How the APR Calculator works.
APR is the annualized monthly rate solved from cash received, fixed payment, and term; cash received equals loan amount minus withheld feesEnter values in the units named in each field. The calculator retains precision during the calculation and rounds displayed currency and measurements for readability.
Worked example for the APR Calculator.
For this APR Calculator example, with Loan amount before withheld fees (USD): 10000; Fees withheld from proceeds (USD): 200; Cash received by borrower (USD): 9800; Monthly payment (USD): 220; Number of monthly payments: 60, the calculator returns 12.40% APR. Solved from net cash received, fixed monthly payments, and term.
What this calculation uses
APR is the annualized monthly rate solved from cash received, fixed payment, and term; cash received equals loan amount minus withheld fees. Fees are treated as withheld from proceeds, so cash received must equal loan amount minus those fees.
What the five inputs mean
Enter the loan amount before fees, fees withheld from the proceeds, cash actually received, the fixed monthly payment, and the number of monthly payments. Cash received must equal loan amount minus withheld fees. The solver treats the payment schedule as monthly and the first payment as one month after funds are received; it does not infer dates, payment frequency, or charges that are not entered.
How the APR estimate is solved
The page finds the monthly rate r that makes the present value of all scheduled payments equal the cash received: cash received = payment × [1 − (1 + r)^−n] ÷ r, where n is the number of monthly payments. It then reports nominal annual APR as 12 × r × 100%. Because r appears more than once and inside a power, the page solves it iteratively rather than rearranging the formula with ordinary arithmetic.
Worked example with withheld fees
For a $10,000 loan, $200 withheld fee, $9,800 cash received, 60 monthly payments of $220, the solved result is about 12.40% APR. The payment cash flows are compared with $9,800—not $10,000—because that is the amount available to the borrower. If the fee is financed instead of withheld, or the borrower receives a different amount, these inputs no longer describe the same transaction.
Zero-rate and unsolvable boundaries
At exactly 0% monthly interest, the required payment is cash received divided by the number of payments. A payment below that amount cannot repay the received cash within the entered term at any nonnegative rate, so the calculator returns an error instead of inventing a negative or misleading APR. Blank, non-finite, out-of-range, and inconsistent loan amount, fee, or cash-received values are also rejected.
How to compare two loan offers
Use the same cash-received definition, number and timing of payments, and fee treatment for each offer. Compare APR together with the monthly payment, total of payments, prepayment terms, and any charge outside this model. A lower payment can come from a longer term rather than a lower borrowing cost, and a note rate can be lower than the fee-inclusive APR.
Disclosure and product limitations
This is a planning estimate, not a lender disclosure. Jurisdictions can prescribe which charges count, rounding, day-count, compounding, irregular first or final periods, optional products, and tolerance rules. The model excludes changing rates, late fees, skipped or extra payments, balloon payments, taxes, insurance, prepayment, and charges paid separately. Use the lender’s current regulated disclosure for a contractual comparison.
What this calculator does not include.
Fees are treated as withheld from proceeds, so cash received must equal loan amount minus those fees. This calculator is an arithmetic estimate, not a quote, contract, fit guarantee, tax return, benefit determination, route service, or recommendation. Current terms, product specifications, rules, and personal circumstances can change the real outcome.
Reference guidance and methodology.
APR Calculator questions.
Why must cash received equal loan amount minus fees?
This model treats fees as withheld before the borrower receives the funds. If the fee is financed, paid separately, refunded, or combined with other charges, enter a cash flow that matches the real transaction or use the lender’s disclosure.
Is this the same as the loan note rate?
Not necessarily. The note rate describes interest on the stated balance, while this estimate compares scheduled payments with the net cash received after withheld fees. Fees can make the estimated APR higher than the note rate.
Why can a payment be too low to solve?
If total scheduled principal payments would not return even the cash received at 0% interest, no nonnegative monthly rate can make those cash flows amortize within the term. The page reports that boundary as an error.
Does the calculation allow a 0% APR?
Yes. When the payment exactly equals cash received divided by the number of months, the implied monthly and nominal annual rates are 0%.
Why might a lender’s disclosed APR differ?
A regulated disclosure may use required fee categories, exact dates, day-count rules, compounding conventions, rounding, irregular periods, or other cash flows that this fixed-monthly planning model does not include.
Does FigureNest send my loan inputs anywhere?
No. The iterative calculation runs locally in the browser and does not use a calculation service.