The Best Loan Comparison Calculator UK

Loan 1

Loan 2

Loan 1: Monthly Payment

£0

Loan 1: Total Repayment

£0

Loan 2: Monthly Payment

£0

Loan 2: Total Repayment

£0
Loan Comparison Chart

Rates lie without context. Fees hide in the fine print. Terms tilt the math. You’re here to compare offers like a pro, side by side, apples to apples, so you pick the cheapest lifetime-cost option, not the prettiest monthly payment. Use the Loan Comparison Calculator to line up multiple quotes, standardize assumptions (APR vs nominal, points, origination, prepayment policy, start date), and see exactly how each change moves the levers: payment, total interest, total cost, and payoff timeline.

Add or remove fees, adjust term and frequency, model small extra payments or a refinance scenario, then stress-test with a quick sensitivity check (±1% rate, ±12 months term). Your output is a clean result card plus a full amortization view for each loan, with exports you can share with stakeholders. Bottom line: let the math pick the winner, and make lenders compete on data, not vibes.

How to use the Loan Comparison Calculator?

The Loan Comparison Calculator lets you compare quotes under identical assumptions, no more “their APR vs my fees” chaos.

Quick steps in the Loan Comparison Calculator (inputs → compute → interpret)

Add loans A/B (and C if needed): Amount, APR or nominal rate, term, fees (points, origination), start date, payment frequency.
Pick a baseline: The offer you’re most likely to accept. Save it.
Compute: View each loan’s Monthly Payment, Total Interest, Total Cost, Payoff Date.
Sensitivity check: Toggle ±1% APR and ±12 months term to see which lever moves the lifetime cost the most.
Decide: Shortlist the cheapest Total Cost that still fits cash flow.

Side-by-side setup (Loan A/B/C): rate, term, fees, start date

Rates: If you only have nominal rates, enter them + explicit fees; if you have APR, use APR and mark financed vs upfront fees correctly.
Term & frequency: Keep cadence identical (monthly vs bi-weekly) across loans or mark why it differs.
Fees: Separate financed fees (affect principal) from upfront fees (cash outlay only).
Dates: Align start dates so first-payment timing doesn’t skew results.
Notes column: Capture prepayment penalties, odd first period, or lender quirks.

Reading results in the Loan Comparison Calculator (payment, total interest, total cost)

Monthly payment: Cash-flow check only; never choose a winner on this alone.
Total interest & total cost: Your true scoreboard. Lower total cost wins, unless a higher payment breaches budget risk.
Payoff date & balance curve: Who finishes first, and by how much.
Amortization & exports: Open the schedule for each loan; export CSV/PDF with scenario labels so stakeholders can reproduce your math.
Sanity test: Payment × periods ≈ principal + interest (+ financed fees). If not, an input or convention is misaligned.

Inputs & assumptions (garbage-in = garbage-out)

If any lever differs between offers, document the reason, or your winner will be a mirage.

APR vs nominal rate, points, and origination fees

APR vs nominal: APR bakes certain fees into the rate; nominal doesn’t. If you have nominal + fees, enter both explicitly; if you have APR, still capture any fees that aren’t in it. Points/discount fees: Treat points as an upfront cost; calculate break-even (points ÷ monthly savings) in months. If financed, they increase principal and distort totals; tag them correctly. Origination/processing: Split upfront (cash outlay only) vs financed (added to principal). Financed fees raise payment and lifetime interest.

Term, frequency, and start date alignment

Term: Keep months identical across loans unless you’re testing a strategy; otherwise, you’re comparing different products.
Frequency: Monthly vs bi-weekly alters periods/year and interest accrual. Use the same cadence across loans.
Start date: Align disbursement and first-payment dates; odd first periods shift totals. If dates must differ, note it in the comparison memo.

Prepayment penalties and odd first periods

Prepayment penalties: Add them as scenario cash costs when modelling early payoff or refinance; they can flip the winner.
Day-count/compounding: Daily interest (actual/365) vs monthly accrual will create small variances; document the convention each lender uses.
Rounding & final payment: Expect a minor cleanup in the last instalment; big discrepancies signal mis-entered fees, dates, or frequency.

