YouLend vs Outfund: Which Lender Is Better for UK Business Finance?

This comparison is for UK SMEs weighing two revenue-led funding providers for growth spend, inventory, and working capital, where repayments can track sales rather than staying fixed. We compare YouLend and Outfund on products, costs, speed, and suitability, using only verifiable information from official sources. These products can look similar at first glance, but differences in repayment mechanics, access route, and fee structure can change your cash flow picture. If you want a practical view of how each model behaves in the real world, this guide focuses on what you can check, what you should ask, and how to sanity-check offers.

Products and terms at a glance

Both YouLend and Outfund are often grouped under unsecured business loans in the sense that they can be offered without traditional asset security, but the structure is typically closer to revenue-based funding than a standard term loan. In practice, that means the repayment behaviour and the way “cost” is quoted can be different from an APR-based loan, so you will want to focus on total payback, repayment method, and what triggers deductions.

YouLend overview

YouLend describes merchant funding where repayments can be made automatically through a fixed percentage of future daily sales, and it also states that merchants can make one-off payments free of charge if they want to pay down early, on its merchant business funding page. YouLend also positions itself as an embedded finance platform, commonly offered to merchants through payment and commerce partners, as described on YouLend’s homepage. For a UK business, that “how you access it” point matters, because you may receive an offer inside a platform you already use, rather than starting with a standalone lender application.

What it looks like on the ground: a lump sum advance, then automatic deductions that rise and fall with sales, which can reduce pressure in quieter weeks but can also take more when trade is strong.

YouLend pros (verifiable)

• Repayment can be automatic and linked to sales volume, YouLend states it is paid through a fixed percentage of future daily sales on its merchant page.
• Potentially flexible cash flow profile, because a percentage-of-sales mechanism means the deduction level changes with sales (mechanism described by YouLend on its funding page).
• Ability to make one-off payments without charge, YouLend states “one-off payments free of charge” on its merchants page.

YouLend cons (verifiable)

• Access route can depend on partners or the platform you use, YouLend positions itself as an embedded financing platform on its homepage, so availability and the user journey can vary by partner.
• Cost may not be expressed as an APR, so you need to convert to total payback and time-to-repay for comparisons, which is a common issue with factor-rate or fixed-fee products (see Funding Agent’s explainer on factor rate vs APR).
• Repayments are tied to trading volume, which can make forecasting harder if your sales are unpredictable, even if it can feel more forgiving in low-sales periods (repayment mechanism stated on YouLend’s funding page).

Outfund overview

Outfund’s UK page states it offers “fast and flexible funding” and indicates offers can arrive as fast as 24 hours, on its UK homepage. Crucially for comparisons, Outfund also explains on that page that it offers either revenue share or fixed repayments, taken via direct debit either daily or weekly, on the same UK page. That makes Outfund slightly different in positioning, it may give you a choice between a variable repayment profile (revenue share) and a more predictable one (fixed repayments).

What it looks like on the ground: funding aimed at growth, with repayments collected by direct debit on a daily or weekly cadence, either tied to revenue share or set as fixed amounts, depending on the offer.

Outfund pros (verifiable)

• Choice of repayment style, Outfund states it offers either revenue share or fixed repayments on its UK page.
• Clear collection mechanism and cadence, Outfund states repayments are taken via direct debit daily or weekly on its UK page.
• Stated speed for offers, Outfund states “offers as fast as 24 hours” on its UK page.

Outfund cons (verifiable)

• Daily or weekly direct debit can be operationally intense for some cash flow profiles, especially if your cash conversion cycle is longer than your collection cadence (cadence stated on Outfund’s UK page).
• As with other revenue-based models, pricing may be better understood as a fixed fee or total payback rather than an APR, so you need to compare total repayable and expected repayment duration (general comparison issue explained in Funding Agent’s factor rate vs APR article).
• Eligibility and terms are offer-specific, Outfund’s marketing highlights fast offers and a wide funding range, but the exact fee and term depend on assessment (offer nature implied by the “offers as fast as 24 hours” messaging on its UK page).

Costs and repayments in practice

The big trap with revenue-led funding is comparing it like a traditional business loan. A standard term loan normally has an interest rate and a fixed repayment schedule. Revenue-based products are often priced as a fixed fee or fixed total payback, and the time it takes to repay can vary based on your sales, which changes the effective annualised cost.

