Calculator
Put two loans side by side on what they genuinely cost over the full term, with rate, upfront fees, ongoing fees and cashback all folded in. The lowest advertised rate is frequently not the cheapest loan, and the gap is rarely small.
Enter the terms exactly as quoted. Do not include the comparison rate here.
Enter the terms exactly as quoted. Do not include the comparison rate here.
Total paid including fees, net of cashback, year by year. Where the lines cross is your switchover point.
Approval likelihood, offset value, redraw, portability and turnaround times all have real worth. We’ll match your file to the lender that actually fits it.
Book a strategy callAsk a questionThis comparison names no lender and displays no advertised rate; you enter both sets of terms yourself. Comparison rates published by lenders are calculated on a prescribed example loan, conventionally $150,000 over 25 years, and apply only to that example. The calculation assumes both rates hold for the full term, which will flatter a fixed rate whose real cost depends on the revert rate after the fixed period ends. Features such as offset, redraw, portability and split facilities carry real value that a total-cost figure cannot capture.
Rate is the number lenders advertise because it is the number borrowers compare. It is also only one of four things that determine what a loan costs you: the interest rate, the fees charged upfront, the fees charged every month for the life of the loan, and any cashback paid at settlement. Change any one of those and the ranking can flip.
Consider two loans of $750,000 over 30 years. Loan A is 5.79% with a $10 monthly package fee. Loan B is 5.99% with no ongoing fee and $3,000 cashback. Over the full 30 years Loan A wins comfortably, because the 0.20 point difference compounds into roughly $33,000. But over the first three years, Loan B is ahead, because $3,000 in your hand at settlement outweighs a rate difference that has not had time to accumulate.
Which one is right depends entirely on a question no lender asks you: how long will you actually keep this loan? Australian mortgages are refinanced or discharged far more often than their 30-year term suggests. If you are likely to move, refinance or sell within five years, the cashback and fee structure matter more than the rate. If this is genuinely your forever loan, the rate is almost everything.
Australian lenders are legally required to publish a comparison rate alongside any advertised rate. It folds most fees into a single percentage so products can be ranked on a common basis, which is genuinely useful. Its limitation is that it is always calculated on a prescribed example, conventionally a $150,000 loan over 25 years, which is why every advertisement carries the warning that the comparison rate applies only to the example given.
Your loan is not that example. On a $750,000 loan over 30 years, a fixed dollar fee is spread across five times the principal, so its effect on your true rate is a fraction of what the comparison rate implies. Use the comparison rate to shortlist. Use a calculator like this one, with your actual numbers, to decide.
Some of the most valuable features of a loan do not appear in a total-cost figure. An offset account can be worth more than a 0.20 point rate difference if you consistently hold a meaningful balance. $50,000 in offset against a $750,000 loan at 5.99% saves about $3,000 a year, tax-free. Free redraw, the ability to split fixed and variable, portability when you move house, and the lender’s actual turnaround times all have real value that no comparison table shows.
There is also the question of whether the lender will approve you at all. The sharpest rate in the market is worth nothing if their policy does not fit your income structure, your employment type or your deposit source. Matching the file to the lender is most of the work, and it is the part a calculator cannot do.
The interest rate is what is charged on your outstanding balance. The comparison rate combines that with most standard fees and charges to express the total cost as a single percentage, so two products with different fee structures can be ranked against each other.
It is always calculated on a prescribed example loan, conventionally $150,000 over 25 years, which is why every advertisement carries the warning that it applies only to the example given. On a much larger loan, fixed-dollar fees are diluted and the comparison rate overstates their impact.
Next step
These figures are a starting point, not an assessment. Lender policy, your structure and your three-to-five year plan all change the answer. Tell us where you are today and what you’re working towards, and we’ll model it properly across our lender panel.