Loan Comparison Calculator - Compare Interest Rates

About Loan Comparison

Loan Comparison is a completely free online tool that helps you Compare multiple loan plans side by side. Whether you are a casual user or a professional, you can use it instantly without installing any software.

Whether you are comparing bank loan offers, evaluating financing costs, or advising borrowers, you can compare two plans side by side.

How to Use

1. Enter the total loan amount in the first field.
2. Enter the annual rates for both plans and the shared loan term.
3. Click the "Calculate" button.
4. Compare monthly payments, total payment, and total interest between plans.

Loan Comparison FAQ

How much does a 0.35% rate difference actually cost?

It sounds small, but on a large long-dated loan it compounds dramatically. On 1,000,000 over 30 years with equal-installment repayment: at 3.85% the monthly payment is 4,688.08 with 687,709.64 total interest; at 4.20% the payment is 4,890.17 with 760,461.83 total interest. That 0.35-point gap adds 72,752.19 of interest over the life of the loan — about 202.09 more every month, for 30 years.

Fixed or floating rate: which should I choose?

A fixed rate is locked for the whole contract, so the payment never moves and long-term budgeting is simple — a good fit if you dislike risk and want certainty. A floating rate resets periodically against a benchmark such as LPR: payments drop when market rates fall, but rise when they climb. If you expect rates to decline and can absorb payment swings, floating usually costs less over time; if you value certainty on a large, long-dated loan, the premium for fixing is usually money well spent. Enter both rate assumptions in the calculator to see the range of possible payments.

Is comparing monthly payments enough? Why total interest matters more

No. The monthly payment only measures monthly cash-flow pressure; total interest measures what the money truly costs. On 1,000,000 at 3.5%: a 30-year term means 4,490.45 per month but 616,561.13 total interest, while a 20-year term means 5,800.44 per month and only 391,903.20 total interest. The longer term costs 1,309.99 less per month but 224,657.93 more in total. Judging on the payment alone badly understates the real cost of a long term, so always read both numbers together.

Should I choose a 20-year or a 30-year term?

It comes down to cash flow and your alternative use of money. On 1,000,000 at 3.5%: 30 years gives a 4,490.45 payment with 616,561.13 total interest; 20 years gives 5,800.44 with 391,903.20. Choosing 30 years frees up 1,309.99 each month but costs 224,657.93 more overall. A longer term makes sense if cash flow is tight today, or if the freed-up cash can reliably earn more than 3.5%; if your income is stable and you want to minimise interest, go shorter.

How do I compare a low-rate loan with fees against a no-fee loan?

Put everything on one scale. Add the one-off charges — origination, appraisal, guarantee fees — straight to total interest to get an all-in borrowing cost, then compare that against the no-fee but higher-rate offer. Worked example: Plan A is 0.2% cheaper but charges a 1% origination fee. On 1,000,000 over 30 years, 0.2% of rate is worth roughly 40,000 of interest, so if the fee comes to more than that, Plan A is the more expensive option despite the lower headline rate. List every charge before signing.

Is prepaying worth it, or should I take a shorter term from the start?

It depends on timing. With equal-installment loans most interest is collected in the early years, so once you are past the halfway point prepaying saves relatively little — and you may owe a 1%-5% prepayment penalty. In general, taking a shorter term from the outset beats borrowing long and prepaying later, because principal shrinks faster from day one. Model both scenarios in this calculator and compare total interest before committing.

Note: 3.5% is the current 5-year LPR (Sep 2026); 3.85% / 4.2% / 4.5% are historical high rates, shown for comparison only.

Loan comparison reference tables (equal-installment, principal 1,000,000)

All three tables use a principal of 1,000,000 so you can gauge the order of magnitude first, then enter your own amount and rates above. Figures are currency-neutral, matching the calculator output.

Table 1: Payment and total interest by rate (30 years)

How to read it: every 0.35 points of extra rate adds roughly 72,752 of interest over 30 years; 0.65 points adds about 136,357. This is why shopping around and negotiating even a tenth of a point on a mortgage is worth the effort — it translates into tens of thousands in real money.

Table 2: Payment and total interest by term (at 3.85%)

How to read it: compressing the term from 30 to 20 years raises the payment by about 1,293 but cuts total interest by more than 252,256. This is the single most useful comparison on the page — when you are torn between an affordable payment and a lower total cost, these numbers make the trade-off concrete.

Table 3: How the same rate gap grows with the term

How to read it: one and the same 0.35-point gap costs about 19,975 over 10 years, roughly 44,316 over 20 years, and 72,752 over 30 years. The longer the term, the more a tiny rate difference is magnified — which is exactly why long-term loans deserve far more effort in rate negotiation than short ones.

Three worked examples

Example 1 (head-to-head): 1,000,000 over 30 years, equal-installment. Plan A at 3.85% → 4,688.08/month, 687,709.64 total interest. Plan B at 4.20% → 4,890.17/month, 760,461.83 total interest. Plan A costs 202.09 less per month and 72,752.19 less in total.

Example 2 (shortening the term): same 1,000,000 at 3.85%, but 20 years instead of 30 → the payment rises from 4,688.08 to 5,981.06 (about 1,293 more per month), while total interest falls from 687,709.64 to 435,453.40 — a saving of 252,256.24. If your income can absorb roughly 1,300 more a month, this is a strongly favourable trade.

Example 3 (a wider rate gap): 1,000,000 over 30 years, 4.50% versus 3.85% → payments of 5,066.85 and 4,688.08 (a gap of 378.77) and total interest of 824,067.12 versus 687,709.64 — a difference of 136,357.48. At that scale the gap can exceed a full year of savings for many households, which is the clearest argument for comparing several lenders before you sign.

Why Use loan-compare

Unlike desktop applications or complicated spreadsheets, loan-compare works instantly in your browser with zero setup. You get the same reliable results whether you are on a computer, tablet or phone, and there is nothing to download, register or pay for. The tool is updated regularly and designed with a clean, distraction-free interface so you can focus on the task instead of figuring out the software.