Results & comparison views

Don’t crown a winner until you’ve looked at monthly cash flow, lifetime cost, and time to zero under the same assumptions. This section shows what to scan first and how to interpret deltas like a CFO.

Monthly payment vs lifetime cost (which metric wins)

  • Monthly payment keeps your budget alive; it’s a constraint, not the scoreboard.
  • Total cost (principal + interest + financed fees) is the real championship. If two offers both fit cash flow, the lower total cost wins, full stop.
  • Tie-breaker rules: if totals are close, prefer the loan with fewer fees, shorter term, or cleaner prepayment policy. Those protect you if you refinance or accelerate later.

Payoff timelines & balance curves (who finishes first)

Open each loan’s amortisation chart. The steeper the balance curve, the faster the principal dies and the less interest you’ll pay.

  • An earlier finish usually means lower total interest, but verify; heavy fees can distort the result.
  • What to flag: negative amortisation (payment < period interest), big odd-first-period effects, or balloon residues that fake a low payment today and dump cost later.

Sensitivity table (±1% rate, ±12 months term)

Run a quick stress test:

  • Rate shock: Compare each loan at APR ±1% to see which quote is fragile. A loan that stays cheapest under rate drift is safer.
  • Term shift: Test ±12 months. Shorter terms spike monthly payment but often crush lifetime interest; longer terms soothe cash flow but inflate cost.
  • Decision lens: Choose the option that remains cheapest and affordable across reasonable shocks. If affordability is tight, pick the runner-up on total cost that keeps your cash buffer intact.

Fees change winners (why the lowest rate can lose)

Fixed fees, points, and prepayment rules can flip the winner, especially on short holds or small balances. Normalize fees first, then let the numbers (not the headline rate) decide inside your Loan Comparison Calculator.

Points vs no points (break-even math)

  • What points do: You pay upfront (e.g., 1% of the loan) to buy a lower rate.
  • How to decide:
    Compute monthly savings from the lower rate. Calculate break-even months = points cost ÷ monthly savings. If you’ll keep the loan longer than break-even, points can win; otherwise, skip.
  • Example: ₹20,00,000 loan. Paying 1% (₹20,000) cuts the payment by ₹900/month → break-even ≈ 22 months. Planning to refinance or sell in 18 months? Don’t buy points.

Financed vs upfront fees (impact on total cost)

  • Upfront fees affect cash outlay only; the amortization doesn’t change.
  • Financed fees are added to the principal, so you pay interest on the fee, raising both payment and lifetime cost.

Example: Two identical loans; one rolls a ₹10,000 origination into principal, the other pays it upfront. The financed version looks “easier” at the counter, but costs more over the term. Tag fees correctly in your comparison.

Small loans vs big loans (how fees skew results)

Fixed fees bite small loans. A ₹5,000 fee on ₹1,00,000 is 5%; it can overwhelm a modest rate advantage. Points matter more on larger loans. A small rate cut compounded over a big balance and long term often dominates. Prepayment penalties can flip winners. A lower-rate loan with a penalty may lose to a slightly higher-rate loan with clean exits if you expect to refinance early. Rule of thumb: If offers are close on total cost, prefer the one with fewer/cleaner fees, shorter term, and no prepayment penalty, as it keeps your options open.

Product lenses (compare by loan type)

Comparing across loan types only works if you normalize fees, rate conventions, and prepayment terms. Use one playbook per product, then stack the results side-by-side to see the real winner on lifetime cost.

Personal loans (APR, origination, prepayment rules)

What matters most: APR level, origination fee (upfront vs financed), and any prepayment penalty. Terms are short, so fixed fees can dominate results.
How to compare: Keep terms equal (e.g., 24 vs 24 months). Enter origination as financed only if it’s actually rolled into principal.
Traps: “No-fee” quotes with a higher APR; teaser rates that rise with auto-pay removal or employer change.
Signals to prefer: Clean exit (no penalty), lower total cost within your cash-flow comfort.
For a single-offer cash-flow check, plug the chosen quote into the Personal Loan Calculator to confirm the monthly payment and timeline fit your budget before you commit.

