FTL Finance is a home improvement consumer lender that has been around for decades and is used by a significant number of HVAC and home improvement contractors across the country. If you have looked into contractor financing options beyond the well-known names, FTL Finance has probably come up. Here is how it compares to Hearth’s flat-fee model for HVAC and other home service contractors.
What FTL Finance Is
FTL Finance is a dedicated home improvement lender that works with contractors through a dealer program model. It offers multiple loan products with different rates, terms, and promotional structures. Contractor enrollment is handled through FTL directly or in some cases through manufacturer dealer programs, particularly in the HVAC space where manufacturers sometimes make FTL financing available through their dealer networks.
FTL does not charge an annual subscription. Instead, it uses a dealer fee model where the contractor pays a percentage of each funded loan. The fee varies by product: standard rate products carry lower fees, while promotional 0% APR or deferred-interest products carry higher fees because the lender is absorbing the cost of the rate incentive.
How It Compares to Hearth
Hearth operates on a flat annual subscription (around $1,799 per year for the Pro plan as of 2026) with zero per-job dealer fees. You pay once and every funded loan after that costs you nothing in per-job fees. Hearth’s 18-lender network shops multiple offers simultaneously, which improves approval rates compared to a single-lender platform.
The comparison between FTL and Hearth comes down to the same fundamental question as with any dealer-fee platform: at what annual financing volume does the per-job model start costing more than the flat subscription?
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hearth | FTL Finance |
|---|---|---|
| Fee model | Flat annual subscription (~$1,799/yr) | Per-job dealer fee (varies by product) |
| Enrollment cost | Annual subscription required | Free enrollment |
| Per-job dealer fee | $0 | Varies by product and promotion |
| FICO minimum | 550 | Typically 620+ depending on product |
| Loan maximum | $250,000 | Varies by product (typically up to $65,000) |
| Lender network | 18+ lending partners | Single lender (FTL Finance) |
| HVAC manufacturer programs | Not manufacturer-integrated | Available through some HVAC manufacturers |
| Funding speed | 2 to 3 business days | Varies by product and documentation |
| Bundled contractor tools | Yes (estimates, contracts, payments) | No |
| States available | All 50 | Most states (confirm by state) |
HVAC Contractor Use Case
HVAC is one of the highest-volume financing trades in home improvement. The average HVAC replacement runs $8,000 to $18,000, and many homeowners do not have that sitting in a checking account. Financing is not a nice-to-have in HVAC. It is a core part of how jobs get closed.
FTL Finance has been used by HVAC contractors long enough that some manufacturers include it in their dealer programs. If you are already using a manufacturer’s financing program and FTL is behind it, you may already have access without realizing it. The advantage there is program consistency: the loan products are built around HVAC project amounts and the terms are familiar to contractors in the space.
The downside is that FTL is a single lender, which means if a homeowner does not qualify through FTL’s credit criteria, there is no fallback within the same platform. Hearth’s 18-lender network means one soft-pull pre-qualification shops multiple offers at once, and the platform will find the best offer available across all of those lenders. For HVAC contractors dealing with a customer base that includes homeowners across a wide range of credit profiles, the multi-lender model catches more approvals.
Volume Break-Even Math for HVAC Contractors
An HVAC contractor with an average financed job of $12,000 and a 5% average dealer fee through FTL pays $600 per funded job. At that rate, three funded jobs per year equals $1,800 in dealer fees, which is slightly above Hearth’s $1,799 Pro annual subscription. In other words, if you finance four or more HVAC replacements per year (a low bar for any active HVAC contractor), Hearth’s flat-fee model saves you money on every job after the break-even.
For an HVAC contractor doing 20 financed jobs per year at $12,000 average and 5% dealer fees, the annual dealer fee cost is $12,000. Compared to Hearth’s $1,799 annual subscription, that is a savings of over $10,000 per year. The numbers compound fast once you are doing consistent volume.
Bottom Line
FTL Finance is a legitimate home improvement lender with a solid track record in the HVAC space. For HVAC contractors who are part of a manufacturer dealer program where FTL is the preferred lender, it may be the path of least resistance. For contractors doing any meaningful annual financing volume (even just four to six HVAC replacements per year), Hearth’s flat annual fee model will almost always come out ahead on total cost. Add in the 550 FICO minimum and 18-lender network for better approval rates, and the case for Hearth gets stronger as volume increases.
Ready to See If Hearth Makes Sense for Your Business?
Hearth gives contractors access to 18 plus lenders at a flat annual rate with no per-job dealer fees. If you finance more than $36,000 in projects per year, the math almost always works in your favor.