Equipment loan
You own the machine, with a UCC-1 filed against it until it is paid off. Commonly 0–20% down over 36–72 months, at rates that typically run 6–15%. Best for a machine you will run for years. Typical rates.
Financing program
Excavators cost $80,000-$500,000+. Spread the cost with equipment financing. Decisions in 24-48 hours for qualified applications. New or used. Construction and earthmoving contractors nationwide.
Updated November 9, 2026
This page covers excavators of every size, from compact machines to 30-ton-plus production units. For pre-owned machines specifically, see used excavator financing; for lease pricing, excavator lease vs loan.
Financing an excavator typically costs 6–15% a year over 36–72 months, with 0–20% down and credit from about 600. Machine size drives the payment: an $80,000 compact excavator at 10% over 48 months is about $2,030 a month, and a $150,000 mid-size machine at 8% over 60 months about $3,040, roughly $32,500 of interest over the term. Axiant Partners, a business-loan broker in Boca Raton, matches contractors with equipment lenders in all 50 states.
Excavators are essential for construction, mining, road building, and land development. They dig foundations, grade sites, load trucks, and handle demolition. But with prices from $80,000 for compact models to $500,000+ for large machines, paying cash ties up capital you need for payroll, materials, and growth.
Moving scrap, waste or logs rather than digging? A purpose-built material handler reaches further and cycles faster than an excavator doing the same job — browse financing-ready SENNEBOGEN models.
An excavator is usually the machine that starts a job: it opens the site, digs the footings or trench, and loads the trucks. That means it is bought at the moment cash is tightest, before mobilization is billed and long before retainage is released. If you already own excavators outright, you can also borrow against the excavators you own instead of paying cash for the next one.
Lenders like excavators as collateral because the major brands trade constantly at dealer and auction, so a machine's value can be checked by serial number and hours. There is no title: the lender files a UCC-1 financing statement against the machine. Contractors finance excavators to add a second machine for a bigger contract, step up a size class, or replace one whose undercarriage and hours have caught up with it. Apply now to get matched with lenders. See construction business financing for industry context.
An excavator is a heavy construction machine with a boom, arm (stick), and bucket used for digging, trenching, demolition, and material handling. It moves on crawler tracks or wheels and rotates 360 degrees. Excavators range from compact mini excavators (under 6 tons) to large machines (30+ tons) that move massive amounts of earth.
Excavators are commonly used in construction, mining, road building, and land development for tasks like digging foundations, grading sites, loading trucks, demolition work, and utility installation. General contractors, heavy civil operators, site development companies, and specialty trades rely on excavators as core equipment. Understanding what excavators are and how they're used helps lenders assess your financing application-they want to see that the equipment supports revenue-generating work.
An excavator is judged on hours, not miles, and on the parts that wear: the undercarriage (tracks, rollers, sprockets), the swing bearing, the hydraulic pumps and the pins and bushings at the boom and stick. A lender or appraiser will ask for the hour meter reading and the serial number, and on a used machine often for photos of the undercarriage. Machines built in recent years carry EPA Tier 4 Final diesel engines (EPA nonroad engine rules), with after-treatment that adds maintenance, so an older Tier 3 machine can look cheaper to run and is still financeable.
The other difference is size. A compact excavator is a broad market with many buyers, so it finances like a truck. A 40-ton production machine has fewer buyers, so lenders look harder at the contract backlog and the operator's experience. Mining and demolition machines go to lenders who specialise in them.
Contractors searching "excavator leasing" or "lease to own" are usually choosing between four contracts. The right one depends on how many hours a year the machine will run and whether you want it after the term.
You own the machine, with a UCC-1 filed against it until it is paid off. Commonly 0–20% down over 36–72 months, at rates that typically run 6–15%. Best for a machine you will run for years. Typical rates.
A $1-out lease ends in ownership and prices like a loan. A fair market value lease has a lower payment and lets you hand the machine back, with hour limits. Pricing on each is in excavator lease vs loan.
Many dealers offer a rental purchase option: you rent by the month, and a share of the rent commonly applies toward buying the machine if you exercise the option. Useful when a job is confirmed but its length is not. Ask how much rent applies and for how long.
For a fleet purchase or a machine bought with a yard or building, SBA loans can run longer terms; 7(a) loans go up to $5 million (SBA). Expect weeks to close. SBA loans.
Payroll and fuel between draws are a working capital question, not an excavator one.
New prices on this site's excavator guides commonly fall in these bands, before attachments, freight and tax. They are typical ranges, not quotes, and brand, options and the dealer's program move them.
| Size class | Operating weight | Typical new price |
|---|---|---|
| Compact / mini | Under 6 tons | From about $80,000 |
| Mid-size | 10–25 tons | $150,000–$250,000 |
| Large | 30 tons and up | $250,000–$500,000+ |
Attachments add real money and are commonly financed with the machine when they are on the same invoice: extra buckets, a hydraulic thumb, a breaker or a tiltrotator. A used machine a few years old usually sells well below new; how far depends on hours and undercarriage condition, which is why the hour meter matters more than the model year. More in used excavator financing and financing used equipment.
What it costs to finance an excavator, illustrated at rates inside the typical 6–15% range. These are examples, not quotes; your rate depends on credit, down payment, the machine's age and the lender.
| Machine | Amount, rate, term | Monthly | Interest over term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compact | $80,000, 10%, 48 mo | About $2,030 | About $17,400 |
| Mid-size | $150,000, 8%, 60 mo | About $3,040 | About $32,500 |
| Mid-size, longer term | $150,000, 8%, 72 mo | About $2,630 | About $39,400 |
| Large | $300,000, 7.5%, 72 mo | About $5,190 | About $73,500 |
Stretching the term lowers the payment and raises the total interest, as the two mid-size rows show. On a compact excavator, terms commonly top out around 48–60 months; larger new machines can run 72. Try your own numbers in the excavator financing calculator.