Auto loans (dealer fees, add-ons, term traps)

What matters most: Dealer add-ons (warranty, gap, etching), doc fees, and extended terms that make the EMI look pretty but bloat interest.
How to compare: Price the car out the door, then add lender terms. Model the same tenor across lenders first; test longer terms only as a scenario.
Traps: “0% APR” with inflated vehicle price or heavy add-ons; bi-weekly plans that are batched monthly.
Signals to prefer: Transparent pricing, short/medium term that fits cash flow, and no precomputed interest contracts.

Mortgages & home equity (points, LTV caps, closing costs)

What matters most: Points vs no points (break-even months), third-party closing costs (title, appraisal, taxes), and LTV-driven pricing tiers.
How to compare: Normalise to the same term (e.g., 30-yr vs 30-yr). Run a points/no-points pair and compute break-even; add any prepayment penalty to scenarios where you plan to refinance or sell early.
Traps: APR comparisons that exclude some lender or state fees; builder incentives that mask a higher base price.
Signals to prefer: Lowest total cost beyond your break-even horizon, with clean prepayment language and conservative LTV.

Eligibility & pricing factors

Normalise the risk signals lenders care about, score, DTI/FOIR, and income stability, then negotiate from data. Clean inputs here mean cleaner, cheaper offers later.

Credit score bands, DTI/FOIR thresholds

  • Score tiers (typical): ~620 entry, ~680 steadier approvals, ~740+ better pricing. Recent delinquencies and hard pulls push you down a tier.
  • DTI/FOIR: Unsecured loans often target ≤35–40%; mortgages skew lower. If you’re over, lower obligations or extend term (then re-check lifetime cost).

Before you spend time comparing unaffordable offers, sanity-check your profile with the Loan Eligibility Calculator to see whether the quoted APR and tenure are realistically within lender policy.

Employment/income stability & documentation

  • Salaried: consistent credits, no repeated overdrafts, explain any gaps.
  • Self-employed: 12–24-month normalised income, filed taxes, reconciled bank flows.
  • Documentation wins: payslips/ITR, bank statements, and address/employer proofs that actually match the application.

Co-borrower impact on rates and approval

Add a co-applicant with a clean bureau to lift Max EMI and reduce FOIR. Works best when you’re near a cutoff, not far beyond it. Confirm joint liability and how the second profile changes pricing with each lender.

Scenario playbook (optimise before you apply)

Lock a baseline, then A/B the levers that move lifetime cost the most. Compare outcomes on Total Cost and Payoff Date, not just “comfortable” monthly.

Shorter term vs lower APR (which saves more)

  • Short-term: payment ↑, interest ↓ (often the bigger win).
  • Lower APR: payment ↓ and interest ↓; value rises with larger balances/longer terms.
  • How to decide: Run both, pick the option that stays cheapest under a mild rate or income shock.

Add a modest extra vs refinance (months-to-break-even)

  • Extra payment: immediate, zero fees, scalable; best when you’ll keep the loan short/medium term.
  • Refinance: pay fees to cut APR; compute break-even months = fees ÷ monthly savings. If you’ll hold longer than break-even, refi can win, else, keep the loan and add extras.

Balance-transfer/consolidation trade-offs

  • Pros: lower blended APR, simpler cash flow.
  • Cons: new fees/tenor reset; early-exit penalties on old loan.
  • Rule: Total-cost winner only counts if prepayment penalties and new fees are included in the comparison.

Methodology & formulas (transparent math)

We use standard amortisation and reconcile totals so every comparison is auditable. If conventions differ (daily vs monthly interest), we call it out.

