Loan Comparison Calculator
Two loan offers, judged on the only fair measure: every payment plus every fee, added up. A lower payment over a longer term usually loses — here is the proof for your two offers.
The only comparison that cannot be gamed
Lenders compete on the figure that flatters them: the lowest rate (with the highest fees), or the lowest payment (over the longest term). Total cost — every payment across the whole term, plus every fee — is the one figure with nothing to hide behind. That is the verdict this page delivers.
Total cost = (payment × months) + fees, for each loan · the saving = the difference
Example: borrowing $20,000: Loan 1 at 8% for 48 months, no fee — payment $488.26, total $23,436. Loan 2 at 7% for 60 months with a $300 fee — payment $396.02, total $24,061. The 'cheaper' rate and the lower payment both lose by $625.
When the loser still wins
Total cost assumes you keep the loan to term. If you will certainly repay early — a bonus, a sale, a known windfall — the longer loan's unpaid interest never happens and its lower payment may be the rational pick. Price that case with the payoff calculator at your real horizon.
How this is calculated
Each loan is amortized in full at its own rate and term; totals are the unrounded payment streams plus entered fees, compared at the end. The payments shown are the contractual ones (rounded to cents); the totals are computed before display rounding, so they may differ by a cent or two from multiplying the printed payment — the exactness hierarchy is deliberate.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the lower rate keep losing?
Because rate is a speed and term is a distance. A slower rate over a much longer distance still travels further into interest. Rate comparisons are only valid at equal terms.
Should fees really count at full value?
Yes — a fee is a certain, immediate cost, unlike interest on months you might not use. If anything, fees are understated by being added flat rather than time-adjusted.
What if one loan has a prepayment penalty?
Then its early-exit cost is not shown here and the comparison changes. Check the note; penalties are uncommon on prime consumer loans and common in some subprime and commercial products.
Can I compare a loan against a credit card?
A card is not an installment loan — its interest runs on the daily-balance model. Price the card path on the payoff calculator and compare totals.
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