- They are different products. CareCredit is a revolving credit card with deferred-interest promotions. Cherry and Sunbit are point-of-sale installment plans with a fixed schedule and a soft credit check.
- Approval claims: Sunbit advertises an 87% approval rate and Cherry “up to 90%”. CareCredit does not publish one. All three are vendor claims, not audited figures.
- Patient risk differs most. A CareCredit promotion charges interest from the purchase date at 32.99% APR if the balance is not cleared in time. Sunbit states it has no deferred interest, late fees or penalty APR.
- Most practices offer two: CareCredit for patients who already carry the card, and one installment lender for everyone else. All three pay the practice up front and carry the repayment risk themselves.
CareCredit, Cherry and Sunbit are the three names dental practices compare most when they add or replace patient financing. They are often presented as interchangeable. They are not: one is a credit card, two are installment plans, and the terms your patients face if they pay late are very different. Here is how they compare on verified terms, and how to decide which to put in front of patients.
Quick verdict
CareCredit
A healthcare credit card patients may already have in their wallet. Strongest for patients with good credit who will pay the balance inside the promotional window. The risk is on the patient: miss the deadline and interest is charged back to day one.
Cherry
Soft-check installment plans with a fixed schedule, from small balances up to large cases, over as long as 60 months. A down payment is taken at checkout. Suits implant, full-arch and cosmetic cases.
Sunbit
Installment plans of 3 to 72 months with a published 87% approval claim and, according to Sunbit, no late fees, deferred interest or penalty APR. The ceiling is lower, so it fits everyday treatment better than very large cases.
CareCredit vs Cherry vs Sunbit: side by side
| CareCredit | Cherry | Sunbit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product type | Revolving healthcare credit card (Synchrony) | Point-of-sale installment loan through partner lenders | Point-of-sale installment plan (TAB Bank) |
| Credit check | Prequalification with no score impact; full application is a credit card application | Soft check only; Cherry says it never runs a hard check | No hard credit check |
| Approval rate (claimed) | Not published | “Up to 90%” | 87% |
| Amount | Credit limit set per cardholder; promotions from $200 | Up to $50,000 for dental | Up to $20,000 |
| 0% options | No interest if paid in full within 6, 12, 18 or 24 months (deferred interest) | Qualifying 0% APR plans; interest-free pay-in-4 over six weeks | No-interest plans up to 24 months for qualifying patients |
| Longer terms | 24 mo at 17.90%, 36 mo at 18.90%, 48 mo at 19.90%, 60 mo at 20.90% APR, fixed payments (from $1,000; 60 months from $2,500) | Up to 60 months, 0%–35.99% APR | 3 to 72 months, 0%–35.99% APR |
| If the patient pays late | Deferred interest charged from purchase date at the standard 32.99% APR if the promo balance is not cleared | 0% rate can be lost if the account becomes delinquent; late fees may apply by state | Sunbit states no late fees, no deferred interest, no penalty APR |
| Down payment | None | Yes, at checkout, typically one monthly payment | Not stated on the dental page |
| Practice is paid | Within two business days | Within two to three business days | In full at checkout |
| Practice fee | Varies by promotional option; no annual or monthly fee | Not published | “As low as 1.9%” per transaction; no setup or monthly fee |
| Recourse to practice | Non-recourse | Cherry collects from the patient | Practice paid in full up front |
| Full profile | CareCredit | Cherry | Sunbit |
Two-way comparisons with every data point and source: CareCredit vs Cherry, CareCredit vs Sunbit, Cherry vs Sunbit.
Deferred interest: the difference that matters most
“No interest if paid in full within 12 months” is not the same as 0% APR. With deferred interest, interest accrues from the purchase date in the background. Pay the whole balance before the promotion ends and it is waived. Leave any balance and all of it is added at once.
This is not a fringe case. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported in May 2023 that consumers paid $1 billion in deferred interest on medical credit cards and loans between 2018 and 2020. For a practice, the consequence is reputational: the patient remembers where the card was offered.
What to do: if you offer a deferred-interest product, have the treatment coordinator state the payoff date and the monthly amount needed to clear the balance in time, and write both on the treatment plan. For larger cases, the fixed-payment reduced-APR plans avoid the cliff.
