How to read your result
The monthly payment (EMI) is only half the picture — the amount actually received matters just as much, since a deducted origination fee means you get less than the loan amount while still repaying the full amount. The estimated effective APR folds that fee into a single rate, which is why it always sits at or above the note interest rate and is the honest number for comparing two offers. Below it, the affordability signal checks the payment against your income if you enter it, and the prepayment tool shows how much interest and time an extra payment would save. Turn on the second-offer comparison to see two lenders side by side before you download the workbook.
Worked example
A 20,000 loan at 12% over 48 months with a 2% fee deducted produces a monthly payment of 526.68. The fee comes to 400, so you actually receive 19,600 even though you repay the full 20,000. Total interest runs about 5,280, for a total cost of about 5,680 — and because the fee reduces what you received without reducing what you owe, the estimated effective APR works out to about 13.09%, noticeably higher than the 12% note rate. Comparing this loan to another lender's 12% offer without checking the fee would understate its real cost — compare by effective APR instead.
Read the guide
For the amortization formula behind any fixed-rate installment loan, worked through step by step, see How to Calculate Monthly Loan Payments Before Borrowing.