As a small business owner, you already know that investing in equipment can be one of the biggest factors in your company’s growth. The right machinery, vehicles, tools, or technology can help you speed up production, automate manual work, improve quality, and lower long-term operating costs.

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That said, here’s the most important thing I want to make clear right away: if your business has good credit, solid revenue, and a realistic chance of qualifying with a bank, banks are usually still the best choice for equipment financing. They tend to offer lower borrowing costs, more predictable repayment structures, and better overall pricing than most alternative lenders.

Alternative lenders and marketplaces still have a place, especially if you need faster approvals, more flexible underwriting, or you’ve already been declined by a traditional institution. But in exchange for that flexibility, you will often pay more. That’s why I think the smartest move is usually to start with a bank first, then compare non-bank options if speed or credit profile makes that necessary.

Used Equipment Lender	Loan Highlights
Top Banks (BDC, Scotiabank, RBC, TD Bank, BMO) (Best first stop if your credit is good)	Usually the lowest rates and best long-term value for qualified businesses. Often offer 100% financing, customized solutions, and seasonal payment options.
Swoop Funding (🏆 Best non-bank option in 2026)	Broker platform that helps compare multiple funding options, including equipment and asset finance. Strong fit for businesses that want flexibility, speed, and access to more than one lender. Rates can be higher than bank financing.
Merchant Growth	Fast funding and flexible term financing. Useful if you need capital quickly, but likely more expensive than a traditional bank loan.
Journey Capital	Custom financing packages for SMEs with at least $100,000 in annual revenue. Worth comparing against Merchant Growth.
Driven.ca	Small business lender with equipment-friendly use cases. Requires stronger revenue and credit than some newer borrowers may have.
LoansCanada.ca	Large lender network and useful for comparison shopping, including for weaker-credit borrowers. Terms vary a lot because it is a marketplace.
MicroCapital.ca	Equipment financing option for more established businesses with minimum revenue and credit requirements.
Dynamic Capital	Large independent Canadian equipment financing company focused on both new and used equipment.
CWB National Leasing	One of the best-known names in Canadian equipment leasing. Strong reputation, broad equipment categories, and helpful leasing expertise.
JLG Financial	Equipment financing starting at smaller amounts, including used equipment. Good niche option depending on what you’re buying.

Investing in equipment is not always easy, especially for startups and younger businesses that are still short on capital. That’s why equipment financing can make such a big difference. It lets you spread the cost of major purchases over time instead of draining your cash flow upfront.

In this article, I’ll walk through some of the better equipment financing options for Canadian startups and small businesses, but I want to be honest from the beginning: the “best” lender depends heavily on your credit, time in business, annual revenue, and how quickly you need the money.

Top Used Equipment Financing Options for Startups and Small Businesses in Canada

Here’s how I would think about the market in 2026:

1. Traditional Institutions (Still the best option if you can qualify)

Although alternative lenders and fintech platforms can be very useful, traditional institutions are still usually the best place to start for equipment financing. In most cases, banks will offer better pricing than non-bank lenders. If your business has decent financials, established revenue, and a clean enough credit profile, you should absolutely compare bank offers first.

Here are five major institutions worth checking first:

• BDC: Strong fit for established businesses that want equipment financing with repayment options that can match cash flow cycles. Often a very good first stop if your business is already operating and generating revenue.
• Scotiabank: Offers equipment financing and leasing with flexible structures, including seasonal payments in some cases.
• RBC: Known for customizable equipment financing solutions and broad support for business purchases.
• TD Bank: Helpful for businesses that want guidance around tax treatment and structured repayment.
• BMO Commercial Bank: Offers financing for both new and used equipment across a range of industries.

My honest take: If your credit is good, your revenue is stable, and you have enough operating history, these banks remain the best choice most of the time. They are usually cheaper than alternative lenders, and that matters a lot when you are financing equipment over months or years.

2. Swoop Funding (🏆 Best non-bank option in 2026)

Official Name: Swoop Funding
Website: https://swoopfunding.com/ca/
Location: Toronto, Canada
Phone Number: 1 647-946-3001
Email: canada@swoopfunding.com

Swoop is my top non-bank pick this year because it is not just one lender with one rigid credit box. It is a broker platform that helps Canadian businesses compare funding options from different providers, including equipment and asset finance. That flexibility is valuable if you want to cast a wider net without filling out applications all over the place.