To keep comparisons fair, focus on:

• Total repayable, principal plus fee.
• Repayment mechanism, percentage of sales or fixed direct debit.
• Collection frequency, daily, weekly, or monthly.
• Expected time to repay, and what happens if sales drop or you want to repay early.

For more context on how non-APR pricing is often presented, and why time-to-repay changes what “cheap” means, Funding Agent’s explainer on factor rate vs APR is a useful reference point when you are converting offers into a single comparable view.

Notes on the table: statements about YouLend repayment mechanism and one-off payments come from YouLend’s merchants page and its merchant funding page. Statements about Outfund repayment types and direct debit cadence come from Outfund’s UK page.

Worked example 1, YouLend (illustrative)

This example is illustrative and is not a quote from YouLend. It shows how a percentage-of-sales repayment can behave, using YouLend’s stated repayment method (a fixed percentage of future daily sales) as the mechanism, per YouLend’s merchant funding page.

Assumptions (illustrative):

• Advance amount: £30,000
• Fixed fee: £6,000 (total payback £36,000)
• Repayment method: 12% of daily card sales (held back automatically)
• Average card sales: £1,000 per day in Month 1 to 2, then £1,500 per day in Month 3 onwards

What happens: At £1,000 per day, 12% is about £120 per day, roughly £3,600 per 30-day month. When sales rise to £1,500 per day, the deduction becomes about £180 per day, roughly £5,400 per 30-day month. Under those assumptions, you would repay faster as sales rise, but you also give up more daily liquidity during higher-revenue periods. If sales fell sharply, the opposite would happen, repayments would slow, which can help short-term breathing room but may extend the time you carry the obligation.

What to ask YouLend or the partner distributing it: confirm the fixed fee or total payback, the agreed percentage, whether there is a minimum payment, and whether repayment is purely sales-linked or includes direct debit elements. Also confirm how early repayment works, noting YouLend states one-off payments are free of charge on its merchants page.

Worked example 2, Outfund (illustrative)

This example is illustrative and is not a quote from Outfund. It demonstrates the cash flow differences between Outfund’s two stated repayment options, revenue share or fixed repayments, which Outfund describes on its UK page.

Assumptions (illustrative):

• Funding amount: £50,000
• Fixed fee: £7,500 (total payback £57,500)
• Option A: revenue share set at 10% of weekly revenue
• Option B: fixed repayments by weekly direct debit of £2,400
• Weekly revenue: £18,000 normally, but £10,000 for four slower weeks

What happens: Under a 10% revenue share, repayments would be about £1,800 in normal weeks, and about £1,000 in slower weeks, which reduces the squeeze when trading dips. Under a fixed £2,400 weekly direct debit, the repayment is predictable, but it does not reduce in slow weeks, which can increase the risk of a cash crunch. The trade-off is forecasting certainty versus flexibility. Because Outfund states repayments are collected by direct debit daily or weekly on its UK page, you should also model the impact on your day-to-day working capital, especially if your business pays suppliers weekly or monthly.

What to ask Outfund: whether your offer is revenue share or fixed, the collection frequency, the total payback, and any rules around top-ups or renewals. If a fixed repayment is proposed, stress-test your worst four to eight weeks of revenue against the repayment amount before accepting.

Speed and service

Speed is often the headline, but it is rarely just “apply and get money tomorrow” for every case. What you can verify is what each lender publicly states, and then treat your own timeline as conditional on data quality and responsiveness.

YouLend speed considerations

YouLend’s public merchant messaging focuses on fast access to cash and automatic repayment through a percentage of sales, for example it states “Get business cash in as little as 48 hours” on its merchant funding page. In practice, timelines can depend on the partner channel, the completeness of your sales and bank data, and any verification steps required by the platform or payment provider.

What affects speed most with embedded offers:

• How quickly your sales data can be accessed and verified inside the platform.
• Whether you need to connect bank data, provide identification, or sign digitally.
• How quickly you respond to any follow-up questions.

Outfund speed considerations

Outfund’s UK page states “offers as fast as 24 hours” on its UK homepage, which suggests that eligibility and underwriting may be designed for a relatively rapid turnaround when data is available. It also states repayments are taken by direct debit on a daily or weekly basis on the same page, which means set-up of bank mandates and scheduling can be part of the timeline.

What tends to slow things down:

• Inconsistent bank statements or payment processor data.
• Complex group structures, multiple entities, or recent changes in ownership.
• Requests for additional trading evidence (for example, management accounts) if performance has recently shifted.

