Paste up to four loan offers, one per line, and see what each actually costs: the monthly payment, the total interest, the fees, the total over the full term, and the total if you only keep the loan as long as you really expect to. It also computes the break-even month against every cheaper-upfront alternative — the month at which paying points starts to win — which is the entire question when you are choosing between a low rate with points and a higher rate without, and which almost no calculator shows. All arithmetic is done in whole cents, so the schedules and the totals reconcile exactly. No offer is recommended and nothing is labelled APR; total cost is compared instead.
Worked example
LOAN SIDE-BY-SIDE — 3 offers, horizon 60 months
Every figure below comes only from the numbers you pasted. Nothing here is labelled APR — see the note at the end.
Points offer
$300,000.00 at 3.50% for 360 months · upfront $8,000.00 · monthly extras $0.00
Monthly payment $1,347.14
Final payment $1,343.39 (settles the balance to exactly $0.00)
Total interest $184,966.65
Total fees $8,000.00
Total cost, full term $492,966.65 = $484,966.65 paid + $8,000.00 fees
Total cost at 60 months $357,919.25 = fees + payments made + $269,090.85 still owed
Par offer
$300,000.00 at 4.25% for 360 months · upfront $0.00 · monthly extras $0.00
Monthly payment $1,475.82
Final payment $1,475.74 (settles the balance to exactly $0.00)
Total interest $231,295.12
Total fees $0.00
Total cost, full term $531,295.12 = $531,295.12 paid + $0.00 fees
Total cost at 60 months $360,972.32 = fees + payments made + $272,423.12 still owed
Lender credit
$300,000.00 at 4.75% for 360 months · upfront -$1,500.00 · monthly extras $0.00
Monthly payment $1,564.95
Final payment $1,558.59 (settles the balance to exactly $0.00)
Total interest $263,375.64
Lender credit -$1,500.00
Total cost, full term $561,875.64 = $563,375.64 paid − $1,500.00 credit
Total cost at 60 months $366,891.20 = fees + payments made + $274,494.20 still owed
RANKED — total cost over the full term
1. Points offer $492,966.65
2. Par offer $531,295.12
3. Lender credit $561,875.64
RANKED — total cost if you keep it 60 months (remaining balance included)
1. Points offer $357,919.25
2. Par offer $360,972.32
3. Lender credit $366,891.20
The two rankings agree.
BREAK-EVEN — the month paying more upfront starts to win
Points offer (upfront $8,000.00) vs Par offer (upfront $0.00): month 44
Points offer (upfront $8,000.00) vs Lender credit (upfront -$1,500.00): month 31
Par offer (upfront $0.00) vs Lender credit (upfront -$1,500.00): month 13
NOTES
· No APR is shown. APR is defined by regulation and computed differently across product types; a number labelled APR that is not calculated exactly to that definition is worse than no number at all. Total cost is compared instead, which is what you actually pay.
· The horizon cost includes the balance still owed at that month, so selling or refinancing is priced properly.
· Monthly interest is charged on the balance and rounded to the cent; the payment is rounded up to the cent, so the final payment is smaller and the balance lands on exactly $0.00.
· No offer is recommended here. The rankings are by the stated measure only; the decision is yours.
· Taxes, insurance, escrow and mortgage insurance are not included. Enter them as monthly extras if you want them in the comparison.
Frequently asked
What format do the lines take?
label | amount | rate % | term in months | upfront fees | monthly extras. Separate the fields with a pipe, semicolon or tab; the last two fields are optional. A comma works too, but only on a line that uses no other separator — otherwise "$300,000" would split in two. Dollar and percent signs are ignored, so "$300,000" and "3.5%" both read fine.
Why is there no APR?
APR is defined by regulation and computed differently across product types, and the fees that belong in it vary. A number labelled APR that is not computed exactly to that definition is worse than no number at all, so this tool compares total cost instead — which is what leaves your bank account.
How is the break-even month calculated?
For each pair where one offer costs more upfront, it finds the first month at which that offer's running total — fees, every payment made so far, plus the balance still owed — is no higher than the cheaper-upfront offer's. Including the remaining balance is what makes it correct: if you sell or refinance that month, you pay it off.
Why two rankings?
Because they frequently disagree. Points almost always win over thirty years and often lose over five. If you are honest about how long you will keep the loan, the horizon ranking is the one that describes what you will actually pay.
Can I enter a lender credit?
Yes — enter a negative number in the upfront fees field. It lowers the total cost at every horizon.
Which offer should I take?
This tool does not say. It ranks by the measure you chose and shows the break-even; the decision, and everything it does not model — taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance, your own certainty about the horizon — is yours.