What I like most about Swoop is that it can work well for borrowers who need speed, want to compare multiple options, or are not sure whether a bank is going to say yes. The platform also says it can help businesses find funding quickly in some cases, which is a big contrast with slower traditional underwriting.

The catch: Swoop is not a bank, and it is not the cheapest source of capital if you are a strong borrower. Since it works by matching you to lenders, the rate, term, and fees can vary a lot. If your business is healthy enough to qualify with a bank, there is a good chance the bank offer will be cheaper.

That balanced positioning is why I would rank Swoop first among non-bank options this year. It is not because it will always be the cheapest. It is because it gives small businesses a practical way to explore more options when the ideal bank deal is not available.

3. Merchant Growth

Official Name: Merchant Growth
Website: https://www.merchantgrowth.com/
Headquarters: Vancouver, British Columbia
Phone Number: +1 866-240-3694
Email: clients@merchantgrowth.com

Merchant Growth is a familiar name in Canadian small business lending, and while it is not specifically an equipment-only lender, its term financing can still be used for equipment purchases. The main appeal here is speed and accessibility.

That makes it more accessible than many banks. But again, the tradeoff is cost. If your credit is strong enough for a bank, I would still expect the bank to be cheaper in many cases. Merchant Growth is more appealing when speed and flexibility matter more than absolute lowest cost.

4. Journey Capital

Official Name: Journey Capital
Website: https://www.journeycapital.ca/
Headquarters: Montreal, Canada
Phone Number: +1 877-781-0148

Journey Capital is another reasonable option for small and medium-sized businesses that need fast access to financing. It can work for equipment purchases, but I would not frame it as the automatic best option. It is more of a lender you compare against Merchant Growth and Swoop after you have already checked your bank options.

5. Driven.ca

Official Name: Driven
Website: https://www.driven.ca/
Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario
Phone Number: 1-866-889-9412
Email: customerservice@driven.ca

Driven is another alternative lender worth comparing, especially if you need financing for growth or equipment and your business is already somewhat established. It may work well for younger businesses that are already generating decent sales and want a lender outside the bank system.

One drawback is that some borrower feedback has raised customer-service concerns, so I would not rely only on marketing copy here. Compare offers carefully and read recent reviews before signing.

6. LoansCanada.ca

LoansCanada is more of a marketplace than a lender, which can be useful if you want to compare a range of possible financing offers. That can be especially helpful for borrowers with weaker credit or businesses that do not fit neatly into the criteria of banks and mainstream lenders.

The downside is that marketplaces can produce a wide range of offers, including expensive ones. So I would use a platform like this to compare, not to assume that the first option shown is automatically a good deal.

7. MicroCapital.ca

MicroCapital can be worth considering for equipment financing if your business has already been operating for a while and your revenue and credit profile are in decent shape. It is more of an established-business option than a true day-one startup lender.

8. Dynamic Capital

Dynamic Capital is one of the larger independent names in Canadian equipment financing, and I think it deserves a serious look if you specifically want an equipment-focused lender rather than a general working-capital company. That alone makes it more directly relevant than some of the broader alternative lenders above.

If your main goal is to finance actual equipment and you want a specialist rather than a generalist, Dynamic Capital is one of the better names to compare.

9. CWB National Leasing

CWB National Leasing is still one of the most recognizable names in Canadian equipment financing. It is a particularly strong option for businesses that want equipment expertise, broad category coverage, and the credibility that comes with an established leasing leader.

If I were ranking equipment specialists rather than overall flexibility for newer borrowers, CWB would be near the very top of my list.

10. JLG Financial

JLG Financial can be a useful niche option if the equipment you are financing fits well within its focus. It is not the broadest solution on this list, but it may work very well in the right scenario, especially if you already know the type of equipment you need.

Final Thoughts

If your credit is good, your revenue is solid, and you have the patience to go through a more traditional underwriting process, banks are still usually the best choice for equipment financing in Canada. They tend to offer the strongest pricing and the lowest overall borrowing cost.

If you need faster approvals, more flexibility, or a second chance after a bank decline, then alternative lenders and broker platforms become much more relevant. In that world, Swoop is my top non-bank pick for 2026, mainly because it lets you compare a wider range of possible offers instead of forcing you into a single lender’s box.

Just be realistic about the tradeoff: more flexible financing often comes with higher rates and higher total borrowing costs. So even if you use Swoop, Merchant Growth, Journey, or another alternative lender, I still think it is smart to compare at least two or three quotes before signing anything.