Financing · Financing Marketplaces
Acorn Finance Review
Free lender marketplace — compare 30+ home-improvement loan offers
Quick verdict
Acorn Finance is best for Contractors who want to offer financing at zero cost, let customers compare real fixed-rate offers from many lenders, and get paid upfront — without a dealer fee or subscription. Offers are fixed-rate personal loans rather than embedded 0%-promo/deferred-interest products; less deeply embedded in FSM checkouts than Wisetack; no bundled sales tools.
Fees & terms
Free for contractors — no dealer, subscription, sign-up, or credit-card fees. Customers compare prequalified fixed-rate offers from 30+ lenders via a soft credit check; the contractor is paid upfront and lenders fund within 48 hours of approval.
- Cost to contractor
- Free — no dealer, subscription, sign-up, or credit-card fees
- Customer APR
- Fixed-rate offers from 30+ lenders (rate depends on customer credit)
- Loan size
- Home-improvement loan amounts vary by lender
Affiliate disclosure: No confirmed affiliate program — we currently earn nothing from Acorn Finance.
About Acorn Finance
Acorn Finance is an embedded home-improvement lending marketplace that's genuinely free for contractors — no dealer fees, no subscription, no sign-up or credit-card fees. Founded in 2017 in Sacramento (formerly Headway Sales), it lets a contractor create an account in minutes and get a personalized financing link to share with customers, who then see prequalified, fixed-rate offers from 30+ top consumer lenders in about 60 seconds with no impact to their credit.
The model is contractor-friendly in two important ways: it's free, and the contractor is paid upfront once a customer accepts an offer and is funded — no waiting on installments. Acorn's lender partners are required to deliver funds within 48 hours of approval, which can speed up job starts. Because customers compare offers from many lenders, they often find a better fixed rate than a single deferred-interest or promotional program, and the soft-pull comparison shopping is transparent.
The trade-offs: as a marketplace of personal-loan lenders, Acorn's offers are fixed-rate personal loans rather than the embedded 0%-promo and deferred-interest products of GreenSky, and it's less deeply embedded in FSM checkouts than Wisetack. But for a contractor who simply wants to offer financing at zero cost, let customers shop real fixed-rate offers, and get paid upfront, Acorn Finance is one of the most contractor-aligned options in the category.
How it works
You create a free Acorn account in minutes and get a personalized financing link (no fees or obligations) to share with customers. The customer enters their info and, via a soft credit check (no score impact), sees prequalified fixed-rate offers from Acorn's 30+ lender partners in about 60 seconds. They pick the offer that fits their budget, get funded (lenders are required to fund within 48 hours of approval), and you — the contractor — are paid upfront for the job rather than waiting on the customer's installments. There's no dealer fee, subscription, or sign-up cost to you; Acorn's revenue comes from the lender side of the marketplace.
Pros & cons
What works
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Free for contractors
No dealer fee, no subscription, no sign-up or credit-card fees. Unlike GreenSky (3–15% dealer fees) or Hearth ($1,499+/yr subscription), offering Acorn financing costs the contractor nothing — pure upside on close rate.
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Customers compare 30+ lenders
Prequalified offers from many lenders in ~60 seconds mean higher approval odds and often a better fixed rate for the customer than a single program — transparent comparison shopping with no credit impact.
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Contractor paid upfront
Once the customer is funded, you're paid upfront rather than waiting on installments, which protects cash flow on larger jobs.
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Fast funding (48 hours)
Lender partners must deliver funds within 48 hours of approval, which can move up job start dates and reduce the limbo between sale and start.
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Quick, no-obligation setup
Contractors can create an account and get a sharable financing link in minutes with no fees or commitment, so there's almost no barrier to start offering financing.
What doesn't
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Fixed-rate personal loans, not embedded 0% promos
Acorn's offers are fixed-rate personal loans from lenders, not the embedded 0%-promotional and deferred-interest products GreenSky offers. Contractors who lean on '0% for 12 months' promos as a sales hook won't find the same structure here.
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Less embedded than Wisetack
Acorn works via a shareable link rather than being deeply built into FSM checkouts like Wisetack. It integrates with some tools (e.g., JobTread), but the in-software experience is lighter.
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Rates depend on customer credit
As with all financing, the customer's offers and APRs depend on their credit; not every customer gets a low rate, so financing won't close every job.
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No bundled sales tools
Acorn is a focused financing marketplace, not a suite — it doesn't bundle estimating/sales tools like Hearth. That's fine if you only want financing, but it's not an all-in-one.
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Marketplace, so experience varies by lender
Because funding and servicing happen through third-party lenders, the customer's post-approval experience depends on which lender they choose, not on Acorn directly.
Features & integrations
Key features
Integrations
Frequently asked
Is Acorn Finance really free for contractors?
Yes — Acorn charges contractors no dealer fee, no subscription, no sign-up fee, and no credit-card fee. You create an account and get a financing link at no cost, and Acorn earns its money from the lender side of the marketplace. That makes it one of the cheapest ways to offer financing.
How does Acorn Finance work for my customers?
The customer uses your financing link, enters basic info, and a soft credit check (no score impact) returns prequalified fixed-rate offers from 30+ lenders in about 60 seconds. They pick the best offer, get funded (within 48 hours of approval), and you're paid upfront for the job.
Acorn Finance vs Hearth?
Both are lender marketplaces with soft-pull prequalification, but Acorn is free to contractors while Hearth charges a $1,499+/year subscription (bundled with sales tools). If you just want free, no-cost financing with multi-lender comparison and upfront payment, Acorn wins on cost; if you want the bundled estimating/sales suite and have the volume, Hearth may justify its fee.
Acorn Finance vs GreenSky?
Acorn is a free marketplace of fixed-rate personal-loan lenders with no dealer fee; GreenSky is an embedded program with 0%/deferred-interest plans up to $100K but dealer fees of 3–15%. Acorn is cheaper for the contractor and offers transparent comparison shopping; GreenSky offers embedded promotional structures and high loan capacity at a higher cost. Many contractors offer a free marketplace like Acorn precisely to avoid dealer fees.
Does the contractor wait for installment payments with Acorn?
No — once the customer accepts an offer and is funded, the contractor is paid upfront, not in installments. The customer repays their chosen lender over time. Lender partners are required to fund within 48 hours of approval, which helps you start jobs faster.