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APR Calculator

Freddie Mac's 30-year mortgage average for Oct 1, 2026. Enter the rate you're quoted.

Origination, points and other lender charges. Leave out title, appraisal and credit report fees.

How you pay the fees

Total of Payments: $738,949.26
Amount Financed: $295,500.00
Finance Charge: $443,449.26
APR7.433%
Interest Rate7.28%
Monthly Payment$2,052.64
Amount financed$295,500.00
Finance charge$443,449.26
Total of payments$738,949.26

The APR is 0.153 percentage points above the interest rate because $4,500.00 of fees come out of what you borrow: you repay $300,000.00 but get the use of $295,500.00.

Assumes equal monthly payments, the first one month after the loan is made. Under federal rules, a lender's APR on a loan like this counts as accurate within 0.125 percentage points of the exact figure.

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Estimates for informational purposes only — not financial advice.

Compare scenarios

Pin the numbers on screen, change any input, and see them side by side.

APR vs. Interest Rate

The interest rate tells you what a lender charges on your balance. The annual percentage rate, or APR, adds the fees you pay to get the loan, such as points and origination fees, and turns the total into one yearly rate. That makes it the number to compare when two lenders offer different mixes of rate and fees. This calculator works out the APR the way federal rules require, with the amount financed and the finance charge you will see on your loan disclosures.

How this calculator works

Works out a loan's annual percentage rate from its amount, interest rate, term and lender fees, by the actuarial method in Regulation Z, and shows the amount financed and finance charge.

How it calculates

  1. Finds the monthly payment: P = L × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n), where L is the loan amount (plus the fees, if you add them to the loan), r the interest rate ÷ 12 and n the number of months.
  2. Subtracts the prepaid finance charges from the loan to get the amount financed, A.
  3. Solves for the monthly rate i at which the payments, discounted back to the day you borrow, equal the amount financed: A = P × (1 − (1 + i)^−n) ÷ i. It narrows in on i by repeated halving until it is exact to well under a millionth of a percent.
  4. APR = i × 12. The finance charge is the total of payments minus the amount financed.

What it assumes

  • Equal monthly payments, the first one month after the loan is made: no odd first period or adjusted final payment, which a lender's own figure may include.
  • A fixed interest rate for the whole term.
  • Only the fees you enter count. Title insurance, appraisal, credit report and similar real-estate fees are left out of the finance charge when they are reasonable, so leave them out here.
  • Checked against Regulation Z appendix J's worked example ($5,000 repaid in 24 monthly payments of $230 is 9.69%) and an independent high-precision calculation.

Sources

Copy and figures last reviewed .

How we build and check all our calculators

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between APR and the interest rate?

The interest rate is what the lender charges on your balance, and it sets your monthly payment. The APR folds in the fees you pay to get the loan, such as points and origination fees, and expresses the total cost as a yearly rate. A $300,000, 30-year mortgage at 7.28% with $4,500 of lender fees paid at closing has an APR of about 7.433%. With no lender fees, the APR equals the interest rate.

Which fees count toward the APR?

Prepaid finance charges count: discount points, origination and other loan fees, and other charges the lender requires to make the loan. Under Regulation Z, some real-estate closing costs are left out when they are reasonable, including title insurance, appraisal, credit report, document preparation and notary fees. Enter only the fees that count if you want to match a lender's APR.

How is APR calculated?

By the actuarial method in Regulation Z, appendix J. The amount financed is the loan minus the prepaid finance charges. The calculator then finds the monthly rate at which your payments, discounted back to the day you borrow, add up to exactly that amount, and multiplies it by 12. Appendix J's own example, $5,000 repaid in 24 monthly payments of $230, comes out at 9.69%, and so does this calculator.

Is the loan with the lowest APR always the best deal?

Not always. APR spreads the fees over the full term, so it assumes you keep the loan to the end. If you expect to sell or refinance within a few years, the fees are spread over fewer payments, and a loan with lower fees and a slightly higher rate can cost you less. APR comparisons are fairest between loans of the same type and term.

Why might my lender's APR differ slightly from this one?

Lenders use the loan's exact dates and amounts: a first payment due more or less than a month after the loan is made, or a final payment adjusted for rounding, nudges the result. Their list of fees may also differ from what you enter. For a regular loan, Regulation Z treats a disclosed APR as accurate if it is within one-eighth of a percentage point of the exact figure.

Term Definitions

Loan Amount

This is the principal amount of the loan. It is the total amount of money you borrow from a lender and are obligated to pay back, excluding any interest.

Interest Rate

The interest rate written in your loan agreement, sometimes called the note rate. It sets your monthly payment. It doesn't count the fees you pay to get the loan, which is why lenders also have to show the APR.

Loan Term (Months)

The number of monthly payments it takes to repay the loan: 360 for a 30-year mortgage, 180 for a 15-year one and 60 for a five-year personal or auto loan. Fees spread over fewer payments raise the APR more.

Lender Fees & Points

These are the prepaid finance charges: costs of the credit paid at or before closing, such as discount points, origination fees and other loan fees. They count toward the APR. Some closing costs don't: under federal rules, title insurance, appraisal, credit report and similar real-estate fees are left out of the finance charge when they are reasonable. If your lender adds the fees to the loan, choose "Added to the loan".

APR (Annual Percentage Rate)

The annual percentage rate measures the cost of credit as a yearly rate. It counts interest and prepaid finance charges, so with fees it is higher than the interest rate. Federal Regulation Z sets the method: the rate at which your payments, discounted back to the day you borrow, equal the amount financed. Because fees and interest end up on one scale, APR lets you compare offers with different mixes of rate and fees, as long as their terms match.

Amount Financed

The loan amount minus the prepaid finance charges, as Regulation Z defines it. If you borrow $300,000 and pay $4,500 of lender fees, you get the use of $295,500 while repaying the full $300,000 with interest. The APR is the rate at which your payments repay exactly the amount financed.

Finance Charge

Everything the credit costs you in dollars: the interest over the loan's life plus the prepaid finance charges. It equals the total of your payments minus the amount financed. Lenders must disclose it along with the APR.

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