InSoil Review 2026 - Score, Returns, Risks

InSoil in 60 seconds

InSoil - formerly known as HeavyFinance until its 2024 rebrand - is a Vilnius-based P2P lending platform that offers secured loans to agricultural businesses and green-energy projects across Central and Eastern Europe. The platform operates under an ECSP licence granted by the Bank of Lithuania in 2020 and benefits from a EUR 20 million cornerstone investment from the European Investment Fund, which provides capital and credibility but does not guarantee investor returns. InSoil advertises yields around 13% on loans backed by farm equipment, land, and carbon credits, positioning itself at the intersection of agriculture and sustainability.

However, the platform's track record shows a persistent gap between advertised and realised returns - historical data indicates investors have received approximately 4.5 percentage points less than the headline rate. This shortfall stems from delays in loan repayments, collateral recovery costs, and the inherent volatility of commodity-linked assets. InSoil requires a minimum investment of EUR 100 per loan and does not currently offer auto-invest functionality, meaning investors must manually select and monitor individual opportunities. With a 5.7/10 P2PScore, InSoil ranks 12th among the 19 European platforms we score, reflecting regulatory credibility offset by execution risks and yield-expectation misalignment.

P2PScore breakdown

InSoil's 5.7/10 overall score is derived from six weighted dimensions. The platform earns credit for ECSP regulation and EIF institutional backing but loses ground on net yield delivery, originator transparency, and limited track record under stress conditions.

Regulation & licensing (25%)

6.8/10

Default & recovery history (20%)

5.2/10

Originator structure (15%)

5.8/10

Track record & reporting (15%)

4.8/10

Fees & net yield (15%)

4.2/10

Liquidity & user experience (10%)

5.5/10

Scores are updated monthly. See our methodology for calculation details.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

ECSP regulation from Bank of Lithuania - InSoil holds a European Crowdfunding Service Provider licence, which mandates capital adequacy, investor disclosures, and conduct standards enforced by the Central Bank of Lithuania.
EUR 20M cornerstone from European Investment Fund - the EIF's participation provides institutional validation and suggests due diligence on InSoil's credit underwriting, though it does not guarantee investor returns or cover borrower defaults.
Secured lending model with tangible collateral - loans are backed by farm machinery, land, or carbon credits, offering a recovery mechanism if borrowers default (subject to collateral liquidation risks).
Sustainability angle with carbon-credit integration - InSoil targets green agriculture projects and carbon-offset schemes, appealing to ESG-conscious investors seeking impact alongside yield.

Things to watch

Realised yields ~4.5 percentage points below advertised rates - the most significant concern. Historical investor returns have consistently undershot the ~13% advertised yield, with delays, defaults, and recovery costs eroding net performance.
Agricultural sector concentration risk - loans are heavily exposed to farming operations, which face commodity price volatility, weather risk, and seasonal cash-flow cycles that can strain repayment capacity.
No auto-invest functionality - investors must manually review and select each loan, making diversification across 20-30 opportunities time-intensive and limiting accessibility for hands-off portfolios.
Limited track record post-rebrand - while the underlying business launched in 2020, the 2024 rebrand from HeavyFinance to InSoil introduces branding uncertainty, and the platform has not yet weathered a full economic downturn.
Collateral valuation and enforcement challenges - agricultural equipment depreciates rapidly, land values fluctuate with commodity cycles, and carbon-credit markets remain nascent - realising collateral at par during defaults is uncertain.

How InSoil works

Platform pre-screens agricultural borrowers - InSoil evaluates farm businesses seeking capital for equipment purchases, land improvements, or working capital, assessing cash-flow projections, collateral value, and borrower credit history.
Loans are listed with collateral details and carbon-credit data - each opportunity displays the interest rate (typically 12-14%), loan term, collateral type (e.g., combine harvester, farmland), and any associated carbon credits or sustainability metrics.
Investors manually select and fund loans - there is no auto-invest algorithm. Investors review individual deals and commit EUR 100+ per loan to build a diversified portfolio across multiple borrowers and asset types.
Borrowers make scheduled repayments - most loans follow monthly or quarterly amortisation schedules, with principal and interest paid directly to investors pro-rata based on their participation in each loan.
If a borrower defaults, collateral is enforced - InSoil initiates recovery procedures, which may involve selling farm equipment, foreclosing on land, or liquidating carbon credits. Recovery timelines can extend 6-18 months, and net proceeds often fall short of outstanding balances due to depreciation and legal costs.
Carbon credits (where applicable) are tracked and potentially monetised - some loans generate carbon credits as a byproduct of sustainable farming practices. InSoil monitors these credits and may sell them on voluntary carbon markets, though liquidity and pricing remain volatile.

Who InSoil is for - and who should skip it

InSoil may suit:

Investors comfortable with agricultural sector risk - those who understand commodity cycles, weather exposure, and the seasonality of farm cash flows, and accept the collateral-recovery uncertainties inherent in agricultural lending.
ESG-focused portfolios seeking impact credentials - the carbon-credit angle and green-agriculture focus appeal to investors prioritising sustainability alongside financial returns.
Hands-on portfolio managers willing to forgo auto-invest - investors who prefer manual loan selection and have time to review individual opportunities can build tailored exposure across borrowers and collateral types.

InSoil is likely unsuitable for:

Beginners requiring stable, predictable returns - the 4.5-percentage-point gap between advertised and realised yields introduces return volatility that can frustrate investors expecting the headline rate.
Portfolio builders needing auto-invest for diversification - without automated allocation, achieving 20-30 loan positions (minimum for risk mitigation) requires significant manual effort and active monitoring.
Investors prioritising platforms with long, transparent track records - InSoil's 2020 launch and 2024 rebrand mean the platform lacks the multi-cycle history of higher-scoring peers like Mintos or InRento.
Those seeking MiFID II investor compensation - InSoil's ECSP licence does not include compensation schemes. If the platform fails or defaults exceed collateral values, investors bear full losses.

