- Cherry and Sunbit both offer pay-over-time financing for healthcare, wellness, and dental procedures. However, Sunbit began in auto financing, and Cherry is specialized for healthcare.
- Cherry supports higher loan amounts (ranging from $200 to $65,000 depending on the industry) with terms up to 60 months, while Sunbit extends up to 72 months but caps loan amounts at $20,000, and uses deferred interest in promotional financing.
Healthcare costs can feel overwhelming, whether for medical treatments, wellness services, or dental care. While some patients turn to a credit card or debit card at checkout, others need flexible financing options that allow them to move forward with care without adding financial stress. That’s where patient financing platforms like Cherry and Sunbit come in.
Both companies give patients a way to cover a total purchase with monthly payments instead of one large upfront expense. For providers, offering these financing solutions can reduce hassle, improve case acceptance, and ensure more patients can say “yes” to care.
What is Sunbit?
Sunbit is a financial technology company offering financing across multiple industries. Their original focus was auto service and dealerships, but Sunbit now offers patient financing options in dentistry, healthcare, and retail. The platform is designed to make everyday needs more manageable, from auto repair to dental work.
With Sunbit, patients can apply in person or online through sunbit.com. The approval process starts with a soft credit check, so there’s no immediate impact on a patient’s credit score. With a high approval rate, including for patients with subprime credit, Sunbit can be an attractive financing option for providers.
Once approved, patients can spread their purchase amount into installments. A payment is due at checkout (effectively a down payment, with higher amounts due at checkout for patients with lower credit scores), made with a bank-issued debit card, and then the balance is divided into monthly installments. Loan amounts typically range from $50 to $20,000, with terms from 3 to 72 months depending on the product. These loans are made by Transportation Alliance Bank Inc., dba TAB Bank, which determines qualifications and terms of credit.
In addition to installment loans, Sunbit also offers the Sunbit Card, a Visa credit card with no annual, late, or penalty fees. Unlike loans, this product behaves more like a traditional revolving credit card, with a hard credit check and payments reported to major credit bureaus.
What is Cherry Payment Plans?
Unlike Sunbit’s broad reach, Cherry Payment Plans is a BNPL lender (buy now, pay later) that focuses specifically on healthcare, dental practices, and wellness providers. Patients applying with Cherry can qualify in seconds through a soft credit check, avoiding the harm that a hard inquiry does to their credit score. Once approved, patients can choose from flexible payment terms, including short-term interest-free options and longer-term plans with qualifying 0% APR.
The preferred healthcare financing company of more than 80% of practices against competitors, Cherry supports loan amounts up to $65,000, with repayment terms from 1 to 60 months depending on the healthcare provider. This makes it one of the more flexible solutions available for high-value medical or cosmetic treatments like dental implants and veneers. For providers, account openings are simple, funding is predictable, and financing is exclusive to their practice. Just as crucial, Cherry’s dedicated customer support is specialized for plastic surgery providers, dental offices, wellness clinics, dermatologists, and veterinary practices.
Cherry vs Sunbit: A Side-by-Side Comparison
The Biggest Differences Between Cherry and Sunbit
1. Loan Amounts and Terms
Cherry Payment Plans support larger financing amounts — up to $65,000 — with terms as long as 60 months. Sunbit caps financing at $20,000, but extends terms up to 72 months. Depending on the treatment or procedure, practices may want the higher loan amount flexibility of Cherry or the longer repayment window of Sunbit.
2. Interest Rates and Fees
Cherry offers interest-free options like the pay-in-4 plan for almost all borrowers, and true 0% APR monthly plans for qualified borrowers. Sunbit offers interest-free promotions and APR-based loans. However, some Sunbit promotions use deferred interest, which means if the borrower is late or misses a single payment during the 0% promotional period, retroactive interest is charged from the start of the loan.
3. Credit Experience
Cherry relies only on a soft credit check — no hard credit check — so patients’ credit scores are not at risk during the application process. Sunbit also starts with a soft inquiry, but certain loan types may involve a hard credit check, and account activity may be reported to a major credit bureau (with exceptions for healthcare loans in some states). Cherry reports payments to credit bureaus as well.
4. Industry Focus
Cherry is a buy now, pay later solution built specifically for healthcare, cosmetic, wellness, veterinary, and dental financing. Sunbit fintech, by contrast, extends into automotive, retail, and dealerships. For practices that want a financing partner focused specifically on healthcare, Cherry is more specialized. Businesses and customers seeking a financing partner beyond healthcare may prefer to use Sunbit.
5. Simplicity vs Complexity
Cherry’s approach is straightforward: clear payment terms, flexible financing, and stress-free management for both patients and providers. Sunbit offers more product variations — installment loans, the Sunbit Credit Card, and deferred-interest promotions — so repayment structures can feel more complex. Cherry’s application takes most patients 35 seconds or less to complete, while Sunbit relies on scanning driver’s licenses with an iPad, which can be a challenge for some practices and patients.
Final Thoughts
Both Cherry and Sunbit help patients access care without paying everything upfront. Cherry’s higher loan amounts, interest-free structure, and healthcare specialization make it appealing for high-value medical and wellness treatments. Sunbit offers broad accessibility, longer terms, and high approval rates, but patients should be cautious of deferred interest promotions that may lead to unexpected costs.
For practices, Cherry enhances cash flow with upfront payment, increased treatment acceptance, competitive pricing, and the lowest merchant fees in the industry. Most importantly, it enables doctors and clinicians to focus more on treatment and less on collecting payments. These are just a few reasons that Cherry is preferred 8.8x more often than Sunbit where both solutions are offered.
Find out why patients love Cherry, and why over 60,000 providers lead with it to expand treatment accessibility and boost business. Claim your complimentary demo today.