CareCredit in detail
CareCredit is a credit card issued by Synchrony Bank and the longest-established name in healthcare financing. CareCredit says more than 22,000 patients apply every day and that the average first purchase is about $2,200.
- Short promotions: no interest if paid in full within 6, 12, 18 or 24 months on purchases of $200 or more. This is deferred interest.
- Long plans: fixed monthly payments at 17.90% to 20.90% APR over 24 to 60 months, for purchases from $1,000 (60 months from $2,500). Interest is charged, but there is no retroactive cliff.
- Standard APR: 32.99% on new accounts.
- For the practice: paid within two business days, non-recourse, no annual or monthly fee. The processing rate depends on which promotion a purchase is run on, so a 24-month promotion costs the practice more than a 6-month one.
- Reusable: a patient can use the same card for the next treatment, at your office or any other that accepts it.
Best for: patients with established credit, returning patients who already hold the card, and practices that want a name patients recognize.
Weak spot: patients with thin or damaged credit are more likely to be declined, and the deferred-interest structure punishes anyone who misjudges the payoff.
Cherry in detail
Cherry is a financing platform, not a lender: loans are made by partner banks and lenders. The patient applies on a phone in a few minutes and chooses from the plans offered.
- Amounts and terms: Cherry’s dental page advertises up to $50,000; its patient terms list loans from $35 to $65,000 over 1 to 60 months at 0% to 35.99% APR.
- Credit check: soft check only. Cherry advertises an approval rate of “up to 90%”.
- 0% options: pay-in-4 over six weeks is interest-free, and qualifying patients can get 0% APR on longer plans. The promotional rate can be lost if the account becomes delinquent.
- Down payment: collected at checkout, typically equal to one monthly payment. A 2.99% processing fee applies if the patient pays the down payment by credit card.
- For the practice: paid within two to three business days; Cherry handles collection. Cherry says it can reduce merchant fees by as much as half compared with competitors, but does not publish a fee schedule.
Best for: larger cases such as implants and full-arch treatment, and practices that want one installment lender covering small and large balances.
Weak spot: the down payment at checkout can surprise patients, and the unpublished fee schedule means you must compare a written quote.
Sunbit in detail
Sunbit offers pay-over-time plans with loans made by TAB Bank. It says it is used at more than 15,000 dental locations.
- Approval: Sunbit advertises an 87% approval rate with no hard credit check, and says it approves applicants with scores starting around 500.
- Terms: 3 to 72 months, 0% to 35.99% APR, with no-interest plans of up to 24 months for qualifying patients.
- Patient protections: Sunbit states it charges no late fees, no deferred interest and no penalty APR.
- For the practice: paid in full at checkout; fees “as low as 1.9%” per transaction with no setup or monthly fee.
- Ceiling: up to $20,000, lower than Cherry’s.
Best for: everyday treatment plans, patients who were declined elsewhere, and practices that want to be able to describe the terms in one sentence.
Weak spot: the maximum amount will not cover the largest full-arch cases, and “as low as” is the floor of the fee schedule, not the typical rate.
What the practice pays
All three charge the practice a percentage of each financed transaction (the merchant discount) and none publishes the full schedule. Two rules hold across lenders:
- Longer 0% periods cost more. The lender is giving up interest, and the practice funds it. A 24-month no-interest plan costs the practice more than a 6-month plan.
- Interest-bearing plans cost the practice least. When the patient pays interest, the merchant fee falls.
So the cheapest way to offer financing is not to default every patient to the longest 0% plan. Decide which promotions you will offer at which treatment values, and ask each lender for the fee at exactly those points. Compare that with the cost of the alternative, which is usually a lost case or an in-house payment plan you have to collect yourself.
Which to offer, and in what order
- Start with a prime option. Patients with good credit get the best terms, and the practice fee on short promotions is low. For many offices this is CareCredit, because patients already carry it.
- Add a second-look installment lender. Cherry or Sunbit catches patients who are declined or who do not want a credit card. Pick on ceiling (Cherry is higher), simplicity of terms (Sunbit) and your fee quote.
- Check the workflow. The best lender is the one your front desk will actually offer. Look for a text-to-apply link, a QR code and integration with your practice management system.
- Present payments, not products. Show the monthly amount next to the treatment fee on every plan above a set value, before the patient asks.
- Measure for 90 days. Track applications, approvals, average amount, fee paid and case acceptance per lender. Drop or reorder based on your own numbers.
