The specs
Live Oak BankNewtek Business Services (Newtek Bank)
Product typeTermMulti-product
Amount range$75K – $5M (SBA 7(a) + conventional)$50K – $15M (SBA 7(a) + 504 + conventional); $10K – $250K business LOC
Cost (factor / APR)Prime + 1.5 – 2.75% (SBA 7(a) variable); conventional APR variesSBA 7(a) Prime + 2.25 – 2.75% (variable); conventional + LOC APR varies
Speed to fund30 – 60 days (SBA underwriting timeline)SBA: 30 – 60 days; LOC + working capital: 5 – 10 business days
Min time in business24 months24 months
Min monthly revenue$50,000+/mo typical for SBA 7(a) approval$20,000+/mo typical for SBA approval
Min credit score680+660+ (SBA); 640+ (LOC)
Products
- SBA 7(a) loans
- SBA 504 loans
- Conventional term loans
- Equipment financing
- SBA 7(a) loans
- SBA 504 loans
- Conventional term loans
- Business lines of credit
- Equipment financing
- Payment processing
- Payroll + benefits
- Insurance + web services
Verdicts by use case
- Veterinary practice acquisition — Winner: Live Oak Bank. Live Oak's vet-specialist underwriting team is the deepest in U.S. SBA lending for vet practices — they understand DVM economics, equipment depreciation, multi-doctor practice structures. Pricing typically 25 – 75 bps tighter than Newtek for clean vet files and approval is faster within the 30 – 60 day SBA window.
- Dental practice acquisition — Winner: Live Oak Bank. Live Oak's dental specialist team has funded thousands of dental practice acquisitions with sharp underwriting on practice cash flow, equipment, and goodwill valuations. Newtek's generalist SBA shop is competent on dental but lacks the specialist depth — pricing reflects it.
- Solo physician practice working capital — Winner: Newtek Business Services (Newtek Bank). Newtek's smaller SBA floor ($50K) and bundled payment processing + payroll services fit a solo physician's full back-office needs better than Live Oak's larger-deal-focused SBA product. For under $150K healthcare working capital Newtek's platform is more usable.
- Non-clinical healthcare business (medical billing, healthcare staffing, medical device distribution) — Winner: Newtek Business Services (Newtek Bank). Live Oak's healthcare specialty team focuses on clinical practices (vet, dental, medical). Non-clinical healthcare businesses fall outside the specialty advantage and Newtek's generalist + bundled-services platform fits these categories better.
- Practice acquisition over $5M — Winner: Newtek Business Services (Newtek Bank). Newtek SBA 7(a) and 504 go to $15M. Live Oak's SBA 7(a) caps at $5M (SBA program ceiling) — for healthcare deals above $5M Newtek's combined SBA + conventional structure can stack to meet the need where Live Oak hits a wall.
The honest takeaway
Live Oak Bank and Newtek Business Services (Newtek Bank) solve overlapping but distinct problems. The right choice depends on three things you already know about your business: how fast you need the money, how long you've been operating, and whether the capital need is one-time or recurring.
Frequently asked questions
- I'm a vet acquiring a 2-DVM practice for $1.2M — Live Oak or Newtek?
- Live Oak, almost always. Their vet specialist team will outprice Newtek's generalist SBA shop by 25 – 75 bps and approve faster within the 30 – 60 day SBA window because the team already understands DVM practice economics, equipment depreciation, and goodwill valuation methods. The pricing gap on a $1.2M 10-year amortization is real money over the loan life.
- Why would a healthcare borrower pick Newtek over Live Oak?
- Three structural reasons: (1) Non-clinical healthcare (medical billing, staffing, device distribution) falls outside Live Oak's clinical specialty advantage. (2) Loan size under $150K — Newtek accepts smaller SBA deals where Live Oak prefers $150K+. (3) Bundled services — Newtek's payment processing, payroll, and insurance products integrate with the lending relationship; Live Oak is lending-only. For a solo clinician who wants a one-vendor financial stack Newtek's bundle is more useful.
- How do BHG, Live Oak, and Newtek compare for healthcare?
- Different products for different needs. BHG: portfolio term loan (3 – 7 day funding, no real estate, up to $500K, license + credit underwriting) — best for fast working capital and equipment. Live Oak: SBA 7(a) and 504 (30 – 60 days, up to $5M, cheapest APR for clinical practices) — best for practice acquisition and large capex with industry-specialist underwriting. Newtek: SBA 7(a) and 504 + bundled services (30 – 60 days, up to $15M, broader vertical fit including non-clinical healthcare) — best for one-vendor financial-services consolidation or large deals above Live Oak's $5M ceiling.