Borrowing
APR Calculator
Work out a loan's APR with its fees included, by the method your country's law prescribes: US Regulation Z, the EU and UK APRC, Canada's formula and more.
APR in United States
12.11%
on a 10% loan with $300.00 of fees
Monthly instalment
$322.67
36 payments
Cost of credit
$1,916.12
$1,616.12 interest, $300.00 fees
You receive
$9,700.00
and repay $11,616.12
How the APR was worked out
The monthly rate that discounts the 36 instalments of $322.67 back to the $9,700.00 you receive is 1.0088%. The law here multiplies it by 12, with no compounding: 12.106%.
The APR is found from the amount financed, which is the loan less any prepaid finance charges, and the payments, by the actuarial method: one rate per payment period, then multiplied by the payment periods in a year, with no compounding.
Source: Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.22 and Appendix J.
United States APR rules, a fixed rate. An estimate, not financial advice, providers may calculate differently.
The same loan under each legal method
| Method | Result |
|---|---|
| Nominal: rate a month × 12 (the law here) | 12.11% |
| Effective: compounded over the year | 12.8% |
| Cost ÷ (years × average balance) | 11.86% |
Compare APRs only within one country: the same loan reads higher under the European effective method than under the American nominal one, without costing a cent more.
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How this is calculated
The calculator sets what you actually receive, the loan less any fee kept back at the start, against the instalments you pay, including any monthly charge, and finds the monthly rate at which the two balance. Your country's law then decides how that rate becomes a yearly figure: multiplied by twelve in the United States and Japan, compounded over twelve months under the European and British formula, or replaced in Canada by the cost of borrowing over the average balance outstanding. The table under the result runs the same loan through every method, so a rate quoted abroad can be compared fairly.
AΣ P ÷ (1 + i)k, for k = 1 to n
- A
- Loan amount less the Fee paid at the start
- P
- the monthly instalment, Fee each month included
- i
- the monthly rate the calculator solves for
- n
- the Term in months
What this does not include
- Optional extras such as payment protection insurance, which most laws leave out of the APR.
- An odd first period: the first instalment is assumed one month after the loan.
- Variable rates; the quoted rate is held for the whole term.
- Late-payment and early-repayment charges.
How this calculator works
How APR is calculated: Regulation Z, the European APRC and Canada. Why a loan's APR exceeds its interest rate, the cash-flow equation every legal APR solves, how the US, EU, UK and Canadian methods differ, and worked examples.
This calculator in other countries
Where the rules change the answer, a place has its own page that runs the calculator on them and cites the official sources they came from.
Data sources
| Dataset | Authority | Effective | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States consumer finance conventions | Social Security Administration | Within its effective period | |
| United Kingdom consumer finance conventions | GOV.UK | Within its effective period | |
| German consumer finance conventions | Deutsche Rentenversicherung | Within its effective period | |
| Canadian consumer finance conventions | Government of Canada | Within its effective period | |
| Australian consumer finance conventions | Services Australia | Within its effective period | |
| Irish consumer finance conventions | Citizens Information | Within its effective period | |
| Dutch consumer finance conventions | SVB | Within its effective period | |
| New Zealand consumer finance conventions | Work and Income | Within its effective period | |
| Swedish consumer finance conventions | Pensionsmyndigheten | Within its effective period | |
| Indian consumer finance conventions | Reserve Bank of India | Within its effective period | |
| Sri Lankan consumer finance conventions | Central Bank of Sri Lanka | Within its effective period | |
| Finnish consumer finance conventions | Finnish Centre for Pensions | Within its effective period | |
| Japanese consumer finance conventions | Japan Pension Service | Within its effective period | |
| French consumer finance conventions | Service-public.fr | Within its effective period | |
| Spanish consumer finance conventions | Seguridad Social | Within its effective period |
Every document each dataset was read from, its notes and how the figures were checked are listed in the guide's data sources.
This calculator is for general information only and is not financial advice. Results are estimates based on the figures you enter and the stated formula; lenders and providers may round or calculate differently. Check any decision with the institution involved or a qualified adviser.