Assumptions in the Loan Comparison Calculator (rounding, accrual)

Level payments; monthly cadence by default (12/year). Full-precision compute, 2-decimal display; small final-payment cleanup is expected. Financed fees are added to the principal; upfront fees affect cash only. Optional: model bi-weekly (26 periods/year), prepayment penalties, and odd first periods.

Payment/annuity formula & total cost reconciliation

Payment=r⋅L1−(1+r)−n\text{Payment}=\frac{r \cdot L}{1-(1+r)^{-n}}Payment=1−(1+r)−nr⋅L​

  • LLL=principal, rrr=periodic rate (APR ÷ periods/year), nnn=total periods.
  • Check: Payment × periods ≈ principal + interest (+ financed fees). If it doesn’t reconcile, an input or convention is misaligned.

Handling fees, penalties, and step-rates

Points/origination: upfront vs financed changes totals; compute points break-even.
Prepayment penalties: add as cash cost when modeling early exit/refi.
Step-rates/ARMs: supply a period→rate schedule; recompute forward at each step.

Integrations & exports

Label scenarios, export schedules, and share links so teammates and lenders can reproduce your math 1:1.

CSV/PDF report with inputs & scenario labels

Include amount, rate/APR, term, start date, fees (upfront/financed), cadence, extras. One file per scenario; keep a “Baseline” for reference.

Shareable links for team/stakeholders

Deep-links open the exact scenarios for A/B/C reviews. Great for broker handoffs and internal approvals.

Accessibility & localization (mobile, ARIA, currency)

Keyboard-only flow, ARIA live updates for results, locale-aware numbers/currency. Mobile sticky bar: Payment • Total Interest • Payoff Date for quick scans.

Why trust our Loan Comparison Calculator?

We publish assumptions, version changes, and test against independent models, so your decisions stand up to scrutiny.

Benchmarked outputs & audits

Reconciled against spreadsheets and sample lender disclosures; variances attributed to rounding or stated conventions.

Clear assumptions & versioning

Changelogs document formula or rule tweaks; saved scenarios remain reproducible under the version they were created on.

Privacy-first computation

No PII required; calculations run client-side or via transient calls. Exports contain only the parameters you choose to share.

Conclusion:

Pick a baseline offer, then A/B the two levers that matter most: term and fees (with rate right behind). Decide on total cost and payoff date, not “comfortable” monthly alone. Export a labeled report, align stakeholders, and cluster any hard pulls in a tight window. 

If points or a refinance clear break-even within your expected hold period, take the win; if not, keep the cheaper structure and accelerate with small extras. Recheck quarterly, document assumptions, and make lenders compete on your terms. One clean playbook, zero surprises, that’s how you select the right loan with the Loan Comparison Calculator.

FAQs:

What’s the difference between APR and interest rate?

APR blends certain fees into the rate; the nominal rate doesn’t. For apples-to-apples comparisons, capture both the rate and any fees (upfront vs financed).

Fixed fees can flip winners, especially on small balances or short holds. Enter fees correctly (financed vs upfront) and run the Loan Comparison Calculator to see the true total cost.

Yes, normalise cadence and align start dates, then compare total cost and payoff timing. If terms must differ, model both on the Loan Comparison Calculator and use a sensitivity check (±12 months).

Different day-count rules, odd first periods, rounding, or how bi-weekly payments are applied can create small variances. Document each convention.

Only if the lender applies funds on receipt. If they batch monthly, most of the advantage disappears.

Compute break-even months: fees ÷ monthly savings. If you’ll hold longer than break-even, refinancing can win; otherwise, stick and add modest extras.

Treat them as a scenario cash cost when modeling early exits. A penalty can erase a rate advantage.

Yes, use a step-rate path for the variable and stress test ±1% on both offers to see which remains cheaper under drift.

Quarterly, or after any income/credit change. Re-running the Loan Comparison Calculator with fresh inputs keeps your short list honest.

Absolutely, export CSV/PDF from the Loan Comparison Calculator with inputs labeled so teammates and brokers can reproduce the math.