If a meaningful share of patients is still declined, look at no-credit-check options and in-house membership plans.
Other lenders to consider
We track 13 patient financing providers. Beyond the big three:
| Provider | Credit check | Approval (claimed) | Max amount | 0% promo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denefits | none | 98% | — | — |
| LendingClub Patient Solutions | soft | — | $65,000 | — |
| Proceed Finance | soft | 90% | $75,000 | — |
| PatientFi | soft | 80% | $60,000 | 12 mo |
| Alphaeon Credit | soft | — | — | — |
| OrthoFi | soft | — | $50,000 | 24 mo |
See the full patient financing ranking.
Questions to ask every financing rep
- What is the merchant fee at each promotion length I plan to offer? Send the full schedule.
- Is the program non-recourse in all cases, including fraud and disputes about treatment?
- When are funds deposited, and is anything held back?
- What happens to the patient who pays late: late fees, deferred interest, penalty APR?
- Is the application a soft or hard inquiry, and at which step?
- What was the approval rate and average approved amount for dental practices like mine last quarter?
- Does it integrate with my practice management system, and does the payment post to the ledger automatically?
- Is there a contract term, minimum volume or exclusivity clause?
FAQ
Is Cherry or CareCredit better?
Neither is better for every patient. CareCredit suits patients with good credit who will clear the balance inside the promotional period; it is widely recognized and works at many providers. Cherry suits patients who want a fixed installment plan decided by a soft credit check, and it advertises an approval rate of up to 90%. Many practices offer both and let the patient choose.
What is the difference between Sunbit and CareCredit?
CareCredit is a credit card issued by Synchrony with deferred-interest promotions of 6, 12, 18 or 24 months and a standard APR of 32.99%. Sunbit is a pay-over-time plan with terms of 3 to 72 months, APRs from 0% to 35.99% and, according to Sunbit, no deferred interest, late fees or penalty APR. Sunbit advertises an 87% approval rate; CareCredit does not publish one.
Cherry vs Sunbit: which should a dental practice choose?
Both are soft-check installment lenders that pay the practice up front. Cherry finances larger amounts (up to $50,000 for dental according to its dental page) over up to 60 months. Sunbit finances up to $20,000 over up to 72 months and publishes a practice fee “as low as 1.9%”. Compare the merchant fee at the promo lengths you will actually offer, and check which one integrates with your practice management system.
What patient financing has a higher approval rate than CareCredit?
CareCredit does not publish its approval rate, so a direct comparison is not possible. Among lenders that publish a claim, the highest in our database are Denefits (98%), Proceed Finance (90%), Cherry (90%), Sunbit (87%). These are marketing claims; track your own approvals for the first 90 days.
Does CareCredit do a hard credit check?
CareCredit lets patients see whether they prequalify with no impact on their credit score. CareCredit is a credit card, so completing a full application is a credit application and normally results in a hard inquiry. Cherry states it never runs a hard check, and Sunbit advertises no hard credit check.
Does the practice carry the risk if a patient does not pay?
Not with these three. CareCredit describes itself as a non-recourse program and pays the practice within two business days. Sunbit pays the practice in full at checkout, and Cherry pays within two to three business days and collects from the patient directly. Always confirm the recourse terms in the merchant agreement.
Method & sources
Terms were read from each provider’s own patient and provider pages on September 30, 2026. Approval rates and “as low as” fees are the providers’ marketing claims and are labeled as such. Merchant fee schedules are confidential for all three, so we do not print figures we could not verify. This guide is for dental practices choosing a financing partner; it is not financial advice for patients.
Product facts come from the Denture-ID database, where every field links to the vendor page or document it was taken from — open any product profile to see them. Rankings use the Data Index; vendors cannot pay to change a position. Found an error? Tell us.
- CareCredit: Understanding promotional financing — promotional periods, reduced APR plans, standard APR
- CareCredit: FAQs for healthcare providers — payment timing, non-recourse, provider fees
- CareCredit: dental provider FAQs
- Cherry: patient terms — amounts, APR range, soft credit check, down payment
- Cherry for dental practices — approval claim, payout timing, maximum amount
- Sunbit for dental — approval claim, terms, practice fee, lender
- CFPB: report on medical credit cards and financing plans (May 2023) — deferred interest paid by consumers, 2018–2020