Illustrative, not a quote. A contractor buys a $200,000 mid-size excavator with attachments on one invoice, puts 15% down ($30,000) and finances $170,000 at 7.5%, inside the typical 6–15% range.
| Term | Monthly | Interest over term |
|---|---|---|
| 60 months | About $3,406 | About $34,400 |
| 72 months | About $2,939 | About $41,600 |
The longer term frees about $467 a month for payroll and fuel but costs about $7,200 more in interest. If winter is slow, ask whether seasonal payments can be written in at signing.
Typical expectations across equipment lenders, not a quote:
| What lenders check | Typical for an excavator |
|---|---|
| Credit score | About 600+; best pricing near 680+ |
| Down payment | 0–20%; more on older or larger machines |
| Time in business | 1–2+ years; less with operator experience |
| The machine | Serial number, hours, attachments |
| The work | Backlog, bids won, or a rental history |
Excavator lenders weigh experience heavily. An operator who ran machines for another contractor for years and is now starting out is a different risk from a buyer with no time in the seat, even with the same credit score. A short list of jobs you have bid or won, with dates, helps more than another month of statements. See credit score tiers and what lenders look at.
For an excavator, the machine details matter as much as the financials:
Make, model, serial number, hours, and each attachment listed with its price.
For used machines, add undercarriage photos and any inspection report.
Three months is common; six if your work slows in winter, so the lender sees the whole cycle.
Contracts, bid awards or a list of recent jobs. Rental income if the machine will be rented out.
An equipment floater quote naming the lender as loss payee.
Larger amounts usually add two years of tax returns and a current balance sheet.
Apply in the off-season if you can. Dealers and lenders are less busy in late fall and winter, and you start spring with the machine already paid for in installments rather than waiting on an approval while the job is ready.
If the purchase depends on a contract, apply as soon as the award letter arrives. It is the strongest document you will have, and it tells the lender how long the machine has guaranteed work. Ask about seasonal or skip-payment schedules at the same time; they have to be written into the contract at signing.
A machine too big for your jobs is harder to approve and harder to resell. Lenders notice when the machine and the work do not match.
Years running excavators count, especially for a newer company.
It is the largest wear item on a tracked excavator and the first thing an appraiser checks.
One approval covers machine and attachments; buying them later means another loan.
If winter is slow, lower payments in those months can be built in at signing.
A newer machine with heavy hours and a worn undercarriage can be worth less than an older, lighter-used one.
A bigger machine may need a bigger trailer and truck to move between jobs. Price the whole setup.
Excess hours at return are billed, sometimes at a rate that wipes out the lower payment.
Check how much of the rent actually applies to the purchase, and for how many months.
Promotional rates can come with a higher price or fewer included attachments. Compare the total cost.
A contractor that pays cash for an excavator often ends up borrowing anyway, just later and on worse terms, when payroll comes due before the first draw. Financing the machine keeps cash for mobilization, materials and the weeks before retainage is released.
Ownership also brings depreciation, and Section 179 may allow much of the cost to be deducted in the year the machine goes into service (IRS Publication 946). Lease payments are treated differently. Confirm the treatment with your tax adviser before you choose.
A complete file on a dealer machine usually funds in 1–5 business days. Private-party and auction purchases take longer because the lender checks liens and may want an inspection.
01
Serial number, hours and attachments, plus one application.
02
They check the serial number and hours against market data and ask about your work.
03
Loan, lease or rental purchase documents, with insurance naming the lender.
04
The lender files its UCC-1 and pays the dealer or seller. The machine goes to the job.
Earthmoving fleets usually add one of these after an excavator.
Construction loaders for material handling. Wheel loader financing.
Crawler and wheel dozers. Bulldozer financing.
Versatile dig-and-load equipment. Backhoe financing.
Compact loaders. Skid steer financing.
Explore focused guides on specific excavator financing topics.
At typical rates of 6–15%, an $80,000 compact excavator at 10% over 48 months is about $2,030 a month, and a $150,000 mid-size machine at 8% over 60 months is about $3,040, or about $32,500 of interest over the term. Your rate depends on credit, down payment and the machine.
Commonly 36–72 months. Compact excavators often top out around 48–60 months; new larger machines can run 72, and SBA loans longer when the machine is part of a bigger project.
Yes. A $1-out lease ends in ownership, and many dealers offer rent-to-own where part of the rent applies to the purchase. A fair market value lease has the lowest payment but ends with a buy, return or renew choice. Excavator lease vs loan.
Yes. Lenders judge used machines on hours, undercarriage and brand more than on age alone; older or high-hour machines usually mean a shorter term and more down. Used excavator financing.
Many programs start around 600, with the best pricing near 680 and above. Operating experience and contracted work can offset a lower score.
Often, if the owner has years of operating experience, a down payment, and work lined up. A compact or used machine is easier to approve first.
Usually, when they are on the same invoice: buckets, thumbs, breakers and tiltrotators.
Rates, terms and prices on this page are ranges commonly seen across lenders and dealers, not a quote. Confirm current terms with your lender.
General equipment articles that apply to excavators.
Send the quote with the serial number and hours, and we will tell you the same day which lenders fit the machine and the work.