixed, while a loan over $350,000 is capped near 9.75% variable or 11.75% fixed. That is the opposite of the online-lender pattern. 504 is different again: a fixed, below-market rate near 6.2%, published monthly and fixed for the life of the loan.

Read the fine print

What this tool does not do

It does not predict approval or a lender rate, and it treats the rate as the full cost of the financing to amortize a clean payment. It shows the market-typical guaranty fee as a labeled add-on, but the schedule and fees on any signed SBA note govern. Confirm every final number on the note.

Educational only
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