InSoil vs. alternatives

InSoil's agricultural focus and yield-expectation gap set it apart from higher-ranked ECSP platforms. Below we compare it to three peers on key metrics.

Metric	InSoil	Capitalia	Crowdpear	InRento
P2PScore	5.7/10	8.2/10	7.2/10	8.7/10
Advertised yield	~13%	~10.5%	10.6-14%	~11.8%
Yield gap	~4.5pts below	Meets target	Meets target	Exceeds target
Min. investment	EUR 100	EUR 200	EUR 100	EUR 500
Auto-invest	No	Yes	No	No
Regulation	ECSP (LT)	ECSP (LV)	ECSP (LT)	ECSP (LT)
Focus	Agri loans	Baltic SME	RE development	Buy-to-let RE
Track record	2020 (rebrand 2024)	2017	2021	2020
Guarantee/protection	EIF cornerstone	InvestEU EUR 15M	None	None

Capitalia scores higher due to its InvestEU guarantee, auto-invest functionality, and consistent delivery of advertised yields. Crowdpear and InRento both offer more predictable net returns and have established multi-year default histories. InSoil's agricultural niche carries higher sector concentration risk, and the yield-expectation gap remains its most significant handicap versus peers.

Frequently asked questions

InSoil is the rebranded name of HeavyFinance, a Lithuanian P2P lending platform that launched in 2020. The rebrand occurred in 2024, but the underlying business model - secured agricultural and green loans - remains the same. The platform continues to operate under the same ECSP licence from the Bank of Lithuania and maintains its EUR 20M cornerstone investment from the European Investment Fund. Investors on the platform prior to the rebrand saw no change to their existing loan portfolios or account access.

InSoil advertises yields around 13%, but historical data shows realised returns averaging approximately 4.5 percentage points lower. This gap can result from delayed loan repayments, defaults not fully covered by collateral sales, collection costs reducing recoveries, and the time lag between default and asset liquidation. Agricultural loans carry seasonality risk - if a harvest fails or commodity prices drop, the collateral may not cover the full loan amount plus accrued interest. Additionally, the platform's fee structure and any provisioning for expected losses can further compress net investor yields below the gross interest rate advertised on loan listings.

InSoil loans are secured by agricultural equipment, land, or carbon credits. Farm machinery can depreciate rapidly, and commodity-linked assets are vulnerable to market volatility. While collateral provides a buffer, recovery values depend on the asset condition, local market liquidity, and enforcement costs. The platform's ECSP licence does not include investor compensation schemes - if collateral sales fall short, investors absorb the loss. Carbon credits represent a particularly novel collateral class: voluntary carbon markets remain illiquid and unregulated, and credit prices can swing 50%+ based on policy changes or corporate demand shifts.

InSoil holds an ECSP licence from the Bank of Lithuania and has EUR 20M cornerstone support from the European Investment Fund, which provides some credibility. However, its 5.7/10 P2PScore reflects material concerns: realised yields consistently undershoot advertised rates, the platform has a relatively short track record under stress conditions, and agricultural lending is inherently cyclical. Capital is at risk, and investor compensation schemes do not cover borrower defaults. The EIF cornerstone investment de-risks InSoil's own capital position but does not guarantee loan repayments or collateral recoveries for retail investors.

InSoil scores lower than both Capitalia (8.2/10) and Crowdpear (7.2/10) primarily due to the yield-expectation gap and concentrated exposure to agricultural risk. Capitalia operates a EUR 15M InvestEU guarantee that partially de-risks defaults, and Crowdpear has delivered more consistent net returns on real-estate development loans. InSoil's carbon-credit angle is innovative but unproven at scale, and the platform lacks the multi-year default history that higher-ranked peers have disclosed. Both Capitalia and Crowdpear also benefit from longer operational histories (2017 and 2021 respectively) and more diversified loan-origination pipelines.

InSoil requires a minimum investment of EUR 100 per loan. The platform does not currently offer an auto-invest feature, so investors must manually review and select individual loan opportunities. This hands-on approach can be time-intensive for portfolio diversification across multiple loans. To achieve 20-30 loan positions (a common diversification target in P2P lending), investors need at least EUR 2,000-3,000 and must allocate time to evaluate each borrower's financials, collateral type, and carbon-credit metrics.

InSoil may suit investors comfortable with agricultural sector risk, who value the carbon-credit sustainability angle, and who can tolerate realised returns materially below advertised rates. Investors should avoid InSoil if they require consistent double-digit net yields, need auto-invest for hands-off diversification, or lack the risk tolerance for commodity-linked collateral volatility. Beginners seeking safer entry points should consider platforms with longer track records and smaller yield gaps, such as InRento or Maclear, which have delivered net returns closer to advertised rates and offer more transparent default histories.

Bottom line

InSoil brings ECSP regulation, EIF institutional backing, and a differentiated sustainability focus to the European P2P lending market. For investors seeking exposure to agricultural credit and carbon-offset projects, the platform offers a niche opportunity with tangible collateral backing each loan. However, the persistent 4.5-percentage-point gap between advertised yields and realised returns is a material concern that distinguishes InSoil from higher-scoring peers. Combined with agricultural sector concentration risk, the absence of auto-invest functionality, and a relatively short post-rebrand track record, InSoil's 5.7/10 score places it in Tier 3 - suitable for experienced investors who understand and accept the platform's specific risk profile, but not a recommended starting point for beginners or those prioritising yield predictability.

Capital is at risk. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Returns are not guaranteed, and realised yields have historically fallen below advertised rates.