Loan Comparison Calculator
The cheaper payment and the cheaper loan are frequently not the same offer.
What This Calculator Does
Places competing loan offers next to each other and shows the monthly payment, the total interest across the full term, and the cumulative cost at the point you actually expect to sell or refinance — which often produces a completely different ranking from the lifetime numbers.
Who Is This For
Borrowers holding more than one quote, buyers weighing a shorter term against a longer one, and anyone deciding between a lower rate with higher closing costs and a higher rate with none.
How It Works
Enter the amount, rate, term, and upfront costs for each offer, plus how long you realistically expect to keep the loan. The calculator returns each option's payment, its lifetime cost, and its cost over the horizon you specified.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my holding period change the answer?
Because upfront costs are paid immediately while interest savings arrive gradually. An offer with higher closing costs and a lower rate wins over a long hold and loses over a short one. Rank the offers over the years you will actually keep the loan, not over thirty.
Is the lowest payment the best loan?
Often not. A longer term lowers the payment and raises total interest substantially. Choosing the lower payment is a legitimate cash flow decision — just make it deliberately, rather than by mistaking it for the cheaper loan.
What should I include in the comparison?
Rate, term, discount points, origination and lender fees, and any mortgage insurance the program requires. Third-party costs such as title and recording are broadly similar across lenders and rarely change the ranking.
How do I compare offers fairly?
Collect the quotes on the same day, because pricing moves, and compare loans with matching terms and structures. Setting a fixed loan against an adjustable one, or a thirty-year against a fifteen-year, is a different decision from comparing two versions of the same product.
What rate should I assume before I have quotes?
Benchmark 30-year rates have run near 6.6-6.7% in mid-2026, which is a reasonable placeholder for modelling. Replace it as soon as real quotes arrive — your credit profile, loan size, and property type will move your pricing away from the benchmark in one direction or the other.