Who each lender suits

This is where the comparison becomes practical. Because both lenders work with revenue-led repayment models, the best fit often depends on how stable your sales are, how seasonal you are, and whether you can tolerate daily or weekly deductions.

Scenario 1, you have volatile daily takings and want repayments to flex

If your revenue swings by day or week, a repayment approach based on a percentage of sales can align repayments with trading. YouLend explicitly describes repayment through a fixed percentage of future daily sales on its merchant funding page, and Outfund states it can offer a revenue share option on its UK page. In this scenario, the key question is which provider’s mechanism best matches your actual sales channel, card-present, ecommerce, or a mix, and how deductions are calculated.

Scenario 2, you want predictability and you can handle fixed collections

If you prefer certainty for budgeting, fixed repayments can be easier to plan around, but they can be less forgiving in slow weeks. Outfund states it offers fixed repayments, taken via direct debit daily or weekly, on its UK page. This can suit businesses with steady gross margins and a predictable cash conversion cycle, for example where receivables come in frequently enough to support the collection cadence.

Scenario 3, you receive an offer inside your existing platform and want a low-friction journey

YouLend positions itself as an embedded financing platform on its homepage, which often means the offer can appear in tools you already use. If reducing application friction matters, for example you do not want to prepare a full lender pack, embedded journeys can be attractive. The trade-off is that you should still request and read the full offer details, including total payback and repayment rules, rather than relying on dashboard summaries.

Scenario 4, you are comparing revenue-based funding against a traditional loan

If you are also looking at a conventional loan, it can help to benchmark repayments using a calculator. Funding Agent’s business loan calculator can help you model a simple term-loan repayment profile, then you can compare that against the cash flow behaviour of sales-linked deductions or daily and weekly direct debits. This is not about forcing a revenue-based offer into an APR, it is about understanding the cash impact month by month.

How to apply

Application flows can vary by channel and by your business profile. The steps below reflect what each lender publicly describes, and what is typically required to underwrite revenue-led funding, but you should confirm the exact list during application.

How to apply for YouLend

1. Start from the relevant merchant entry point, YouLend directs merchants to apply via its merchant page or via partner experiences (embedded model described on YouLend’s homepage).
2. Complete the application within the platform flow, if available, and provide the required business and trading information requested on-screen.
3. Review the offer details carefully, focusing on total payback, the percentage of sales used for repayment, and any conditions for renewals or additional funding.
4. If you want the option to reduce the balance early, confirm the operational process for one-off payments, noting YouLend states one-off payments are free of charge on its merchants page.

How to apply for Outfund

1. Begin on Outfund’s UK page and follow the application prompts, Outfund states “Apply in just 5 minutes” on its UK homepage.
2. Provide the trading and financial information requested during the flow, and be prepared to connect bank or revenue data where required for assessment.
3. When you receive terms, confirm whether you are being offered revenue share or fixed repayments, Outfund states it offers both on its UK page.
4. Check the collection cadence and method, Outfund states direct debit daily or weekly on its UK page, and then run a cash flow stress-test for slow weeks.

Final verdict

Neither YouLend nor Outfund is universally better, they are tools that fit different cash flow patterns. If you compare them on total payback, repayment method, and the operational reality of daily or weekly collections, you will usually see the right option more clearly.

Choose YouLend if:

• You want repayments to flex automatically with sales, and you are comfortable with variable daily deductions.
• You value the ability to make additional one-off payments, which YouLend states are free of charge.
• You expect to access funding through an embedded partner experience, rather than a standalone lender application.
• Your business has meaningful card or online sales where a percentage-of-sales model maps cleanly to revenue.

Choose Outfund if:

• You want the option of revenue share or fixed repayments, and you want to choose based on how predictable your revenue is.
• You can operationally support daily or weekly direct debit collections without creating supplier-payment strain.
• You prioritise stated speed of receiving an offer, Outfund states offers can be as fast as 24 hours.
• You want a clearer repayment schedule if a fixed repayment offer is available and affordable in slow weeks.

If you want help comparing like-for-like offers, including translating total payback into a cash flow view that matches your trading pattern, Funding Agent can help you review options, you can start with a quick form.

Sources

• YouLend, Merchant Business Funding
• YouLend, Grow With Flexible Funding (merchant page)
• YouLend, Official site
• Outfund, Fast and Flexible Funding in the UK
• Funding Agent, Factor Rate vs APR, How to Compare Offers Properly
• Funding Agent, Unsecured Business Loans
• Funding Agent, Business Loan Calculator