Loan Comparison Calculator
The offer with the smaller payment and the offer that costs less are often two different offers.
What This Calculator Does
Lines competing offers up against each other and reports the monthly payment, the total interest across the full term, and the cumulative cost at the point you genuinely expect to sell or refinance — a horizon that frequently reorders the ranking entirely.
Who Is This For
Anyone sitting on two or more quotes, buyers measuring a shorter term against a longer one, and borrowers picking between a lower rate that costs more at closing and a higher rate that costs nothing.
How It Works
Enter the amount, rate, term, and upfront costs of 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 across the horizon you set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the holding period change the winner?
Upfront costs are paid immediately while interest savings arrive slowly. An offer with heavier closing costs and a lower rate wins over a long hold and loses over a short one. Rank the offers across the years you will actually keep the loan, not across thirty.
Does the smallest payment mean the best deal?
Frequently not. A longer term lowers the payment and raises total interest substantially. Taking the lower payment is a perfectly legitimate cash flow decision — make it deliberately, rather than by mistaking it for the cheaper loan.
What goes into 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 between lenders and seldom change the order.
What makes a comparison fair?
Collect the quotes on a single day, because pricing moves, and compare loans with matching terms and structures. Weighing a fixed loan against an adjustable one, or thirty years against fifteen, is a different decision from comparing two versions of the same product.
What rate should I model before quotes arrive?
Benchmark 30-year rates have run near 6.6-6.7% in mid-2026, which serves as a reasonable placeholder. Replace it the moment real quotes land — credit profile, loan size, and property type will move your pricing off the benchmark in one direction or the other.