Corie Adams
Lending Team
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Comparison

APR vs Interest Rate Calculator

Your interest rate determines your payment. Your APR folds the cost of getting the loan into a single annualized number so two offers can be compared on equal footing.

A quarter-point lower rate with $6,000 more in fees is not a better deal. This shows the gap in both directions.

Your numbers

$320,000
$5,200

Origination, points, and other finance charges, not taxes or prepaids.

$11,000

Your results

Offer B has the lower APR

0.074% apart

Offer A, rate
6.5%
Offer A, APR
6.658%
Offer B, rate
6.25%
Offer B, APR
6.585%
5-year cost, Offer A
$126,557Payments plus fees
5-year cost, Offer B
$129,218
5-year difference
$2,661 more
Offer AOffer B
Rate6.5%6.25%
APR6.658%6.585%
Fees$5,200$11,000
Monthly P&I$2,023$1,970
5-year total$126,557$129,218

What happens if you change this

Offer B has the lower rate (6.25% vs 6.5%) but $5,800 more in fees, which is why its APR is 6.585%. Over five years, closer to how long most people actually keep a loan, Offer A costs $2,661 less. APR assumes you keep the loan the full 30 years, so on a shorter hold the five-year comparison is the more honest one.

Keep these numbers

Your results are yours already. If it helps, send them to yourself, or have Corie look at the same scenario and tell you what she would change.

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Keep learning

Questions people ask

Why is my APR higher than my rate?
Because APR spreads your loan costs (origination, points, and certain fees) across the loan term. A higher gap means higher upfront cost.
Should I always pick the lower APR?
Not necessarily. APR assumes you hold the loan for the full term. If you'll move or refinance in five years, compare total five-year cost instead.

Estimates for education only, not a loan approval, rate quote, or commitment to lend. Actual figures depend on credit, property, program guidelines, and market conditions at the time of lock. Corie Adams · NMLS #1875205 · Network Funding, LP · NMLS ID #2297 · Equal Housing Opportunity.

In plain English

It separates the rate you are quoted from the cost of getting it.

When to use it

  • You have two quotes and cannot tell which is better
  • A rate seems unusually low
  • You are comparing lender credits against lender fees

Common mistakes

Shopping rate without fees
The same rate can carry thousands of dollars of difference in cost.
Comparing APR across different terms
APR only compares fairly between like structures.
Assuming APR captures everything
It does not reflect how long you will actually keep the loan.

Recommended next steps

  1. 01Estimate your closing costs
  2. 02Talk With Corie

Turn the estimate into real numbers.

A pre-approval replaces the assumptions above with your actual income, credit, and the terms available to you today.

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