Real cost calculator
Later payments are made with dollars that buy less. Enter a loan and an inflation rate to see what the interest costs in today's dollars.
$500 to $100,000.
0% to 60%.
6 to 120 months.
0% to 20%. The last 12-month CPI reading was 3.7% (September 2026).
In today's dollars
- Monthly payment
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- Interest as you pay it
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- Interest in today's dollars
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- Approximate real rate
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Compare real offers
Five quick answers and your contact details. TrustCedar passes the request to lenders and loan brokers; compare the APRs that come back against the rate board, and say no to any of them.
- 1 The amount, the purpose, your credit range, your timing and ZIP code.
- 2 Your name, phone, email and consent to be contacted.
- 3 A lender or loan broker may reply with an offer. No loan exists until you sign one.
You pay TrustCedar nothing. The lenders and loan brokers who contact you set their own rates, fees and terms, and decide on credit themselves. How we make money.
How the calculator works
Each monthly payment is divided by the price level expected at the time you make it, with inflation compounding monthly at the yearly rate you enter. The sum of those payments in today's dollars, minus the amount borrowed, is the interest left after inflation. The real rate shown is (1 + APR) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1, a close approximation.
Inflation only helps a borrower whose income keeps pace with prices. If your pay is flat, every payment takes the same share of a budget that buys less, and the nominal figure is the one that matters.
A worked example
A $10,000 loan at 12% for 36 months costs $1,957 in interest as you pay it. With prices rising 3.7% a year, the September 2026 CPI pace, that interest is worth about $1,311 in today's dollars, and the real rate is close to 8%. See inflation and the real cost of borrowing and what the CPI report means for borrowers.